Hard–Earned Lessons From An (Accidental) Entrepreneur

I wish I could say I always wanted to be an entrepreneur.

After all, my father was one, my brothers run a successful business and I married an entrepreneur.

From my perspective, they worked long hours, talked about business all the time and always seemed to be thinking of taking things “to the next level.”

I didn’t understand that those long hours didn’t seem long enough when it’s spent pursuing your passion. That you cannot help sharing your enthusiasm about what you love and how you are going to change the world to anyone who has a minute to spare. And that having your own business opens up a whole new world of creativity and perseverance that you previously didn’t know existed about yourself.

I didn’t know any of this until I became an entrepreneur myself.

In a new country, with no local experience and no contacts, I began consulting until I could get a secure job. What was simply a bridge to the next “sure thing” turned into a never-ending road with an unknown destination.

In 13 years, I’ve gone down the bumpy road of entrepreneurship traveled by many before me, and learned a few good lessons along the way. I hope these lessons make your road to adventure a whole lot smoother:

1. Embrace That You’ll Never Know Everything

It took you years to be THE expert in your field. You struggled to finally make THE product that everyone’s talking about. However, if, after all those years of hard work, you think you know it all and stop learning, or stop innovating on product development, your business will either fail or eventually get left behind.

Curiosity and perseverance are some of the most important traits for an entrepreneur to embrace – why do things work and how can it be better? What would happen if I did the opposite of what is the logical thing to do? Who knows more than I do and whom did they learn from? Do I really know what my customer wants?

Assume there is more than one “right” answer and ask the difficult questions no one is asking. You might be surprised at the answers you’ll get.

2. Work Hard And Give Yourself The Gift of Time

One of the most frustrating traits of an entrepreneur is our impatience. We spend weeks, months, even years creating something we love and when it’s ready, we’re caught by surprise at how slow it sells: How come my potential client can’t see how brilliant our product or solution is and how perfect it is for them? How can they not want it right NOW?

In a market with ever-increasing noise, it really does take time for you to stand out and build a momentum with your marketing.  “Overnight successes” can often take 18 – 24 months or more. If you truly believe in your offering, keep working hard but give yourself the gift of time and know that you may need to take the marathon approach versus trying to sprint to success. Remember that childhood story? The turtle eventually beats the hare!

3. Be Willing To Succeed As A Result of Your Work

You should definitely be willing to fail as an entrepreneur, but sometimes what can hold us back is the willingness to succeed.  It seems counter-intuitive but many of us have a fear of success in some way.  We may believe: I’ve worked so hard but don’t deserve the good things and recognition that come my way. What if I can’t sustain my success? What if I take on something way over my capabilities?

Remember that many of your fears will be irrational if you look at them closely. Success is your reward for setting your sights on a seemingly impossible goal, pursuing it doggedly and sometimes making incredible sacrifices to get there.  YES, you are worth it, and yes, you deserve all the recognition and success that comes your way.

4. Keep Working Towards The Next Step

Having your own business can provide amazing freedom and flexibility in creating a lifestyle you want.  There are times though, where it takes great effort to get out of bed and hang onto your determination to keep going. You may be stuck on what you need to do next in order to reach your goal.

During these times, I remember an analogy a business coach shared with me: When trying to reach a mountain’s summit (your goal) you know the general direction is up. Even in the worst weather, when you cannot see the summit and don’t know how you are going to get there, you can at least see the next step.

In building your business, just keep taking the next step, work hard, and trust that you know what you need to succeed. You may go down the wrong path here and there, but you won’t know until you take that step…and sometimes the step you need to take may be asking for help from a guide who’s been to the summit and back!

 

Disclosure: I received compensation from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. This post was sponsored by Visa Small Business as part of their #gobiz Sweepstakes for @VisaSmallBusiness. Visa will be rewarding small business owners with $10,000 in prizes for their hard work from October 25^th through November 17^th. Visit here http://hosting.thetenthwave.com/visasb/ for more details, and follow @VisaSmallBiz for ways to help make your small business more efficient and successful. Discover more at http://visa.com/business.

 

Photo Credit: The Femme Files

Blogging: More than just what you had for lunch

Marketing yourself or your organization online can be tricky. There are so many technologies, tools and platforms available, and so many different people with often times contradictory advice on which areas to focus on and what strategies and tactics you should apply. However, through all this noise, one of the most time-tested and dependable strategies for bringing in more traffic and leads to your website is this: blog regularly.

Some business leaders might balk at such a seemingly mundane idea. After all, didn’t blogs start out as places for moody teenagers to write about their newest crush or favorite band, à la LiveJournal circa 2003? Indeed they did, but much like Twitter, blogs have grown beyond their initial hobbyist beginnings to become a serious marketing tool. Let’s look at their application specifically when it comes to search engine optimization and attracting online traffic.

Why does blogging work?

Now, technically speaking, a blog is nothing more than a series of web pages arranged in a chronological order. Each blog post has its own unique URL or web page address. Internet search engines like Google and Bing spend their days crawling the Internet and indexing all the URLs that they can find. Therefore, each URL on your website is a chance to be indexed by the search engines and to be found by people searching online. So, say one company has a website with about 10 pages: Our Services, About Us, and so on and so on. Their competitor also has a website with about 10 regular website pages as well, but they also have a blog that they update bi-weekly. Since each blog post is technically its own web page with its own unique URL, after one year the second company actually has 114 indexable pages on their website. That means the first company only has 10 chances to be ranked and found on internet searches, but the second company has 114 chances to be found – over 10 times more than the first company!

So where’s the proof?

A great example of the power of blogging comes from my friend Ken Schroeppel, an urban planner in Denver. Ken runs a blog on Denver urban land planning and urban construction projects called Denver Infill. He started it a few years ago as a personal hobby and began posting on it regularly. What he originally thought would be just a fun personal project, however, suddenly exploded into the Denver public scene — his blog now gets 30,000 visitors per month. His blog has won him several awards such as the Downtown Denver Partnership award, the Denver Mayor’s Design award, and two Westword Best of Denver awards. Because of his blog, he is also quoted in the Denver Post and other media outlets. He says strangers will even stop him on the street and say “Hey, you’re the Denver Infill guy, right?” What a great example of the power of blogging.

However, your blog will only be a success if you’re intentional about your subject matter. If you want to be found by people searching for Denver urban land planning, like my friend Ken, then write about Denver urban land planning. If you want to be found by people searching for Denver marketing, then write about Denver marketing. Don’t get on your professional website and write about what you had for lunch (nobody cares), and don’t get on and complain and moan about your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend (like the teenage Livejournal crowd).

Here’s what you do:

1. Write out a list of topics that are related to your organization’s products or services, or your professional goals.
2. Then sit down, open up your calendar, and plan out a schedule for regularly writing about these topics. Share your perspective on the latest developments in your industry, write answers to some of your customers’ frequently asked questions, and offer tips, advice and resources for people who are interested in the subject matter that you specialize in. Plan on publishing at least once a week.
3. Set aside a specific time each week to write your scheduled blog article — say, Wednesday at 9 AM, and hold to that schedule.

This will take some discipline, but then again, what in life doesn’t? Stick with it long enough, and you’re going to start seeing some great results.

 

Chris Strom runs a Denver marketing company, helping companies who are struggling to build their business online. He regularly writes about web technologies, inbound marketing and other topics on his company blog.

 

 

How is an SEO Press Release Different Than a Regular Press Release

Today we have a guest post by Mickie Kennedy of eReleases.com. Mickie writes about the difference between a traditional press release and an SEO press release, so read on!

While a regular press release can net results for your business for a short burst of time, an SEO press release has the potential to unleash the power of the Internet to your advantage. If you want to get your company’s website to the first page of search engines like Google, an SEO press release is just one tool in your arsenal.

So is there a big difference between traditional and SEO press releases? Sure, the aims are different, but other than that, aren’t they identical? Let’s take a look.

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Letting Go of Perfect

I have a confession to make:

I am a die-hard perfectionist.

Whew! Glad to get that off my chest

I think many entrepreneurs share this feeling of needing everything to be “just so” before we can send something off to a client or move on to the next project. I’ve talked before about how perfectionism affects your work-life balance, but it can also hold you back in your life and business if left to grow wild.

• Are you waiting for your business to be in that “right place” before you start going for the clients you want to work with?

• Are you waiting to get that “right project” before finally charging what you’re worth?

• Are you waiting for your work-life balance to be “just right” before you finally take that vacation?

Pam Slim once said that, “The enemy of a new entrepreneur is endless planning and perfection.” And it’s true! If you keep waiting and trying to get to this imaginary place of perfection, you may blind yourself to the opportunities that are presented to you right now. As much as we want to plan and time everything right, life rarely follows a straight and narrow path. Read more

The 3 Keys to Business Flexibility

Today we have a guest post by Matthew Toren, co-author of Small Business, BIG Vision.

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In a world where technology, social trends, and economies change continually, rapidly, and without warning, one of the most important things an entrepreneur can do to remain competitive is create an atmosphere of flexibility within his or her business. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that your company’s survival may very well depend on your ability to be flexible.

What is flexibility, and why is it so important?

I define flexibility in business as the ability for a company to make whatever internal changes are necessary to respond effectively to the changing outward environment, as quickly as possible. In other words, you’re ready for whatever happens in the market, and you’re able to turn it into opportunity by adjusting to the new paradigm almost immediately.

The reason flexibility is so vital to small businesses is because of what I stated in the first paragraph. The world is changing; it’s changing rapidly; and it isn’t going to stop changing – ever. Technology advancements and other market trends are accelerating at an exponential pace, and they won’t wait around for companies to adjust. As my brother Adam and I talk about in our new book, Small Business, BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right, for those companies that don’t embrace flexibility, changes in the business environment can mean significant setbacks. For those who actually resist change, they can spell disaster.

What does it take to create a flexible company?

When it comes right down to it, flexibility within a company is an attitude – a culture. In our book, we discuss a couple of phrases that we never like to hear: “Because that’s how we’ve always done it,” and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” What those common phrases are really saying is that we’re not only resistant to change, we don’t even want to explore the possibility that there might be a better way.

To get away from that limiting attitude and create a culture of flexibility within your company, follow these three keys for success:

1. Listen.

Listen to your employees, partners, vendors, and customers. Never be afraid of feedback of any kind, and welcome suggestions and ideas. A flexible company culture depends on everyone associated with the company feeling comfortable sharing ideas for innovations, process improvements, and correcting shortcomings. Not only will your company be more ready for any unexpected change that comes along, you’ll become stronger and more cohesive in the meantime.

2. Really listen.

Take it one step further. In addition to being open to hearing ideas, go ask for them. Start a “Bright Idea” award system for employees. Convene customer focus groups on a regular basis, and include employees, customers, and even vendors in internal mastermind sessions. It’s one thing to say your door’s always open – it’s another to walk someone through it.

3. Open your mind.

If you follow the first two keys, you have ideas coming from all over. This is a very good thing, but only if you receive the ideas with an open, creative mind. I say creative because creativity is what allows you to see possibilities – to envision things other than the way they currently are. If you truly have an open mind, you approach ideas and obstacle the same way: Instead of “It can’t be done,” you say, “What do we need to do to make this happen?” With that frame of mind, you welcome change as an opportunity to improve and grow. And that is what flexibility is all about.

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About the author: Matthew Toren is a Serial Entrepreneur (Co-founded YoungEntrepreneur.com), Mentor, Investor and award winning Co-Author of Kidpreneurs (Basic Principles of Entrepreneurship for Kids). Follow him on Twitter. Matthew is also co-author of the newly released book Small Business BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right.

Gymnast image by erin MC hammer

Why @Matt Rosoff with @BusinessInsider (BI)/@SAI is #FollowFriday Worthy

Tech Biz Scoop Always with Sharp Wit and Commentary

Our #FollowFriday worthy recommendation this week is Matt Rosoff, Business Insider’s Silicon Alley Insider (SAI) West Coast Editor.

On any given day, you will see more than a couple of posts from Matt discussing relevant happenings in the tech world. He never fails to deliver the skinny on what’s going on among the tech giants of the valley each day.

Matt’s story-telling style is simple and straightforward – in plain, non-pretentious English but note, NEVER boring because he will always deliver it to you in thought-provoking style that will bring some kind of enlightenment or further fodder.

The witty layer he adds to his news makes it so interesting to read and hands down, you will certainly get an interesting scoop on the matter.

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Making a Case for YouTube

Chances are if you do your own PR, you already know that social media is an important, even essential, component of your toolbox. You probably have the usual suspects in your arsenal- Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn- but what about YouTube? If you’re not already taking advantage of this video sharing site, these are a few reasons you should think about using it:

• YouTube gets 790 million unique viewers per month and 100 billion page views per month. That’s a huge audience that may end up viewing your videos, visiting your website and calling to hire you for your services.
• Social media is first and foremost about showing the human side of your business. When it comes to the online world, nothing is more human and personal than video.
• It’s a unique and, again, more human way to connect with journalists and introduce them to your company, new services, etc.

I’m guilty of underutilizing this channel myself, but with stats like these, the power of YouTube definitely can’t be denied.

Read more

Stand Out and Get Liked Online

In past social media workshops I’ve taught, the most popular questions I get are usually along these lines:

How do I get more followers?

How do I get more people to like me?

What can I do to get more eyes watching my videos?

While there isn’t really a magic formula to getting “liked” online, it’s important to never forget that just because more business is being done virtually doesn’t mean that the old rules of marketing and selling no longer apply.

I look at my newsfeeds and see too many people who just push out information robotically, expecting this to be enough to get them liked. Now more than ever, you should never underestimate the power of human touch in engaging people.

Think about it this way: Read more

Why Bill Schweber @AnalogBill at @ee_times is #FollowFriday Worthy

An Analog Master and Mind in a Digital World

Our #FollowFriday worthy recommendation this week is Bill Schweber, site editor and print manager for EE Times’ Planet Analog.  Years ago, when I was looking for the analog guru at EE Times, the first few calls I made were to friends who understood analog technology.  The first person each mentioned was Bill. Then, I checked with media veterans and industry analyst friends. They also recommended the same guy – Bill Schweber, analog mastermind at EE Times.

Bill has written hundreds of opinion pieces (some have won industry awards) as well as in-depth design and application articles.  He is also an author of three engineering textbooks. Without a doubt, Bill’s background as an electrical engineer (BSEE/MSEE) at various technology companies and as EDN’s first analog-beat editor then executive editor has definitely honed his craft.  Read more

10 Ways to Leverage a Company Win

I talked previously about the different ways you can repurpose your media coverage, but what about your company “wins”? Think about the last time something great happened to your company – like signing a big client. How did you leverage this win to boost your PR efforts? If all you did was write a press release and pitch it to the media, then you’re not taking full advantage of the different ways this one win can be used over and over again in your PR and marketing.

For example, let’s say Apple has just contracted you to provide them with a service for one month. There are ten ways you can leverage this win to get more publicity over time: Read more

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