I heard a speaker talk about business plans and its relationship to start-ups this past weekend. He was advocating axing them and focusing on the business at hand. Further, he stated, that they are often imposed on us by someone that has never started a company. I am sympathetic to his thoughts. Planning is essential to start-ups. Decisions though are often made based on new data and changing circumstances and understanding. So I believe planning or better stated creative strategic thinking is essential - but often it is informal and not documented. Of course, if someone requires 'the plan" for you to access capital, you have to jump through the hoops. But I would not recommend putting together the 20 - 30 page formal plan for yourself before you get started. Think like crazy - talk to lots of people - get input - but jump in! No plan is ever executed perfectly because there is just so much change and dynamics in the start-up process. Another speaker said it well - a birthing room has pain, it is bloody, there is lots of movement and action - you are birthing a company. The well organized, things laid out perfectly, and implemented according to a specific plan is the cemetery. Be part of a company birth - expect lots of ongoing challenges and dynamics that you will need to respond to. Often quickly.
If you were going to start a business, what would you start? To answer that question I think you have to ask yourself, who are you? What are you passionate about? What floats your boat? What would you do if money were not an issue? How can you make that product or provide that service in a new, fresh and unique way? Really push yourself on this! What is it that you have unique interest and abilities for? Where do you see a need? What can you do that is one in 100,000 people? What types of other skills are needed to make this work (nobody has all the talent and skills necessary)?
These questions, of course, work for the job world as well. If you are in a job, you are selling your time to provide a service to someone else (your employer). Is what you are doing a good fit for you? A recent report came out saying that it is, in fact, possible to die from boredom. Don't let that happen to you !! Find your niche!! Even if you have to struggle and fail numerous times to do it. The struggle is worth it. If you were going to start a business, what would you start?
I wonder with the Internet, Social Media and Communication infrastructure that now exists if it will change business models in a substantial way? My guess is yes. I am almost uncomfortable with using the term "capitalism" to describe our economic system anymore. Only because I don't think it accurately describes what is there. The term, of course, arose with the concept of someone with capital creating an infrastructure such as a factory and then hiring the people who work there. The owner was the capitalist. I am totally for them. The model overall created tremendous growth and a vibrant middle class.
However, with the digital infrastructure in place, it seems as though capital is not the critical component, or at least dominating enough to use the term to describe the model. I am more comfortable with a "market economy" description but even that does not fully capture the enormous change that has and is taking place. More valuable than capital it seems is the network you have or are able to tap into. This must redefine how business is done. The business models will be different. And yet for many products, one has to wonder exactly how the change will work.
I appreciate social media but I don't want to be bothered with any kind of social media for what kind of soap I might use or what cereal I choose to eat. How do you market those kinds of products through social media? I will never be a Facebook friend or a fan of a cereal brand or many, many other products. But for music, knowledge resources, like minded communities, some services, etc. social media does have significant merit I think. And that has to impact on the business models we use now and into the future. What do you think?
My voice mail gets converted to text and sent to my phone. It works well 90% of the time. My name however often gets unique translations. One message I received started with "Hello Failure." I kept it on my phone log for quite sometime.
I have an observation. Why do departments within companies most often have the same titles as the titles at educational institutions. i.e. Accounting, I. T., Marketing, etc. People within the schools come out of the marketing department and go to work in the marketing department, accounting to accounting and so forth. Schools track and boast about how many percent of graduates go into the field within their degree. All fine and good. But I wonder if they are not often going from one silo to another within the same field. Does that limit the potential creativity of that individual? The company?
I have often wondered why the job hunt is structured as a solo sport. You develop your resume. You search for a job. You interview against all other candidates. And the job is awarded to one individual. It is a solo sport.
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