Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Four Essential Personality Traits Of Every Entrepreneur
The Four Essential Personality Traits Of Every Entrepreneur: At Forbes, the entrepreneur is king (or queen!). The Capitalist Tool has been celebritizing the Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world since 1917 when we profiled speculator Jay Gould and John D. Rockefeller, the founder of the Standard Oil Company and (at that time) richest man in the world.
What The New Yorker Magazine Can Teach You About Content Marketing that Works
What The New Yorker Magazine Can Teach You About Content Marketing that Works: 
You probably already know that your business needs online content marketing. What you want to know is how to create content that actually works.
You want content so irresistible it makes your followers swarm to your website, light up the comments and share it like wildfire.
You want content so persuasive that readers stampede your email newsletter subscription box, instantly download every report you publish and snap up your products.
You, my friend, want content that engages.
Well, today is your lucky day. In a few moments you’ll know not only how to write content that engages, but also positions you as an authority in your space and dominates in the search engines.
And our working example will be an upper-crust cultural weekly (the most popular upper-crust weekly at that).
It’s the pull of a story like Carnal Knowledge (how I became a Tuscan butcher), House Perfect (is the IKEA ethos comfy or creepy?) or Marathon Man (a Michigan dentist’s improbable transformation).
All epic reporting. All non-fiction stories. All unforgettable.
And when I say epic I mean over 10,000 words long. In the print edition these stories range across twelve pages. Online they scroll for ages — and click through seven pages.
The long-form story (“epic content” in the Copyblogger vocabulary) is The New Yorker’s unmovable anchor in the rough seas of magazine publishing. A monument to good writing. A reason that people are willing to scale a pay wall.
The Atlantic, The New Yorker’s contemporary (and equally successful partner), is using the epic content model (and seductive headlines) to build a sustainable business around an audience that wants substance — and substance to share.
As both The New Yorker and The Atlantic demonstrate, this model works. And the New Yorker model is now the buzzword for all things content marketing.
Wired has been at this for ages. Feature articles like Gone Forever: What Does It Take to Disappear Forever? and Hans Reiser: Once a Linux Visionary, Now Accused of Murder are the center of gravity for Wired.
What do these companies know? They know that quality content rules.
American Express, Mint, and Hubspot know it, too. They’ve built their brands, generated leads, and acquired new customers based on massive amounts of content.
Then there is a scrappy company called Copyblogger Media — a nearly seven-year-old software company built solely on the back of authoritative content, and the audience that it attracted.
Content marketing is here to stay. Why? The demand for content never changes. It is never limited. The only things that are limited are attention and distribution.
But, without an audience, content has no value.
Tumblr is now the newest — and possibly the most notorious — to have popped into the game. The twist is that Tumblr is looking for New Yorker-style long-form writing.
Not surprising, veteran writers find this pitch suspect. Here’s what Tom Chandler of The Write Underground wrote in response to a recent PandoDaily piece:
Are you, as a content marketer, willing to do what it takes to create it? Should you create it? And can you even create it?
Let’s take a look.
It’s not just a list of 73 ways to become a better writer or a gargantuan guide to content marketing. Those are good, but we have to take it a step further.
In the business-to-business world, think of:
But that is changing.
This is what occurs when you obey the first rule of Copyblogger.
And this is the type of content that people hang on to for a very long time. As Mallary Jean Tenore reports in this Poytner article dated March 1, 2012:
We want something that we can take anywhere — during those times between task and location — and read.
The rise of tablets, smart phones, and apps like Instapaper and Pocket (formerly Read It Later) have also made it easier for people to find and save articles for later reading.
In turn, websites like Longform, Byliner and The Atavist and #longreads hashtag have surfaced to help us satisfy our desire for epic content.
It’s the new tools that have made this happen.
In a panel at SWXW on the Death of the Death of Longform Journalism, Evan Ratliff and Max Linsky (founder of Longform) discussed how the problem wasn’t that the stories were too long. The problem was the delivery method. And now we finally have the tools to read pieces when, how, and where we wanted.
My personal favorite is Readability. With a simple Chrome extension, I save articles as I surf the web, which are also saved on my phone. And when I’m stuck at the Chinese joint waiting for my Moo Goo Gai Pan I can read a great story.
That short scenario is played out millions of times a day. Lewis Dvorkin from Forbes shared this data about our new reading habits:
The garden variety answer was this: “1) Phone, tablet, desktop; 2) Always; 3) My home office.” And one Facebooker summed it up nicely: “It’s all about utilizing the little moments of time efficiently.”
And this holds true for the business world, too.
They want them epic, New Yorker-style content.
But can we as marketers give it to them? A recent research report from Content Marketing Institute (2013 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends) suggests that we don’t think so.
Marketers are unclear about content marketing tactics and their two biggest challenges are producing enough content and creating content that engages.
Last year 40% of B2B marketers identified their content marketing as “effective” or “very effective.” That number dropped to 36% in 2012.
This is corroborated by another research report on content marketing: 2012 B2B Content Marketing: Ready for Prime Time. Lack of resources leads the list of top challenges for content marketers, but this is closely followed by a lack of skill to create engaging content.
Which brings us back to what The New Yorker can teach us about content marketing.
But what can they teach you about business-to-business content marketing? What can they teach us about using epic content to build the value of your brand?
Fortunately, a lot.
Do you wish you could create more content?
Do you feel your content could engage your customers better?
Does your content fail to get traffic? Rank high in search engines? Have your subscriber numbers stalled? Do you wish you could get more social shares?
Share your struggles in the comments below so we can give you the help you need in future blog posts …
About the Author: Demian Farnworth is a freelance writer who hustles the finer points of web copy at the blog The CopyBot. Follow him on Twitter or Google+.
Tweet
You probably already know that your business needs online content marketing. What you want to know is how to create content that actually works.
You want content so irresistible it makes your followers swarm to your website, light up the comments and share it like wildfire.
You want content so persuasive that readers stampede your email newsletter subscription box, instantly download every report you publish and snap up your products.
You, my friend, want content that engages.
Well, today is your lucky day. In a few moments you’ll know not only how to write content that engages, but also positions you as an authority in your space and dominates in the search engines.
And our working example will be an upper-crust cultural weekly (the most popular upper-crust weekly at that).
The gold standard of epic content
There’s something about a New Yorker article, isn’t there? It’s the humor, the depth and substance. The staying power. The storytelling.It’s the pull of a story like Carnal Knowledge (how I became a Tuscan butcher), House Perfect (is the IKEA ethos comfy or creepy?) or Marathon Man (a Michigan dentist’s improbable transformation).
All epic reporting. All non-fiction stories. All unforgettable.
And when I say epic I mean over 10,000 words long. In the print edition these stories range across twelve pages. Online they scroll for ages — and click through seven pages.
The long-form story (“epic content” in the Copyblogger vocabulary) is The New Yorker’s unmovable anchor in the rough seas of magazine publishing. A monument to good writing. A reason that people are willing to scale a pay wall.
The Atlantic, The New Yorker’s contemporary (and equally successful partner), is using the epic content model (and seductive headlines) to build a sustainable business around an audience that wants substance — and substance to share.
As both The New Yorker and The Atlantic demonstrate, this model works. And the New Yorker model is now the buzzword for all things content marketing.
The current shape of content marketing
Technology media is joining the bandwagon: Fast Company is producing long-form posts that draw readers.Wired has been at this for ages. Feature articles like Gone Forever: What Does It Take to Disappear Forever? and Hans Reiser: Once a Linux Visionary, Now Accused of Murder are the center of gravity for Wired.
What do these companies know? They know that quality content rules.
American Express, Mint, and Hubspot know it, too. They’ve built their brands, generated leads, and acquired new customers based on massive amounts of content.
Then there is a scrappy company called Copyblogger Media — a nearly seven-year-old software company built solely on the back of authoritative content, and the audience that it attracted.
Content marketing is here to stay. Why? The demand for content never changes. It is never limited. The only things that are limited are attention and distribution.
But, without an audience, content has no value.
Tumblr wants to be the next New Yorker
There are a lot of media sites with huge audiences. The only problem is their content is shallow and dies off quickly. This is why low-grade content creators like Gawker and Buzzfeed have jumped into the long-form game. They’re trying to add content with substance to build companies with depth and maturity.Tumblr is now the newest — and possibly the most notorious — to have popped into the game. The twist is that Tumblr is looking for New Yorker-style long-form writing.
Not surprising, veteran writers find this pitch suspect. Here’s what Tom Chandler of The Write Underground wrote in response to a recent PandoDaily piece:
… ‘Real’ New Yorker journalism involves airplane flights and fact checkers and multiple bouts with copy editors and long stretches of time and yes — a living wage for talented writers.His point: epic content comes at a cost.
Maybe even a few copy editors.
In other words, I don’t believe Tumblr is really interested in ponying up the real costs of ‘New Yorker‘ journalism; like so many ‘maturing’ online publications they’re seeking the credibility and prestige of New Yorker style journalism, not the investment.
Are you, as a content marketer, willing to do what it takes to create it? Should you create it? And can you even create it?
Let’s take a look.
What is epic content?
The definition for long-form, epic content is hard to nail down. Do we define it by the quality? The time it took to write? The research involved? Or the length of the article?It’s not just a list of 73 ways to become a better writer or a gargantuan guide to content marketing. Those are good, but we have to take it a step further.
- Long-form content has substance. There is a drilling-down into a topic that will leave you reeling with a load of new information.
- Long-form content tells a story. The article is built on a narrative. It is the equivalent of a This American Life episode (and the Ira Glass Guide to Link Bait).
- Ultimate guides
- In-Depth
- Tutorials
- Lists
- Interview Round Ups
- Story
In the business-to-business world, think of:
- The Beginner’s Guide to SEO by SEOmoz
- SEO Guide to Creating Viral Linkbait and Infographics by Distilled
- Or The Death of the Boring Blog Post by Smashing Magazine
But that is changing.
Why epic content matters now
Here’s the thing: a writer or site that continuously produces quality content builds an audience. Great content drives people back to the blog or website.This is what occurs when you obey the first rule of Copyblogger.
And this is the type of content that people hang on to for a very long time. As Mallary Jean Tenore reports in this Poytner article dated March 1, 2012:
Pocket (formerly Read it Later) data shows that, on average, users keep a video or article in their queue for 96 hours before marking it viewed. As this Bit.ly study shows, that’s a pretty long time compared to the life span of stories shared on Twitter.From the same article Mark Armstrong said:
Let people take content with them, and they will soon value it more highly than if it is shot at them. Content creators will be rewarded with a longer social lifespan for the stories and videos they work so hard to create. And that ultimately lifts the value of a media brand.We once feared that the web was killing our brains. Not so. Evidence seems to suggest that instead of destroying our minds, we’ve revolted. Consumers are demanding that writers respect their intelligence — and give them something substantial.
We want something that we can take anywhere — during those times between task and location — and read.
How we consume epic content
People want epic content. It’s one of the reasons that Matter could raise over $140,000 on Kickstarter to create long-form journalism on technology.The rise of tablets, smart phones, and apps like Instapaper and Pocket (formerly Read It Later) have also made it easier for people to find and save articles for later reading.
In turn, websites like Longform, Byliner and The Atavist and #longreads hashtag have surfaced to help us satisfy our desire for epic content.
It’s the new tools that have made this happen.
In a panel at SWXW on the Death of the Death of Longform Journalism, Evan Ratliff and Max Linsky (founder of Longform) discussed how the problem wasn’t that the stories were too long. The problem was the delivery method. And now we finally have the tools to read pieces when, how, and where we wanted.
My personal favorite is Readability. With a simple Chrome extension, I save articles as I surf the web, which are also saved on my phone. And when I’m stuck at the Chinese joint waiting for my Moo Goo Gai Pan I can read a great story.
That short scenario is played out millions of times a day. Lewis Dvorkin from Forbes shared this data about our new reading habits:
Perhaps not surprisingly, the data from more than 100 million articles on ReadItLater shows that consumers save articles consistently throughout the day. But here’s when they’re reading it: on computers, from 6pm-9pm; on iPhones, at 6am, 9am, 5pm to 6pm and 8pm-10pm (“the moments between tasks and locations”); and on iPads, predominantly from 8pm-10pm.On a whim, I polled friends to corroborate the research above. I asked three questions: How do you consume online content? When? Where?
The garden variety answer was this: “1) Phone, tablet, desktop; 2) Always; 3) My home office.” And one Facebooker summed it up nicely: “It’s all about utilizing the little moments of time efficiently.”
And this holds true for the business world, too.
Can you deliver epic content?
There’s no question about it: people want epic content. It doesn’t matter if you are in the aviation engineering business (think GE) or the SEO business (Raven Tools) — your customers want stories.They want them epic, New Yorker-style content.
But can we as marketers give it to them? A recent research report from Content Marketing Institute (2013 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends) suggests that we don’t think so.
- More and more companies are using content marketing to build brand awareness, acquire more customers, and generate leads.
- According to the CMI report, these companies are spending 33 percent of their marketing budget on content (up from last year).
- Furthermore, fifty-four percent of marketers will increase their content marketing spend as more executives are buying in.
Marketers are unclear about content marketing tactics and their two biggest challenges are producing enough content and creating content that engages.
Last year 40% of B2B marketers identified their content marketing as “effective” or “very effective.” That number dropped to 36% in 2012.
This is corroborated by another research report on content marketing: 2012 B2B Content Marketing: Ready for Prime Time. Lack of resources leads the list of top challenges for content marketers, but this is closely followed by a lack of skill to create engaging content.
Which brings us back to what The New Yorker can teach us about content marketing.
The New Yorker guide to content marketing
The New Yorker is the authority when it comes to long-form journalism. That’s why Tumblr invoked their name when advertising for freelance writers.But what can they teach you about business-to-business content marketing? What can they teach us about using epic content to build the value of your brand?
Fortunately, a lot.
- Solve business objectives — Your costumers are probably not looking to kill time with a seven-thousand word essay on Taylor Swift’s teenage angst empire (New Yorker customers are, however). Your customers want to know how to generate more traffic, leads and sales. Use epic content to do that.
- Educate with stories — Dig into the history of your company or customer testimonials. Begin with a meaningful conflict, agitate the pain and then trot in your solution. As The New Yorker has demonstrated, people like in-depth stories. It makes learning fun. Give it to them.
- Diversify your content — Think blogs, email white papers and ebooks. The more vehicles in which you communicate your message the more people you will reach and the more effective you will be. Warning: Keep your message consistent across mediums.
- Use social media — Unless you’ve got a huge audience already, your epic content will be DOA if you don’t use the power of social media to gain exposure. And don’t forget to make Google+ a strong component of your content marketing strategy.
- Invest in quality writers — Great content is hard to create. And you can’t fake it. Gone are the days of keywords stuffing or outsourced content farms. Only superior content will build your influence with your target audience and Google. There’s no way around it (even if you are Tumblr).
- Speak their language — When you answer their questions, alleviate their fears and encourage their desires you will write effectively for both people and search engines.
- Create a schedule — A giant publication like The New Yorker knows six months out what content it will create—and when it will publish. Create and manage an editorial calendar, using tools like the WordPress Editorial Calendar plugin.
Over to you …
What challenges do you have when it comes to content marketing?Do you wish you could create more content?
Do you feel your content could engage your customers better?
Does your content fail to get traffic? Rank high in search engines? Have your subscriber numbers stalled? Do you wish you could get more social shares?
Share your struggles in the comments below so we can give you the help you need in future blog posts …
About the Author: Demian Farnworth is a freelance writer who hustles the finer points of web copy at the blog The CopyBot. Follow him on Twitter or Google+.
Tweet
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What to Discuss Before Conceiving a Start-up
What to Discuss Before Conceiving a Start-up: 
Is there a start-up in your family's future? Here's the conversation you need to have, pronto.
Venture capitalists and angel investors have something like subpoena power. They can command entrepreneurs to appear before them and answer hard questions about their fledgling businesses. How can this idea possibly scale? Why doesn't anyone on your team have an industry background? Why should I believe you are capable of taking this on? The experience is squirm inducing but productive. When founders have good answers, it inspires confidence. When founders flounder, it reveals holes in their plans.
The entrepreneur's most important investors are her immediate family. No one will sacrifice more to assist her success or be more affected by the outcome. But how many spouses subject aspiring entrepreneurs to a good grilling before welcoming a start-up into their lives? I'm talking about questions that require detailed, concrete responses. Questions that can't be fobbed off with, "I'll always make time for you and the kids" and "I think we'll both know when it's time to pull back." Questions that--though not intended to crush the dream--may unearth mines that explode unrealistic assumptions.
My husband launched his company, Stonyfield Farm, before we met, so I never had the chance to challenge him on the thorniest issues. That was unfortunate, because a serious discussion in which I laid out all my doubts and questions would have done much to allay my anxieties. Not incidentally, it would also have increased my enthusiasm for his venture. And I might have felt less resentment when things I didn't realize could go wrong started going wrong with depressing regularity.
I have compiled some of the questions I wish I had asked Gary before I made the decision to climb into the barrel with him and head over the falls. If you are the spouse of an aspiring entrepreneur, I urge you to read them, add your own, then sit your spouse down for a little talk.
Financial Issues
1. Why do you want to do this? I know it's something you are passionate about, and that's great. But it's not enough--at least, not enough for me. I need to believe you are also committed to creating something that will support our family financially.
2. How vulnerable are the family's assets? Do you plan to dip into savings, use the house for collateral, raid retirement accounts? What will it mean for us financially when the bank requires your signature on a company loan? All those options make me pretty nervous, but some are scarier than others. Can we agree on what will be off limits?
3. If something happens to you, will I be on the hook for anything? What will happen to the company's assets? I would like our family to be protected. What insurance will you have? Key man? Life? Disability? Medical?
4. Assuming the business becomes profitable one of these days, what will you do with the cash? I know you'll need to plow some of it back into the company. But I think at least a portion should go toward the family's bottom line.
5. How long will we have to scrimp? I can deal with fewer evenings out and vacations that don't involve hopping on an airplane. But I don't think the roof can survive another winter's worth of New Hampshire snow. And it would be nice to begin even a modest attempt to plump up the kids' college funds. How will we fare if achieving profitability takes much longer than you project?
6. What if you never achieve profitability? What if the business limps along for years, skirting failure and chewing up more of our resources? Can we establish a cut-bait number, an amount of financial loss that we agree is our limit? At the very least, we should agree to consult at regular intervals about whether to stay in the game.
Personal Issues
1. How will my life change? If we can't live comfortably for a long while on my income or our savings, should I consider ways to bring in more cash? Because the business will be all consuming for you, will I be solely responsible for the children and the home? Can we come up with ways in advance to help relieve the pressure on me?
2. Would you like me to help out with the business in any way? If so, and if I'm game, what would you like my role to be? Partner? Employee? Or just filling in where necessary? How will we relate to each other in the office and in front of the staff? Will you treat me like everyone else? I'm not saying you shouldn't, but let's figure it out so I don't end up resenting you and the employees don't end up resenting me.
3. Will we ever see you again? I understand this business will consume you for a long time. I'm not unrealistic enough to believe we can achieve work-life balance. But I would like us to set aside some family time that is sacred and nonnegotiable. I'm flexible: dinner at home three times a week, two weekends a month devoted to us--whatever works. I'm looking for a concrete commitment that you will put on the calendar and stick to.
4. Are you up for this? Do you think you have the stamina to go the full 12 rounds? You'll need both physical and psychological endurance. Do you think you're prepared to handle the inevitable setbacks?
5. What are the opportunity costs? If you didn't take on this launch, what would our lives look like? Are there attractive alternatives for how you could spend your time and our family's resources?
Endgame Issues
1. What is your exit strategy? Is your goal to build value and cash out or to stay in until you are long in the tooth? Do you see this as a legacy for the children?
2. What's Plan B? Today you are enthusiastic and full of optimism. But failure is, in fact, an option. Do you know what you will do if you lose the business?
And Serial Entrepreneurs
1. What will be different this time? Your last business caused us a ton of stress. How will you make things easier for us with this company?
2. Is it really, truly your last start-up? Or can I expect you to be raising seed capital in the afterlife?
After finishing this list, I showed it to Gary and asked whether he thought hashing out such issues in advance would have made a difference in our lives. He agreed the exercise would have been good for both of us and maybe even for the business. But as he read over my questions—almost 30 years after the fact—he surmised that such a conversation might not have provided the bedrock of certainty I craved. His answers, he told me, would probably have varied day to day, depending on his mood, how much sleep he had had, or whether he had managed to snag a desirable investor. He would have answered truthfully. But, in fact, his replies would have been mostly guesswork.
So, have the talk, negotiate some terms, and air the concerns before they become grievances. But understand that truthful replies are not necessarily accurate ones. And while you're grilling the entrepreneur, ask yourself this question:
Am I committed enough to this person to put up with whatever crazy, unanticipated, impossible-to-iron-out-in-advance stuff happens along the way?
For me, the answer has always been yes.
Is there a start-up in your family's future? Here's the conversation you need to have, pronto.
Venture capitalists and angel investors have something like subpoena power. They can command entrepreneurs to appear before them and answer hard questions about their fledgling businesses. How can this idea possibly scale? Why doesn't anyone on your team have an industry background? Why should I believe you are capable of taking this on? The experience is squirm inducing but productive. When founders have good answers, it inspires confidence. When founders flounder, it reveals holes in their plans.
The entrepreneur's most important investors are her immediate family. No one will sacrifice more to assist her success or be more affected by the outcome. But how many spouses subject aspiring entrepreneurs to a good grilling before welcoming a start-up into their lives? I'm talking about questions that require detailed, concrete responses. Questions that can't be fobbed off with, "I'll always make time for you and the kids" and "I think we'll both know when it's time to pull back." Questions that--though not intended to crush the dream--may unearth mines that explode unrealistic assumptions.
My husband launched his company, Stonyfield Farm, before we met, so I never had the chance to challenge him on the thorniest issues. That was unfortunate, because a serious discussion in which I laid out all my doubts and questions would have done much to allay my anxieties. Not incidentally, it would also have increased my enthusiasm for his venture. And I might have felt less resentment when things I didn't realize could go wrong started going wrong with depressing regularity.
I have compiled some of the questions I wish I had asked Gary before I made the decision to climb into the barrel with him and head over the falls. If you are the spouse of an aspiring entrepreneur, I urge you to read them, add your own, then sit your spouse down for a little talk.
Financial Issues
1. Why do you want to do this? I know it's something you are passionate about, and that's great. But it's not enough--at least, not enough for me. I need to believe you are also committed to creating something that will support our family financially.
2. How vulnerable are the family's assets? Do you plan to dip into savings, use the house for collateral, raid retirement accounts? What will it mean for us financially when the bank requires your signature on a company loan? All those options make me pretty nervous, but some are scarier than others. Can we agree on what will be off limits?
3. If something happens to you, will I be on the hook for anything? What will happen to the company's assets? I would like our family to be protected. What insurance will you have? Key man? Life? Disability? Medical?
4. Assuming the business becomes profitable one of these days, what will you do with the cash? I know you'll need to plow some of it back into the company. But I think at least a portion should go toward the family's bottom line.
5. How long will we have to scrimp? I can deal with fewer evenings out and vacations that don't involve hopping on an airplane. But I don't think the roof can survive another winter's worth of New Hampshire snow. And it would be nice to begin even a modest attempt to plump up the kids' college funds. How will we fare if achieving profitability takes much longer than you project?
6. What if you never achieve profitability? What if the business limps along for years, skirting failure and chewing up more of our resources? Can we establish a cut-bait number, an amount of financial loss that we agree is our limit? At the very least, we should agree to consult at regular intervals about whether to stay in the game.
Personal Issues
1. How will my life change? If we can't live comfortably for a long while on my income or our savings, should I consider ways to bring in more cash? Because the business will be all consuming for you, will I be solely responsible for the children and the home? Can we come up with ways in advance to help relieve the pressure on me?
2. Would you like me to help out with the business in any way? If so, and if I'm game, what would you like my role to be? Partner? Employee? Or just filling in where necessary? How will we relate to each other in the office and in front of the staff? Will you treat me like everyone else? I'm not saying you shouldn't, but let's figure it out so I don't end up resenting you and the employees don't end up resenting me.
3. Will we ever see you again? I understand this business will consume you for a long time. I'm not unrealistic enough to believe we can achieve work-life balance. But I would like us to set aside some family time that is sacred and nonnegotiable. I'm flexible: dinner at home three times a week, two weekends a month devoted to us--whatever works. I'm looking for a concrete commitment that you will put on the calendar and stick to.
4. Are you up for this? Do you think you have the stamina to go the full 12 rounds? You'll need both physical and psychological endurance. Do you think you're prepared to handle the inevitable setbacks?
5. What are the opportunity costs? If you didn't take on this launch, what would our lives look like? Are there attractive alternatives for how you could spend your time and our family's resources?
Endgame Issues
1. What is your exit strategy? Is your goal to build value and cash out or to stay in until you are long in the tooth? Do you see this as a legacy for the children?
2. What's Plan B? Today you are enthusiastic and full of optimism. But failure is, in fact, an option. Do you know what you will do if you lose the business?
And Serial Entrepreneurs
1. What will be different this time? Your last business caused us a ton of stress. How will you make things easier for us with this company?
2. Is it really, truly your last start-up? Or can I expect you to be raising seed capital in the afterlife?
After finishing this list, I showed it to Gary and asked whether he thought hashing out such issues in advance would have made a difference in our lives. He agreed the exercise would have been good for both of us and maybe even for the business. But as he read over my questions—almost 30 years after the fact—he surmised that such a conversation might not have provided the bedrock of certainty I craved. His answers, he told me, would probably have varied day to day, depending on his mood, how much sleep he had had, or whether he had managed to snag a desirable investor. He would have answered truthfully. But, in fact, his replies would have been mostly guesswork.
So, have the talk, negotiate some terms, and air the concerns before they become grievances. But understand that truthful replies are not necessarily accurate ones. And while you're grilling the entrepreneur, ask yourself this question:
Am I committed enough to this person to put up with whatever crazy, unanticipated, impossible-to-iron-out-in-advance stuff happens along the way?
For me, the answer has always been yes.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
He said, She said
Confrontation 101: Which Path Will You Take?:
This infographic by Gordon Training shows two very different ways of approaching a confrontation – the “usual” way and the “Gordon” way. Which will you take the next time you are confronted with a person who is acting in a way that is preventing your needs from being met? Read on to find out.
[Click here for full size version]
Copyright © 2012 Infographic Journal. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@infographicjournal.com so we can take legal action immediately.
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This infographic by Gordon Training shows two very different ways of approaching a confrontation – the “usual” way and the “Gordon” way. Which will you take the next time you are confronted with a person who is acting in a way that is preventing your needs from being met? Read on to find out.[Click here for full size version]
Copyright © 2012 Infographic Journal. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@infographicjournal.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana
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