Your Business Dream Team

When I mentor up-and-coming entrepreneurs, the question about advisors is one that comes up frequently.  You may recall a few years ago when T-Mobile ran a series of TV commercials asking, “Who’s in Your Five?,” referring to the top-five people on your cell phone’s call list.  Beyond your must-have good lawyer and accountant, you absolutely need to identify your “Five,” the key members of your support team.  These are the people who will advise, consult, and comfort you when you need to reach out.  They should be honest, ethical people who bring you positive energy, encouragement, understanding, and support. 

In my case, I have a diverse set of mentors and confidants who form my circle of support.  These men and women possess a wealth of expertise and knowledge and help me in different ways depending on the situation:

• “The CEOs”:  A handful of traditional corporate “white guys” who run big public companies or sizeable private firms.  I rely on this group for their ability to think big and quickly get right to the heart of any matter.  They often give me the hard dose of reality I need to temper my eternal optimism.

• “Fellow Divas”:   Women entrepreneurs, all from different backgrounds, who have built their businesses into successful enterprises.  They serve as my role models and advise me on all aspects of running my company.

• “The Strategists”:  A man with a corporate gig and side entrepreneurial ventures and investments; one of my former Intel managers who’s now an entrepreneur; and a woman who was one of my MBA classmates with a career spanning academia, family-owned businesses, and Corporate America who all have that unique ability to look at my strategy and help me generate ideas.  When I’m backed into a corner and feel like I have no way out, the Strategists present multiple pathways to a resolution.

• “The Cheerleaders”:  My friends and family who answer those late-night phone calls when I’m in tears and think I cannot go on another day.  They are the ones who say, “So what you’re in debt up to your eyeballs and cannot pay the landlord this month?  Keep your dream alive, girl!”

 

When you're running a business, you can feel like you're all alone when it comes to the day-to-day pressures to keep it going.  With a handful of close advisors who understand your trials and tribulations and can help you keep things in perspective, you realize that "your village" is also invested in your success.

Guest Post: Preparing Your Small Business for the Post-Email World

Rapid technological change created new, more productive ways for businesses to communicate inside their operations with their employees and externally with their customers. In this guest post, Christopher Wallace, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing, discusses the future of email as the preferred method for business communication. Savvy business owners will want to explore emerging alternatives that increase the immediacy and productivity of their communications.

It’s hard to imagine an office without email. For most small businesses, work gets done in the inbox. It’s often where we strike deals, collaborate on projects, and coordinate getting paid. The U.S. Postal Service has been in decline for years, with much of the lost revenue directly attributed to correspondence moving toward email. USA Today ran a cover story recently about the trend (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-08/postal-service-mail/53002066/1?loc=interstitialskip). The story points out that much of the volume moving through a post office is now junk mail, lessening the importance and the small thrill of checking the mailbox for real letters.

Is email not on the same path? Eighty-one percent of email traffic is classified as spam (http://www.radicati.com/?p=3237), and the likelihood of these messages finding relevance in our lives is far less than with the “junk” we may get in the mail from local businesses. Most employees are adept at sifting through their inbox quickly, identifying and deleting unneeded messages in split second decisions.

When was the last time you received an advertising message via SMS – i.e., one that you haven't intentionally signed up for? Conversely, when was the last time an advertiser chatted you up on Facebook or GoogleChat? These mediums are largely free of marketing, allowing concentrated, uninterrupted work flow. Already, Google’s and Facebook’s email services are moving toward a “conversation flow” style of messaging. It’s a smart move in a world where non-work personal communication via email is already being replaced by chat.

Did you notice the woman in the USA Today story who saves text messages from her three sons, in her best attempt to salvage the old comfort of receiving a letter? Teens have already left email behind. In a study between December 2009 and December 2010, young people between 12 to 17 years old reduced their email usage by a staggering 59 percent. High schoolers are simply not sitting down to pen letters via email the way they did a decade ago.

Communication is now instant, and a smart small business owner will follow suit.

Tip 1: Embrace New Technology
Not long ago, Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry was the standard bearer for companies looking to connect their on-the-go employees. The company has adapted its device to include a touch screen and other cutting-edge features, but sales figures show that even with the physical keyboard some customers prefer, the once ubiquitous BlackBerry struggles to compete with Android’s and Apple’s offerings. One big reason for that is the ease with which large touch screens allow SMS, chat, and even face-to-face video communication. Perhaps RIM will find a way to catch up, but its prospects today are dropping as fast as CD sales.

Bottom line: If you’re outfitting your office or staff with new computers and devices, ensure that the capability exists for real-time conversations. Even with instant delivery, the response time on email puts it behind the pack among digital business communication tools in 2012.

Tip 2: Streamline Your Workflow
Do you find yourself brainstorming with clients and employees via email? It’s common for someone to send out an email to several people, soliciting their replies. By the time everyone weighs in, each person has a stack of individual emails to sort through in order to grasp the big picture or latest update. Services like Google Docs and cloud technology change all of this.

When a new project starts, save it to a location online where everyone can access it. Many companies are setting up their own “clouds” where documents can be shared throughout the office. Each person involved can add his or her own notes and changes to a master document, eliminating confusion and ensuring that each person who accesses the file looks at the most up-to-date version.

Tip 3: Cut Out Waste
Big companies like IT giant Atos have made headlines by phasing out internal email entirely. Considering that the average corporate employee spends 14 hours a week on email, it’s smart to think about ways that time can be maximized. Even if your small business doesn’t have any perceived problems due to email chipping off useful working hours, think about how much time you spend each day looking at daily deal emails, marketing pitches, and even relevant questions in emails that might be more quickly answered in a phone or chat conversation. By prioritizing real-time methods of contact, like chat, many companies find that small tasks can be completed far quicker than in an email stream, where people may reply at their leisure while prioritizing other tasks.

Perhaps it’s premature to ring the death knell of email, but there’s no question that the platform's role as the king of business communication is on the decline. Savvy small business owners will follow the lead of their bigger peers, seeking out ways to streamline communication with an eye on a post-email future.

Guest Post: How Can Small Businesses Compete Against Big Corporations?

Elaine Hirsch is a writer who has contributed to my blog previously (see her last post on how small businesses can strive to be great places to work) and describes herself as a “jack-of-all-interests from education and history to medicine and video games.” In this post, Elaine brings to light the challenges that small business owners face when competing with big corporations and shares advice about how they focus on their strengths and create a niche to deliver great products and services to their customers. She is currently writing for an online school resource.

Many small business entrepreneurs have been under assault by big box companies and internet retailers such as Wal-Mart and Amazon. Big box companies often locate their massive stores at the edge of towns large or small and suck the small business life right out of the town square. Mega-internet retailers like Amazon are selling anything that can be packaged and shipped – books, electronics, shoes and even perishables like fresh food.

Corporate giants are developing technology that makes it extremely easy for customers to compare prices across cyberspace and while shopping at the local mall. Amazon has developed a free bar code scanner smart phone application which enables the device’s camera. A shopper can scan a barcode and Amazon will match that price and offer a $5 incentive if he or she buys the product through Amazon. In doing so, Amazon is updating traditional pricing tactics you learn about in MBA programs with a twist by adding a mobile phone aspect to it.

Some small businesses are fighting back. According to the New York Times, Lori Andre, owner of Lori’s Shoes, an online and physical store based in Chicago, has an answer. She is asking vendors to give the shoes that Lori’s carries different model names than it gives other stores or to put a different label inside so shoppers cannot compare prices with a Zappos, an Amazon company. Other small businesses are removing bar code labels altogether.

So what else can small businesses do to compete against large corporations? The best approach is to change their current business model and look towards innovating the product, service, packaging and carefully segmenting their market. Pangea Organics, a U.S.-based body care products manufacturer, identified socially responsible, environmentally aware consumers and began packaging their products in recycled materials complete with seeds implanted into the packaging cartons. Smaller companies such as Pangea can be more nimble, make decisions faster, and change much more rapidly. Big companies often fall prey to conformity and avoid the risks smaller business can take.

Small business can take advantage of possible resentment among consumers towards big box and mega-internet retailers. Many consumers are using their purchasing power to buy goods and services from local, small businesses. Small businesses must then leverage their core strengths:

1. Creating a niche market few can duplicate

2. Focusing on excellent customer service

3. Building lasting customer relationships

4. Pursuing professional excellence and quality

Creating a niche such as producing quality, handmade goods can be exceedingly difficult for large companies. They have to rely on volume from manufacturing facilities mostly in other countries, resulting in inexpensive and often poorly made products. Many consumers demand a high level of customer service, particularly for products and services that are more costly. The personal touch is something the giant companies cannot provide given the scale it takes to provide. This is where the small business can shine, build lasting customer relationships and repeat business. Professional excellence and quality go a long way in establishing a solid reputation. Since word-of-mouth plays such a prominent role in any business, small businesses can better capitalize on the prospect of positive references.

The time has never been better for small businesses to refocus their strategy and create a model that builds lasting value for customers served.

Welcome to the Real World, Class

My dear friend Jim Fister and I were having a conversation over lunch earlier this year about the time we've been spending individually on college campuses, at high schools, and in one-on-one meetings at work advising young people about their careers and their lives. It turns out that we have been focusing on a lot of the same themes and decided that it was a good idea to put our thoughts together and write an article that shares honest, straightforward insight for young people as they start their career journeys. Here it is.

For those of you approaching graduation from high school or college or have recently walked across that stage, this is for you. Right now, you’re likely occupied with the final celebrations of the holiday season, or maybe you’re planning your next Spring Break getaway. But first and foremost, you’re thinking that life is coming at you faster than it did before and that means it’s time to focus on the real world.

There’s nothing like the inevitability of a looming deadline to clarify your intentions for your life once the last notes of Pomp and Circumstance have sounded, the celebrations have ended, and you embark on your journey into adulthood. In so many ways, we cannot wait for you to get out here as many organizations across the business world and non-profit sector are eager for your fresh ideas and skills, unique perspectives, and openness to new, creative ways of solving tough, challenging problems. After all, much has been written about Generation Y, a 70-million-plus strong population of young, optimistic, and goal-oriented men and women who have embraced collaboration and multitasking, are on the leading edge of emerging technology trends, and want meaningful work/life balance.

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
At the same time, however, in our visits to high schools and colleges around the country, where we have the opportunity to listen to young people and advise them about their academic and career choices, we’re observing firsthand that many of you are not ready for this new world. A lot of you lack a clear understanding of what it’s going to take for you to succeed in the 21st Century marketplace. In this case what you don’t know can hurt you.

We’ve seen for ourselves what can hurt. We bring a wealth of practical experience, knowledge, and insight. Both of us have worked in high-technology developing business strategies, creating product plans, promoting new products and technologies, and all that time pursuing entrepreneurial ventures and being active members of our community. The point is we actually care about the next generation and the lives and careers you undertake. We’re here to support you with four key tenets to get your nascent career on track that go beyond what you’ll learn in the classroom or in your immediate social circles. These are developing good professional habits, learning how to network, understanding influence, and living and exploring life. This is the real deal, and your success will mean the future success of your community, your nation, and your world.

Professional “Hygiene”: Develop Good Habits
Did someone ever tell you that your face would freeze that way if you keep that funny look on it? In some ways, that person was right. While your underlying personality is what will carry you through life, your habits will make that journey either easier or harder. Habits are easy to pick up, and unfortunately, they’re also easier to drop. And clearly some habits can be bad.

If you want one area where you should develop good habits, work on communication. Speaking and writing clearly are a must in a world where you want people to believe in your ideas. As a practical example, how many of you take the time to write a complete sentence or a thoughtful e-mail reply? As professionals in a connected world, you’ll spend a lot of time putting your thoughts into clear, coherent messages intended for the receiver to take action. While it’s fine to “LOL” or “OMG” with your friends, it won’t always go over well when you’re introducing yourself in a professional context. Last year, Jim worked with a local student who was a summer intern at the company. The intern went out of her way to write complete, well-formed sentences and to use proper punctuation and capitalization. The impression was stunning, especially in comparison to the young “professionals” who otherwise filled the day. That’s a person worth remembering, for she landed a strong ally who helped her look for her next job. When asked about it, she merely said that she didn’t want to be like all the other kids who couldn’t think or talk. So she made it a habit to write well.

Another great habit is showing up on time. A good friend of ours who should know a lot better consistently shows up late to meetings. As a consequence, he extends the meeting to make up for the missed time, which makes him late for the next meeting. It’s a crazy cycle that’s cost him on occasion when he shows up late to a meeting where an executive is none too pleased to have been kept waiting. As we say, it’s “results, not excuses.” Take care of all the little things, and people will be convinced you can do something big.

Learn the Art of Networking – It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who They Are
We can’t say enough about developing a strong network. A good idea is one thing. A good idea properly placed in front of the right decision-maker with a strong endorsement is entirely another.

No doubt, the first question that comes to your mind is, “How do I get myself in front of those decision-makers when I’m just starting my career?” It’s a lot easier than you think. The first step is to think about your network – that is, who you know. We like to describe this as bringing people in the “background” of your life into the “foreground” at the right time. You very likely have many people in the background of your life – friends, family, professors, part-time job supervisors and co-workers, teachers, counselors, advisors – who you already know and can assist with a problem or opportunity you’re facing. In our travels to college campuses, a question we like to pose to students is how many of them really know their fellow students with whom they sit in classes every day. We try to impress upon the students that they could be sitting next to someone whose parents own a small business or work for a company in the field they’re majoring in and could be potential avenues to a summer internship or that coveted first job out of college. You cannot find out this information if you’re not taking the time to network with your classmates with that purpose in mind.

With the advent of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other social networking sites, you have the distinct advantages of real-time communication and instantaneous connections that many in prior generations did not have. We strongly encourage you to use that advantage as you move into the business world. But tread carefully, for you must clearly differentiate your business and personal networks over time. It’s one thing to tell your pals what you did over the weekend, but it’s an entirely different thing to provide that to your customers. And remember what Monique calls the “Grandma Standard”: If you think your grandmother would be appalled or ashamed to read what you’ve written or to see you in a questionable pose in a photo, it’s probably best to not post it. In other words, be passionate but don’t be impetuous when you share information about yourself online because it will live in some shape or form forever. Doing something embarrassing now seems cute until it results in an opportunity lost years down the road.

Understand Your Influence
No matter your vantage point in life or in an organization, you have the power and ability to influence others to follow your lead. Terry Bacon, the author of Elements of Power and Elements of Influence, defines influence as the power you apply in order to accomplish a goal, with your success depending on a number of factors which you may or may not control. According to Bacon, your influence is comprised of the technique you choose, the skill with which you use that technique, your power sources within your organization, and your personal power sources.

In short, an effective influencer needs the right technique coupled with sufficient power sources and good skills – communication, assertiveness, interpersonal, and interaction – to make things happen. Take the case of a high school student who recently decided to organize a technology camp for young women. Being smart, she first asked her teacher who she should contact for help. He provided her with a list of people she needed to meet, including Jim. She diligently followed up with everyone and used that network to influence their networks to generate all the donations necessary to put on the program. She also found many volunteers to help in the process. Many of these adults now are on the watch for how to help her in her next endeavor. That simple influence point started with the teacher and extended to a new network and an enthusiasm about women in technology that will endure.

Live Your Life and Explore
Lots of people will tell you in the next few months and years that you’re young and you have time to figure things out. Everyone’s situation will be different, but whether you decide to go straight into the workforce or take some time off before your first job, you should live your life and explore and experiment before you settle down into a particular career path or make lifestyle choices that will have an impact on your priorities and time down the road.

Monique recently advised a recent grad of Oregon State University who studied computer science. An aspiring software developer, this young man does not know at this point if he wants to work in a traditional corporate environment or if he should pursue a start-up company. Either way, he knows that he wants to travel the world and expose himself to different cultures and people. Monique encouraged him to jump on the opportunity to travel right after graduation if he could afford it because it will only get harder to find the time as his life begins to take shape and he becomes a “responsible adult.” Also, she gave him a third option of being an independent software developer, which he wasn’t even considering. She suggested that if he starts his career as an independent software developer doing project work, that could give him the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world as long as he meets his commitments to his clients. At the end of the day, he desires the flexibility to choose the career route that best aligns with his interests and passions right now.

Yes, your life is coming at you fast. By developing good habits, learning how to build your personal and professional network, understanding how to influence, and living a full life, you will be prepared to succeed in an ever-changing, complex, and interconnecting world. We are waiting on you!