entrepreneurship Archives - Page 103 of 235

Blogs are a stadium

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

I was asked today about how blogs should be built and leveraged from a commercial perspective. It seems to be a regular question I’m asked. The giving element that is required in the blogosphere seems counter intuitive to the way our minds have been trained via the industrial complex. They often struggle with the fact that we just have to give, and the law of natural economics just kicks in. So I came up with this analogy which I think makes sense and explains how it should be approached philosophically.

Blogs are like a football stadium.

The game is played in the middle of the ground.

In blogs the middle of the ground happens to be where our posts are geographically placed.

This is why people come to our blog. To see the action. To learn from and be entertained by the actual game (posts)

But like all good stadiums we have related infrastructure around the edges. Our details, company, tweetstream, contacts.

If they like the game we play (our posts) they return. The crowd gets bigger, and they tell their friends to come.

Like the stadium the revenue comes from all the related elements like the concession stands, the parking and the sponsorship. The stuff that generally lives around the edges… both in stadiums and our blogs.

But we must never forget why they are here. To enjoy the game. They only ever return because the enjoy the game (the blog posts). So what we need to do is build our industry around the game, rather than charging for tickets at the gate. Charging entry just doesn’t work beause there is far too many games they can attend. (more than 200 million in fact)

So when someone asks you about how to make a blog work. Remind them of ‘stadium economics’ and that it’s the quality of the information and entertainment which earns us the right to sell them the occasional hot dog.

Advertising & entrepreneurs

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

Advertising is the type of industry aspiring entrepreneurs should consider. I think it is the best training groun for anyone wanting to tread their own path in the future and here’s why.

Advertising is boom & bust: You learn that customers come and go, and that you’re only as good as your most recent in market execution. You don’t take revenue for granted, and learn to focus on achieving your customers objectives more than your own. Your own objectives are achieved by inference.

Advertising is multi industry: You’ll be working on consumer goods one minute, and selling finacne or cars the next. it teaches you the broad world view that entrepreneurs need. You become a business person, rather than an industry expert.

Advertising is short lead: Often the period between a brief to a pitch is a few weeks. It’s a short time to analyse a situation, make strategic decisions and deliver the plan. it requires speedy output and nimble thinking. Perfect training for entrepreneurs.

Advertising is the best pitch practice: It’s one of the few industries which is pitch driven. We pitch ideas to existing clients, new clients and within the organisation.

Advertising is a selling game: Selling your ideas is king, it’s how you win. As entrepreneurs we’ve got to be able to sell. The ad game is a great way to skill up on selling.

Advertising requires revenue invention: The only way to grow is to present proactive ideas which are so compelling he client can’t resist it, and knows it will benefit their business. We call it revenue invention. It’s what entreprenuers must also do to stay alive.

If you have startup aspirations, the ad game is a great place to build the skills needed.

Be part of something

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

When I started rentoid.com a 5 years ago I had no idea it would grow into something much bigger. In fact, the entire industry has been written about by Rachel Botsman in her upcoming book “What’s mine is yours“. She coined the phrase Collaborative Consumption to describe what is happening in our hyper connected world. Rentoid is featured in the book and this little video below, which makes me a bit proud.

[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/14408878]

It’s cool to launch a startup to make money. It’s cooler to be part of something bigger than your startup.

the non tech advantage

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

Business success have never been about technology. Sure technology companies become successful, but it’s never the technology that creates the success, it’s the people and method which bring the technology to the market.

So in the spirit of making us non techies feel good, here’s a top 10 list of reasons why it’s an advantage to be a non-techie running a tech startup or in a tech focused industry:

Unless we’re a one person company, our tech skills are irrelevant. Just like we need accountants, and lawyers, techies are just another one of the skills we need.
We can be more rational with our decisions. We are less likely fall in love with the technology.
It allows us to get to market and then iterate, rather than perfect before launch.
Most tech skills (especially web and computer based) can be outsourced, and outsourced more cheaply than creative and business skills can.
We can focus our energy on game winning things like marketing, finance and selling.
People aren’t interested in technology, we are interested in how the technology makes our lives better. This is what entrepreneurs must focus on.
Tech based startups have the lowest financial barriers to entry – it’s where all entrepreneurs should be looking, not just techies.
Technology is starting to design itself. Humans wont be doing the coding on computer much longer, the computer will do it for us. Our job is to lead the symphony.
Moore’s Law is working for us. Every year technology is more accessible to us (financially) and the developing world. It’s the place to be to create change
Technology is just a conversation. It’s the next step in the evolution in human language. If you’re human, you deserve to be part of it.

To all you non-techies out there…. get going and change the world.

Why junk mail matters

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

Junk mail is not named correctly. It should be called Research Mail, Zeitgeist Mail or something much more complementary.

Here’s a list of great things it does:

It tells us what people think they can sell
It tells us the price of things, probably our competitors
It tells us who can afford to advertise
It tells us the economic conditions of the day via the discounts made
It display the advances in technology
It tells us what’s hot
It keeps us in touch with the business environment more than the Wall Street Journal does

It’s an entrepreneurs best friend. Startup blog says read your junk mail.

Losing touch

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

The rock band U2 stood out in the 1980’s for many reasons. One of them was the willingness to shun to excess of the 80’s. Things like Stadium rock, over produced music, expensive film clips and overdressing. U2 had something to say, rather than something to see.

It all changed at the birth of Zoo TV with the Achtung Baby album which was a brilliant parody of the impact television had had on music politics and consumerism…. Sadly U2 have become the parody they first exposed.

Here’s some quote from Bono himself:

‘Sometime the best way to expose the lies is to live them yourself’

‘All I’ve got is a red guitar, 2 chords and the truth’

It seems his memory has failed him as their latest 360 tour includes 390 tonnes of stage production equipment, 200 tonnes of amplifiers, 248 shipping containers filled with the staging systems and requires 6 Boeing 747 freighters to transport it. They claim the band is buying carbon offsets, but the real kicker is that Bono then has the audacity to ask people to car pool to “cut down on carbon emissions”.

The whole thing just feels very wrong. It’s not the U2 I knew and loved. In many ways the stage is making up for the lack of good songs (They haven’t had a top 10 in America since 2004). Certainly, they’re DNA has changed and its reflected in their record sales which have been reduced. I preferred it when they’re stage shows were simpler, and their music better.

The lesson for startups is this:

The things that made us successful, are probably the same things that will keep us there.

Earning the right

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

A lot of people like to present credentials in order to get new customers. A better way is just start working for them.

I’m a big believer in being a resource for others in the business to business landscape. In fact, just undertaking work for people we want to do business with is a good ethic to develop. To surprise and delight a potential customer with some insight, ideas or output not only differentiates us, but it really shows we care about their business. There is every chance it’s a lot better than the ‘late’ work they are getting from their current suppliers. A way for entrepreneurs to get on the inside.

The tricky bit is the next step. How to actually ask for some business. And I’d say this is a good question to ask ourselves:

Have we earned the right to ask for paid work?