Starting a business today

If I were starting a business today

I often get asked by our customers, friends and colleagues for advice with a business that they are starting.  How would I go about starting the business?  solving some specific problem?  finding the right talent? devising a growth strategy?  they ask.  I often feel like a bit of an impostor when I answer, because the truth is that I don’t have a lot of generic business experience—just experience at one company, in one specific industry, and one point in time.   Most of what has worked for our business over the years has been random luck, the third or fourth try to solve the same problem, extremely basic “blocking and tackling,” or some combination thereof.

The rest of what I know about starting and running businesses has come as an advisor, board member, or observer.  It is often from this perspective—as a more distant viewer—that I see the simple things most clearly.  When you are down in the muck of the day-to-day operations, you often miss the forest for the trees.

So,  after years of trying to give some useful advice to fledgling businesses, I have developed a few “truths” that I’m pretty sure any new business should ignore at their own peril.  At the least, these are the things I would do if I were going to starting a business tomorrow:

1.       Think web first.

2.       Have a human capital strategy.

3.       Find a channel, then build a product—not the other way around.

4.       Plan now for success—or it will never come.

5.       Raising money is not your biggest problem, being able to spend it appropriately is.

6.    You're not thinking big enough!

I will be posting on each of these topics in the near future, but if you have suggestions or questions on these topics, let me hear them.

--jsk

Comments

[el grunion]

Did you intentionally make the text on #1 -- think web first -- smaller than everything else? A joke, perhaps?

To tack a more practical consideration on to #4, I'd say that the one thing that has sunk many startups I've worked for is a lack of infrastructure that takes growth into account. There are lots of cost-effective ways to prep for those stretch marks that will save a lot of grief later on.

A good example: hiring quick, autodidactic generalists rather than seasoned specialists at first. This will allow your first employees to wear hats as needed while you outsource necessary items. Another one: go the extra mile to look pro. Register those Godaddy domain names and plaster your url everywhere. Get an advanced PBX through someone like Gotvmail who can handle calls from an ever-expanding client base.

Basically, prepping practically for success that never comes is a lot smarter than being unprepared for a deluge.

[Justin]

El,
Thanks for the insightful comment (and the catch on the font--that was a mistake, some strange typepad bug I can't figure out). You are very right about your take on #4, which I will expound on soon. If you want to be successful at a big scale, you have to plan for that scale... without breaking the bank or taking forever. But it's like when you shoot a free throw, the 90% free throw shooters say they always envision it going in before it leaves the hand. Same thing in entrepreneurial ventures: envision your success before the shot leaves your hand, and it will happen.
More soon...
--jsk

[gloria J. vidaurre]

I wish to cancel my account I can't afford it at this time. I'm going to stop payment at my bank. thank you Gloria... The reason I posted here you don't have an area where I can go to cancel. I called and the lady on the phone told me that you ware closed.

[La]

My password does not work and I need to change my billing. please contact me immediately.

Thank you.

[mike dancy]

ah.. typepad. always a nightmare to figure out.
Just curious.. how many servers you have to host all these sites on? Does homestead own a dedicated server somewhere? Or a small farm of them?

As well, how many clients would you say that you have (approx) now?

for someone trying to start a business based on the web, would you suggest starting locally or going internationally right out of the gate?

[J]

is your blog made through sitebuilder? and if so, how? thanks

jason
choopacabra.com

[iron]

Can you elaborate on #3 "Find a channel, then build a product"? Do you mean first sell the conceptual work, and then do the real work? What is channel?

[VA refinance]

As alwasy great info and always great to see what other have to say

[Rajita - logo design]

These tips are really cool as its gives advise on business start ups

[Khalid Osman]

Nice points to start with. I would add, at point three, that it is important to think of something you enjoy to do and write about it. That special thing could be a hobby, an experience or a profession. However, as I have just started a homestead website, I am thinking in two directions concerning the domain name. I have 100 + best thoughtof domain names in my map. I can build some of them web businesses. However, I found myself stuck at the point of choosing one of them to work it a small niche-marketing website. Thanks for your points.

[Rich Riehl]

Justin:

I would like to talk with you and/or your development team about your interface to QuickBooks. I am a customer of yours and VERY disappointed in the poor quality of your interface to QB. I also own a software company that integrates with QB and have specific knowledge in this area. I am not trying to sell you a service. I just need a QB interface that can simply send new orders on your cart to QB without syncing EVERYTHING that has no business being synced.

Your interface to Intuit Merchant services is good, but your QB interface is very weak and does not consider how end users really need to do business.

Please respond so I can help your developers understand additional features your QB interface desperately needs.

None of your management staff answers the phone and you have not entered anything on this blog for several months. That is frustrating and gives the impression that you do not give a flip about your customers. The impression given is you got a big payout and now you just want to party.

That is the impression you have given and I hope you will respond in a professional manner soon.

[Justin]

Rich,
Thanks for your comment. You are correct that I am way behind on writing my blog! A new post coming soon. However, our phones are open 7 days a week from 6 am to 6 pm PST. Just call (800) 710-1998. The average wait time is usually around one minute.

To your point about the way Storefront synchs with QuickBooks, this is an issue that we have been working on for the past year, and we are very close to launching a new version that works significantly better. If you would like to be a beta tester for this solution, please contact me at ceo@homestead.com and I will get you on the list.

Thanks.
--jsk

[aaron]

you are so freaking cute!!!

[Divya Jain]

Very good website. I liked it very much. Comments from http://www.valentineday.in

[Shirin Jindal]

I liked the content on this site. Would like to visit again. http://www.aamarbangla.com

[Craig]

Those are good pointers. Basic, but definitely necessary to begin successfully.

My brief input to add to those 6 are:

7. If you fear losing or you will have lost already.- (in addition, make sure you thought processes are sound for business in the first place or this tip will wipe-out a free spirited entreprenuer in no time)

8. Measure your results! - Watch what you do, how you do it, where it got you, and if you should do it again.

9. Say No to everything, then find out why you are saying No, and determine from there if you should change it to a Yes.

If you would like a better understanding about #9, contact Craig on CraigsIDEA.com

[jeff paul internet business]

Your post has on internet marketing is definitely true. Internet marketing has opened new ways of attracting visitors to the website giving the webmasters a way of earning cash as well as web status. Let's see what the future holds for internet marketing.

[jeff paul internet business]

I believe after years of trying to give some useful advice to fledgling businesses, which ment alot to me .

[Jeff Paul Internet Business]

well i must say when your about to start your own business then you should take care of how solving some specific problem? finding the right talent? and less investment and double profit .

[Cynthia B]

Are you still up & running as your latest blog entry was last year...2008. Curious.

Cdb

[Nancy Saint]

I have a potential client that is interested in setting up a constructin site that will have links to other contractors but i want people to be able to sign up & create there own custom profile & be able to ad photos,friends,forums,blogs, etc..

Is this possible through HS?

thanks!

[Jeff Paul Internet Millions]

Now this is very interesting, impressive and never thought of. In simple words well done for providing creative information.

[Traffic Building]

hey how you doing! Nice posting. I enjoyed reading it. I too run a blog on internet and traffic building, and checking
out what others may have written.

[ilonna]

Nice info! It is surely worth paying attention to.

[AR]

Can you please talk more about "Find a channel, then build a product—not the other way around"?????

[youtube music videos]

Very interesting article thanks |