Entrepreneurs need to be comfortable doing all kinds of things, selling, managing (firing) etc., but one of the most important is asking. Last weekend I’d gone with my family to Gualala, a charming little town on the northern California coast, and we drove into town to have dinner and pick up a few groceries. This is a really a tiny town and we thought we’d have dinner first before the restaurants closed. There was one casual cafe, Trinks, that was supposedly closing in three minutes, but they offered to stay open and serve us dinner – which was super nice of them (more small town charm!). When I got the check I asked the waitress how long the grocery stores would be open and she said that they were all closed. We needed only two things desperately, a little milk to lighten the morning tea and a little butter for the morning toast (we already had the tea and bread), so I asked if I could have a bit of both. The waitress was helpful and cheerful as she had been all through dinner and gave me a couple of packets of butter and some milk in a to-go cup – and in return, I gave her a big tip as the tea/toast picture for the next morning had brightened.
So I step outside with the butter and milk and my family is collapsing with laughter at my asking for these ‘odd things’ from a restaurant. Eh, I said, it’s no big deal. After more chortling, they decided that’s why I could be an entrepreneur – I didn’t mind asking for things from anyone anywhere.
There's some truth to that. Entrepreneurs have to ask – for money, for resources, for team members, for references, and so on. I can assure you it doesn’t come naturally to everyone though. There are some who breeze along never having any difficulties with the ‘ask’. But way too many people are reluctant to ask for any number of reasons ranging from ‘I don’t know this person’ to ‘what if they say no?’. Really. What if? Many of us - by the way, I think more women then men have ‘askophohia’ - in our training to be well-mannered, have jettisoned the art of the ask.
But for an entrepreneur the end result of growing a successful venture should overcome any qualms about getting turned down, ‘looking funny’ or, even more likely, the perception that you’re giving up power by asking for something. So it is imperative that s/he gets comfortable with the fact that asking is pretty much the surest way to getting. And a ‘no’ is not life-ending. Three things that have helped me side-step mis-guided manners: keeping the goal in mind, knowing that most people are reasonable and open, and watching other successful people ask with ease and comfort. You can’t build a business if you’re uncomfortable asking. Doing it nicely helps of course, so ask away – even Miss. Manners would approve.
Channeling the inner entrepreneur who views life as a startup. Musings about people, their spirit, the startup ethos and the entrepreneurial attitude, with an emphasis on education and social ventures. The 'how-to'? Not so much. But definitely the why, the what and the whatever.
Believers needed
Belief sells. If you think that what you're selling is the hottest thing since sliced bread (now, that's a sales job! does bread need to be pre-sliced?) you're much more likely to convince everyone else that is exactly so. No room for quibbling or diffidence when collecting converts.
I was reminded of this when I read about how Mozilla's Firefox recently reached it's one-billionth download. Keep in mind that Microsoft Internet Explorer was the browser when Firefox came out. But scores of the Firefox faithful took it on themselves to spread the word and stuck with it until it gained momentum and snowballed on its own. While a good (preferably great) product is necessary for good sales, it is not sufficient. You need to evangelize, exalt, exhort and extol with passion and dedication to get others to think, better yet, to believe, that your product is the best for them. Even the free stuff, like Firefox, needs a movement to get market share.
On the surface, Firefox may not seem to be the right story for an entrepreneur - no big exit, open source, etc. etc. But it is an encouraging, even inspiring, story of a grass roots campaign by a veritable army of believers which enabled it to get established in the market and grow to an amazing 31% market share competing with IE, the proverbial 800 lb gorilla in the space. The story outlines an interesting marketing tactic and has good lessons, especially for web apps seeking vast audiences. Firefox is still my favorite browser and I look forward to its continued success and am happy to share the RWW post here.
I was reminded of this when I read about how Mozilla's Firefox recently reached it's one-billionth download. Keep in mind that Microsoft Internet Explorer was the browser when Firefox came out. But scores of the Firefox faithful took it on themselves to spread the word and stuck with it until it gained momentum and snowballed on its own. While a good (preferably great) product is necessary for good sales, it is not sufficient. You need to evangelize, exalt, exhort and extol with passion and dedication to get others to think, better yet, to believe, that your product is the best for them. Even the free stuff, like Firefox, needs a movement to get market share.
On the surface, Firefox may not seem to be the right story for an entrepreneur - no big exit, open source, etc. etc. But it is an encouraging, even inspiring, story of a grass roots campaign by a veritable army of believers which enabled it to get established in the market and grow to an amazing 31% market share competing with IE, the proverbial 800 lb gorilla in the space. The story outlines an interesting marketing tactic and has good lessons, especially for web apps seeking vast audiences. Firefox is still my favorite browser and I look forward to its continued success and am happy to share the RWW post here.
Field of expertise
ReadWriteWeb has a continuing series on startups and entrepreneurs which makes for good reading, especially if you're interested in tech startups. A while ago they had a post on 10 things to be clear about before you start a company - and I thought of it today as I was thinking about a startup idea (just for fun). All 10 points are worth considering, but I'm not convinced that everything is as clear cut as it is made out to be. In particular, I have a somewhat different take on #3, does your venture involve something you understand really well?
On the face of it, it makes sense. You can't do what you don't know. Mrs. Fields had wowed friends and family with her cookies before starting her company. Thomas Fogarty is a cardiac surgeon and knew exactly what he was about when he created the balloon catheter and then went on to launch numerous medical device companies. And he also built a successful winery, a far cry from medical devices (though red wine is supposed to be good for your heart). My friend Gillian Verga was inspired by her own weight-loss experience to start an online community in WeightCircles. So does the entrepreneur always have to be the subject matter expert? Or just know enough to know when to bring in the experts? And what is 'enough'?
I am personally partial to the idea of an entrepreneur being one who sees an opportunity and pulls together the resources to grab it. The entrepreneur does not have to be, and is often not, the one who knows it all about the specific area - too often an expert does not see the proverbial forest for the proverbial trees - but obviously s/he has to know enough to figure out what's a real opportunity, the challenges, the market etc. You the entrepreneur need to know enough to figure out if there's a business there. And of course you need access to the people who are masters of that domain so you can get the smarts you need when you need them.
That said, I also believe that any half-way decent entrepreneur would be at least familiar with what their venture is all about. You have to know the problem you want to solve, either having experienced it yourself or being close up to some one who has. In fact, I don't think it is even feasible to develop an entrepreneurial opportunity unless you're familiar with - not necessarily immersed in - a space. The sequence is pretty much: see the opportunity in something close to you, dig in and get comfortable that there's really a venture there, get access to the market, take the leap.
And finally, unavoidably, you need passion. If you are not passionate about the space you are in, expertise alone won't keep you in the game. You'd be inclined to give up the first time you believe you're running out of money and use your expertise to polish up your resume instead. And passion can be used to direct your entrepreneurial itch too. If you're really interested in an area (global warming, education, health care) but don't know too much about it, you can spend some time getting familiar with it - taking classes, volunteering, networking, mining the web. And then, you'll either find your own 'eureka' idea or hitch yourself to someone else's. Bottom line, that has to be the holy grail: making an impact in something you really care about.
On the face of it, it makes sense. You can't do what you don't know. Mrs. Fields had wowed friends and family with her cookies before starting her company. Thomas Fogarty is a cardiac surgeon and knew exactly what he was about when he created the balloon catheter and then went on to launch numerous medical device companies. And he also built a successful winery, a far cry from medical devices (though red wine is supposed to be good for your heart). My friend Gillian Verga was inspired by her own weight-loss experience to start an online community in WeightCircles. So does the entrepreneur always have to be the subject matter expert? Or just know enough to know when to bring in the experts? And what is 'enough'?
I am personally partial to the idea of an entrepreneur being one who sees an opportunity and pulls together the resources to grab it. The entrepreneur does not have to be, and is often not, the one who knows it all about the specific area - too often an expert does not see the proverbial forest for the proverbial trees - but obviously s/he has to know enough to figure out what's a real opportunity, the challenges, the market etc. You the entrepreneur need to know enough to figure out if there's a business there. And of course you need access to the people who are masters of that domain so you can get the smarts you need when you need them.
That said, I also believe that any half-way decent entrepreneur would be at least familiar with what their venture is all about. You have to know the problem you want to solve, either having experienced it yourself or being close up to some one who has. In fact, I don't think it is even feasible to develop an entrepreneurial opportunity unless you're familiar with - not necessarily immersed in - a space. The sequence is pretty much: see the opportunity in something close to you, dig in and get comfortable that there's really a venture there, get access to the market, take the leap.
And finally, unavoidably, you need passion. If you are not passionate about the space you are in, expertise alone won't keep you in the game. You'd be inclined to give up the first time you believe you're running out of money and use your expertise to polish up your resume instead. And passion can be used to direct your entrepreneurial itch too. If you're really interested in an area (global warming, education, health care) but don't know too much about it, you can spend some time getting familiar with it - taking classes, volunteering, networking, mining the web. And then, you'll either find your own 'eureka' idea or hitch yourself to someone else's. Bottom line, that has to be the holy grail: making an impact in something you really care about.
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