a true entrepreneur story: Garth Brooks
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Garth Brooks was the best-selling solo artist of the 20th century in America ahead of Elvis Presley. With a business degree in advertising, and a natural entrepreneurship and networking skills, along with obvious great talent Garth Brooks created a league and brand of its own. He created an enormous loyal following within the country western music industry and a strong name recognition among the mainstream music world, making him one of the most successful entrepreneurs/ music personalities of all time. … also one of the nicest people I have interviewed!
Brain Rules
Brain Rules
– By John Medina
Go ahead and multiply the number 8,388,628 x 2 in your head. Can you do it in a few seconds? There is a young man who can double that number 24 times in the space of a few seconds. He gets it right every time. There is a boy who can tell you the exact time of day at any moment, even in his sleep. There is a girl who can correctly determine the exact dimensions of an object 20 feet away. There is a child who at age 6 drew such lifelike and powerful pictures, she got her own show at a gallery on Madison Avenue. Yet none of these children could be taught to tie their shoes. Indeed, none of them have an IQ greater than 50.
The brain is an amazing thing.
Your brain may not be nearly so odd, but it is no less extraordinary. Easily the most sophisticated information-transfer system on Earth, your brain is fully capable of taking little black squiggles from a piece of bleached wood and deriving meaning from them. To accomplish this miracle, your brain sends jolts of electricity crackling through hundreds of miles of wires composed of brain cells so small that thousands of them could fit into the period at the end of this sentence. You accomplish all of this in less time than it takes you to blink. Indeed, you have just done it. What’s equally incredible, given our intimate association with it, is this: Most of us have no idea how our brain works.
This has strange consequences. We try to talk on our cell phones and drive at the same time, even though it is literally impossible for our brains to multitask when it comes to paying attention. We have created high-stress office environments, even though a stressed brain is significantly less productive. Our schools are designed so that most real learning has to occur at home. This would be funny, if it weren’t so harmful.
Blame it on the fact that brain scientists rarely have a conversation with teachers and business professionals, education majors and accountants, superintendents and CEOs. Unless you have the Journal of Neuroscience sitting on your coffee table, you’re out of the loop. My book is meant to get you into the loop.
12 brain rules
My goal is to introduce you to 12 things we know about how the brain works. I call these Brain Rules. For each rule, I present the science and then offer ideas for investigating how the rule might apply to our daily lives, especially at work and school. The brain is complex, and I am taking only slivers of information from each subject—non-comprehensive but accessible.
A sampling of the ideas you’ll encounter:
-For starters, we are not used to sitting at a desk for eight hours a day. From an evolutionary perspective, our brains developed while working out, walking as many as 12 miles a day. The brain still craves the experience, especially in sedentary populations like our own. That’s why exercise boosts brain power (Brain Rule #2) in such populations. Exercisers outperform couch potatoes in long-term memory, reasoning, attention, problem-solving tasks, and more. I am convinced that integrating exercise into our eight hours at work or school would only be normal.
- As you no doubt have noticed if you’ve ever sat through a typical PowerPoint presentation, people don’t pay attention to boring things (Brain Rule #4). You’ve got seconds to grab someone’s attention, and only 10 minutes to keep it. At 9 minutes and 59 seconds, something must be done quickly—something emotional and relevant. Also, the brain needs a break. That’s why I use stories in this book to make many of my points.
- Ever feel tired around 3 o’clock in the afternoon? That’s because your brain really wants to take a nap. You might be more productive if you did: In one study, a 26-minute nap improved NASA pilots’ performance by 34 percent. Even so, the brain isn’t resting while it sleeps. It is surprisingly active. And whether you get enough rest affects your mental agility the next day. Sleep well, think well (Brain Rule #7).
- We’ll meet a man who can read two pages at the same time, one with each eye, and remember everything in the pages forever. Most of us do more forgetting than remembering, of course, and that’s why we must repeat to remember (Brain Rule #5). When you understand the brain’s rules for memory, you’ll see why I want to destroy the notion of homework.
- We’ll find out why the terrible twos only look like active rebellion but are actually a child’s powerful urge to explore. Babies may not have a lot of knowledge about the world, but they know a whole lot about how to get it. We are all natural explorers (Brain Rule #12), and this never leaves us, despite the artificial environments we’ve built for ourselves.
Back to the jungle
What we know about the brain comes from biologists who study brain tissues, experimental psychologists who study behavior, and cognitive neuroscientists who study how the first relates to the second. Evolutionary biologists have gotten into the act as well. Though we know precious little about how the brain works, our evolutionary history tells us this: The brain appears to be designed to solve problems related to surviving in an unstable outdoor environment, and to do so in nearly constant motion. I call this the brain’s performance envelope.
If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a classroom. If you wanted to create a business environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a cubicle. And if you wanted to change things, you might have to tear down both and start over.
In many ways, starting over is what the book is all about.
–John Medina, author of “Brain Rules,” is a developmental molecular biologist and research consultant. He is an affiliate professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University. His article on exercise and the brain was selected by the Harvard Business Review (Feb 2008) as one of its “Breakthrough Ideas for 2008.”
Ten Great Interviewing Tips
By Keith Johnson
Ten Great Interviewing Tips
As a Technical Writer, I have had to interview hundreds of computer professionals to better understand the technology that I would be documenting. Programmers, Quality Assurance, Implementation, Sales, Management, Customer Service, Training…I have interviewed them all! The following article reveals tips you can use to optimize your interview experience and get the information you seek.
1. Interview in the morning. The morning is the time when people are fresh and are most willing to really give you good answers to your questions.
2. Ask questions when you don’t understand. Sometimes to maintain our professional image we say “yes” to someone who wants to make sure that we have understood. Don’t do this…this will bite you back in the future. Make sure you truly understood what the interviewee has said.
3. Prepare your questions well beforehand. Never arrive at an interview to get information on the fly, this is a disaster waiting to happen and others will feel that you are wasting their time. Get organized well beforehand.
4. Use a tape-recorder if possible. With the interviewee’s permission, you can record the interview. It is hard to copy verbatim text as people speak - very difficult indeed.
5. Verify what you have heard. Don’t be afraid to repeat what the interviewee has just said, to clarify the accuracy of the information.
6. Submit your write-up to the interviewee before publishing. Once your interview is done and you have written your documentation or article, give them a copy to make sure that you have correctly recorded their input and ideas. This will also help you build a great bond with them professionally, knowing that you wrote a nice article about their work.
7. Use visuals, if possible. In not only software, but other businesses too, images or screen shots, where possible, complement a nice information interview. It allows for the information to become clearer to the reader and the reader can more readily assimilate the article’s utility with images.
8. Interview the interviewee’s manager, if possible. For bonus points, it is good to spend five to ten minutes to verify the information you received from the interviewee with his or her manager, who also has worked hard to produce the software or whatever product is being documented or recorded. Sometimes the manager has a unique perspective that the employee does not have
9. Submit your write-up to the interviewee’s manager as well. Also let the interviewee’s manager see your article before publishing. In this way, you have cleared all obstacles necessary on the level of information and also management approval.
10. Back-up your work after completion. There is nothing worse than losing your work and having to interview someone for the same material twice. Highly unprofessional! Be organized always and stay on top of your virtual turf.
Keith Johnson, M.S. Education
Computer Software Technical Writer, South Florida, USA
Keith Johnson is a Technical Writer from South Florida who keeps a sound body and mind with meditation and affirmations. He has written a book on each of these areas, and their URLs are www.sacredsyllable.com and www.greataffirmations.com, respectively.
Young Entrepreneurs: Reveal the Stories Behind their Start-Ups
Sarah Polley is best known for acting role in the 2008 Oscar nominated film Away From Her. The movie was nominated for two Academy Awards: best actress for Julie Christie and best adapted screenplay, Sarah Polley herself. She started her career as an actress, then moved on to politics and now came back as a successful filmmaker. Here is an excerpt of her entrepreneurial journey published on experience.com.
by Jenny Halper
Sarah Polley looks like a college student-young on this cool April day, shaking off a winter jacket that screams “Canada!” and plopping down at a table laden with cookies. But that’s not what surprises me when I meet the twenty-eight-year-old star of The Sweet Hereafter, Go, and countless other films. It’s her Hollywood-proof attitude, open and matter-of-fact. She greets me with a friendly smile and a down-to-earth air.
The Ontario native is in New York to talk about Away from Her, a film adaptation of Alice Munro’s story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” that marks Polley’s feature debut as writer-director. It’s about an aging woman with Alzheimer’s disease-not a subject likely to lure summer audiences to the Cineplex, and not the first topic you’d imagine a writer/director who hasn’t even hit her thirtieth birthday tackling. But Polley, who was acting by the age of four, advocating peace at eleven, and writing and directing short films by the time she was twenty, has never been one to accept age limitations or follow conventions-Hollywood, Canadian, or otherwise.
Read more
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Free Live call with Seth Godin
Is the New Marketing stuff working for you? Are you mixing your meatball business with your marketing sundae?SFentrepreneur is proud to present Marketing Guru, Seth Godin and this time we will be doing a conference call with everyone about this latest book- Meatball Sundae for SFentrepreneur members for free!
For those of who doesn’t know who Seth is…
Seth writes a very popular marketing blog . He is the author of some of the bestselling marketing books . He speaks to large groups on marketing, new media and he is also the founder of Squidoo.com, a fast-growing recommendation website.
- American Way Magazine called Seth “America’s Greatest Marketer.”
- Promote Magazine called Seth “The Prime Minister of Permission Marketing.”
In his new book Meatball Sundae , the definitive guide to the fourteen trends no marketer can afford to ignore. Seth explains what to do about the increasing power of stories, not facts; about shorter and shorter attention spans; and about the new math that says five thousand people who want to hear your message are more valuable than five million who don’t. Seth doesn’t pretend that it’s easy to get your products, marketing messages, and internal systems in sync. But he’ll convince you that it’s worth the effort.
Ignore it at your own risk and peril. You will be left behind or end up with a “meatball sundae” – a big, ineffective mess.
By the end of an hour, Godin will have us looking at the world we live in very differently - the new rules create new winners (and losers) and there’s no time to waste.
When: April 9th 12:00 – 1:00 p.m (Pacific Time)
Sign Up Here -> http://meatball.eventbrite.com/
Join this conference call on and learn directly from Seth Godin himself!
The Fine Print:
·Participants must purchase a copy of Meatball Sundae in order to register for this conference call. If you are already a meatball fan, great! We will ask you a simple question when you register.
·If you are new to Meatball Sundae, that’s fine too! We will buy you the book and send you the call detail.
This event is proudly hosted by SFentrepreneur.
SFentrepreneur is a community of inspired entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. Our mission is to promote entrepreneurship and growth of our local businesses through expert entrepreneur talks, networking events and by providing online and in person opportunities for you to publicize your businesses.
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Top 10 Entrepreneurial Quotes
Here are few of my all time favorite entrepreneurial quotes -
- I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work - Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist
- Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover - Mark Twain, author
- The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary - Vidal Sassoon, entrepreneur
- Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life - John F. Kennedy, U.S. President
- Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t - anonymous
- Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory - Mahatma Gandhi, political and spiritual leader
- In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable - Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. President
- The greatest reward in becoming a millionaire is not the amount of money that you earn. It is the kind of person that you have to become to become a millionaire in the first place - Jim Rohn
- There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose the ventures before us - William Shakespeare, author - Genius is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration - Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist
What’s your favorite quote?
Ten Critical Steps to writing a Business Plan
By Jay Maharjan
Starting a business is a major commitment that will consume 24/7 of your life with no end in sight. It is always good to know what you are getting into before you take the plunge. From my experience writing business plans for large and small companies alike for the last 8 years, there are basically two reasons why you need a business plan - the first reason is to re-assure yourself that this wild dream that you have in your mind is actually attainable. And, the second reason is to convince a lender or a venture capitalist. More than likely, you are writing for the second reason. Whatever your reason may be, as the legendary management guru Peter Drucker would bluntly put - always ask yourself what your business is, who your customers are, and what the customer considers value.
In my opinion, here is a list of pointers that will save you headaches later.
Be clear about what you are selling
Spend as much time as you need to define and clarify what you are selling. From the gettgo, come up with a 15 second elevator pitch. This will come handy later on. If you need professional help to come up with a pitch, companies like - 15secondpitch can help. This is a great resource to help you discover who you are, what your company does, and what others perceive of you and your verbal and written messages.
Create a proper legal structure for your business
Right legal structure will save you headaches later. There are many legal factors that come in play while choosing the right structure for your business - always consult with a good business attorney. For an instance, choosing a Corporation in many cases will cost you more on taxes with its double taxation clauses, but will provide you with the most immunity from personal liabilities. There are websites like FindLaw that provide both free and premium services for small businesses.
Come up with Mission, Vision, and Objective statements for your venture
Mission, Vision, and Objectives - They may all look the same at first glance, but they reflect different rationale.
The mission statement represents the underlying operating philosophy and the values of the company - ‘The mission at Company ABC is to provide a reliable, yet affordable XYZ technology for residential customers.’
The Vision statement represents a long term plan - that provides a direction to make significant impact - ‘Our vision at company ABC is to become a global niche leader in XYZ technology by the year 2009.’
The Objective represents definitive goals for different purposes within the company. Peter Drucker first popularized the term “management by objective” in his 1954 book ‘The Practice of Management’. Objectives can be set in all domains (services, sales, R&D, human resources, finance) - ‘The main objective of company ABC is to understand the target market, to implement the most optimized form of logistics, to include a series of efficient fulfillment processes and to provide an unmatched form of customer service.’
Be honest with your Strengths and Weaknesses
You can conduct a simple SWOT analysis on your venture. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Create four quadrants and fill up with honest lists of answers. This simple test allows you to assess your compatibility with the venture that you are getting into. This test will also indicate opportunities, threats and barriers to entry that exist in your vertical market.
Conduct a thorough research on your vertical market
Leverage on new Internet research tools to conduct comprehensive studies. At every stage of your research, be open to adopt new directions based on your findings. Make sure there is a real opportunity. Or, move on to a different venture.
Make sure your product or service addresses pain point (s)
This goes back to the point (a). Understand and address your customer needs.
Conduct a thorough research on your competitors.
Create a matrix and conduct a thorough competitive analysis. See what your competitors are offering. Make sure your product or service addresses pain point (s) better than your competitors. Its all right if your competitors got in the market before you did, but focus on doing things little bit differently that you address the customer needs, pain points better than them.
Be realistic with the revenue projections.
Don’t fall for cliches like - ‘According to Forrestor’s research, our market will be $ X billion by ___’, ‘We will drop our product in China and we will make billions.’ There is nothing wrong with wanting to become another Google or Microsoft, but make sure you have unique product or services. If you have a patent on your innovation, that helps. If you already have an angel investor on board, that gives you credibility. If you have a veteran management team in place, thats going to help you a lot! Always be ready to explain to lenders and Venture Capitalists how you are going to reach the big numbers - and never ever use cliched answers.
Surround yourself with people smarter than you. Do not be afraid to ask for help.
Always reach out to people smarter than you. Big ideas take right people to bring them to life. You want to do things smartly and not give your idea away, but at the same time you need to be open to sharing with right people. One rule of thumb is - it is better to team up with people with complimenting skill sets. If you are an engineer, you don’t need another engineer to support your point of view. You need a professional sales partner to sell your product, and a sharp finance guy to keep the numbers in order.
Seize the opportunity to scale up - quick.
Big deals don’t happen on their own. Big deals happen because of right people, right product, right momentum in the market among many possible variations. If you have everything in order and luck is in your favor, seize the opportunity to scale up - and do it quick! Otherwise, good entrepreneurs know when to pack up their bags and move on to another opportunity. I advise entrepreneurs to get out of business if the venture doesn’t take off within two years.
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True Hollywood entrepreneur stories
True Hollywood stories: The lowdown on news
If seeing all those non celebrities on E!–the personal stylists, the restaurateurs–makes you seethe with envy, calm down. Where there’s a will, there’s a way you, too, can work it Hollywood-style. All you have to do is carve yourself an entrepreneurial niche that makes you an “expert” in something not many are. But expect some hard work, pavement-pounding and door-knocking, because, face it, if you’re not Jerry Seinfeld’s ex, immediate start-up exposure might not happen. Here, see how three Tinseltown-inspired companies got their big breaks.
——-
By Laura Tiffany
Description: They rent cardboard cutout “extras” at $5 a pop for crowd scenes
Entrepreneurs: Robert Platts, 29; Jeff Hamilton, 31
Company: Gonzo Bros.
Location: Hollywood, California
Year started: 1997
Casting call: After working in management for a now-defunct studio, Hamilton and Platts were approached by a company seeking 2,000 cardboard cutouts. Remembering their former boss had a stash, they approached him and split the money. The partners saw gold and had 4,000 cutouts made.
Media blitz: In a very low-budget marketing campaign, Hamilton and Platts faxed every commercial, TV and film director in the Hollywood 411 directory. Since then, they’ve provided cutout extras for crowd scenes in commercials (which make up about 80 percent of their business) for Nike, Adidas and Gatorade, as well as for the movies American Pie and Man in the Moon and the TV series Dawson’s Creek.
What they really want: Hamilton and Platts, who also provide independent sales and marketing for a studio, see this as a stepping stone to their true goals: producing and acting. “The access we have to producers and directors enables us to learn faster and figure out how to do what we want to in this industry,” says Hamilton. “If we had regular jobs, it would be more difficult to break into the entertainment industry.”
Cutthroat business: Their current competition–$90-a-day human extras and studios with their own cache of cutouts–aren’t as threatening as their future competition. What are their plans for when computer graphics takes over the crowd-extra niche? “We’re very flexible,” says Hamilton. “We’ll adjust to whatever the demands are.” But he agrees with Platt, who says, “By then, we want to be producing.”
—
Entrepreneurs: Genevieve Cibor, 32; Mark Andrushko, 32; Kelli Bennett, 31
Company: Scriptapalooza Inc.
Description: They run a script contest; winners receive access to major Hollywood players and a cash prize.
Location: Hollywood, California
Year started: 1998
Making waves: Each partner has a background in the entertainment industry, from acting to writing to producing, but Cibor and Bennett, both writers, were particularly discouraged by competitions that either required industry contacts or only gave cash prizes, with no help getting a foot in the door. With a Web site on Tripod, a few contacts from Andrushko’s producing background and the guts to cold-call industry players, the partners decided to change the way script contests were run.
The write people: Participants–the production companies and literary representatives who read the winning scripts–include UPN’s director of comedy development and The Jim Henson Company. Final Draft Inc., a leading writing software company, cold-contacted the partners, offering to be the sponsor of the contest. “So many huge companies were receptive and eager to be part of the contest, it was overwhelming,” says Cibor.
The write stuff: Scriptapalooza received 605 screenplays for its first contest–more, Andrushko says, than several well-known, established competitions received. Based on the response from writers and participants, they started Scriptapalooza TV (for TV scripts) last August and plan to start Flickapalooza, an annual film festival, this year.
First prize: “Our big reward is being able to discover raw talent, jump-start their career and give them an opportunity that wouldn’t otherwise exist,” says Bennett. “Another reward is our personal goal of becoming influential in Hollywood’s decision-making process–getting writers and projects considered that the ‘Hollywood Machine’ might not even bother looking at.”
—-
By Michelle Prather
Entrepreneurs: Marnie Lerner, 27; Cynde Cassel, 30; Diane Lerner, 50-something
Company: Star Treatment Inc.
Description: Gift-buying and personal-shopping service
Location: Los Angeles
Year started: 1996
In the stars: Destiny brought former entertainment writer Marnie Lerner and former personal shopper Cassel together in 1994 at a fashion show. When Cassel landed an ad job at the same L.A. publication that employed Marnie, the two were designated corporate gift coordinators for the 1995 holiday season.
Exit, stage left: Marnie and Cassel grabbed Marnie’s mother, Diane, and began exploring the niche they knew would be a Hollywood hit. “Growing up in Los Angeles, you’d go over to friends’ houses where $250 flower bouquets were delivered ‘just because they’re pretty,’ ” says Marnie. Sensing the “need” for an upscale gift-giving service, each partner invested $5,000. An additional $25,000 from a private investor solidified the launch.
May i leave a voice mail? The gals never thought Hollywood studios would constitute 80 percent of their $500,000-plus business–until the vice president of marketing at Universal Pictures finally responded to their cold calls. “She said ‘OK, girls, we’re doing Snow Falling On Cedars, and we need [gifts] for the actors.’ ” Ethan Hawke and Sam Shepherd were the first celebs Star Treatment shopped for; since then, they’ve gifted just about every huge star you can imagine.
Worldwide presents: They don’t just buy Prada cell phone bags for Meg Ryan and Diane Keaton–they also serve people like you and me via Startreatment.com, their personal shopping Web site. With worldwide interest, expansion is likely. Don’t forget your friends here at Business Start-Ups, ladies.
(source: entrepreneur.com)
2008 OMMA Hollywood
I was at the OMMA Hollywood event this last week. It was a small event for content developers, advertising companies and technology platform creators representing various emerging mediums. The show featured some of the newest tools in interactive advertising and media content development. Many products were interesting and promising, but I found them still work in progress and were not mature enough to represent a solid business model. Maria Izabella Domoslawska, Director of Researh at Exponential and one of the speakers at the event agrees. When it comes to commercializing online video platform there is going to be a sharp growth curve that we will see in the next 5 years.
However, I did come across some of the companies and personalities who are making significant impact as either content developers or as online talents. On-Air Talent Nzinga Blake - who has successful TV shows on various cable stations, including Direct TV, Dish Network, and Virgin Media in UK is collaborating with the Hollywood based content developer Xonger and launching new shows on Current.com.
I also came across various emerging innovative interactive advertising tools for online videos and mobile devices. VideoClix has an amazing online video advertising tool. Even though the product is in beta stage - the demo that Brent Stafford, the Vice President of VideoClix showed me was quite impressive. VideoClix tool provides a non intrusive, interactive advertising tool for advertisers. This tool allows viewers to point cursor over a specific product on the video and this generates a summary of the product/brand information on the side of the screen.
In another instance, I had an informal chat with the CEO of Foryourimagination- a relatively smaller company based out of New York. I liked the underdog position of this company among heavy hitters in the content development vertical. According to Paul Kontonis, his eight person company has successfully leveraged on a limited start-up capital to develop some of the niche content that is already creating buzz in the industry. Foryourimagination currently has shows like Bschooltalk.net and NextNYers.
Companies like Foryourimagination, along with other innovative participants at the convention show a lot of promise and provide a snapshot of what is on the horizon.
From strategic point of view, one thing is for sure and doesn’t change regardless of how cool some of these technologies are and that is - content is still the king! of course, along with other factors like how well and how soon people will embrace these new channels of content dissemination.
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4entrepreneur Blog Carnival IX
Welcome to the March 19, 2008 edition of 4entrepreneur.
Life. Money. Development. presents Acquiring the Habits of Highly Successful Students posted at Life. Money. Development., saying, “Expanding on how to hone our learning skills. Useful for school, business and life in general”
Brian Terry presents 17 essential “big selling” website strategies (Big Selling Website Design) posted at Big Selling Website Design.
James D. Brausch presents Lack of Results posted at Internet Business Blog.
Carol Bentley presents Yesterday?s blog-post was completely off-track posted at Carol Bentley.
Stephen Dean presents Top Notch Blog Posts You Almost Missed? posted at Stephen Dean’s Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog - Copywriter.
Michel Fortin presents How to Hook (More) Copywriting Prospects posted at The Michel Fortin Blog.
Kenton Newby presents Video Tip of the Week: Brainstorm Hundreds of Great Domain Names in a Couple of Clicks posted at KentonNewby.com.
Don D. Morrison presents Generating Targeted Traffic from Forums posted at dondmorrison.com.
Ed Rivis presents Burning blog feeds for actual statistics. posted at Ed Rivis.
GP presents On a Wing and a Prayer posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn, saying, “We’ve all heard the common saying horses fly without wings. To me, I think horses do fly without wings, it’s just that no one has seen them do it. I believe that to truly recognize their specialties, we need to give them full dedication, love and trust, and only the ones who can truly believe it can truly feel it”
Andrew Erickson presents Merchant Processing 101 posted at WebSite Werx.
Sabrina Jefferson presents How To Create Your Own Blog posted at Sabrina Jefferson.
James D. Brausch presents The Anatomy of Hurdles posted at Internet Business Blog.
John Crenshaw presents Paying Off Your Mortgage - Will It Save You Money? posted at Truthful Lending dot Com, saying, “There’s been quite a bit of debate lately over whether or not you should pay off your mortgage or invest any extra money. This article explores the different mortgage payoff methods and will help you decide which, if any, are right for you.”
Brian Terry presents How to set up a zero maintenance affiliate marketing WordPress blog posted at Big Selling Affiliates Blog.
Hill Robertson presents So Many Choices - Just Pick One posted at Hill Robertson, saying, “The number of ways you can make money online is unlimited. Be sure not to get distracted. Pick one and run with it.”
James D. Brausch presents 24 Hour Special: New Copywriting Procedure posted at Internet Business Blog.
business plan
Aaron Brandon presents What To Blog About posted at Aaron Brandon.
Kenton Newby presents Focusing on Leverage posted at KentonNewby.com.
Jimmy Sansi presents Tools Worth Using posted at The Kaizen Business.
Don D. Morrison presents It Isn’t Human Relations Anymore? Its Out Sourcing! posted at dondmorrison.com.
Sabrina Jefferson presents Internet Marketing Newbie Action Plan posted at Sabrina Jefferson.
Stephen Dean presents A Simple Solution To Increase Sales posted at Stephen Dean’s Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog - Copywriter.
Carol Bentley presents How appealing are you posted at Carol Bentley.
Sagar presents Look on the Bright Side: 100 Tiny Tips to Improve Your Mood posted at Bootstrapper.
Taylor Coburn presents Get A Grip On Your Online Business posted at Internet Business at ProcessToProfits.
James D. Brausch presents Not Enough Time posted at Internet Business Blog.
entrepreneur
Jimmy Sansi presents Grow Your List Of Publishers posted at The Kaizen Business.
James Brausch presents Costa Rica Corporation posted at Costa Rica HQ.
THE LAUNDRY CAPITALIST presents Most Laundromats Years behind with their Pricing Even in the Country’s most Expensive City posted at THE LAUNDRY CAPITALIST, saying, “A blog on pricing your commercial laundry business - the right way.”
Woody Maxim presents My review of Blog Farm Generator posted at Woody Maxim.
Tiffany Colter presents Writing Career Coach: How I got here: Part 3 posted at Writing Career Coach, saying, “This blog discusses expecting success and how to know when you get there!”
Mike Buckley presents A Very Useful Government Web Site posted at Mine Your Own Business.
Joshua C. Karlin presents Powerful Yet Reasonable Goals posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.
Thomas D. Brownsword presents Work: A Mixed Blessing posted at Business Action Steps.
Sarah Paine presents The Power Is In The Ping posted at Sarah Paine.
James D. Brausch presents Get Out of the Zone. posted at Internet Business Blog.
Terry Dean presents Why Believing in Yourself Will Change Your Life posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.
Stephen Dean presents I Just Got Back From The Cruise posted at Stephen Dean’s Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog - Copywriter.
Brian Terry presents How to develop a Big Selling Affiliate mindset posted at Big Selling Affiliates Blog.
Michel Fortin presents Give Your Joint-Venture Offer An Extra Punch | The Michel Fortin Blog posted at The Michel Fortin Blog.
Ed Rivis presents Planning for Catastrophic Failure. posted at Ed Rivis.
Don D. Morrison presents 10 More Methods To Begin Generating Online Marketing Visitors & Prospects? For Real Blogs! posted at dondmorrison.com.
John Lenaghan presents Affiliate Summit Day 1 - Calacanis Keynote Part 3 (aka Long Term Thinking) posted at Internet Marketing Chaos.
Mark Riffey presents If Michael Jordan is ok with failing, isn’t it ok for you? posted at Business is Personal.
Woody Maxim presents The quickest way to more money is through testing posted at Woody Maxim.
Jose DeJesus MD presents Improve Investment and Financial Results - Simplify and Conquer posted at Physician Entrepreneur.
Ralph Jean-Paul presents Bounce Back After Failure posted at Potential 2 Success, saying, “Some of the most successful people in the world credit their success to a failure they’ve experienced. Bounce back from your failure and you might become one of them. Learn about the different types of failures and how to recover from them successfully.”
Aaron Brandon presents Product Creation Worry posted at Aaron Brandon.
Michel Fortin presents An Obvious Truth Quadrupled Our Business posted at The Michel Fortin Blog.
Woody Maxim presents Lessons Revealed from Day 1 posted at Woody Maxim.
Stephen Dean presents Using Amazon.com For Market Research posted at Stephen Dean’s Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog - Copywriter.
Michel Fortin presents Busy Working In The Virtual Kitchen posted at The Michel Fortin Blog.
Warren Wong presents How To Deal With Worrying posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “Three steps to help you stop worrying in no time!”
Joshua C. Karlin presents Jewish Fundraising Consultants posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.
marketing
Steve Oliphant presents Stop Gambling with Your Future and Start Making Money posted at Steve Oliphant’s Musings.
Richard McLaughlin presents Target Your Global Market With A Good Understanding Of Their Demographics : Get International Clients posted at Get International Clients.
Brian Terry presents Your shortcut to Internet business success starts right here posted at Big Selling Website Design.
Terry Dean presents Using Long Tail Keywords for Profit posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.
Michel Fortin presents Give Your Joint-Venture Offer An Extra Punch posted at The Michel Fortin Blog.
Mark Riffey presents Marketing opportunities: As perishable as lettuce. posted at Business is Personal.
Woody Maxim presents The Answer posted at Woody Maxim.
Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents Remember Your Emotions for Increased Sales Letter Pull posted at Rebecca Dean.
Don D. Morrison presents 10 Superior Methods To Incorporate An Online Marketing Auto-responder! posted at dondmorrison.com.
Brian Terry presents How to create an affiliate link redirect posted at Big Selling Affiliates Blog.
Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents Stop Thinking. Begin Testing! posted at Rebecca Dean.
Richard McLaughlin presents Mind Mapping Makes Life Easier posted at Cindy King.
Mark Riffey presents All women think alike, right? posted at Business is Personal.
Aaron Brandon presents Do You Use These Words? posted at Aaron Brandon.
Andy Havens presents Need a New Sales Page? Do This First? posted at Copy Tactics.
WebSiteWerx presents The Attention Age Doctrine: Yours for the Taking posted at WebSite Werx, saying, “The Attention Age Doctrine: Yours for the Taking”
sales
Brian Terry presents 17 essential “big selling” website strategies posted at Big Selling Website Design.
Andrew Erickson presents Merchant Processing 102 posted at WebSite Werx.
Brian Terry presents Why you MUST become fanatical at testing and tracking posted at Big Selling Website Design.
Karl Goldfield presents Building a plan Part 5: Seeing the results first - Thank you Mr. Covey | Coaching Sales Champions posted at Coaching sales champions.
Stephen Dean presents The Mathematics Of Testing Your Sales Copy. posted at Stephen Dean’s Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog - Copywriter.
Raymond Le Blanc presents Creating Wealth posted at Cranendonck Coaching.
Jade presents Myspace.com Blogs - Raw Health, Global Peace/Unity, Shirts & Misc Items - JADE MySpace Blog posted at Jade Raw Soul, saying, “Great Raw/Vegan/Vegetarian and Global Peace T-shirts, buttons, hats, bags, and miscellaneous items. Raw Health, Global Peace/Unity, Shirts & Misc Items”
Mark Riffey presents How to measure advertising response in any media posted at Business is Personal.
Carol Bentley presents Normal service is (almost) resumed. . . posted at Carol Bentley.
Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents There’s No Need To Admit You’re Telling The Truth… Unless You’re A Liar! posted at Rebecca Dean.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of 4entrepreneur using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Winner of the Standford e-week challenge..
Next Generation: Media and the Web
Event sponsored by entrepreneur27. For details, click here
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Free Live call with Seth Godin
Is the New Marketing stuff working for you? Are you mixing your meatball business with your marketing sundae?
SFentrepreneur is proud to present Marketing Guru, Seth Godin and this time we will be doing a conference call with everyone about this latest book- Meatball Sundae for SFentrepreneur members for free!
For those of who doesn’t know who Seth is…
Seth writes a very popular marketing blog . He is the author of some of the bestselling marketing books . He speaks to large groups on marketing, new media and he is also the founder of Squidoo.com, a fast-growing recommendation website.
- American Way Magazine called Seth “America’s Greatest Marketer.”
- Promote Magazine called Seth “The Prime Minister of Permission Marketing.”
In his new book Meatball Sundae , the definitive guide to the fourteen trends no marketer can afford to ignore. Seth explains what to do about the increasing power of stories, not facts; about shorter and shorter attention spans; and about the new math that says five thousand people who want to hear your message are more valuable than five million who don’t. Seth doesn’t pretend that it’s easy to get your products, marketing messages, and internal systems in sync. But he’ll convince you that it’s worth the effort.
Ignore it at your own risk and peril. You will be left behind or end up with a “meatball sundae” – a big, ineffective mess.
By the end of an hour, Godin will have us looking at the world we live in very differently - the new rules create new winners (and losers) and there’s no time to waste.
When: April 9th 12:00 – 1:00 p.m (Pacific Time)
Sign Up Here -> http://meatball.eventbrite.com/
Join this conference call on and learn directly from Seth Godin himself!
The Fine Print:
·Participants must purchase a copy of Meatball Sundae in order to register for this conference call. If you are already a meatball fan, great! We will ask you a simple question when you register.
·If you are new to Meatball Sundae, that’s fine too! We will buy you the book and send you the call detail.
This event is proudly hosted by SFentrepreneur.
SFentrepreneur is a community of inspired entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. Our mission is to promote entrepreneurship and growth of our local businesses through expert entrepreneur talks, networking events and by providing online and in person opportunities for you to publicize your businesses.
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5 Massive Mistakes Keeping You Stuck
Expert Post By Shawn Driscoll
I’ve coached hundreds of talented, accomplished professionals who’ve reached a point in their career where they feel lost, off track or stuck.
Sometime it’s a job they don’t enjoy and aren’t challenged by anymore.
Sometimes it’s work that has taken over their lives.
Occasionally they are in toxic work environments, draining them of their energy, clarity and confidence.
And there’s always the nagging feeling that won’t go away….”I should be doing something more with my life and career.”
Most have tried to make a change at one point or another, only to end up confused, frustrated and overwhelmed. They haven’t been able to find their path to satisfaction and balance. And they’re asking “Is this all there is?” or “How did I end up here?”
If you can relate please know you are not alone. It’s a really common mid-career ‘crisis’. And, it’s solvable.
Yes, there are some very real challenges in making a mid-career change.
· Today’s job market is a tough one. The economy is tight and it’s clearly an employer’s game.
· If you’re mid-career, it’s likely been at least 5 years (and probably more like 15 years) since you’ve actively been in the job market. Times have changed since you last looked for work, wrote a resume or sat in an interview.
· Then there’s your busy life. You’ve already got a full plate. Trying to pile a major career change on top of everything else worsens the overload. Balancing it all can feel really overwhelming.
· And of course, you’ve got a lot at stake. You’ve got a good salary, benefits, vacation and perks. You may have status or prestige, or developed a good reputation in your field or industry. Having so much at stake triggers fear of the unknown. You wonder what you’d have to give up in order to get a job you really enjoy and feel good about.
Certainly, these are very real challenges and with the right strategy you can overcome them.
But, it’s not these realities that are most likely to derail your career change. The most dangerous obstacle are the completely avoidable mistakes and misconceptions almost everyone makes when trying to change career direction.
Are you making any of these 5 Avoidable Mistakes?
- Making too many assumptions.
If you stay stuck in your head worrying about the ‘What If’s,’ you are making too many assumptions.
What if I ….
…can’t get a job in this economy…have to take a pay cut…am overqualified…am under qualified….too old…. Not as good as the competition….. have to go back to school… fail
These are nothing but stories you tell yourself. You don’t know if any of it is true. These are just fears, masked as facts you’ve bought into. And they stop you in your tracks
2. Not Looking Out for Number 1.
If making a career change is a top priority for you, act like it. Stop trying to squeeze it in between everything else. Stop waiting for life to ‘get less busy’. It won’t.
It’s not selfish to want to enjoy your work and life. It’s not selfish to want to do work that brings out your best. It’s not selfish to want to have more balance in your life. Put this at the top of your list, not the bottom.
3. Putting up with too much ____________.
You fill in the blank. You know what you’re putting up with. Maybe it’s the complaining co-worker, the unappreciative boss or friend, too many commitments, or the unbearable workload.
By tolerating you drain your energy, cloud your thinking and lower your self-confidence.
You need energy. You need clear thinking. You need to be confident. Or you won’t be able to make a career change. And you’ll be stuck in exactly the same place next week, next month, next year.
4. Taking the wrong actions, in the wrong order.
In this market you have to put your best foot forward. You can’t afford to throw together a quickie resume, slap it on some online sites and hope for the best.
There is a process and strategy to make a change in direction, especially at midcareer. Taking action in the wrong order will discourage you and seriously limit your success at finding work that fits.
5. Spinning your wheels, waiting for the answer to appear.
Have you read all the career books, taken all the assessments, and asked everyone you know what they think you should do? Are you waiting for that “EUREKA!” moment where it all seems clear? And are you more confused than ever?
Indecisiveness is a sure sign that you’re spinning your wheels. You are relying on others more than you are listening to yourself.
Until you are clear about who you are, what matters most to you, what strengths you possess and what makes you tick, you’ll just confuse yourself by getting more and more input from others.
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entrepreneurship@cornell Celebration
To receive more information about Celebration ‘08, please provide your email and mailing address to .
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Ten Critical Steps to writing a Business Plan
Expert Post by Jay Maharjan
Starting a business is a major commitment that will consume 24/7 of your life with no end in sight. It is always good to know what you are getting into before you take the plunge. From my experience writing business plans for large and small companies alike for the last 8 years, there are basically two reasons why you need a business plan - the first reason is to re-assure yourself that this wild dream that you have in your mind is actually attainable. And, the second reason is to convince a lender or a venture capitalist. More than likely, you are writing for the second reason. Whatever your reason may be, as the legendary management guru Peter Drucker would bluntly put - always ask yourself what your business is, who your customers are, and what the customer considers value.
In my opinion, here is a list of pointers that will save you headaches later.
Be clear about what you are selling
Spend as much time as you need to define and clarify what you are selling. From the gettgo, come up with a 15 second elevator pitch. This will come handy later on. If you need professional help to come up with a pitch, companies like - 15secondpitch can help. This is a great resource to help you discover who you are, what your company does, and what others perceive of you and your verbal and written messages.
Create a proper legal structure for your business
Right legal structure will save you headaches later. There are many legal factors that come in play while choosing the right structure for your business - always consult with a good business attorney. For an instance, choosing a Corporation in many cases will cost you more on taxes with its double taxation clauses, but will provide you with the most immunity from personal liabilities. There are websites like FindLaw that provide both free and premium services for small businesses.
Come up with Mission, Vision, and Objective statements for your venture
Mission, Vision, and Objectives - They may all look the same at first glance, but they reflect different rationale.
The mission statement represents the underlying operating philosophy and the values of the company - ‘The mission at Company ABC is to provide a reliable, yet affordable XYZ technology for residential customers.’
The Vision statement represents a long term plan - that provides a direction to make significant impact - ‘Our vision at company ABC is to become a global niche leader in XYZ technology by the year 2009.’
The Objective represents definitive goals for different purposes within the company. Peter Drucker first popularized the term “management by objective” in his 1954 book ‘The Practice of Management’. Objectives can be set in all domains (services, sales, R&D, human resources, finance) - ‘The main objective of company ABC is to understand the target market, to implement the most optimized form of logistics, to include a series of efficient fulfillment processes and to provide an unmatched form of customer service.’
Be honest with your Strengths and Weaknesses
You can conduct a simple SWOT analysis on your venture. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Create four quadrants and fill up with honest lists of answers. This simple test allows you to assess your compatibility with the venture that you are getting into. This test will also indicate opportunities, threats and barriers to entry that exist in your vertical market.
Conduct a thorough research on your vertical market
Leverage on new Internet research tools to conduct comprehensive studies. At every stage of your research, be open to adopt new directions based on your findings. Make sure there is a real opportunity. Or, move on to a different venture.
Make sure your product or service addresses pain point (s)
This goes back to the point (a). Understand and address your customer needs.
Conduct a thorough research on your competitors.
Create a matrix and conduct a thorough competitive analysis. See what your competitors are offering. Make sure your product or service addresses pain point (s) better than your competitors. Its all right if your competitors got in the market before you did, but focus on doing things little bit differently that you address the customer needs, pain points better than them.
Be realistic with the revenue projections.
Don’t fall for cliches like - ‘According to Forrestor’s research, our market will be $ X billion by ___’, ‘We will drop our product in China and we will make billions.’ There is nothing wrong with wanting to become another Google or Microsoft, but make sure you have unique product or services. If you have a patent on your innovation, that helps. If you already have an angel investor on board, that gives you credibility. If you have a veteran management team in place, thats going to help you a lot! Always be ready to explain to lenders and Venture Capitalists how you are going to reach the big numbers - and never ever use cliched answers.
Surround yourself with people smarter than you. Do not be afraid to ask for help.
Always reach out to people smarter than you. Big ideas take right people to bring them to life. You want to do things smartly and not give your idea away, but at the same time you need to be open to sharing with right people. One rule of thumb is - it is better to team up with people with complimenting skill sets. If you are an engineer, you don’t need another engineer to support your point of view. You need a professional sales partner to sell your product, and a sharp finance guy to keep the numbers in order.
Seize the opportunity to scale up - quick.
Big deals don’t happen on their own. Big deals happen because of right people, right product, right momentum in the market among many possible variations. If you have everything in order and luck is in your favor, seize the opportunity to scale up - and do it quick! Otherwise, good entrepreneurs know when to pack up their bags and move on to another opportunity. I advise entrepreneurs to get out of business if the venture doesn’t take off within two years.
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Ten Great Technical Writing Tips
Expert post by Keith Johnson, M.S. Education ()
Most people shy away from not only writing but also technical writing because it involves understanding and explaining technical concepts. I do empathize, however, people in many professional areas can benefit from understanding the basics of technical writing. Technical writing is a skill that will not only help you to better understand a software or system that you are working with, but also will help you to build credibility before others in an organization, especially as a knowledge expert regarding the topic or areas you are covering in your documentation. Here are ten tips to improving your technical writing skills, and these may be applied to not only software, but also to internal processes and procedures that define how a company operates:
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Identify the final goal. Many times when someone is explaining a system or a software functionality, he or she gets lost in the details of the system and the reader is not able to assimilate the details with the final goal of the documentation you are writing. Stay focused, and if you need, feel free to include a comment or two reminded the user of their final goal in reading the documentation.
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Use modest screen shots. Sometimes, technical writers or support personnel capture a whole screen when there is only a part of the screen that needs capturing. This will help the reader to assimilate the button or field you are discussing with the screen.
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Use examples. Many times, technical writers explain an idea without a tangible example. Examples always help the reader to assimilate the lesson-idea with the practical use of the software or system. There is nothing more frustrating than reading text that has seemingly no relevance to the system.
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Assume the reader is a novice. The majority of people reading documentation will not be system or software experts. That is why they are reading the documentation! The ones who really know the system will navigate without the written word. So, be clear in your explanations, taking the reader by the hand as much as possible.
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Reiterate from time to time. As you explain a system or software, there may be aspects that must be re-mentioned for the reader to successfully assimilate the current idea with the idea base you have been building all along in your write-up.
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Use tables. I especially appreciate the technical writer who can summarize fields or related processes and procedures in a table. This is a good visual way for the reader to further understand the document, using relative comparison, in the form of a table.
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Use wide margins. Do not create a document with narrow margins, because when it comes time to publish, there could be issues related to creating PDFs or even web pages (HTML), so use ample margins.
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Make sure you use appropriate annotation when quoting someone of authority or another written source. Make sure you create a document that reveals sources that are authorities on the matter and that are recognized in a field.
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Have both technical and non-technical personnel review your work. It is good to see the perspectives of readers from both the technical and non-technical aspects of a business. Both will give you unique feedback.
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Proofread you work before final submission to your boss. There is nothing more embarrassing than submitting work that has typos or other obvious grammatical or structural problems. After writing a document, take a fifteen minute break, then return to the document with a frest perspective. Good luck to you!
Keith Johnson is a Technical Writer from South Florida who has more than ten years of solid experience documenting software and business systems. Outside of the office, Keith enjoys practicing affirmations and meditation to relax. He has written a book on each of these subjects. The books are available at the following websites:
http://www.greataffirmations
http://www.sacredsyllable.com
101 Useful Resources for Online Entrepreneurs
Here is a list of 101 well researched useful resources for online entrepreneurs (originally posted on blogtrepreneur )
Every day more and more entrepreneurs are building successful businesses using the internet. There is an abundance of opportunity online and depending on the venture, there is often less cost and risk involved when compared with traditional businesses. There is also a wealth of resources available to help the online entrepreneur to run a business more effectively and more profitably, and we list many of those resources here. Feel free to leave a comment with your feedback and your recommendations of other resources.
Click here for the complete list
The 4entrepreneur Top 50
4entrepreneur is pleased to announce its first annual list of top 50 companies. Our team has searched through millions of websites and blogs to come up with the most relevant list. We have included some of the obvious players like Youtube and Facebook. But, we have also handpicked agencies like rlpublicrelations - the Los Angeles based public relations company that is making a tremendous impact in the Hispanic market. Other companies like kayak and stumbleupon are based on the personal recommendations by our members. 4entrepreneur Top 50 companies have either successfully leveraged on or created some of the most important emerging media platforms - while excelling in their own core niche services. This selection is not based on their annual revenue, nor it is based on any quantifiable traditional variables. Rather, the choices were made in such a manner that this group of companies represented innovative and conceptual thinking - and also understood the pain points and the demands of the changing market and the new economy.
( note: The list is in a random order.)
1. Like
Like.com is a different type of eCommerce company. They set themselves apart from the herd by thinking conceptually and visually. When most of the online search industry is dominated by text based queries, Like.com emerges as the first truly visual search engine, where the contents of photos are used to search and retrieve similar items.
This is what Like.com has to say,” We believe that there are literally millions of items that are difficult to describe via text-based search and where individual tastes are all over the map — Like.com utilizes our “Likeness Technology” to create a digital signature that describes the photo’s contents and enables a more accurate search for similar looking items and products.”
2. Carat Agency
Carat Agency is an early adopter of emerging media platforms. With the clients like Reebok and Football, Carat Agency is also one of the nominees for upcoming OMMA Awards that is going to take place in Hollywood - for their innovative conceptual work related to flash and rich online media.
3. meebo
Meebo is a website for instant messaging from absolutely anywhere. Whether you’re at home, on campus, at work, or traveling foreign lands, hop over to meebo.com on any computer to access all of your buddies (on AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ and Jabber) and chat with them, no downloads or installs required, for free! Meebo received funding from Sequoia Capital in December 2005 and Draper Fisher Jurvetson in January 2007. The company manages over 100 million instant messages daily.
4. 4info
4INFO delivers millions of real-time answers and entertainment SMS messages – both as a response to a search query, or as an alert on subjects ranging from sports scores and weather updates to stock quotes and celebrity gossip. 4INFO’s services work on any cell phone and are free of charge.
5. Adaptv
As serious business models are emerging out of companies like Youtube, adap tv is in the forefront in creating a unique online video advertising service that allows publishers and advertisers to match relevant advertising with online video content. The company uses advanced technology that adapts in real time to consumers’ interests and their viewing behaviors. Adap tv is a stable company -backed by Redpoint Ventures and Gemini funds and has a product with a great future in online video advertising industry.
6. International Creative Management
nternational Creative Management, Inc. (ICM) is one of the world’s largest talent and literary agencies, with offices in Century City, California, New York and London. The company’s CEO is Jeff Berg, its president is Chris Silbermann, and Esther Newberg is a Senior Vice President. ICM’s chief rivals are the Creative Artists Agency and the William Morris Agency.
7. Casttv
This is a company to watch. It is a small start-up based out of San Francisco, but has developed a promising video search tool with major scalability potential. Last year, TV Guide partnered with Cast tv for all their video searches.
8. Biz360
Biz360 is an information services company with a solid business model. Biz360 business model continuously aggregates, measures and analyzes information across a global network of content sources - including print, broadcast, online news, social media (blogs, message boards, etc.) and online product/expert reviews in 15 languages.
9. OTO Labs
Marketing is morphing; the indications are everywhere. Marketers face new imperatives to use digital technologies to engage their customers in a one-to-one dialogue. The OTOlabs suite of permission-based digital marketing platforms enables marketers and publishers to use this rapidly evolving online interactive marketing space to achieve a new, enhanced relationship with their customers. OTOlabs services Fortune 500 companies such as Nickelodeon, Fox Home Video, Royal Caribbean, Starwood Resorts, Network World and Hasbro. This is a company to watch in the years to come.
10. rlpublicrelations
RL Public relations is probably smaller in size compared to some of the other companies listed on this list. However, the founder of the company Roxana Lissa has built this strong public relations company. Roxana was born in Argentina and emigrated to the United States in the nineties. When she found out that the founders of this Los Angeles based Public relations firm that she worked for didn’t speak Spanish, she realized that she had a clear niche and pursued to build her own Public relations firm and successfully built the firm with a strong niche in Hispanic market.
11. Nanosys 12. Youtube 13. lastfm 14. Sixapart 15. Podzinger 16. Basecamp 17. Flickr 18. William Morris Agency 19. Wordpress 20. Blogger 21. StumbleUpon 22. del.icio.us 23. Reddit 24. Furl 25. Skype 26. FaceBook 27. Wikipedia 28. Notifyr 29. Craigslist 30. flexcar 31. Spotrunner 32. Technorati 33. Yelp 34. CAA 35. Feedburner 36. Gmail 37. kayak 38. engadget 39. Blog Carnival 40. Trabber 41. Lions Gate Entertainment 42. Univision 43. iVillage 44. Nolo 45. WebMd46. MySpace 47. Orkut 48. Lulu 49. Badoo 50. The Huffington Post
Pitch your idea
The Business of Meditation
Here is an excerpt of a post Keith Johnson (the author of three books: 365 Great Affirmation, The Secret of the Universe, and OM for everyday) wrote on his blog. Keith has been supportive of this blog and has written kindly about our effort. He has a unique perspective on business, entrepreneurship and maintaining a healthy, peaceful lifestyle.
By Keith Johnson
A lot of people think that meditation is something far removed from the business world. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Meditation gives one a chance to de-stress and relax and re-energize, so that business activities can be carried on with good spontaneous energy. As I have mentioned time and time again in this blog, OM meditation is my preferred technique because it is practically effortless and just a matter of allowing for silence and stillness to manifest so that OM, the Cosmos’ divine vibration can be heard. And through OM, a revitalization process is experienced. We must consciously address stress so that it does not take a toll on us. Over time, as I grow in experience with the web and the many resources available, I would like to recommend one site in particular: http://4entrepreneur.net. The webmaster and wizard behind this site is Jay Maharjan, who is an experienced entrepreneurial consultant. So, if you have questions about where to take your business and how to work with any seeming obstacles, just call the eight-hundred number that is posted above this blog entry. May success be yours!
Here is my first blog-essay for 4entrepreneur.net:
“Early To Bed, Early To Rise Makes One Healthy, Wealthy and Wise”
For those of you who are not familiar with this quotation, it is a famous saying by the great American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Ben Franklin is best known for accidentally discovering electricity back in the 1700s when his kite got hit accidentally by lightening, so maybe somehow Ben got a bit of “cosmic enlightenment” beside the shock itself! Actually, Ben Franklin is much more than just the one who discovered electricity, but rather, he is known for his famous almanac and thousands of wisdom sayings that have been recorded in this book. The title of this essay addresses one of his almanac’s most famous entries: the need for one to retire early so that it is easier to get up early in the morning and take care of business. This is truly the spirit of entrepreneurship. We may dare say that Ben Franklin was one of the very first American entrepreneurs who thought for himself and didn’t rely on outside sources to give him direction. He knew from direct intuition and business sense that as one goes to bed early, one takes advantage of the entire night for rest and subsequent preparation for the next day. Not only that, but as one rests completely, this allows the body to heal physically and mentally from all the day’s stress. And, naturally, if one is well-rested, one can then take on the challenges of the following day and pursue one’s dreams with enthusiasm and vigor. This is true wisdom! What Ben Franklin has taught us here is beyond monetary value: it is wisdom about how to live and manage our time, one of the most important entrepreneurial necessities. Many times, when we have to face difficult challenges, they are more easily accomplished after a good night’s rest and the “barriers” of others in the morning are usually a bit less than later on in the afternoon when tiredness sets in. So, Ben was right, the morning is the best time to make “headway” with one’s business activities. And, successful entrepreneurial activities accomplished in the morning are necessarily supplemented by a good night’s rest. Timeless wisdom from one of American’s very first entrepreneurs, I say.
Keith Johnson, M.S. Education
Hallandale Beach, Florida, USA
http://www.greataffirmations
http://www.freemathrescue.com
They know more than you think
After we ran over 100 radio spots on CBS radio stations, this blog saw tremendous jump in readership. It was exciting to see a sharp rise in traffic. This also increased the number of unique visitors drastically. Unique visitors in simple terms are the returning visitors. Popular blogs have visitors coming back on a regular basis. Understanding this segment of visitors can very well dictate the direction you might want to take your website - both content and monetary wise .
According to The New York Times, here is a list of companies with the highest retention rate for unique visitors.
Unique visitors are entrepreneurs’ best arsenal. If you have a small blog, the tools like google analytics will do just fine. But, if the number is much higher, you might want to consider companies like Collarity. Fox used Collarity’s enhanced discovery technologies and content optimization platforms. Daily, featured landing page videos are now easily archived and retraceable, and the traffic patterns of as few as several hundred visitors can create a personalized browsing experience for every new visitor to the site.
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2008 4entrepreneur Top 50
4entrepreneur is pleased to announce its first annual list of top 50 companies. Our team has searched through millions of websites and blogs to come up with the most relevant list. We have included some of the obvious players like Youtube and Facebook. But, we have also handpicked agencies like rlpublicrelations - the Los Angeles based public relations company that is making a tremendous impact in the Hispanic market. Other companies like kayak and stumbleupon are based on the personal recommendations by our members. 4entrepreneur Top 50 companies have either successfully leveraged on or created some of the most important emerging media platforms - while excelling in their own core niche services. This selection is not based on their annual revenue, nor on the basis of any quantifiable traditional variables. Rather, the choices were made in such a manner that this group of companies represented innovative and conceptual thinking - and also understood the pain points and the demands of the changing market and the new economy.
( note: The list is in a random order.)
1. Like 2. Carat Agency 3. meebo 4. 4info 5. Adaptv 6. International Creative Management 7. Casttv 8. Biz360 9. OTO Labs 10. rlpublicrelations 11. Nanosys 12. Youtube 13. lastfm 14. Sixapart 15. Podzinger 16. Basecamp 17. Flickr 18. William Morris Agency 19. Wordpress 20. Blogger 21. StumbleUpon 22. del.icio.us 23. Reddit 24. Furl 25. Skype 26. FaceBook 27. Wikipedia 28. Notifyr 29. Craigslist 30. flexcar 31. Spotrunner 32. Technorati 33. Yelp 34. CAA 35. Feedburner 36. Gmail 37. kayak 38. engadget 39. Blog Carnival 40. Trabber 41. Lions Gate Entertainment 42. Univision 43. iVillage 44. Nolo 45. WebMd 46. MySpace 47. Orkut 48. Lulu 49. Badoo 50. The Huffington Post
4entrepreneur blog carnival VIII
Here is our newest edition of Blog Carnival. As usual, we have been getting hundreds of submissions. We have picked 10 posts from different fields - ranging from entrepreneurship to some practical sales and marketing posts. 4entrepreneur.net is also in the process of providing a platform for guest columnists to feature their expert advice.
entrepreneur
GP presents Aiming to Be Amish posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn, saying, “Aiming to be Amish… the classical entrepreneurs”. GP provides the insights on Amish population - still very vibrant in the midwest and the north east in places like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. You really have to see to believe it. I have seen it first hand - quite a fascinating culture.
Anya Portnik presents If Selling Is So Simple Why Can’t Everyone Do It? posted at Gavin Ingham.
business plan
GreatManagement presents What Every Manager Can Learn From Barack Obama posted at The GreatManagement Blog, saying, “What Every Manager Can Learn From Barack Obama”. Regardless of your political affiliations, the author addresses leadership traits of Barack that everybody can learn and benefit from.
entrepreneur
Edith shares a personal story about a seven-year-old she met. If a Seven-Year-Old Can Do It, You Can Do It Too! posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..
Carol Bentley presents How appealing are you posted at Carol Bentley. Carol, one of our regulars submits an interesting post.
Alvaro Fernandez presents A $225m Market to Train Your Brain posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, saying, “This past Tuesday, the MIT Club of Northern California and SmartSilvers sponsored an event on The Emerging Brain Fitness Software Market: Building Better Brains to explore the realities and myths of this growing field.” Alvaro Fernandez explores the beauty and the mysteries of human brain.
marketing
Kevin Fleming presents Using Google Local Business Center to Bring in New Customers posted at FOS Commerce Blog. This is a simple post but small businesses can learn a great deal from using this handy tool.
sales
Brad Trnavsky presents Is what you are doing REALLY productive? posted at Sales Management 2.0 - Featured Blog Posts. This is Brad’s first entry. thoughtful and practical entry!
Michel Fortin presents Breaking This Copywriting Rule Boosts Profits posted at The Michel Fortin Blog. Michel is a regular and offers his advice for this niche froup of copywriters.
That concludes this edition. More to come in 2 weeks. Submit your blog article to the next edition of 4entrepreneur using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
2008 4entrepreneur Top 50 companies
4entrepreneur is pleased to announce its first annual list of top 50 companies. Our team has searched through millions of websites and blogs to come up with the most relevant list. We have included some of the obvious players like Youtube and Facebook. But, we have also handpicked agencies like rlpublicrelations - the Los Angeles based public relations company that is making a tremendous impact in the Hispanic market. Other companies like kayak and stumbleupon are based on the personal recommendations by our members. 4entrepreneur Top 50 has either successfully leveraged on or created some of the most important emerging media platforms - while excelling in their own core niche services. This selection is not based on their annual revenue, nor on the basis of any quantifiable traditional variables. Rather, the choices were made in such a manner that this group of companies represented innovative and conceptual thinking - and also understood the pain points and the demands of the changing market and the new economy.
( note: The list is in a random order.)
1. Like 2. Carat Agency 3. meebo 4. 4info 5. Adaptv 6. International Creative Management 7. Casttv 8. Biz360 9. OTO Labs 10. rlpublicrelations 11. Nanosys 12. Youtube 13. lastfm 14. Sixapart 15. Podzinger 16. Basecamp 17. Flickr 18. William Morris Agency 19. Wordpress 20. Blogger 21. StumbleUpon 22. del.icio.us 23. Reddit 24. Furl 25. Skype 26. FaceBook 27. Wikipedia 28. Notifyr 29. Craigslist 30. flexcar 31. Spotrunner 32. Technorati 33. Yelp 34. CAA 35. Feedburner 36. Gmail 37. kayak 38. engadget 39. Blog Carnival 40. Trabber 41. Lions Gate Entertainment 42. Univision 43. iVillage 44. Nolo 45. WebMd 46. MySpace 47. Orkut 48. Lulu 49. Badoo 50. Huffingtonpost
OMMA Global Hollywood
4entrepreneur.net is attending OMMA Global Hollywood - March 17-18, 2008 @ Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, Hollywood. With the advent of emerging mediums, the rules are changing drastically within media, marketing and advertising companies. Tune in to 4entrepreneur.net next week to get the latest.
In a related news, 4entrepreneur.net is starting its own Top Ten nominations in the following categories:
a. Top Ten Advertising Agencies
b. Top Ten marketing Agencies
c. Top Ten Media Buying Agencies
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite
Legal Pitfalls to avoid as a start-up
Posted by Rafe Needleman
I got an email from Fred von Lohmann of the Electronic Frontier Foundation yesterday. It began, “Half the companies you blog about have copyright or privacy legal issues simmering just under the surface. Since most of them are thinly capitalized, when they get into trouble, they’re likely to call EFF for legal advice. Several already have.”
I called von Lohmann right away, since I’ve had a nagging feeling for months that too many of the interesting products I’ve been seeing were legally shaky. So I talked with him to come up with this list: 9 Fun Ways Web 2.0 Startups Can Commit Legal Suicide.
For more information than can fit in a blog post, you might want to check out the EFF’s upcoming Compliance Bootcamp on Oct. 10 in Mountain View. I told von Lohmann I’d link to the event in exchange for this preview.
1. Ignoring the rules of Safe Harbor
Many media sharing sites, like SimplifyMedia, exist in a narrow legal framework carved out of the DMCA. But you can’t take advantage of the Safe Harbor provisions of the DMCA if you don’t register as a “copyright agent.” All that’s required is filling out a form and paying an $80 fee. You can’t get protection without registering. As von Lohmann said, “The difference between you and Napster might be this form.”
2. Ignoring the Terms of Service chain
This applies to sites that collect or aggregate data–like Mint, which collects its users’ financial information. The sites where the data are coming from may have terms of service that prohibit their users from sharing them with third parties. Sites that collect this information may be seen as encouraging breech of contract, which is a legal exposure.
3. Falling for a sob story
If you’re collecting personal information from or about people, there will be other people who want it. They may call up your company and give someone there a convincing story to get it. If your team falls for this “pretexting,” or social engineering, users can sue you for exposing their information.
4. Keeping your data forever
There are few legal requirements for data retention in the U.S. Take advantage of that, and from time to time purge user-identifiable information from your service. That way, when you get subpoenaed for information that would force you to reveal more than you want to about your business or your users, or cost you a bundle fighting it, you can honestly say you don’t have it. Von Lohmann notes that analytics experts generally say to keep everything for future data mining projects, but there are ways to anonymize your data while still keeping that possibility open. For example, you can overwrite the last quartet of IP addresses in you logs with null data.
5. Being open to kids
The collection of data from children younger than 13 is regulated by the COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. If your business doesn’t see children as customers (most don’t, since they don’t have credit cards or mass spending power), you should make an effort to keep their personal data off the site. Asking for users to confirm that they are over 13 years old before leaving data on your service is a start.
6.Expanding into print
Thanks to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, you’re protected from libel suits filed against you if your users write disparaging comments about other people or services on your site. That’s how ZocDoc, a new Yelp-like service for finding doctors, can exist without being sued into the ground. But if you print out your user reviews, this no longer applies. So be careful if your customers or users ask for it.
7. Ignoring the bribes you have to pay
For any good idea out there, “someone will claim it infringes” with their patent, von Lohmann says. Patent trolls live to shake settlements out of companies that have money. As long as you’re thinly funded or struggling, they won’t come after you. Like successful parasites, they target big, juicy hosts. So don’t expect a patent claim against your business until you’re established. But don’t expect the proposed terms will be worth fighting in court. The quick settlement is what the trolls are after, and settling makes the most business sense for most companies. Be sure to prepare for this outlay.
8. Cooperating with the police
What are you going to do when the Man comes knocking on your door? You need to know. Law enforcement agencies inexperienced with online law–that would be most local sheriffs and police–may ask for things that, if you give them up, will simply get you into deeper trouble. You need to know ahead of time what you’ll do when these requests come in. The best bet is to keep a lawyer around.
Read the original post at CNET
Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET’s Webware. .
Posted via email from Jay’s posterous
15 second pitch
As an entrepreneur, making that first impression is crucial. I recently saw this survey posted on 15secondpitch.com that caught my attention. According to Jim Convery at 15secondpitch.com, ” 69% of 2505 professionals said they have trouble explaining what they do, and/or feel uncomfortable pitching themselves. And, of three groups with a strong need for effective self-promotion, over one-third said they hate going to networking events and/or do not have unique business cards.” The following is a snapshot of the survey.
Good News! If you are an entrepreneur or a small business struggling to come up with a value proposition or a quick pitch, tune in to 4entrepreneur.net blog next week. We will be posting our interview with Laura Allen. Laura is the co-founder of 15secondpitch and has been featured in number of publications and television shows, including ABC News. Do not miss out on her valuable insights.
|
| SUMMARY OF RESULTS | |
| Overall results (all 2505 respondents) | Percent* |
| Trouble explaining what they do | 69 |
| Hate going to networking events | 24 |
| Don’t have business cards that reflect their unique talents | 24 |
| Percentage breakdown for the three self-identified groups: | Percent* |
| People who are self-employed or who own their own business | 37 |
| People who are changing careers | 18 |
| People who are seeking a new job and/or new clients | 34 |
| *Numbers do not add to 100% because respondents may be in more than one category. | |
| METHODOLOGY AND INTERPRETATION | |
| Methodology | 2505 responses were collected from online form submissions during unique visits to 15Secondpitch.com between 6/26/06 and 9/12/06. |
| Interpretation | Respondents identifying themselves as members of three groups with a strong need for self-promotion acknowledged gaps in their mastery of basic skills and tools needed to successfully promote themselves. These findings suggest a need for improvement in the areas of personal messaging, networking skills, and personal marketing materials. |
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