Landed On My Feet

June 23, 2008

Adjustment ongoing, however I’ve shown enough promise at this very new role for me that last week I traveled out to Lijit World Headquarters in Boulder, Colorado – a place once described as 50 square miles surrounded by reality – and met the entire team. In addition to a pleasant few days in the mountains and thin air, I was pleased to walk away with a full-time gig. Business Development Manager.

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Marketing Plan Series: Part 4 – Objectives

June 18, 2008

In Part 4, we continue building out the goals that must be accomplished through the marketing plan. This section, called “Objectives” is usually only a page in length and are the milestones that you will achieve as you execute your business on a daily basis.

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Driving Customers to Your Site

June 12, 2008

What was the last website you were directed to that kept your attention?How do you learn about most websites or businesses you visit? Today I talk a little about driving people to your site.

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Marketing Plan Series: Part 3 – Problems and Opportunities

June 9, 2008

As we discussed in Part 2 – Situational Analysis, there is room for the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis. However, what I like to do is take a separate section that really dives into the opportunities and problems deeper so that they can be addressed by specific marketing strategies.

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Interview with the Entrepreneur: Jesse Thomas of JESS3

May 30, 2008

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jesse Thomas of JESS3 an innovative design firm here in the DC area. He has been working hard to create a business that is not just about design but about transforming the innovation process and working with the startups that will one day change the world.

So let’s get started….

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Marketing Plan Series: Part 2 – Situational Analysis

May 28, 2008

The Situational Analysis is probably one of the hardest sections you will right because you are essentially laying out how the product will function in various environments and how it will be perceived in the marketplace. Let’s start with product analysis and discussing the market…

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Marketing Plan Series: Part 1 – Summary

May 19, 2008

Your marketing plan should be the reference document you use as a basis to execute your marketing strategy. It sets out clear objectives and explains how you will achieve them. Perhaps most importantly it looks at how you can ensure that your plan becomes reality. It is funny, when you start writing a series like this you start with the Summary section because it is first in the document. However, it is usually the last thing you write. So how can you write a summary without knowing the content you are summarizing?

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Rules for Entrepreneurs: 5 Ways to Avoid Founderitis

May 16, 2008

What is Founderitis? It is been called “Founders Syndrome” and it is not some type of medical disease but rather a disease that can infect your business if you are not careful. The term “founderitis” or “founder’s syndrome” refers to the unhealthy condition that afflicts many companies whose founders maintain a stranglehold on organizational leadership.

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Rules for Entrepreneurs: Pay yourself first

May 15, 2008

Over the last 9 years and two startups I have learned many things and screwed up royally in some cases. This ongoing series is about providing you best practices of lessons learned and avoiding the mistakes I have already made.

First and foremost…you need to pay yourself first. Let me explain…

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New Series: Writing a Marketing Plan

May 12, 2008

Since the Business Plan series came to a close I thought of the next logical step in what you have to do in your business to support the business plan and its operations. This next step is the marketing plan. Logically, your CMO or VP of Marketing would be in charge of this effort but in many startups you don’t have someone in that position so it is probably you with the ultimate responsibility.

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New Series Introduction: Rules for Entrepreneurs

May 9, 2008

“Rules for Entrepreneurs”. These rules will range from how to hire lawyers, leveraging PR the right way, setting up your first site, how and when to hire your first sales person, putting together your sales/venture pitch, etc.

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