Leadership is Not a Title

I used to be one of those people who admired others who worked for themselves because of their perceived freedom. They could choose who they worked with and their hours were flexible. They had business expense write-offs and could take time off whenever they wanted. Of course, that was all too innocent of me.

Any  self-employed person will tell you that you don't know what it's like to work for yourself until you work for yourself. That doesn't let you off the hook if you work for someone or own a large enterprise.

Selling You is Hard Work

Developing your own brand, offering or services can be tough if you don’t have a team to lean on or a established company to back you up. Scaling your expertise can be as difficult as deciding what you will offer in the first place. But we need to remember we still have a team which comprises of our network of helpful humans. The business model is expanding far past any building walls.

One may think that selling a product is easier than a service and it’s not. There are millions of brilliant people developing necessary products who can confirm the hill is just as steep. I’m often asked “what do you do?” and I prefer to say “here’s how I can help”.

B2B + B2C = C2C

We portray a strong image through profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and more. The keyboard can make us brave but earning business is hard work. You not only have to prove you can provide the services you promise but you must give a prospect a reason to hire you and work with you.

If you work for yourself, be proud of your accomplishments. There are good, bad, scary and busy days. None of us escapes them, including those who started large enterprise. From Henry Ford to Carol Bartz, Oprah Winfrey to Michael Dell, they all had to start somewhere. We reside on both sides of the counter, so we all work for someone.

So How Can You Help?

Kneale Mann

image credit: freelanceswitch | original: jul 2011

The Product is You

You're the Boss

I used to be one of those people who admired others who worked for themselves because of their perceived freedom. They could choose who they worked with and their hours were flexible. They had business expense write-offs and could take time off whenever they wanted. Of course, that was all too innocent of me.

Any  self-employed person will tell you that you don't know what it's like to work for yourself until you work for yourself. That doesn't let you off the hook if you work for someone or own a large enterprise.

Selling You is Hard Work

Developing your own brand, offering or services can be tough if you don’t have a team to lean on or a established company to back you up. Scaling your expertise can be as difficult as deciding what you will offer in the first place. But we need to remember we still have a team which comprises of our network of helpful humans. The business model is expanding far past any building walls.

One may think that selling a product is easier than a service and it’s not. There are millions of brilliant people developing necessary products who can confirm the hill is just as steep. I’m often asked “what do you do?” and I prefer to say “here’s how I can help”.

B2B meets B2C meets C2C

We portray a strong image through profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and more. The keyboard can make us brave but earning business is hard work. You not only have to prove you can provide the services you promise but you must give a prospect a reason to hire you and work with you.

If you work for yourself, be proud of your accomplishments. There are good, bad, scary and busy days. None of us escapes them, including those who started large enterprise. From Henry Ford to Carol Bartz, Oprah Winfrey to Michael Dell, they all had to start somewhere. We reside on both sides of the counter, so we all work for someone.

So How Can You Help?

Kneale Mann

image credit: performancerules

Business with Cans and a String

It Starts with an Idea

There is endless chatter about gizmos and gadgets, channels and websites, mobile and digital. Many are consumed with the self-publishing world and the ability to lead our own tribe and be linchpins. Seth Godin has always been ahead of his time in his ability to cut through the layers of clutter to see the essence of life, business and marketing. Technology may accelerate our ideas but it does not create them.

In 1439, Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press. He did not invent writers. In 2006, three guys named Biz, Evan and Jack introduced a new microblogging website based on text messaging called Twitter.
They did not invent text messaging.

Thinkin' About Thinkin' About It

Right now, you have an idea for something that has been rolling around in your head for a while. It may be money, time, confidence or the endorsement of others that may be constraining you but for some reason you have not acted on this idea.

Make a list of the roadblocks. Make it as long as you need. Then look at each of the issues separately and add the word “how”. So for instance, if one of yours is ‘time’ then turn it around to say: “How can I find more time to develop this?” Open your mind to possibilities and look at your vast network. There will be someone who can help you.

Budget Zero

In 2004, I had just overseen my first of two new radio station launches. I was working on the extensive multi-platform cross media marketing plan when my cell rang. It was my General Manager who informed me that head office was cutting our budget. I inquired by how much and he said – all of it. The budget went from several hundred thousand dollars to zero. Zero!

I didn't own the radio station and it wasn't my money so there wasn’t much I could do but take a breath and think about how we were going to accomplish this necessary task.

Now What

The next morning, I gathered my team and we hashed out ideas. Sure it was tough at first, there was some anger but I kept reminding them of three things – it is what it is, we’re a smart bunch and we will find a solution. Out of that meeting came five ideas that we rolled out over the next twelve months. Each of which required some help from our kind sponsors and buy-in from the entire staff. It made us stronger.

We were no longer resting on corporate money or fancy artwork. We were relying on each other. And a conversation I've had to recall quite a bit lately was with one of my announcers. He said: "We will make this happen if they take away our transmitter and we have to broadcast with two cans and a string".

We all have to clear those excuses. What's stopping you?

Kneale Mann

image credits: stcule | wikipedia

Make Great Stuff

Horse Meet Cart.

I tried a new Pan Asian restaurant yesterday. The place looks cool, the service was fabulous and the food is outstanding. It got me thinking about the main concerns of business owners which are advancing business and improving that pesky bottom line.

The server said they've been open for five weeks and business is soaring. He added that management knows they need to do some marketing.

He said they know the honeymoon would eventually end but wanted some time to do it right. It's unclear why they are waiting to tell potential customers but I enjoyed the lunch.

They made great stuff. Now what?

In some people’s mind, the crush of social media has evened the playing field and I flatly disagree. The old adage that you can apply lip gloss on the swine has never worked and the social web will only amplify the desperate tactic.

But if you have something good, don't be shy in telling someone about it.

Opening your organization to the scrutiny of online channels is the exact time when trumping out a bad business idea will be amplified – for all the wrong reasons. These channels can help you, but they won’t save a bad idea though many certainly try and use them for that.

Make great stuff. Then share it.

Apple had its share of critics for being a closed environment for decades and the misnomer was they didn’t listen to customers and that is simply not true. The essence of branding is what they say about you to others but in the online world you can monitor those discussions if you invest the time and prepare yourself for their honest opinions. Jobs & Co do just that. Constantly.

Apple makes cool stuff that works and continues to evolve their products in line with customer appetite. Like a Pan Asian restaurant, it is inclusive but may not be for everyone and doesn't compromise for that.

Make great stuff. And keep making it great.

If you wonder if your social media efforts are paying off, have a look at your offering and decipher whether you are giving people the chance to experience great stuff or are you just barking out the deal of the week on the hopes they will re-tweet you.

You must sell the dream before you sell a thing. And most don't dream about bad stuff. The empty pitch will be a short lived endeavor.

Doing well online or offline is not about fooling people with the tools but rather making great stuff people want. And it works best when you listen to them first and they then may listen to you. I think I'll be back to have chat with the restaurant owner.

Do you make great stuff?

knealemann
work with me: contact

Give to Movember.

image credit: digitaltrends | casaperiquet

Start Up Gobble Up

There's more to the story.

If we look at tech news over the last 48 hours we see that AOL bought TechCrunch, RiM released their tablet solution PlayBook, Google bought a million bucks worth of shares in a monorail company, Twitter gave us more details on promoted tweets, and Facebook is apparently finalizing a partnership with Skype.

The high-tech world is getting as much attention in the news cycle as Obama and the economy. I do some work with a start-up and it can be tempting to build something that perhaps one day can be swallowed up by a bigger fish but so can cashing your pay stub at the lottery kiosk.

If you are daydreaming about the sports car and lakefront property you will buy, you may be distracted from building what someone may want to purchase one day – a profitable company.

Twenty years ago, most of these companies didn't exist and now they're buying each other. We often forget that even Google and Microsoft were once start-ups hoping to make it big one day.

Tech is sexy now. Although it is much tougher to get funding these days, calling your company a start up is way cooler than simply calling it a new company. Start-up sounds feisty and scrappy. It’s cool to be a geek.

Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself. These are valid in start-up mode or at any point in your company's maturity.

• Do you have a documented Plan?
• How often do you review your Plan?
• If you are a start-up, how long will you call yourself a start-up?
• Is your goal to build a company or be acquired?
• Do you know what holes exist?
• Have you identified the strengths of everyone in your organization?

What would you add to the list?

knealemann

image credit: ecomodder

Integrating Ideas and Individuals

The sum of the parts

I help clients in three key areas - business strategy, marketing and social media. That includes tactics, execution and integration. This does not mean sign them up for every possible option because that may not be most effective strategy. I am also a sounding board, an idea filter and a strengths finder.


We often think too closely about a particular project without imagining how it could grow even bigger. Your client may know someone who might also need your help. You may need their services some day as well. The adage, this is a marathon not a sprint, is more relevant than ever. This has been going on since we began to walk the earth.

Socially connected

As we connect through avenues no longer restricted by geography, we can build alliances all over the world. We can find people who think like us and do work like us and help us with our work while we do the same. We can seek out those who may have faced the challenge we’re staring at right now and work it out.

If you are helping someone with a solution, take a moment and think about the people you know and who may be able to offer some additional help to fully integrate the idea. This is not to suggest adding layers for the sake of making it complicated but adding necessary elements to improve the original idea.

I have a client who obviously enjoys helping his clients but also likes to find people who may need his clients' offerings and makes the introduction. That's integration!

On your mark

I have had the absolute privilege of managing two start-ups and consulting on half a dozen others. And it appears I may get another chance soon. As tempting as it is to order the cake and balloons, the first step is the big picture.

When you get that chance, take some time to see if there are ways to integrate from the start. And this is not just a workflow issue, this is also a people plan issue.

Can you think of ways to expand your network and integrate your projects?

knealemann

image credit: arlingtonkids

Narrowing The Start-Up

Easier Said Than Done

If you’ve ever been involved in launching a company, you have felt the excitement and frustration.

It used to simply be about launching a new company, now many call it a Start-Up.

It sounds feisty. It has hope and velocity. Go get ‘em Start-Up! You can do it!

Imagine

You have an idea which is void of doubt or financial constraint. It’s just a beautiful pure inspiration. The business stuff isn’t even a concern at this point.

If your skin is in the game it can be tough. If you stick with it, it can be rewarding.

Create

You have passed the imagine stage which can be filled with ideas that may or may not work, brainstorming that can go in all directions and the realization that it could just happen.

Then the create stage where you and your team have found a way to begin to realize the imagined idea in to a concrete way. Things are beginning to roll. You may be bootstrapping, you maybe be looking for funding, but all in all, things are beginning to take shape.

Expand

As the imagined idea turns in to a real business you begin to expand. The buzz of progress is now a constant hum, the no’s are taken in stride because the yes’s are coming fast and furious. Revenue negates stumbles and the trajectory is realized.

Narrow

Every company goes through it. You need to let your idea become concrete then expand then you must hone in on the essence of what you are trying to do. It can be distracting to see large corporations like Google and Apple expanding in all directions but that won’t work for you.

Customers are stretching you outside of your offer zone and you begin to wonder if the original idea is still intact. Your short-term greed replaces your long term goals. And hard decisions need to be made. You can’t be all things to all people or you will be nothing to no one.

Source the Crowd

I posed three questions on Twitter and asked for responses via DM. No names or details would be shared, just top line stuff. Answers had to be 140 characters or less.

The questions were: 1. How long in start-up mode? 2. When will you stop calling it a start-up? 3. Biggest challenge so far?

In ten minutes, I received 23 replies.

Here are some responses...

Mar 1 after a year in dev. Probably year after going live. Coordinating a small team where we all wear several hats.

One year. 2-3 yrs or when we can pay bills consistently. Bldg initial infrastructure & exploiting dev opps simultaneously.

3 years. Hard question, probably never. Bizdev w/ trusted partners to accelerate axs to market.

6 months. When I get my investment of $$ back. Delegating.

Thanks to everyone who was open enough to share their journey.

If you want to start a company, do it. It will be hard and frustrating, exciting and freeing and there will be times when you feel completely alone and others when you realize you have cheerleaders where you least expect them.

Work your butt off and walk through walls if you have to and on those days when you feel it would be easier to toss in the towel, look in the mirror and ask that person before you do.

If you have a team, do the same to them. Before you build anything, you need to be able to look each other straight in the eye to see if everyone is watching the same movie. Imagine. Create. Expand. Narrow.

And learn from someone who has been through his share of start-ups and can often forget that he doesn't have to do this alone - don't be afraid to ask for help! Then be gracious when someone offers it.

What are your thoughts?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credit: mirror-us-ga1

The Language of Business

In This Day and Age

Every industry and generation makes its mark on the language of the day.

Each claims that uniqueness was founded upon the dawn of its existence.

If you are in sales, you may have a better way to close business like no other in history.

Buzz and Fix

Some in marketing think embracing social media is the golden bullet and the 'old ways' are no longer effective. They may also fail remind you that your sustained contribution is essential as it is not about a particular website.

If you run a business you are always looking for new customers or clients. As a business owner, it’s a part of my life every day. This process used to be called prospecting but today it is often referred to by many as lead generation.

Bootstrap or VC?

You may have an idea but need time to let it roll around in your head. This process was once called brainstorming but now referred to as incubating.

For decades, people who worked in the same company or on the same project were known as co-workers or team members but that has been replaced by the catch-all term – stakeholders.

Choose Your Medium

If you produce material that will be used to help with your marketing campaign, that is no longer simply a bunch of pamphlets or flyers, billboards or television commercials, micro sites or mobile applications – that can now fall under the handy phrase – marketing collateral.

Business owners or managers often get defensive if their business plan is questioned. The issue can be that it is not shared with those expected to execute it. A more fluid word that suggests dialogue and flexibility is one of my favorites – strategy.

Keep In Mind

So your co-workers (stakeholders) may be working on material (marketing collateral) for your new business (start-up) but need to time to brainstorm (incubate) on how to find new customers (lead generation).

The important element to remember is that your activity (tactics) must be in line with your plan (strategy) in order to realize profits (bottom line).

What is the language of your business?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credit: 101cm