HAMMER YOUR CUSTOMERS!

There was an excellent book written in the 90's called The Discipline of Market Leaders. This book discusses the importance of choosing your customers wisely. This is very important for an entrepreneur to consider. We generally get so excited about the prospect of passing the wallet test that we take a customer that is just flat out not worth it. This generally happens because the value proposition that we are offering isn't in alignment with the one the customer is looking for.


For example: if your business is set-up to sell hammers at a low cost and you have a customer who wants your sales person to spend an hour with them talking about the features of each hammer, then guess what? Your margins are negative! You need to sell to customers who are looking for the lowest price. This customer group probably already knows about the features of each hammer and just wants to find the one they need fast and cheaply.


Here's a great article about firing your customer.

STAY CONNECTED!

Staying connected to helpful resources is a vital for any business person but increasingly urgent when you are a start-up. Here's a quick list of websites that may be helpful...

Try one of these sites:

Biznik: This site emphasizes collaboration and encourages members to attend local Biznik networking events.
Go BIG: Members range from entrepreneurs to investors to freelancers looking for work. It's free to sign up.

Vator.TV: This site is excellent for learning what other entrepreneurs are up to as well as for pitching your idea.
PartnerUp: Partner-Up's members include entrepreneurs and investors, as well as consultants, board members and other professionals.
Spoke: An online database featuring more than 900,000 companies for business networking or sales prospects --J.P.

Start-Up Nation: This site has it all! You can participate in discussions with other entrepreneurs, listen to podcasts, or find vendors.

START YOUR BIZ 10 MINUTES AT A TIME!

Being an entrepreneur can be daunting. Here's a common scenario:

Bob Smith was just downsized after 15 years at XYZ Inc. He now has the chance to start his own business just like he has always wanted to do. Bob was quite successful in his sales position so he is feeling confident that he can take on the world. However, after a couple of weeks of entrepreneurship Bob finds that he is overwhelmed with things to do in his business. These are things such as filing an LLC., setting up an accounting system, obtaining a business license, setting up email addresses, bank accounts, merchant accounts, partnering with vendors, building a website, finding a retail space, oh...shall I go on? So, what should Bob do? Give up and go work for the Man?

Here are two quick tips for Bob:

TIP #1 Take it step by step! If starting a new project seems overwhelming, think small. Cornelia Flannery, co-author of Take 10! How to Achieve Your "Someday" Dreams in 10 Minutes a Day, advises entrepreneurs to start with a clear vision and then break tasks down to the basics. Ask yourself what you can do in the next 10 minutes that will move your business forward, says Flannery. Every step you take is one step closer.

TIP #2 - Make a SMART list of tasks that you can accomplish in less than 7 minutes, perhaps on a sticky pad on your desk. These are tasks that you can take action on in between scheduled meetings, phone calls, etc. For example, if you have a conference call scheduled at 1pm and your previous meeting ends at 12:45pm then you have 15 minutes in which you can putter around or you can tackle one of the items from your SMART list.

A HIGH TOLERANCE FOR PAIN!

You've probably seen a news clip about the new Brazilian airline called Azul. This is the current project that David Neeleman the Founder and former CEO of JetBlue is working on. David is a very successful entrepreneur and apparently has developed a much needed high pain tolerance. If you remember JetBlue took a beating a few years ago when it left hundreds of passengers stranded on the tarmac due to an ice storm.

So, here's a guy who obviously has made some money and probably doesn't need the massive headache associated with starting a new airline. Why does an entrepreneur subject themselves to this type of experience? With crude oil at all-time highs it's not an easy time to enter into the airline travel space. So, what is it that drives this type of entrepreneur? Why not just sleep on a bed of nails, walk barefoot over hot coals, or put on your old Milli Vanilli cassette? (come on...I know you had one!)

What is it that drives us?

ITZ TIM 2 MUV 2 BIZ 2.O

I've rattled on a few times about the importance of moving your start-up from business 1.0 to business 2.0. In fact, I've even hosted a whole audio-cast on this subject and had a well respected guest speaker that rattled on about it as well. The basic gist is this...run your business like a business and not like a hobby. To do this you need to get some help. This help doesn't have to be in the form of employees. Those may come later. It may come in the form of some good tools.

So, I've decided that I will periodically introduce a tool that I think will benefit my fellow entrepreneurs. My first tool is called GnuCash. Guess what? IT'S FREE!!! Woohoo! Oh, I guess I should explain what it is before getting too excited about it being FREE! Woohoo!

GnuCash is a solid small business accounting application. It is very intuitive, which is perfect for those of us that don't like numbers. IT'S FREE!! Here are a few quick features:

• Double Entry System - which means it ensures your "books balance"
• Reporting System - It has customizable reports and graphs for your P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement
• Multiple Currencies
• Small Biz Accounting Features - Vendor tracking, invoicing, bill payment, taxes, etc.
• General Ledger
• Check Printing
• The list goes on...

Here's the bad news...we entrepreneurs no longer have an excuse for poorly managed financials.

Did I mention that it is FREE!!!