Newsletter: When and How to Seek Investment
Our September newsletter on “When and How to Seek Investment” when and how to make the transition from bootstrapping to seek investment.
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Service Factory Conversation with Bruce La Fetra
I recently had a conversation with Bruce La Fetra of La Fetra Consulting on a “Service Factory” concept I have been working on. What follows is a 20 minute audio and edited transcript of some of the key points in our conversation. I have added some hyperlinks for clarity.
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Asking Questions From A Caring Perspective
I used to think it was the advice I offered that provided the highest value to clients and friends. I talk to a number of people in different or challenging situations. Recently I have come to appreciate that it’s when I focus and listen to someone explain their situation, asking them questions from a caring perspective to
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Primary Research Tools: Q&A With Jen Berkley Jackson
I recently did an in depth interview with Jen Berkley Jackson of The Insight Advantage on primary research tools. Jen works with companies to help them make sure that they understand their customers better than any competitor or potential competitor. Her firm performs primary research for clients, using a variety of tools to gather information
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Organizing Your Experiment Log
In Chapter 9 of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” Robert Pirsig goes into an extended explanation of the Scientific Method using the metaphor of motorcycle repair. He stresses the value of an experiment log, explaining how to organize it so that you don’t become lost in exploring for solutions to a problem. I have
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Mark Twain on a Dumb Sense of Vast Loss
Mark Twain writes about a “dumb sense of vast loss” upon learning his daughter has died unexpectedly from meningitis in chapter 6 of his autobiography. He offers an analogy to a house burning down causing an overwhelming sense of loss that takes years to process.
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Five Aphorisms from Fabrizio Caramagna
Fabrizio Caramagna curated “The New Italian Aphorists” in 2013, including a selection of his own aphorisms. Here are 5 that entrepreneurs will find useful.
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Joseph Mancuso’s Insights on Entrepreneurship
Joseph Mancuso wrote “How to Start, Finance, and Manage Your Own Small Business” and included an “Entrepreneur’s Quiz” a self-assessment for entrepreneurs. His explanation for the reasons behind some of the questions includes the following nuggets:
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Pearl Harbor to 9-11 to the Panopticon
The instrumentation of advertising-driven firms that sell their audience as the product and government efforts to prevent another 9-11 have combined to put us all in the pervasive surveillance of a panopticon.
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Abigail Miller on Great Demo Workshop Benefits
After every Great Demo! workshop we follow up with every participant to learn What results have you observed from applying the Great Demo! method so far? Do you have any success stories to report or share? Are there any questions you’d like to have addressed regarding the methods or concepts? Have you encountered situations where
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Be Wary of Competition That Cares Deeply
It’s easy to mis-assess who your real competition is. We worry the most about competition that cares deeply. “You’re competing against people in a state of flow, people who are truly committed, people who care deeply about the outcome.” Seth Godin in “Texting While Working“
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Ten Aphorisms For Entrepreneurs By James Geary
James Geary has curated one of the best collections of aphorisms that I have–and I have read dozens: “Geary’s Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists.” Geary has “Five Laws Of The Aphorism,” they are: It Must Be Brief; It Must Be Personal; It Must Be Definitive; It Must Be Philosophical; It Must Have a Twist. In
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Quotes For Entrepreneurs–August 2015
You can follow @skmurphy to get these quotes for entrepreneurs hot off the mojo wire or wait until they are collected in a blog post at the end of each month. Enter your E-mail address if you would like to have new blog posts sent to you.
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E-Book Summary For Lean Startup
Summer is almost over. If you have been putting off reading “The Lean Startup” I have a time saving suggestion. If you have an hour and want to capture the gist I can recommend a good e-book summary for Lean Startup. If you have another hour I suggest a good summary for Four Steps.
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Q: How Can I Calculate The Exit Value Of My Idea?
It’s masturbation to calculate the exit value of idea that has not been reduced to practice and achieved some level of traction. The real question is how much time and effort to invest to achieve a level of traction that would allow place a value on the business that leverages the ideas. Often it’s not a
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Newsletter: Strategies for a Winning Sales Presentation
This post is a summary of the SKMurphy August 2015 Newsletter, the focus was on “Strategies for a Winning Sales Presentation.”
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Beston Jack Abrams: Recognize and Act On The Truth
In “Abramisms: Lines of the Ancient Aphorist Volume 1” Beston Jack Abrams offers several aphorisms about recognizing the truth in a situation and acting on it. Here are 8 I have selected with some additional commentary for entrepreneurs.
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Beston Jack Abrams on Aphorisms
Beston Jack Abrams has self-published 7 volumes of “Abramisms: Lines of the Ancient Aphorist” between 2011 and 2014. These slim volumes each contain 128 aphorisms, one on the opening page and three per page for another 39 pages: are a revelation and an inspiration. Beston Jack Abrams on Aphorisms Volume 7 ends with this paragraph,
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Q: Can I Be My First Customer?
It’s OK to solve your own problem first, to be the first customer. This at a minimum gets the idea out of your head and reduced to practice where it can be tested. The trick is to use this basic product to spark further discussions about the problem you solved, no your solution.
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Pick Boring Or Grinding Over Losing Money
The sad reality is that a business cannot be fun, educational, and profitable all at once. Pick boring or grinding over losing money. Christopher Morley observed, “There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning,” but you don’t have to get all three from your business. Without earning you don’t have a
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