Write on!

I was thrilled to read one of the more unusual pieces of advice for an entrepreneur: write. Sure, entrepreneurs are asked to blog, tweet, update their LinkedIn profiles, have a dynamic Facebook page etc. to promote their startups. That is writing as marketing. But, when you're in the early stages that may not always be the best advice, until your business is ready for that kind of visibility and promotion. If it is going to take you time to build your venture, you may be better off not publicizing your interim incarnations and 'low-funding-slow-growth' patches. It is important for the early stage entrepreneur to remember that what you post reflects both you and your company and will impact future funding and customer acquisition. Do you really want a potential VC reading about the gory details of how you raged when a customer reneged or how you were ready to throw in the towel when you read about a new competitor's funding? No, you're better off saving that for the tell-all you're going to write in your retirement when revealing your flaws/flubs only adds spice to your success story and doesn't have a chance of derailing it.

So what else can an entrepreneur write about when it is for 'self-improvement'? Something like this post ;). Seriously, pick an area, or two, of interest and just have a go at it. The writer suggests that writing is a good way to hone critical thinking skills and I couldn't agree more. One of the primary reasons I write this blog is to force myself to branch outside of the bizthink/bizspeak mode - all PowerPoints and path to profitability. It has had many side benefits too: it makes me a better communicator, it's proven to be an effective way for investors/partners to learn more about how I think, and has helped potential team members understand what to expect from me. And amazingly, and most gratifyingly, there are some readers who appear to be getting some value out of it.

You can read the writing post here, but I'd extend that advice it to everyone, not just entrepreneurs. Writing is all good and has no downside, as long as you remember when it shouldn't be public.