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Raising Money and Proper Budgeting
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(This article originally appeared in the December 2011 Edition of BizNess Magazine)
Proper Budgeting & Raising Funds
In the past few articles we talked about where do good ideas come from and how to know if your idea is good, but today we will discuss one of the most important parts of launching a business; money.
First we’ll discuss the importance of having enough money and then we will discuss ways to raise money.
About 18 years ago I fulfilled one of my entrepreneurial dreams and opened a pizza restaurant in Meah Shearim called “Gamzoos”. I was both the first and last Pizza Place on Rechiv Meah Shearim that had the Badatz Eideh HaChareidis Hechsher. I was very happy to be the first and also understand why I was the last J.
I originally came into the business as a partner and back then it was more of a sandwich place that also sold bottles of soda, candy and Abadi Baked Goods. My partner took me in because he was suffering from a bad case of mono and so I bought him out about six weeks later.
Now although I was happy, the place needed a lot of work and I also wanted to make it more into a proper pizza place then what it was now, especially since I was less than a 5 minute walk from the Mir. To make a long story short I found an investor who was willing to put in the cash I (thought I) needed. I remember writing down everything and putting a price on it and then trying to work the amount down even more. I had only one show with the investor and I did not want to scare him off with two high a number. In the end I got the investment down to about $13,000.00 which he readily gave me and the next thing I knew Gamzoos was opened for business. But I made one HUGE mistake and that was that I did not ask for enough money. Sure I had money for new tables, chairs, a new Pizza Oven, painting etc. But I had zero money for buying the materials to make the food. I had no money for Coke or for Cheese etc. I had no money to pay for any salary for myself and I had no money to pay for any marketing! I also did not have any money to weather any unforeseen circumstances such a rioting over grave sites that left the streets of Meah Shearim disgusting for weeks and so kept the tourists away. I was so focused on trying to get the investment that I ended up hurting myself and after a year of just breaking even selling the restaurant for a loss.
So the first rule in raising money is to be very realistic in what you need and that includes rent, salary, cost of goods etc. You want to have a long run rate, meaning you want as many month covered up front as you can in case you don’t make any money. The general rule is to try and give yourself at least a year. That means you have money in the bank to cover everything for a year assuming you will make no money. It is of course a must to sit down with your accountant and with someone with business experience to make sure you are not missing any key expenses or tax issues.
So now that you know how much money you need, now the question is where to get it. We’ll list a few of the options below and then go a little more into detail. One thing to keep in mind is that there are hundreds of different businesses and the startup financial needs are different amongst them.
- Self Funded
- Friends And Family
- Angel Investors
- Venture Capital (VC’s)
Self Funded
Self funded means that you use your own money or equity instead of from others. Now the number one rule in investing is to never invest anything that you can’t afford to lose. When you make an investment you need to look at it as something you may never get back, and if you can’t afford to do without the money, then don’t invest it. I have heard of many people that have gotten second mortgages or took large loans from banks or even worse took out tens of thousands of dollars on their credit cards and ending up losing it all. Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t take a risk because in order to be a successful entrepreneur you need to be able to take risks, but just don’t bet the house on it.
The good thing about investing your own funds is that you have no one you need to answer to and you also own 100% of the company.
Friends And Family
You know that rich Uncle you have been meaning to call? In all seriousness family and friends are a great way to raise some initial funds. Investors invest in people more than they invest in the idea, so it makes sense that the people who know you best and care about you the most are the ones most likely to give you some initial funds to get started. The tricky part about raising funds from F & F is that if Chas V’Shalom your business goes under, it could cause strain in the family. Always remember like what I stated above, before you take anyone’s cash, make sure it is clear to them that they can lose it and that they need to be able to take the hit. Some good points about F & F money is that it is usually easier to raise and they don’t ask for any control of the company and it is also a fast way to raise money.
Angel Investors
Angel Investors are people who invest their own funds. They are usually successful or retired business people and like the idea of helping out other entrepreneurs. There are two main types of Angel investors. Type one are professional investors and type two are not professional investors, but they have had success and like to invest their wealth in other ideas as opposed to just interest from a bank. There are both good and bad points from the two types of Angel investors.
Professional Investors:
- Have access to other funds if you will need more cash
- Depending on the amount being invested may ask for a board seat
- Have lots of connections and will use them to help you succeed
- Will ask for more equity in your company then non-professional investors
- They are harder to find and they take longer to commit and have a longer due diligence process
Non Professional Investors:
- May only invest once in you
- In most cases won’t ask for a board seat or any type of control
- May not have much added value in terms of connections and experience to share
- Will take less equity than professionals
- Shorter commitment and funding time and need less from you in order to make a decision
Angel investors are a great way to raise money for your start-up as they often have more cash available then friends and family and many of them will continue to invest with you as you show success. Also their contacts are very important and can make a huge difference in your success.
Venture Capital (VC’s)
Venture Capital Firms manage other people’s money in what is called a fund. Most funds are usually in the hundreds of millions range and funds range from helping startups from their seed round all the way till exit. VC funds are looking for the big hit and even though there are many of them in Israel, it is very hard to close an investment with them. In today’s economy especially most VC’s are only investing in companies that have unique defendable Intellectual Property (IP) or already have a lot of success and need the funds for growth.
This is but a brief overview of different types of ways to raise money. There are literally books written on each of these ways so as with everything else do your research!
The one topic we did not talk about in terms of funding is bringing in a partner, but that will need to wait till next month’s article.
Nachum Kligman is a Serial Entrepreneur and speaker. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of SportsFan.me and is the Founder of Qoof/ViewBix , Ideago –StartUp Lab, and the Co-founder of PeerBid.com, TeesAtRisk.com, KidsOutlet.com, amongst many other Internet startups. He is also a partner in Cellar 18, a new boutique wine store located in Ramat Bet Shemesh.
How do I know if my idea is a good idea?
Posted by: | Comments(This article originally appeared in print for BizNess Magazine)
In my previous article we talked about “where do good ideas come from”. In this article we will discuss how do you know if your idea is a good one.
Every week people come to me with business ideas and 80% of the time I try to talk them out of it. It pains me to see people throwing good money after bad ideas or even taking good ideas, but executing them horribly.
But let’s say you have an idea your excited about. The first thing you should do is some basic research online. If you think you have a unique idea and that is what is going to be your selling point, then you need to make sure it is unique. You can start with Google and search for key terms about your idea and industry and see what comes up. If your idea is an internet based idea then a great site you want to check out is http://www.go2web20.net it’s a directory of all the latest internet startups and you can do a search by keyword.
Another idea you can do is go to a domain registrar such as Dynadot.com and start checking for what you believe would be the perfect name for your idea. Search for 10 different names and see if the names are not available perhaps there is a website already live that is doing what you just thought of or something similar.
You also want to search on blogs such as TechCrunch.com and Mashable.com since they have been covering startups for the last several years. Keep in mind that even if someone is doing something similar, it does not mean that you don’t have a shot at success. No two companies are exactly alike and competition just proves there is a market for your idea.
Also it is important to keep in mind that perhaps your idea exists in other locations or countries, but perhaps does not yet exist in Israel. For example: Instead of opening yet another pizza shop, why not open a healthy fresh sandwich shop? Subway’s has been the #1 Franchise for a number of years now, so just follow their model!
My latest startup is a company called SportsFan.me. It is a cross between Facebook & Twitter for sports fans. In my presentation to investors I list 12 different companies that are in the same space as me, but I can also show how what is unique about us and how we are different. It also doesn’t hurt that sports is such a huge market with plenty of room for competition and niches.
So now that you know your idea either doesn’t exist or it doesn’t exist with the nuances you have for it or it doesn’t exist locally, now it’s time to start speaking to people.
There are 3 types of people you need to speak to before starting a business:
- Your Spouse
- Accountants, Lawyers, & Businessmen
- Potential Customers
Your Spouse
Starting any business takes a huge commitment and toll on your family and the surest way to success or failure is the support of your spouse. Make sure she/he is on board with your idea as there will be many long hours and a ton of focus that your startup will need. The more time and focus you put into your business means less time and focus for your family.
Accountants, Lawyers, & Businessmen
You should go over your business model with a business accountant and make sure that your startup is viable. If you’re opening a restaurant you need to keep in mind the taxes you need to pay and the costs for Employees and benefits you need to provide plus the cost of hashgacha and having a mashgiach on premises; Ongoing advertising & marketing costs etc. At the end of the day you may find that in order to be successful you will have to charge prices that people won’t be willing to pay or you will have to give smaller portions that won’t make customers happy.
It is also very important to speak to your lawyer and get his feedback and advice. Make sure everything you are doing is legal and realize what the ongoing legal costs if any are. Also many lawyers may have connections to other business people or investors so it’s good to discuss your project with them.
Now the most important person in this category to speak to is a successful businessman. Doesn’t have to be someone local, but it is best if you can meet him in person. It is also better to speak to other people in the industry you are entering. Don’t be so worried about someone stealing you idea, it almost never happens. A great way to find people in your industry is using LinkedIn (http://linkedin.com). LinkedIn is a Social Network for Professionals and Entrepreneurs. They have a group feature which allows you to communicate with other like minded people and to discuss specific industry topics. I have joined several groups in the professional sports industry and that way I can keep tabs on the latest on what’s going on in the business of professional sports as well as meeting other people in the industry. You should post questions to the group and join the conversations taking place. This is a great way to meet people and to find the ones that can be of most value to you.
Another great website to check out is Quora (http://quora.com). Quora is a Questions and Answer website for business topics. You are not allowed to promote your business on the site or you may be banned, but it is a tremendous resource for almost every topic imaginable when starting a business. It is also a great place to interact with well known and successful entrepreneurs who often use the site as a way to give back to people by contributing.
Potential Customers
This is the most critical of the research you must do as well as the one that is most often overlooked or skipped over. You must, must, must speak to potential customers before you invest any money in your idea! I cannot stress enough how important this step is. You may think that if you love such a product then everyone will love that product to! There are two questions you need to ask:
- Do people want the product you are offering?
- Even if they want the product, are they willing to pay the price you need to charge?
If your product is geared towards Mothers then contact 100 mothers and ask them if they would use such a product and then ask if they would pay for the product and how much they would be willing to pay. Also ask them if they could improve the product how would they do it? Very often discussing your product with potential customers will lead to even greater ideas. If you are creating software for a business then contact 25 businesses. Ask them if they would use it and how much they would pay. You may find out in both these cases that either people don’t want your product, or even if they do, they would not pay the amount you would need to create and profit from your idea.
Now that your idea is ready to launch, you will probably need some funding to get started. That will be the topic of my next article.
Nachum Kligman is a Serial Entrepreneur and speaker. He is the Founder of Qoof & Ideago –StartUp Lab, and the Co-founder of PeerBid.com, TeesAtRisk.com, KidsOutlet.com, and the now launched SportsFan.me amongst many other Internet startups. He is also a partner in Cellar 18, a new boutique wine store located in Ramat Bet Shemesh.
Where do good ideas come from?
Posted by: | Comments“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come” – Victor Hugo
Literally I get ideas every single day and this has been going on since Grade School. When I say ideas, I mean ideas about everything. In fact you also have ideas every single day. It could be a Chiddush in the Gemara your learning or it could be an idea on how to use your Shabbos leftovers to create a new dish your kids will actually eat. Idea’s happen every day to everyone, but what you do with them is another story.
Let’s focus on business ideas. An entrepreneurs mind is trained to look for different business opportunities. So when I’m reading an article in a business magazine or I walk into a store, ideas are always popping into my head. I would say that 98% of the ideas I get I disregard in about 2 minutes. When an idea comes in, the immediate questions I ask and then answer myself are:
- Is it an idea that can earn money?
- Do I have the resources?
- Is it worth the time and effort to put in?
- Is there something similar out there already?
- Is the idea big enough?
If I can answer those questions correctly then I will write up a brief summary of the idea and place it in my “Idea File”. My “Idea File” is basically an email account I keep where I just sent my ideas to. Then when I’m looking for a good idea I just go through the list. Very often going through the list will bring up and generate other ideas.
One of the ways I know if an idea is a “good” idea is if that idea keeps coming back to me through the days and nights that follow. Do I start to get excited about the idea? Is it keeping me up at night? Etc.
So how do you find good ideas?
Here is a list of some of the ways:
- Find a real need that does not yet have a solution
- Read Business Magazines and Books
- Follow Blogs that talk about StartUps such as Mashable and TechCrunch
- Copy a successful idea, but put your own spin on it
- Look at great solutions for one industry and see if you can apply it to another industry
- Get some friends together and brainstorm different ideas
- EUREKA!! – Sometimes they just come to you from Shamayim!
The absolute best ideas come from finding a real need that is not being fulfilled. There are thousands of stories of everyday people that find a real need and then end up creating a solution and making money from it. If you yourself find a need, chances are there are others out there as well. One of my favorite stories out there is from a woman named Tiffany Krumins and her creation Ava the Elephant:
Tiffany’s passion for helping sick children has been evident through her years of experience working with kids, including special needs and childhood cancer patients, which brought Ava the Elephant ™ to life! She realized no product on the market resolved the common problem of giving children medicine. So she took matters into her own hands and created the first Ava from clay!
She found that it was not necessarily children’s dislike for medicine that made it so difficult. After all, they can make it taste like BUBBLEGUM these days! The process was the scary part.
Realizing this, her first goal was to hide the medicine dropper completely! Her second was to make the child smile or laugh, hence the sweet voice! Last, but not least, she wanted their new little friend to praise them for a job well done! (http://avatheelephant.com)
Tiffany created a medicine dispenser for children in the shape of a friendly elephant! Just simply put in the syringe with the medicine and you now have made giving medicine to a child a much easier process. Besides the fact that it is a great story, the other half of the story is that she did something with her idea! How many times have you come up with an idea that you just let slide? This reminds me of a great quote I just saw:
“In the dictionary, the word “idea” is a noun. “Idea” should actually a verb, because an idea is only real if you actually do something with it.”- Jeff Haden
Another question that BizNess Magazine has asked is “If there is a successful business in Haifa, does that mean the business will be successful here?”
I actually see this as an “idea” question. Meaning, the real question is “Can I take someone else’s idea that he has been successful with and also be successful with it?
This is in fact another way to get “ideas” for starting a business. Of course you may want to tweak it a bit or take the idea and use it for another niche, but it is definitely a great way to generate ideas.
Success though has nothing to do with how good of an idea it is as there are so many factors that go into what makes a business successful. You can take the best idea in the world, but if you are not able to execute the idea then your chances of success are zero.
But since this is an article about ideas let’s take a recent example in the business world of copying a successful idea.
Everyone by now I’m sure has heard of Groupon. Groupon is one of the fastest growing companies ever to hit the internet. In fact they are currently looking to go public at a value of between 20 to 25 Billion Dollars! Not bad for a company that first launched in November 2008, just under three years ago.
But with their huge success came thousands of companies that took their ideas and either created similar sites for their country or for a specific niche like business products or children’s products. In fact they have spawned a whole new industry with even Google (who failed at buying them for $6 Billion) getting in on the game. Some of these “copy cats” actually were bought by GroupOn for millions of dollars. In just Israel alone there are more than 30 of these types of sites! You can check them all out in English at AngloDeals.co.il. In the States there are many Jewish versions of the site getting in on the action with KosherKouponz.com showing some recent success.
But for all the successful copy cat’s there are thousands more that did not succeed. Was it because the idea was bad? Absolutely not, as we see the idea is amazing. It is the implementation of the idea that went wrong. Just because an idea fails, does not mean it was a bad idea.
Now that you have an idea on how to find an idea J in the next article we will discuss how to know if your idea is a good one or not!
(This was originally print in the latest edition of Bizness Magazine)
Nachum Kligman is a Serial Entrepreneur and speaker. He is the Founder of Qoof & Ideago –StartUp Lab, and the Co-founder of PeerBid.com, TeesAtRisk.com, KidsOutlet.com, and the now launched SportsFan.me amongst many other Internet startups. He is also a partner in Cellar 18, a new boutique wine store located in Ramat Bet Shemesh.
Bizness Magazine: How to choose the right name for your business
Posted by: | CommentsA friend of mine just launched a new business magazine for Anglos in Israel called Bizness Magazine. He asked me to write an article answering a question and I chose the topic of ”Choosing the right Name for your Business”. Below is what was published.
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Choosing the right name for your business is one of the most important decisions you can make and yet if often the one that most people spend the least amount of time and money on it.
First impressions may not be everything, but it certainly does make an immediate impact.
Perceived Value is really what marketing is all about. Think about it, marketing is all about trying to get you to believe in the value of a product for more than the actual product is worth. If not, then no one would ever make a profit . The more they increase the value in your mind the more you are willing to pay for it.
That is why people are willing to pay $3.00 for a bottle of Perrier when they can get the same water with a Shop Right label on it for $.89.
Here are some important rules when choosing a name for your company:
• Shorter is Better
• Must be easy to spell
• Must be easy to pronounce
• Ask as many family and friends as you can if they like the name
• Make sure the name is not confusing with other businesses in your area
• Check to see if there is a Trademark or Copyright on the name you want to use
There are websites and companies that can help you choose the perfect name for your company and very often at a low cost. One place to check out is http://www.crowdspring.com/company-name
Now if you are starting a business online then there are a whole set of further rules you will need to follow in terms of choosing the proper domain name and utilizing the best extension.
Domain names are like online Real Estate. The better the quality the more it will cost you.
Perceived value kicks into high gear here. If you are selling furniture online and your domain name is furniture.com, then when you call a manufacturer, they will always take your call and give you better service then if you were to call and say you were from DovidsHemisheFurniture.com.
Chances are the domain you most want is probably registered already and may even be in use, but up to 80% of domain names that are registered are not yet in use and can in most cases be purchased.
Don’t be afraid to spend money on the perfect name for your business. If you are going through all the efforts of creating a business that will hopefully earn you tens of thousands of dollars a year, then paying even $10,000 for the right domain name could be money well spent. Each week there are domains that sell for the hundreds of thousands and sometimes even in the millions of dollars. You can check out http://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm to see what sells each week.
The idea is to get as close to a perfect name as you can for the product you are selling. For example, I recently paid a couple of thousand dollars for the domain name KidsOutlet.com. I bought it because I know it is one of the best names to sell children’s products online. It’s a great name because:
1. It is very easy to remember
2. It is a “.com”
3. The term “Kids Outlet” is searched more than 33,000 times on Google each month in the USA
4. Has a very high perceived value. I know that when calling a vendor to sell their products through my site they will answer my call.
Since purchasing the name with a partner we have raised 5 figures and have found a couple of other partners in the States and we hope to launch in September. (You can sign up at http://kidsoutlet.com now and we will let you know as soon as we launch)
Purchasing this perfect name was the driver that enabled me to bring on partners and raise funds to launch this company.
(By the way, you can search to see how many times “keywords” are searched by following this link: http://goo.gl/7kgFB)
So where do you go to look for a name? To see if a name is available you can register a .com name for under $10 at Dynadot.com or name.com, but if the name you want is taken you can try buying it from the owner if his name is listed. To see who the owner of a domain name is follow this link: http://www.whois.net You will then have is email address and you can make an offer via email. Keep the email very informal and don’t use a business email address. If they think you have money they will try to sell it to you for a higher price. I always use a secondary email account and write something like this:
Subject: DomainIWant.com
Hey, I saw you have the name domainiwant.com and that you are not using it, I was thinking about using it for a project I would like to work on. Are you selling it for a reasonable amount?
Thanks so much,
Richie
I keep it very informal and sometime I will put in spelling mistalkes on purpose and use my nickname etc..
Now if you can’t get the name you want then you should go to the secondary markets and see what names are available that will fit your business. Very often you can find a great name for a reasonable price. One place to look is http://sedo.com. I have sold many names there. Another place is a domain name forum like NamePros.com. I have bought and sold hundreds of domains there.
Now even though .com is King, there are a lot of Queens out there. If your market is in Israel then you may want to use the .co.il extension and very often can find a great name. Getaways.co.il is an example of a company I co-founded that uses this.
Another popular extension is .TV. .TV was the extension given to the Tuvalu Islands. They really lucked out since “TV” is the most popular two characters in the world. Many years ago a company offered to market and sell domains with their extension and this has become a major source of income for Tuvalu.
If you are starting a video centric website then .TV name may be a good extension to go with as well.
One other very important area that you must pay attention to is “Social Media”. Social Media can be huge for your business since it relies heavily on friends telling their friends about topics, products, and brands that matter to them most.
The two largest sites that you should try and get your company name for is FaceBook and Twitter. Of course all the good names are taken. To see if your name is taken on Twitter just type in the url: http://twitter.com/yourcompanyname. If the name is available you will see a page that says “Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!” Then you are free to register it.
With Facebook, you will need to set-up a “Page”. You can create a page for free and learn more by following this link: http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPages
In order to get a custom FaceBook link like http://facebook.com/israpreneur you will need at least 25 people to “Like” your page. Once you do you will be able to choose a custom name.
A quick way to get 25 likes without asking all your friends is using a site called Fiverr (http://fiverr.com). There you can find people that will get you 25 liked (and many other services) for just $5.00.
It is very important to try and use the same name for your domain name, twitter handle, FaceBook Page etc. This will strengthen your brand and make it easier for customers to find you.
There is a lot more to say on choosing the right name for your business, but space is limited. It is no doubt something that is worth putting time and effort into and should not just be an afterthought.
My wifes Shlissel Challah!
Posted by: | CommentsYum Yum! She also put a real key inside one of the other challah since two shitas are better than 1!
Shabbat Shalom!
TeesAtRisk – Every T-Shirt Has a Story
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As a former “Teen At Risk” I always wanted to help other teens that are going through a lot of the frustrations of growing up in this world. Sometimes adults just don’t understand and sometimes things can become extremely difficult for our youth. For years my family and I have been involved with a local school for youth at risk called Tzofiah and it is amazing and inspiring to be involved with such courageous young women.
I have also wanted to something for the larger Teens@Risk market, expanding my skills to help many others. Hence when I came up with the idea for Tees@Risk I knew it was something that had to be launched.
Yet sometimes life and other businesses get in the way of projects that are close to your heart and it wasn’t until I was discussing this idea with a good friend of mine and fellow Entrepreneur, Ben Weiner, that the idea finally started to come together and TeesAtRisk.com has been born.
Ben loved the idea and took the bull by the horns and after many moths of discussions and hard work the site finally launched and I could not be more proud.
The basic idea of the site is that we have T-Shirts that are designed by current or former teens-at-risk and a portion of all sales goes to a non-profit organization that helps youth at risk. We are just getting started and we already have a few beautiful designs and are working with amazing organizations such as the National Runaway Switchboard, NY Youth at Risk, and the Zula Center.
We are also running a contest where you can win a FREE shirt by choosing the MLB comback player of the year. For details follow this link to vote and enter to win a shirt: http://daddyforever.com/2011/03/16/baseball-youths/
We also got a nice write up by the Youth Are Awesome Blog you can read about here.
The feedback so far has been amazing and we are just getting started! So please visit the site, buy a T-Shirt and help us spread the word. And if you know of any talented artists, please have them contact us to submit their designs.
Please “Like Us” on Facebook by visiting our Facebook page at http://facebook.com/teesatrisk and please follow us on Twitter @teesatrisk
Would love to hear your feedback!
Getting a degree is not the same thing as getting an education
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What a profound statement by Seth Godin: Getting a degree is not the same thing as getting an education
This is so true and companies are getting smarter. Just because you have a piece of paper that shows that you know how to memorize text books and do well on tests does not mean you are educated. There has been too much emphasis on getting a degree. Of course in certain fields such as Medicine, it is essential, but even then nothing beats hands on work and real world experience. That is why in the medical field you need to do hands on work before you can get a license.
The same is even more true for being an entrepreneur and you will hear it over and over again from savvy investors. They would rather put there money into an entrepreneur who has failed in a venture then a guy with the best business degree you can get that has no real world experience besides flipping burgers as a teen.
Now even while your working in the real world you do need to keep yourself educated. That is why I am constantly reading the top blogs, magazines and books that center around StartUps and being an entrepreneur. Being knowledgable about what is going on in your industry is super important… Just don’t test me on it 
In this post by Seth he talks about how great online education is becoming and how relevant it is to being successful in any industry you are in.
Happy 3rd Anniversary Israpreneur!
Posted by: | CommentsYes, today marks 3 years since I started this blog. Yes I know that in the past 12 months I have not written a lot of content and I know I should since people still come to visit. There are tons of great posts around from the last 3 years so for new comers there is great content. I will try to make more of an effort to post more original content in the coming 12 months; just need to find that 25th hour.
Thank you so much for continuing to visit! Hatzlacha to everyone!
You said Focus! So how can you be involved in so many ventures?
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the founders of a company I am a partner/consultant for asked me this question and it is a great one!
It is true that I preach FOCUS and that that is one of the keys to success in any venture. If you want to succeed you must focus on whichever idea you choose to run with. That is still very true.
So the question is how can I be involved in so many projects and expect them all to succeed? The answer is that in all my projects there is at least one founder who is totally focused on the success of that project and without the focus of that particular founder then the project no matter how great the idea is will become much harder to achieve success.
As an idea guy and over 25 years as an entrepreneur I have learned a tremendous amount. (A lot of times from mistakes). It is this knowledge plus my constant education I keep giving myself that allows me to guide other entrepreneurs and quickly help them make the right decision. Basically I can get a lot done using my strengths in less time.
Still there does come a point where I have to hold myself back and not take on new projects as there is only 24 hours in a day and it would be bad for the business to get it launched if I don’t have the proper time commitment or team around it. In those cases I just file it away in my “idea file” and wait for a rainy day.
Don’t wait for competition!
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I have seen it so many times and it is one of those things that just drives me crazy. Businesses in Israel seem to be ok with mediocrity and then when all of a sudden competition comes in they start to panic.
Here is a few hints:
- If you don’t yet have competition act as if you do!
- Never stand for mediocrity, always go the extra mile
- Don’t wait for clients to tell you what is wrong, most won’t. You need to go and ask how can you improve
- There is always room for improvement
- If you constantly working on your company and always working to be the best, then a) you may scare off competition and b) even if there is competition you won’t be in a panic
Truth is I’m a big fan of competition since it is the consumer that always wins out, but shouldn’t the consumers be winning out before the competition comes?
