Lessons I Learned Today 6/12/09 – Up and Down the Elevator Speech

This is a digest and recap of highlights, quotes, and comments from articles and discussions posted on this date on the Applied Entrepreneurship, LinkedIn group site.

 

*Running Your Own Shop by Dr. Earl R. Smith II

“I want to run my own shop – be my own boss – be in command of my own destiny. I don’t want to report to anybody – be beholden to anybody – or controlled by anybody. As captain of my own ship, I can make the decisions – take the actions – and suffer the consequences without asking permission.”

“No one runs their own shop – no one is their own boss – no one is control of their own destiny. Business is a collaborative team sport – the team that works most closely and effectively together regularly buries the lone riders and dysfunctional gaggles.”

“Business is a team sport that requires all team members to have a strong inclination to collaborate, communicate, learn, teach, evolve and contribute.”

 

*Social Strategy for Exciting (and Boring) Brands by Josh Bernoff

“There are two kinds of brands in the world. There are brands people like to talk about, and brands they don’t.”

“The key with boring brands is to get people talking about their problems, since they won’t talk about your brand. In advertising, you can force messages on people watching other things. In a social context, this fails miserably.”

“Applications that talk about customers problems create “borrowed relevance,” since you generate talk they care about, then make yourself a part of it. American Express (credit cards are boring, face it) created the Members’ Project, a contest to choose deserving charities, since it realized that charity would generate more passion than credit cards. And in perhaps the most dramatic example, Procter & Gamble knew girls wouldn’t talk about tampons, but would talk about music, cliques, and school, so it created beinggirl.com as a vehicle to deliver (very quietly) the occasional feminine care products message.”

“Regardless of whether your brand is talkable or boring, as you launch these social applications, you’ll generate something very valuable – people who care about your brand, or at least the problems it solves.”

“If your brand is talkable, your social efforts will surface the brand enthusiasts who have the most influence. If it’s boring, your social applications will help you find your rare but valuable brand enthusiasts, or even generate a few. Pay attention to these people. Because as advertising clutter rises and word of mouth becomes more important, they’re about to become some of your most important corporate assets.”

 

*Social Networking Explodes and The Law Will Follow by Eric Sinrod

“Social networking is not a passing fancy; indeed, the time spent by Americans on social networking sites is increasing dramatically.  And, of course, where people go, the law will follow.”

“According to a recent report from Nielsen Online, the time that Americans spend on social networking sites is up a staggering 83% from just one year ago.”

“Unfortunately, it is a fact of life that where people congregate, some disputes ultimately emerge.  Social networking interactions therefore will not be free of friction and conflict.”

“As social networking increases, we probably will see a rise in lawsuits related to social networking communications and exchanges.”

“Inevitably, we will see lawsuits where people allege that they have been defamed by false information about them posted on social networking pages.  There also are bound to be lawsuits concerning alleged invasion of privacy having to do with the posting of revealing photos and videos without consent. “

“In addition, lawsuits alleging the improper revelation of trade secrets and intellectual property on social networking pages could come out of the woodwork.  And, we very well may see cases in which there are allegations of harassment, intimidation and hate speech on social networking pages.”

 

*Just Verb It? A Legal Perspective on Using Brands As Verbs by Steve Baird

There is a growing interest and, quite frankly, a dogged persistence among branding professionals to select brand names that have the ability and potential to be “verbed.”

“The International Trademark Association offers these guidelines on proper trademark use to trademark owners and those in the media: ‘NEVER use a trademark as a verb. Trademarks are products or services, never actions.’ INTA provides this example: ‘You are NOT rollerblading, but in-line skating with Rollerblade in-line skates.’ It also offers this test: ‘A good test for correct usage of a trademark is to remove the trademark from the sentence and see if the sentence (generic) still makes sense. If it does not then you are potentially using the mark as the descriptive term or as a verb and not as an adjective followed by a noun as you should.’ Why? To prevent brand names and trademarks from becoming generic names and part of the public domain for anyone to freely use, even competitors.”

“The challenge for trademark types and trademark owners is that many marketers are not listening to these cautious admonitions. As a consequence, trademark types will need to be increasingly more and more creative in their approach to mitigate the risk of the brand not only going to marketing heaven, but dying an sudden death immediately thereafter.”

 

*Understanding Equity Capital

“Equity capital or financing is money raised by a business in exchange for a share of ownership in the company. Ownership is represented by owning shares of stock outright or having the right to convert other financial instruments into stock of that private company. Two key sources of equity capital for new and emerging businesses are angel investors and venture capital firms.”

“Debt Capital: Debt capital is represented by funds borrowed by a business that must be repaid over a period of time, usually with interest. Debt financing can be either short-term, with full repayment due in less than one year, or long-term, with repayment due over a period greater than one year. The lender does not gain an ownership interest in the business and debt obligations are typically limited to repaying the loan with interest. Loans are often secured by some or all of the assets of the company.”

“Equity Capital: Equity capital is represented by funds that are raised by a business, in exchange for a share of ownership in the company. Equity financing allows a business to obtain funds without incurring debt, or without having to repay a specific amount of money at a particular time.”

“”Business “angels” are high net worth individual investors who seek high returns through private investments in start-up companies. They seek companies with high growth potentials, strong management teams, and solid business plans to aid the angels in assessing the company’s value. They often co-invest with trusted friends and business associates. In these situations, there is usually one influential lead investor (“archangel”) whose judgment is trusted by the rest of the group of angels.”

“Venture capital provides businesses a financial cushion. However, equity providers have the last call against the company’s assets. In view of this lower priority and the usual lack of a current pay requirement, equity providers require a higher rate of return/return on investment (ROI) than lenders receive.”

 

*Angel Investing – The ‘Elevator Speech’ Antidote by Dr. Earl R. Smith II

“Listening to the delivery of an elevator speech is the single most distracting event in an investor’s journey. It is to that point in time – the equivalent of ‘love at first sight’ – that most of the subsequent failures can be traced. An elevator speech is an advertising undertaking. It is an attempt to draw in a potential investor and get them interested in providing funding for a venture. It the starkest terms, it is a money trap.”

“Investors have lost more money because they failed to critically evaluate and aggressively test key underlying assumptions than for any other reason. This single misstep is by far the biggest ‘deal killer’ in the process.”

In this article, the author recommends a series of questions to ask an investor when reviewing a potential investment.

 

*Financial Strategies – Some Basic Rules by Dr. Earl R. Smith II

“The CEOs principal contribution to the process is to make sure that the correct financing strategies are in place and well focused. As CEO, you should make sure that the strategies deployed meet, at minimum, five basic criteria. First, are the financings that are being pursued adequate to the needs of the company? Second, are the right financial instruments being used? Third, are the right sources being approached? Fourth, how does each individual financing strategy fit into the overall capital structure of the company? And fifth, can the company afford the financing … is it really a good idea?”

“Don’t fund research by selling equity in your company. If you are spending money to sell what you ‘hope to have,’ your potential customers will generally treat you as a ‘might become.’ If part of the pressure on your financial resources is because you are spending unwisely, financing an error in judgment is a very costly undertaking.”

“Venture Capitalists are, for the most part, highly professional people who are having to search harder and harder for good investment opportunities. While you are chasing them and getting turned down, they are spending significant portions of their days looking for good investment opportunities. So, as hungry as they are to invest, what should it tell you if three or four of them have turned you down? Just exactly what part of ‘no’ are you having trouble understanding?”

“Make sure that you are turning over every stone in the pasture. Don’t let your ego or limited understanding of the options limit your company. Get in touch with experts in the field and really pick their brains. Make sure that you are looking down every alley and then pick the most efficient of the options.”

Here are five options to start with:

• Friends, Family and Fools
• SBIR, STTR & Other Grants
• Universities and Research Centers
• Your Customers
• Strategic Partners

 

*Blocking Social Networking Sites in the Workplace by Eric Sinrod

“An analysis of data submitted by thousands of Barracuda Web Filter customers demonstrates that as many as 50.2% of businesses using these filters are setting up barriers to MySpace and/or Facebook.”

“According to the Barracuda survey, the chief concern is fear of viruses or spyware (cited by 70% of respondents), with potential drain on employee productivity as the second greatest worry (cited by 52% of respondents).”

“Employers raise bandwidth issues (cited by 36% of respondents) and potential liability issues (cited by 28% of respondents) as additional reasons to put restrictions on Internet access by employees.”

“The challenge for employers going forward is to continue to protect themselves from intrusions such as viruses and spyware, and to keep employee productivity up and potential liability down, all while becoming positioned to utilize the most robust Internet communication tools possible.”

 

*The Lowdown on ARC Loans by Mark Deo

“The Small Business Administration recently released “lender guidelines” for America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan Program. ARC loans will be up to $35,000 and available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses suffering “immediate financial hardship” in order to provide some temporary financial relief so they can keep their doors open and put their cash flow back on track. It is intended for businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing qualifying debt (including conventional loans, credit card obligations, notes owed to suppliers and utilities).”

“The SBA defines a viable business as “a for-profit business with evidence of profitability or positive cash flow in at least one of the past two years.” Businesses must provide three years of financial statements, cash flow projections based on reasonable growth over two years and demonstrated ability to meet current and future debt obligations, including future repayment of the ARC loan. Also, the borrower must certify that they are currently no more than 60 days past due on any loan paid with an ARC loan and they must have an acceptable business credit score as determined by SBA.”

“The SBA is requiring businesses to show evidence of a “change in the financial condition” such as declining sales, frozen credit lines, difficulty meeting payroll, paying rent or difficulty making loan payments.”

“The loans are 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA and made by existing SBA 7(a) lenders. They have no SBA or lender fees associated with them (unless the lender must secure collateral as part of the loan). The disbursement period (up to six months) is followed by a 12- month deferral period with no repayment of principal. After the deferral period, the borrower pays back only the ARC loan principal over a five-year period. ARC loans are available through SBA-approved lenders as long as funding is available or through Sept. 30, 2010.”

 

What I Think

I think one of the common threads among the articles posted on this date is the force of opposites. In these difficult economic times, angels and venture capitalists are looking hard for worthy causes in which to invest. Likewise, worthy businesses, rebuffed by the banks and other traditional sources of capital, are now searching for an angel or venture capital fund, which is willing to invest in them.

The same sort of dance is going on between social media and businesses. New social media applications are being pumped out by the minute and users are lining up to try them. Businesses are searching for new ways to market themselves and strengthen their brand, but some fear abuse will be the result of employing social medial campaigns, so some many are consequently deploying blocking strategies against the very thing they may be looking for.

The government is attempting to find strategies to stimulate the economy, using programs like the ARC loan program. Troubled businesses, the target audience,  are, however, having a difficult time finding a bank, which seems to even have information on the program let alone a way to make such a loan.

Something is clearly missing. A year or two ago, there seemed to be an attraction factor linking such natural partnerships. What seems to be gone or at least weakened is the glue. Replacing it is the fear factor. Even when natural attractants get in range of each other, instead of being drawn together, they almost seem afraid to get too close.

Fear is natural, given the reports of a horrible economy. Part of the problem, is that the fear feeds upon itself and rumors of doom become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Fear stands between forces which are naturally attracted to each other, preventing them from uniting. Since there is not much sense giving an elevator speech which mimics this fear, let’s all try a little courage and see if we can let those natural attractants already in place, simply slide back toward each other.

 

If you enjoyed my impression of these articles, why don’t you read them for yourself and see what you and I missed or hit? Join the Applied Entrepreneurship group on LinkedIn. Membership is free and I try to post about ten articles a day there. We have some great discussions going and if you are an entrepreneur, we hope you will join us.

Lessons I Learned Today 6/3/09 – Hey, Can You Make Change?

This is a digest and recap of highlights, quotes, and comments from articles and discussions posted on this date on the Applied Entrepreneurship, LinkedIn group site.

  

*Board Stiff by James Surowiecki

“In the apportioning of blame for the financial crisis, corporate boards of directors have remained remarkably unscathed, even though they effectively approved the strategies that immolated so many companies.” 

Over the past couple of decades, a tremendous amount of attention has been devoted to improving corporate boards. New regulations, along with pressure from big investors, have forced companies to appoint more independent directors—people who have no direct connection to the company—and have tightened the definition of independence.

All these changes, though, have had a much smaller impact than expected. Academics have found no evidence that simply appointing more independent directors improves corporate performance. “Independent” directors are typically nominated not by shareholders but by the C.E.O. or by other board members, who, not surprisingly, tend to prefer directors who will be cheerleaders for the firm and won’t rock the boat. It also doesn’t help that independent directors are sometimes inexperienced, which makes it harder for them to take on management, or that they’re often chosen for name recognition.

Changing the way boards look matters less than changing the way they act. Directors are still part-time employees—the typical board meets just eight times a year—so it’s hard for them to devote enough time to make a meaningful difference.

Directors still rely heavily on the C.E.O. for information, and do little independent digging—one recent survey found that half of them wished they had more information about company strategy. Boards are more active than they were, and more willing to show underperforming C.E.O.s the door (as happened at both Merrill Lynch and Citigroup). But they often react too late, after the real damage has been done. And the fact that boards see their chief job as hiring and firing the C.E.O. is a problem: shareholders need boards to prevent messes, not just clean up afterward.

One proposal is that big institutional investors create a cadre of full-time directors, people whose only job would be to sit on corporate boards and look after shareholder value. Most board members, accomplished as they may be in their real jobs, are amateurs when it comes to being directors. So it shouldn’t surprise us when they get buffaloed or pushed around by C.E.O.s, who are professionals. Right now, boards are made up of moonlighters. And, if the last few years have shown anything, it’s that protecting shareholder interests is a full-time job.

 

*Hanging Tough by James Surowiecki

“In the late nineteen-twenties, two companies—Kellogg and Post—dominated the market for packaged cereal. It was still a relatively new market: ready-to-eat cereal had been around for decades, but Americans didn’t see it as a real alternative to oatmeal or cream of wheat until the twenties. So, when the Depression hit, no one knew what would happen to consumer demand. Post did the predictable thing: it reined in expenses and cut back on advertising. But Kellogg doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio advertising, and heavily pushed its new cereal, Rice Krispies. (Snap, Crackle, and Pop first appeared in the thirties.) By 1933, even as the economy cratered, Kellogg’s profits had risen almost thirty per cent and it had become what it remains today: the industry’s dominant player.”

“You’d think that everyone would want to emulate Kellogg’s success, but, when hard times hit, most companies end up behaving more like Post. They hunker down, cut spending, and wait for good times to return. They make fewer acquisitions, even though prices are cheaper. They cut advertising budgets. And often they invest less in research and development. They do all this to preserve what they have. But there’s a trade-off: numerous studies have shown that companies that keep spending on acquisition, advertising, and R. & D. during recessions do significantly better than those which make big cuts.”

“In 1927, the economist Roland Vaile found that firms that kept ad spending stable or increased it during the recession of 1921-22 saw their sales hold up significantly better than those which didn’t. A study of advertising during the 1981-82 recession found that sales at firms that increased advertising or held steady grew precipitously in the next three years, compared with only slight increases at firms that had slashed their budgets. And a McKinsey study of the 1990-91 recession found that companies that remained market leaders or became serious challengers during the downturn had increased their acquisition, R. & D., and ad budgets, while companies at the bottom of the pile had reduced them.”

“Recessions make the strong stronger and the weak weaker, since the strong can afford to keep investing while the weak have to devote all their energies to staying afloat. But although deep pockets help in a downturn, recessions nonetheless create more opportunity for challengers, not less.”

“Risk describes a situation where you have a sense of the range and likelihood of possible outcomes. Uncertainty describes a situation where it’s not even clear what might happen, let alone how likely the possible outcomes are. Uncertainty is always a part of business, but in a recession it dominates everything else: no one’s sure how long the downturn will last, how shoppers will react, whether we’ll go back to the way things were before or see permanent changes in consumer behavior. So it’s natural to focus on what you can control: minimizing losses and improving short-term results.”

“The uncertainty of recessions creates an opportunity for serious profits, and the historical record is full of companies that made successful gambles in hard times.”

 

*Initiating Social Media for Business by Pete Hollier

“In some ways the business reaction to Social Media is similar to the early days of the Internet, businesses realized the Internet offered new opportunities but were unsure how to create and capitalize the new business model. Social Media has again put businesses in a position of seeing the potential, but being unsure of how this can or should be utilized.”

“The interaction and openness of Social Media is what many businesses are unprepared for and find difficult to comprehend and initiate.”

“Whether a particular strategy is relevant to your business often depends on the products and services provided, and the business’s target audience. Social Media however, has the potential to benefit a broad range of business types and customer demographics.

Reasons for a business to participate in Social Media include:

• Encourage interaction, dialogue and loyalty between business and consumer
• Develop sales leads and professional contacts
• Increase exposure and monitor public perception of brand
• Market research and product development
• Customer service and support

“Due to numerous elements of Social Media such as networked customers, instant and open communication and the interaction between business and consumer, Social Media requires businesses to consider Social Media not only as a Marketing Program, but a new way to do business which often requires establishing a new company culture.”

“The initiation of Social Media should be done with consideration to long term goals and business objectives. The following questions which must be answered by the business prior to becoming involved in Social Media include:

• What goals and objectives does the business wish to achieve through Social Media programs?
• Who will be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the Social Media Program?
• Who is responsible for the development of content and approving the company’s Social Media communication and participation?
• Who within the company will be empowered to communicate the company’s message, how often, on company or personal time?
• Who will be responsible and how will the company’s online reputation be monitored and managed?
• What Social Media tools will be utilized in the Social Media Program?
• What criteria will be used to determine the effectiveness of the Social Media Program?”

 

*The New Entrepreneur: Before You Begin by Stephanie

“All new businesses begin with an idea. While many people toy with the idea of working for themselves and setting up a business, only those who take their idea and turn it into reality can call themselves entrepreneurs.”

“With any business, timing is crucial. That is not to say that a downturn is no time to start a business, but that there are certain times when it will be easier to get certain types of business off the ground.”

“Think about how current conditions would affect your business concept and weigh up the pros and cons of starting up straight away. You can always put your plans off until market conditions are more favorable. Delay is not failure.”

“There are universal questions for every business idea that need to be considered:

1. Who will buy the product or service that you will be offering?
2. Is there a market for what you are offering?
3. How much are buyers willing to pay for your product or service?
4. Who are your likely competitors?
5. How well they are doing?
6. What kind of business legal structure will you form?
7. How much money will you need for the first two years?
8. Where will your business be located?
9. What kind of staff will you need?
10. What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?
11. How can you build on your strengths, address any weaknesses, reduce any threats, and take advantage of any opportunities?”

“You can carry out this basic research by using business support organizations such as your local chamber of commerce, small business association or the relevant trade body. Alternatively, some government trade departments compile reports on different market sectors which may be available to the public from their offices or websites.”

 

*The New Entrepreneur: Market Research by Stephanie

“Before you can begin any market research you need to know what sort of information you hope to gain. Just as you would ask a market research company to get you certain details about your target markets, so you need to be clear in your head about you hope to learn. Regardless of the type of business you hope to start, there are certain things that you will always need to know:

• size of your target market, both in terms of number of firms and monetary value
• trend for the target market (i.e. is it expanding or contracting)
• main players in the target market and their respective market shares
• general profile of your target consumer and their buying behavior
• most profitable way to promote and sell your product or service to consumers”

“One form of research that can reap rewards for minimal effort is to talk to other businesses in the same field who are operating in different territories. If you’re not going to be a direct competitor, most business owners are more than happy to talk about how they themselves made a start and the challenges they’ve faced.”

“See what the competition is up to. There is nothing to prevent you visiting other businesses in the same field to see how they are set up and the processes they use. You can also, in a retail setting, get an idea of the prices that they are charging. Marry this with information you get from potential suppliers about the cost of goods sold, and you will not only know how profitable a particular product may be, but also whether you are able to undercut bigger players in the market.”

“Market research you undertake can be useful for highlighting opportunities in particular market niches that you may have overlooked, and can also be a good way for building up contacts (in the case of suppliers and business-to-business research) before you get started.”

 

*The New Entrepreneur: The Business Plan by Stephanie

There are certain sections that every well-written business plan will have:

• Executive Summary. This section generally tends to be written last and sums up all of the details of your business plan
• Concept. Here you describe your business idea and the business sector that you hope to enter, including the major players and the total value of the market
• Market conditions. In this section you need to demonstrate that there is indeed a market for what you are going to be selling, how much of the market you hope to gain, and what differentiates you from your competition
• Product or Service. Describe the product or service you will be offering, including the characteristic that distinguishes your product or service from those of your competitors. Include details about how you aim to take it forward in the future and what developments you hope to be able to make
• Strategy. Here you can identify how you are actually going to run your business, showing that you have thoroughly researched your market and applied that research to your business concept. This section should cover all areas, from potential suppliers and the number of staff you will be taking on, to the type of customer you will be targeting and the marketing campaigns you will initially be running
• Core Personnel. This is where you get to blow your own trumpet, and those of anyone you’re going into business. Think of it as a mini-CV, and describe what qualifies you to run this business, the qualities that you are going to bring to your role, and the skills you have to make the business a success. Do the same for any partners, collaborators, or anyone else who will have a hand in running the business
• Financial Forecasts. The maths part. But don’t worry, it really isn’t all bad. You will need to make predictions of how you are going to spend your money. Granted, certain assumptions will be made, but you can outline what they are in footnotes or in an appendix. The forecasts that are absolutely necessary are: profit and loss forecasts for your first three years of operation; cash flow forecasts, again for the first three years; capital expenditure plans for each year; proforma balance sheets for the beginning and end of each year

“Of all the financial forecasts you prepare, the most important is probably your cash flow forecast. Not only will this let potential investors see how you plan to spend their money, but it will also give them an indication as to when they can expect to recoup their investment.”

“The executive summary will be the last thing that you write but the first section that investors or lenders will read. Think of it as your business plan’s elevator pitch – get it right, and they will read on for more details; get it wrong, and expect to receive a form rejection letter or email. It may seem like a daunting prospect, but try to keep it down to two pages of as much detail as possible.”

 

*The New New Economy: More Startups, Fewer Giants, Infinite Opportunity by Chris Anderson

“This crisis is not just the trough of a cycle but the end of an era. We will come out not just wiser but different.”

“The next new economy, the one rising from the ashes of this latest meltdown, will favor the small.”

“To all the usual reasons why small companies have an advantage, from nimbleness to risk-taking, add these new ones: The rise of cloud computing means that young firms no longer have to buy their own IT equipment, which helps them avoid having to raise money or take on debt. Likewise, the webification of the supply chain in many industries, from electronics to apparel, means that even the tiniest companies can now order globally, just like the giants. In the same way a musician with just a laptop and some gumption can accomplish most of what a record label does, an ambitious engineer can invent and produce a gadget with little more than that same laptop.”

 

*The Secondary Social Media Tools by Pete Hollier

“Social Media like Search Engine Optimization is a holistic process where all factors are utilized to achieve the projects goals. In such a competitive market place as businesses face today, companies must use all the tools available to assist in obtaining the competitive edge.”

“The complete set of Social Media Tools available is close to limitless and daily, new Social Media Tools arrive. Social Media is still in a growth stage requiring experimentation and learning. “

“Selecting the correct Social Media tools for your business requirements will take investigative skills to determine what works best for your situation, but most of all making Social Media work for your business is about commitment and believing in the effectiveness and power of Social Media.”

 

*The Tools of Social Media by Pete Hollier

“Before beginning a project of any type it is a pre-requisite to know what tools are available, what tools are required, and a clear understanding of how to use the available tools.”

“Social Media offers numerous tools of varying types to businesses and consumers, knowing what is available, which Social Media tools you should be using to achieve your company objectives and how to use the tool for your business’s project can be confusing to even the saviest Social Marketer.”

 

What I Think

I think the common thread I see in the articles posted on this date is about trying something new and managing change. In the article about corporate governance, Board Stiff, one strategy to help prevent a recurrence of our current financial crisis is taking the form of a push for more independent directors in the board room. Some studies indicate this may actually have no impact or even be counter-productive because the independent directors have less experience and are not as well informed as the “good ole’ boys.” Coming at it from another direction, the theory of “professional directors” is getting some traction, presuming full time directors will have only one focus, even if they serve on multiple boards.

The Hanging Tough article also deals with being in a situation and not knowing what to do. In this case, the article studies how companies have done after a recession, when they pulled back, kept ad spending stable, or increased it during the recession. Looking at the various approaches to the same dilemma, those that “hunkered down” and tried to conserve what they had by reducing spending, seemed to do much worse than those who did not. The riskier strategy seemed to pay substantially higher dividends.

The articles dealing with social media clearly outline one strategy to “think outside the box” by trying new forms of media to get to the customer. This arena is nothing but multitudes of entrepreneurs in competition with each other, gambling on what the world will look like after Web 2.0 succumbs to Web 3.0.

This will be a long and interesting battle. We may not be able to declare a victor in this engagement for quite some time, because there are so many players trying to create a “new” business model out of slightly tweaking that of another player. The paradigm shift may seem radical, compared to where we were a few years ago, but contenders will probably rise and fall precipitously for quite some time with no clear winner, until the investors are able to count on a dividend and the check clears.

The series of  New Entrepreneur articles will hopefully provide a counter-balance to the seeming chaos of alternate strategies at work and in competition with each other, as the pre-eminent way to resolve an issue. These articles seek to provide a stable formula for testing options for a new business concept, business plan, and marketing program.

Most entrepreneurs must deal with change at one point or another. Using the multitude of tools available, such as the New Entrepreneur articles, can help you learn to watch how others have handled it, and to analyze why one succeeds and one fails. Eventually all entrepreneurs will have to make change. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to reduce the risk of making the wrong change. 

 

If you enjoyed my impression of these articles, why don’t you read them for yourself and see what you and I missed or hit? Join the Applied Entrepreneurship group on LinkedIn. Membership is free and I try to post about ten articles a day there. We have some great discussions going and if you are an entrepreneur, we hope you will join us.