Ninety percent of working American professionals will encounter entrepreneurship at least once in their lives. I actually don’t know if this fact is statistically true or even if it can be backed up with cold, hard evidence. However, I want to propose an imaginary situation here and now with the hope of sparking precious discourse.
What if this statement was true?
That an overwhelming percentage of a specific American demographic will have to make entrepreneurial decisions at some point in their ever-changing lives.
You’d be surprised…
- The average person will work 5-15 jobs in a lifetime
- There are an estimated 25.8 million small businesses in the United States.*
- Those businesses have generated 60-80 % of net new jobs*
- Those businesses represent about 97% of exporters of all goods*
Shell-shocked? Maybe yes, Maybe no. Either way, be prepared to grow a pair and start delving into the world of entrepreneurship while you still have the testosterone to get through the day (estrogen, for you ladies!)
Here are some quick notes I took from Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of the Start
Starting A Quality Business
1. Make Meaning
a. Increase the quality of life
b. Right a wrong
c. Prevent the end of something good
*Start off to make meaning, not money
2. Make Mantra
a. 3 or 4 words ie. “Piece of Mind” or “Democratize Design”
* When starting a business create a mantra, not a mission statement
3. Get Going
a. Think Different
b. Do not be afraid to Polarize people
c. Find a few soul-mates (need people to balance yourself off)
* Think Different, do not do better sameness
4. Define a Business Model
a. Be specific
b. Keep it simple
c. Ask women (do not ask men)
*Who is my customer – how do I get my money out of her purse?
5. Weave a MAT
a. Milestone – e.g. “Finish Design” and “Ship Software”
b. Assumptions – write them down and test them
c. Tasks – Accomplish a milestone and test an assumption e.g. “Rent an office”
*Set your priorities
6. Niche Thyself
a. y-axis – Ability to provide unique product or services
b. x-axis – Ability to provide value to customer
c. You want to be like George Bush – High and to the right!
*Holy Grail of Marketing
7. 10-20-30 Rule
a. 10 slides in powerpoint pitch
b. Give the presentation in 20 minutes
c. Smallest font to use is 30 points (forces you to know your presentation)
8. Hire Infected People
a. Ignore the irrelevant
b. Hire better than yourself
c. Apply the shopping center test
9. Lower Barriers to Adoption
a. Flatten the Learning Curve
b. Do not ask people to do something that you would not
c. Embrace your Evangelists (pay them)
10. Seed the Clouds
a. Let a hundred Flowers Blossom
b. Enable Test Drives
c. Find the Chief Influencers
Last, but not Least…
Said in the great words of Guy Kawasaki,
“Do not let the Bozos Grind you Down!”
__________________________________________________________________
* Buy
* A more comprehensive list of small business facts can be found here
* Check out the entertaining and truly inspirational speech Guy Kawasaki made at TieCon here
* Guy Kawasaki’s quote can be found on the list of “Top 20 Entrepreneurial Quotes” here
* Also, check out the informative article, “The Top 5 Reasons People Start New Businesses” here
“The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning – to create a product or service to make the world a better place” - Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur, investor, author
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