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Jun142011

Small Business Week and a Top 10

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 11:12AM

Welcome to Small Business Week! Every day this week there will be a post directly related to inspiring, guiding, and supporting small businesses. Not a business owner (yet) then fear not, you might find the motivation here this week to take that hobby or interest of yours out of the garage/basement/extra room and into the open market. There is nothing wrong with a little side hustle. The idea this week is to tackle the big issues from inception to the first sale this week - so that said today’s post is all about getting organized and motivated.

We all have ideas. We all daydream from behind the cubicle or desk about what we would do differently if we were in charge. If you are in charge then I’m guessing your day dreams - just like mine - are ones of grandeur and what the business will be able to allow you to have the freedom to do some day. Besides the fact that, with proper planning and execution, you can get all those things from your business already odds are you haven’t actually formalized any of those thoughts. Enter a favorite among bloggers across the interweb - the Top 10 List. I have put together a Top 10 list of my favorite tips for getting the planning out of your head and on to paper. Then you give those thoughts to someone so that they can hold you accountable. Lists like this are great but if you aren’t sharing them then you trap yourself into holding yourself accountable. I don’t have to explain that we all are victims of our rationalizations and excuses.

1. Find someone you trust who takes you and your idea seriously. It can be a friend, relative, or mentor but it has to be someone who is going to keep you honest. If you give it to someone who doesn’t take you or what you want for your business seriously then how can they hold you accountable. Think back to high school or college when a professor would give you a syllabus - only now it’s your syllabus and they are going to grade you based on the standards and benchmarks you set. Make sure that person has the capacity to be supportive too - no one needs any more negativity in their lives then they are already dealing with especially not with your ideas in such a fragile nurture-intensive stage.

2. Get clear. Get clear on your final end product/vision. You can’t start to benchmark and break down your goals until you know where you want to end up. Think of it as your mission statement a very specific few sentences that describe what you’re doing, why, and what the benefits will be.

3. Pull out what you think your biggest actions or obstacles might be. Use them as benchmarks and then, in detail, map out how you plan to tackle those issues. Do the research! What official in City Hall do you need to talk to, what forms need to be filled out, how much will supplies or services cost, what are process turnaround times and filing fees. Basically do as much research on your action items as possible - then be a Boy/Girl Scout and get prepared. The reason is that you won’t waste any time later when you actually have momentum built up and hopefully no big surprises that could interrupt your positive flow.

4. Start outlining a business plan. Even if you never even need to write one (which is almost never the case). Use a template, book, or a guy like me - but get some kind of living bullet point list going of what you are doing in each session. When it comes time to sit in front of a bank or a VC firm you won’t have to go fishing for what you’ve already done. It should be a living document that is continually updated with what you are doing or planning on doing. This number is really a piggy back on the last one but it’s focus is getting you efficiently organized.

5. Start to think of how you are going to test your products or services. Businesses fail for a lot of reasons but one of the biggest is lack of market research and testing. If there are four coffee shops in a 1 mile radius, odds are there’s not a big demand for one more. Get feedback from everyone - what they would like to see from your business as well as the why’s and how’s of their consumption behavior. Know this though: people are inclined to yes you but might not convert when you actually ask for their business - it’s okay, just be prepared to keep pushing forward and minimize your exposure to those folks.

6. Network!! People who think they can do it all on their own are the first ones to burn out and sour themselves on the entrepreneurial experience. Get a handle on your strengths and then look outwards to get help where you feel your weaknesses are. Not only that but if you are going into business you will need things like: merchant accounts, financial/insurance services, lawyers, accountants, and others just like you are going to need actual customers. Maybe not all at once or right away but it’s so much easier to work with people you know and like and that know all about what you’ve been working on.

7. Do some key word searching. Using something like Google Analytics to start exploring what popular search terms might be for your new endeavor is never a bad idea. After that I would definitely start thinking about a domain. Even if you are still many steps away from building a website it is never to early to own the right to use the domain address you want. So do the research, find something you like, and see if you can pick it up from somewhere like GoDaddy.

8. Along the same lines of a domain is the social media process. Start by creating all the free profiles you can think of - Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc. The more web/social media assets you have lined up the easier it will be to implement a brand strategy when you are ready to launch officially. You can even let some friends, or trusted advocates, in for early access and to get their feedback before you really put the digital pedal to the interweb metal.

9. Write big and where you can see it. Write often. I’m a huge advocate of white boarding! After you’ve done some initial brain dumping on paper take it to the big screen so to speak. If this is something you’ve decided you are going to pursue then map it out so that it is visible and so that it is constantly staring you in the face. Nothing like a little self-inflicted guilt to keep you motivated.

10. Have fun!! Well have fun and keep working on your project a little bit everyday. Even if you can’t tackle some of the big items as soon as you wanted to don’t let that discourage you. Get and stay active as an advocate for yourself online and in real life. The more energy you put into it the less likely it will fall by the way side - and you might even figure some stuff out along the way.

Nunzio Bruno |

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