Podcasts: Learning on the Go

A colleague recently shared with me that she frequently downloads podcasts (for free) from iTunes in order to keep up to date on the latest business news while she is on the go. They can be played on either your iPod or your computer. After taking a look at iTunes, I was quite impressed as they literally have 1000's of free podcasts available for download.

Within the 'business' category of available podcasts, the top 10 audio podcasts include:

1. NPR: Planet Money Broadcast

2. The Dave Ramsey Show - The Truth about Life and Money

3. Wall Street Journal This Morning

4. APM - Marketplace

5. Bloomberg on the Economy

6. World Business News

7. Harvard Business Ideacast

8. Get-it-done Guy's Quick and Dirty Tips to work Less and do More

9. Wall Street Journal's What's News

10. Bloomberg Economics

There are also many podcasts available that pertain specifically to entrepreneurship. By far, the most popular downloaded podcast was Rich Dad's Podcast by Robert Kiyosaki (who I have recommended previously on this blog). Overall, there were 86 podcasts that came up in a search on the word 'entrepreneur.'

Regardless of whether or not you are an entrepreneur, one of the keys to being successful in life in constant learning.

The Economics of Pumpkins

I just returned from a local pumpkin farm with my family -- and I must say first off that I was very impressed with the entire experience.  It is only open on weekends in Sept/Oct, so I wasn't expecting a whole lot of infrastructure, but I was wrong. There were so many activities and it all looked brand new (although I know it has been there for a while). It exceeded my expectations to say the least.

They really have a great business concept.  It is marketed to families during the day and they get a lot of youth groups and teenagers in the evenings as they are open until 10 pm. They have activities that appeal both to families (pony rides, corn sand box, bouncy barn, farm animals, etc.) and teenagers (corn maze, fire pit, hay rides, etc.). Everything was high quality and the workers (likely family and friends) held a sense of pride and happiness. Perhaps that is because it is only only 7 weekends out of the year, and there isn't necessarily a drainage of energy. It is surrounded by gardens of beautiful sunflowers. Most surprising was that there prices were reasonable. And, did I mention that it is in the middle of nowhere?

And...of course...I began to wonder about the economics of this little (or not so little) pumpkins. One of the workers mentioned that they bring in 4000-5000 visitors a weekend. So, if we average this to 4,500 over 7 weekends, this brings us to an estimated 31,500 visitors. We spent $40 for our family of 4 (including our 5 pumpkins), averaging $10 per person. This is probably a pretty conservative average spending considering that while we purchased a few snacks, we did not have lunch there and our two girls were under 5 and got in free. But still, 31,500 visitors at $10 per visitor comes to $315,000 for the season. Not bad, huh?

After doing a bit more research, I found out that the owner is an out-of-town lawyer that spends his weekends working on this ranch and donates a portion to charities every year. What a nice ending. I'm definitely happy for this entrepreneur -- for providing a great product in a great way that I hope to return to year after year.

The Executive Summary

A colleague recently passed along a link to me of some 'tools for entrepreneurs' on a website for CID Capital. As CID Capital is a venture capital firm, they frequently review business plans and are very familiar with what to look for to critique whether or not a new venture is likely to be successful. 

One of the tools that I believe is especially helpful is their executive summary outline that they require entrepreneurs to submit so that they can determine if it is something worth further pursuing with them. What is an executive summary? Well, it is a shortened version of the business plan, typically only a couple of pages long. It is a very useful tool for enabling investors, such as venture capitalists, bankers or friends & family, to be able to quickly get their arms about what it is you are trying to do -- and then determine if it is a good fit for them.

Although many business plan courses recommend that you write the executive summary last, after you have completed writing your business, I believe there is some value in starting with the executive summary. It helps you get your thoughts down on paper and forced you to be concise and really think through it all on a bigger level right away. You can also use this executive summary to get some feedback on the idea from people you trust before moving forward.

So, if you are a start-up or even a more mature venture, I strongly encourage you to check out the executive summary outline provided by CID Capital and/or one posted elsewhere. 

Steps for Starting a Business

Recently, I've been searching online for potential web resources that outline the steps for starting a business. This would be helpful for someone that wants to start their own business, but isn't sure where exactly to start or what to do. Most people, in my experience, are especially anxious about the paperwork and legality side of a business -- as they usually have the business idea down pretty well.

One of the better "steps" that I found was by startupnation.com, which included the following:

1. Create a Life Plan
2. Choosing a Business Model
3. Create a Business Plan
4. Select a Business Structure
5. Create Key Business Assets
6. Find the Funding
7. Organize Logistics
8. Find Great People
9. Establish the Brand
10. Market and Sell

I liked these steps because it starts out with creating a life plan, which I firmly believe in. You don't start a business just for the heck of it, it needs to fit into your life strategy. I think it is also pretty realistic in the sequence of starting a business. They offer much more detail after every step -- providing the wanna-be entrepreneur with the guidance he/she needs.

The Small Business Planner put out by the SBA is also pretty good as they focus on what is needed not only to start up the business, but also grow and eventually exit the business. They offer a specific set of steps within each of the four categories below.

1. Plan your business
2. Start your business
3. Manage your business
4. Getting out

Building on my previous post about looking for local websites when doing market research, a last source for identifying the steps for starting a business should be a local government website -- depending upon whatever state you live in. As a whole, these websites are not (in my opinion) that great for offering an overall sense of what it takes to get your business started, but they are especially useful in providing you with the paperwork and bureaucracy that needs to be taken care of. As an example, the State of Illinois offers a step-by-step process with links embedded to all the necessary government forms.

Information Overload

The good thing about the Internet is that it makes an enormous amount of information available at your fingertips.

The bad thing about the Internet is that it makes an enormous amount of information available at your fingertips. It is like going to Wal-mart to buy toothpaste and feeling a bit overwhelmed at ALL the many different kinds and choices you have -- when all you wanted to buy was just some ordinary toothpaste!

The real question then becomes -- how can you maneuver online to find good and useful information for the purposes of starting your own business? Here are just a few suggestions...

- Trade Association websites: One of the first places to look should nearly always be a trade association website. Most industries have trade associations (i.e. National Restaurant Association) and they can be a wealth of statistics, knowledge and trends -- that can very well impact the development of your business idea. To find your trade association, simply do a google search of the words 'trade association' and whatever industry it is you are entering.

- Find websites 'close to home'. For instance, if you are looking to start a business in the state of Illinois, you might look to the Illinois guide (sponsored by the state government) that includes details specific to that state. Also, check out your local Small Business Development Center or economic development corporation. It is a good place to look for local grant and loan programs that may be of help.

- Entrepreneurship-related magazines: There are many magazines geared to entrepreneurship that have a lot of up-to-date statistics, articles and help by topic that can also be a good starting point. One of my favorites is Entrepreneur Magazine.

- Try the SBA: The U.S. Small Business Administration actually has quite a bit of good, basis information to start with. Check out their small business planner.

- Get some referrals: Pick up the phone or go talk with people to find out what websites they recommend. Word of mouth is usually a great source!

How do you sift through all the information on the web?

Web Resources: DocStoc

A while back, I was referred to a website called 'DocStock.' Here are the main benefits:

(1) Find Documents

- Download legal, business, tech & educational documents

- Store your documents online for free

- Get your documents indexed by search engines

(2) Share Documents

- Upload and share your documents with the world

- Get business leads by sharing your documents

- Embed documents on your blogs and websites

I was a little skeptical at first, but then I gave it a chance and browsed around. I personally have always thought that it is easier to start with an existing template instead of starting from scratch. The types of documents available under the business category include biz planning, contracts, employment, financing, job descriptions, operations, project management, sales and marketing, and Spanish press releases. Hmmmm....ALL the kind of stuff an entrepreneur needs to do to actually get the business up and running.

If you are looking for some help with putting together a business plan, for instance, they have over 3000 documents on this topic alone - and that are further segmented by due diligence, executive summary, Internet start-ups, Market research and sample business plans! I also appreciate the fact that you can also choose to view the most viewed, downloaded, reviewed, recent and/or highest rated.

Now, keep in mind that some of this is more or less junk and useless. You also have to beware that their is nothing backing the actual quality of the documents, But, that said, there is a lot here that as an entrepreneur I believe you will find of use. Don't reinvent the wheel (or shell out a lot of big bucks) unless you have to.

Customer service: Is it overrated?

Have you visited Taco Bell lately? At least in the area where I live, if you pull up to the drive-thru, you will be asked "how are you today?" As I was expecting the typical "how can I help you today" or "go ahead with your order whenever you are ready", this surprised me a bit. So I answered, "fine, thank you."

However, the experience again began to impress me in that the reason why franchises in general are successful are because they can create processes for everything! Yes, they can create processes for their food preparation, and although I personally believe that franchise food is marginal at best, people go there because they always know exactly what to expect. However, the more fascinating aspect is that processes can be created for other aspects of the business such as accounting procedures, order intake, cleanliness procedures, etc, and in the case of Taco Bell, customer service. I have not researched it at all, but I am fairly certain that the Taco Bell drive thru workers are specifically training in how to address the customers. This makes it easy for the franchise owners to ensure a certain level of customer service every time!

What can YOU learn from this? Well, even if you are not interested in owning or operating a franchise, you can learn from them by creating processes for every aspect of YOUR business. In turn, this will not only allow your customers to know exactly what to expect and improve your reliability, but it will also help your business to run more smoothly.  

A great book to check out that talks more about the critical importance of processes and imitating what franchises do well is The Emyth Revisited by Michael Gerber.