Entrepreneurial Musings on a Rainy Day

Today, I have coffee on one side of my computer and water in a glass on the other. I am a two-fisted drinker in deep thought. Next week, I am on a speaker at an entrepreneurial workshop. Today, I am preparing.

As the sun sets on this rainy, and gray day in Philadelphia, I ponder. What have I learned from my five years as an entrepreneur? And, how do I make my story stand out to a group that knows more than I do about running a business?

Let me start with a true confession. I never wanted to start a business. The idea was daunting. I liked a regular paycheck, enjoyed the benefits and willingly followed the drum of another drummer. Retirement seemed right around the corner when the CEO of my prior employer sold his company. The sale was good news for my CEO. He made enough money to buy a wonderful apartment in New York and spend quality time with his wife.

While the sale of my old company was good news for the CEO, it was bad news for me. I could not work for the new company. It was an ethics issue. I just did not believe in the business model of the acquiring company. So, I was faced with a dilemma. "Should I continue to take a paycheck from a company that I did not believe in? Or should I believe in myself and hang a shingle?" For me, it was an easy decision. I cashed-in my personal savings to bootstrap start my own company. My actions flew in the face of Suze Orman's good advice. At the age when many retire, I was starting a new career and tapping into my personal savings. The idea of starting a new venture garnered little support in my family. My daughter yelled at me, and my ex-husband was stark raving mad.

But, I bit the bullet. My goal was to build a disruptive model to openly share digital content to help supply chain business leaders understand new technologies, the drivers of supply chain excellence and gain insights into emerging business models. Packing my boxes and rolling my stuff down the hall to the elevator at my old job took courage, but I have never looked back.

So, what will I share at next week's conference? What seven pieces of advice do I have for other budding entrepreneurs? I thought that I would test it here first. Here it goes....

1. Make Your Product Easy To Buy. It is easier to sell to buyers when you have a clearly defined product. I sell analyst services (speeches, custom research projects, and advisory time to help manufacturers make better decisions in the purchase of enterprise software). These are easier to sell than when I package a solution to solve a business problem. My takeaway? It is easier to run a company when you have a well-defined product to sell.
2. Hire Employees that Are Multi-Faceted. As a founder of a new company, you quickly find that the rhythms and cycles of life change. Payroll is my largest expense; and as a result, the dates to wire payroll are critical dates on the calendar. To maximize effectiveness and decrease payroll costs, I hire people that are multi-faceted. My IT manager is also my editor. The person that I hired to develop and test surveys loves design work. So, I embrace their needs and desires to follow their passions. I encourage employees to wear multiple hats and take-on new tasks.
3. Find Team Members that Are Coachable. I just hung up the phone with an employee that I have almost fired four times. The only reason that I kept the employee is that she is very coachable. Her sports training makes it easy to coach her. She is more open to the outcome than other employees and welcomes feedback. While her skill set is lower that I would have liked when I hired her, she is steadily making improvements and starting to excel because she is coachable. I find that very few employees are coachable. Sensitive employees that cannot take feedback are a problem. Look for individuals that are coachable.
4. Remove the Shackles. Avoid the Burden of Fixed Costs. The decisions on the exit strategy for my last company were driven by the founder's ego to have a large office building. The cost of the office was excessive, and we made many bad business decisions to keep paying the rent for a large office that was visible from the 101 in Silicon Valley. Paying rent for an office is an unnecessary expense for me, so I have a team of virtual employees. I don't have a car, and I have no long-term leases. Throw away the shackles of long-term obligations whenever possible.
5. Networking Takes on New Meaning. Listen Intently to A LOT of People. During my day, I reach out to a number of people and ask for their perceptions of the market, my competitors and get insights into business models. When I do this, I make the calls short and sweet. I try to not overstay my welcome, and I always try to make the calls mutually beneficial. In the early days of my career, I believed that networking was a waste of time. As an introvert, entering a room of people at a conference was intimidating. I now find that it is one of the best ways to spark creativity, align business models and gain insights. The key is listening and developing a networking model that works for you. ...yes, I mean actively listening. The kind of listening that leaves you tired after an hour....
6. Hold Yourself Accountable. When you run your own business and there are no shareholders or manager, you must be disciplined. Each day, I make a list for myself and cross-off my deliverables. I know that my activities limit the growth of the company and drive profitability. So, I must focus on high productivity, good health and clear communication.
7. Manage Your Emotions. As I built the business models and made decisions, fear would creep into my throat. You must go forward by going forward. Each day is defined by the vision. Only the entrepreneur can manage the fear, uncertainity and doubt.

Running a business, reminds me of the old story of the chicken and the pig. How so? Consider the fable:

A Pig and a Chicken are walking down the road.

The Chicken says: "Hey Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!"

Pig replies: "Hm, maybe, what would we call it?"

The Chicken responds: "How about 'ham-n-eggs'?"

The Pig thinks for a moment and says: "No thanks. I'd be committed, but you'd only be involved."

As an employee, I showed up. Yes, I worked hard, but I was only involved. As an entrepreneur, I must be committed.

These are my thoughts on a rainy day. Do you think that I am ready for the conference? Any thoughts that you have that can help?