Welcome To Startup Students

According to a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation, the answer is yes. Kind of. By the way, if your aren’t familiar with the foundation, check them out NOW because they have tons of great resources for entrepreneurs, young and old alike. At any rate, I must admit I was quite surprised by the findings of their study on the correlation between age, education, and forming a tech startup. As you know, I focus more on the needs of student startups, but as it turns out they are the minority – even when it comes to technology based startups.

What does this mean for you and your pursuit of the next great student startup? A couple things, actually. First off, the findings of this survey suggest that you (and I) are well ahead of the game. The small business experiences we are endeavoring in will only further the chances of success in the long run. Think about it this way, most people wait until they are in their late 30’s or early 40’s to take the leap into entrepreneurialism – many of whom will fail for a variety of reasons. But by starting young, you benefit from the fact that failing is virtually meaningless (financially speaking). You can then learn from your mistakes and build upon your successes and failures so that your next venture will be that much more successful.

So take the study with a grain of salt and do not give up your pursuit of creating the next great startup! Class dismissed.

I haven’t talked too much about financials, and I don’t really plan on doing so today.  I would, however, like to wet your taste buds with some tips on forecasting.  Remember, forecasting is in all reality BS.  Projections can only take you so far but they do help you when setting goals for your small business.

• You are better off selling yourself short than throwing out unrealistic numbers.  Be factual and conservative with your estimates.
• You arent going to go from making $10,000 to $10 million.  It just isnt going to happen unless something truly astonishing happens in your business or your market.
• Quantify your projections and dont just pull them out of a hat.  Make clear and concise assumptions.
• Back those assumptions up with a written list of your reasoning.  Pro forma financials will take your far.
• Utilize industry specific data and not just general data such as census publications.  Contact your local or university library for assistance in tracking down this type of information.  For those of you in school or who are stupid rich – try IbisWorld.
• This goes back to the above statements, but it’s important.  Your projections are going to be suspect if your sales or profit margins are higher (or lower) than the industry average.
• As you progress, compare your forecasts to actual results and determine what went wrong (or right!).

Yes, this was a bit “schoolish” but you are Startup Students!  Class dismissed.

This is a quick tip I picked up in class recently, and I thought I’d share it with you.  It’s similar to other strategies I’ve discussed for different aspects of your small business, but in this case we’re applying the techniques to your target customer.  It’s pretty simple and even somewhat enjoyable.

By profiling your customers, things inevitably become easier.  You’ll even discover a few “invisible” customers you didn’t even know were lurking.  The technique I’d like to share with you involves building a target market collage.

• Look through old general interest magazines, industry publications, and those you think your target audience would read.  Cut out twenty of so pictures, phrases, and quotes that seem to represent your target customer.
• Come up with a list of your target customer’s favorites.  Include TV shows, movies, dining options, hobbies, mucic, books, URL’s, etc.
• Combine these into a collage

Sounds kinda corny but it helps you to start thinking “outside the box” – opening your eyes to alternative thoughts about your target.  It’s also good to stimulate the “other” side of your brain for a variety of reasons.

Again, quick post today but I just thought some of you might be interested in giving this a shot.  Class dismissed.

Good morning Startup Students. While we have not yet explored the core aspects of a bullet proof business plan, I’d like to take today to discuss with you the benefits of your promotional plan. Without marketing and promotion, the idea, management, and financials of a business plan won’t take you anywhere. Here’s a quick list of 5 easy steps to rock solid promotional plan.

1. You must first determine your sales and marketing objectives. Utilizing a matrix is ideal for this type of analysis. I discussed using a matrix analysis to select your opportunity, but the underlying techniques still apply.
2. Develop strategies to achieve your goals. Brainstorming and mind mapping are ideal solutions for coming up with these goals.
3. Create a well defined method for carrying out your strategies. Use your best judgment for now, but we’ll explore this a bit more at a later date.
4. Determine a budget and then enact a program to assure the success of your promotion.
5. Continuously evaluate the results of your promotional objectives and adjust your strategy as needed.

A variety of promotional strategies exist, some more mainstream than others. Here’s a few to get your creative juices flowing:

• Traditional media advertising – Not recommended for startups
• In store displays – expensive yet effective
• Creative packaging – High quality, memorable, and fun works best
• Guarantees – Low cost and effective
• Trade shows and conventions – Expensive, but professional
• Direct mailings – Creative, memorable pieces
• Catalog sales – A dying breed
• Press releases, news stories, and other “free ink” – Holds more value than ads
• One on one personal selling – Great for bootstrapping startups
• Industry specific trade magazines – Every industry has at least one
• Mailing lists – Utilize your web site or a paid list
• Networking – Online and in person
• Top notch customer service – Model after some of your favorite companies
• Paid search results – Find low cost, effective keywords
• Top quality web presences – A necessity these days
• Adwords campaigns – Varying results
• Stumbleupon campaigns – Highly recommended

If you have any additional suggestions you’d like to share, please comment! That’s all for today students, see you tomorrow.

With an entire web of information out there, it’s tough to sift through and find the things you need to really get your business off the ground. We’ve talked extensively about ways to hone your idea and gather valuable data to ensure your opportunity’s success. Today it’s time to put those ideas into motion with some top notch FREE resources to take your business from idea to fruition.

1. University of Central Florida’s Venture Lab: You might call this a plug for the school I attend, but these guys have got some really incredible information and resources available to everyone. My favorite aspect of this site is the vast amount of free templates for the creation of your business plan. From market research tools, to financial pro formas, term sheets, employee documents, and of course business plans. This place is an absolute treasure trove of information for the development of your next great startup!
2. Google, that’s right Google. But not just the typical search interface – we all know how useful that is. I’m referring to the University Search. Many major Universities offer Entrepreneurial programs and degrees these days, and the resources these colleges offer online is astounding. I recommend starting out with the University of Colorado which is one of the premier Entrepreneurial programs in America.
3. Already got your business off the ground? I just came across this site yesterday from my friends over at Mind Petals and I’ve already put it to good use by sending out invoices worth over $2,000. Blinksale offers a free subscription if you send less than 3 invoices per month, which is perfect when you are just getting your feet under you.
4. The Small Business Administration is terrific as well. Most of you are probably familiar with these guys. They specialize in guaranteeing small business loans. In addition to this valuable service, they offer tons of great information such as templates, sample plans, and other startup assistance.
5. Since many of you are still students, you can gain access and benefit greatly from this cool site. It’s called the Business Plan Archive and it is an extremely valuable resource. They host hundreds of tried and true business plans submitted by companies who wish to help out aspiring Entrepreneurs
6. Blogs. And lots of them. There are an astounding number of bloggers these days, and many are out there to help young entrepreneurs. Start with a search of the Mind Petals blogger network and start exploring some of their blogrolls. Be careful though, you might spend all day doing this one!

There are a ton more, but since I post every day I will save the rest for next week’s Field Trip Friday – so if you havent done so already, subscribe to the RSS feed and stay tuned!

And now startup students, it’s time for show and tell. First up comes from my brother Blaine. He put together a custom entertainment center for our 52” HDTV. It really turned out pretty awesome.

I’d also like to take a second and introduce you to a buddy of mine’s blog. He’s definitely got the entrepreneurial spirit and works at New York based startup Confabb: The Conference Community so be sure to check it out.

See you on Monday students, have a great weekend!

Good morning Startup Students! Today we’ll be discussing ways to gather intelligence on your competitors. This can be useful in a variety of ways such as identifying cutomer habits, picking up on competitor workflow processes, and so on. With such fierce competition in todays market along with ever changing consumer opinions, it’s imperative that you stay one step ahead of your competition.

Quickly, here are some things to think about when checking out your competition.

• Remember that your competition is not necessarily who you think it is
• Your customers determine who the competition is by patronizing those establishments
• Be sure to broadly define your competition at the start, and carefully move inwards through the industry to determine all competitors.

And now for a few pointers on checking out your competition:

• Pretend to be a customer
• Talk to the business owners and find out as much as you can from them
• Talk to their customer’s and get a feel for why they utilize your competitors service or product
• There are tons of great resources out there, so use them! Internet, public filings, local libraries, etc.
• Go to industry trade shows, seminars, and conferences
• Complete a competitive matrix, similar to this

That’s all for today, if you have any questions or comments, don’t forget to post them. Class dismissed.

Quick post today because I’m feeling a bit under the weather. Identifying the buyers in your target market is critical to the success of your new business. Today’s Top 10 focuses on the questions you need to answer about the customers in your target market.

1. What types of customers are you trying to attract? What are their habits and demographics?
2. What problems are your customers facing with their current solution?
3. What needs of their’s are not being met?
4. Which segments of your market are being ignored, and how can you capitalize on them?
5. Who are the traditional customers in this market? How can you expand your reach into secondary markets?
6. Again, how is the market further segmented?
7. What motivates their buying decisions? Needs, resources, etc.
8. Can you identify the channels of distribution being used? See if you can find which channels are being ignored and figure out how to capitalize on them.
9. In what ways are customers dissatisfied with the current offerings in the marketplace? Again, how can you capitalize on this?
10. Not a question but a call to action. Get out there and talk to your potential customers! Use the techniques we’ve discussed in previous posts and just make it happen.

Again, sorry for the quick post – but I’m really not up to par today. And folks, I know you are out there, so how about starting to leave some comments! Class dismissed.

Good morning startup students! Today we are going to discuss how to define your target market. You’ll find some overlap from my post on Friday about Marketing Intelligence, but it just goes to show how important these things are for young entrepreneurs.

You really want to identify the market niche you intend to serve. It’s always better to be too specific at this point, you can broaden your target in the future. Take a look at what benefits you bring to the table.

• What problems are you solving for your customers and the market in general?
• What specific needs to you fulfill?

When looking at the benefits you bring to the table, keep in mind there are two generally accepted types of benefits.

• Emotional
  • You convey hope, you massage fear, you instill love, or merely provide convenience.
• Financial
  • You assure increased profits, offer lowend pricing, save customers money, or offer extended payback periods.

Remember, the above are just examples and aren’t meant to be the only benefits.

Once you’ve defined your niche, you need to get out there and talk to your customers, similar to what I talked about Friday.

• Take part in casual conversation
• Conduct interviews and surveys
• Enlist the services of focus groups

They key point here is to just LISTEN and identify their needs. That’s all for now, enjoy the rest of your day and I’ll see everyone tomorrow. Class dismissed.

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I had a test along with a presentation of my business plan (which I’ll be sharing with you eventually). At any rate, today is the start of a new segment entitled Field Trip Friday. I had the opportunity to take part in a secret shopping of Universal Studios Florida. It was a great experience, and I learned some good pointers for completing primary research.

Primary research is a vital tool for today’s young entrepreneur as often times you’ll find the data you need simply isn’t accessible. Let’s look at a quick example. Say for instance you are interested in opening a fast service restaurant catering to the after hours crowd. You’ve developed the idea, know what you want to serve, and even have a location in mind. But without actually going downtown at 2am, how are you going to know if your target market is interested? You need to interview the individuals leaving the clubs and get a feel for whether or not your idea meshes with their specific needs.

I’ve outlined a few pointers below that I picked up today, and I think you’ll find them useful in the future. These can be applied to all types of primary research including interviews, surveys, observations (like secret shopping), and analysis.

• Determine what you want to know and how you are going to get that information.
• Identify your target market and approach them.
• Have a questionnaire in mind, with follow up questions based on the answers provided.
• Be honest about your reason for conducting this research.
• Exude the passion you have for your idea, and your interviewees will pick up on this leading to more positive responses.
• Be aware of any biases you might have going into the assesment and try not to let them play a role in receiving the information.

And since this is the first installation of Field Trip Friday’s, I’ve got a special treat for you – Show and Tell!

I’d like to introduce to you my new pet turtle, Larry David. He’s very small and still pretty nervous about his new home. In fact, he hasn’t been eating very much and I’m a bit worried. If any of you startup students have some pointers, please pass them along!

If any of you would like to showcase one of your “field trips” or participate in Show and Tell in the future, please let me know! Class dismissed.

Good morning. First, sorry for the late posting, I’ve been tied up with a few things all morning. After 7 full days of blogging about opportunity selection, it’s time to finally pick the one that counts. In the coming weeks we’ll take those opportunities and turn them into a solid, viable, high growth potential business with a full fledged business plan and course of action.

I’d like to share with you a quick technique known as Matrix Analysis. Many of you might have performed one of these in school, others might be seeing this for the first time. The idea behind a Matrix Analysis is to mesh objectives with the opportunities you’ve been stewing over.

The analysis is done in grid form and is setup as follows:

• Down the left side, list your business goals
• Along the top, list your business opportunities
• Next, you’ll want to rate the match between each possible opportunity with each objective. You can use “X’s”, a number scale, or any method you like and understand.
• Now total each column

These totals will generally indicate your best prospect. I really encourage you to do this, it will only take a minute or two of your time, and it’s definitely beneficial in the entrepreneurial process.

Ok students, it’s an early release Wednesday (do you remember those?). Do your homework and I’ll see you tomorrow for a bit more in depth analysis of your selected opportunity. Class dismissed.