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Leadership And Ownership

Babson College has released
their annual study of woman-run businesses
in Massachusetts.

One interesting finding?

Female leaders are also owners.
80% of the CEO’s held controlling ownership.

Is that surprising?
No.
I was told by a male mentor
during my time in corporate that
if I really wanted to be CEO,
I should start my own company.
Perceived as easier than
duking it out within the male dominated Fortune 500 companies
(‘course anyone can start a company,
making that company successful is more challenging).

The Introvert In Business

25% of the population are introverts
(people who lose power around other people,
extroverts gain power around people)
and I include myself in this number.

When I am “on”,
you wouldn’t know it.

Why?
Because I figured out early on
that if I wanted to be successful,
I had to act like an extrovert.

28.4% of executives do the same thing.
So stop using it as an excuse.

The Power Of Dissatisfaction

Good product developers are
never truly happy with a product.
They don’t simply launch a product
and forget about it.
They think of the next major tweak
to make the product better.

I love reading romances but
I could see areas for improvement.
In my first business based romance,
Breach Of Trust (launching in May 2008),
one such improvement is
the resource list at the end.
For my next, I’m testing more tweaks.

Companies use this dissatisfaction.
As stated in Google’s ten things they’ve found to be true,
“This constant dissatisfaction with
the way things are is ultimately the driving force
behind the world’s best search engine.”

The Shrinking Market

Last weekend I went looking for an ornament
for my Mom to give to her sister.
The ornaments are two piece,
one to be given to each sister.
My Mom gives this gift every single year
(regardless of price).

Except for this year.

I went into my regular card store,
they didn’t have it.
Told me to go to Hallmark.
Hallmark didn’t have it.

The market, it was explained,
wasn’t big enough…
For a large corporation.
It is perfect for small business.

And I know my local card store would have
directed their loyal customers there,
a solid source of new customers
for an aggressive young company.

Watch for big company delists.
It could be an opportunity for small business growth.

Talking About “Them”

I was recently in a meeting and
the discussion turned to temps.
The talk wasn’t positive.
I heard how they don’t know anyone or anything
(a temp spends her working days being “new”)
and that there were reasons why
some people were on contract.

No one in the group remembered
that I was a temp
(albeit a high level one)
but I certainly remembered who in the group
doesn’t like temps.

A friend was in a product development meeting.
The project leader talked disparagingly
about the target customer.
My friend IS the target customer.

Two great reminders that
when we talk about “them”,
we don’t know if we’re talking to “them.”

What Are You Marketing?

With the fancy tech tools available,
it is often easy to forget
what you’re truly marketing.

Authors spend time promoting their blogs
instead of their books.
They attend courses on video production
so they make a mini movie and
put it on YouTube.
All to promote their print book
to readers.

And authors aren’t the only ones to do this.
I’ve seen companies so swept into
a charitable giving program that
they promote the charity more than
they promote themselves.

So step back and ask yourself
“What am I marketing?”

That First Success

I was told that once
I signed that first publishing contract,
my view of writing would change.
I didn’t believe it.

But it did.

Without a success under my belt,
expectations were lower.
I was on my own schedule.
I could write what I wanted when I wanted.

Now, there’s a benchmark, a schedule.
Is book #2 as good as #1 (#2 is better)?
There can’t be a long wait between #1 and #2.
When will #2 be ready?

The same is true with projects and products.
As soon as the iPod was deemed a success,
analysts wanted to know about the next product.
Once the iPhone launched,
eyes were on the product after that.

Keep the momentum rolling and
the product development funnel full.

The Estate Sale

According to the September issue
of The Financial Post,
the most common misconception
at an estate sale is
“That the goods and the setting go together.
Often several people’s property
is sold at once,
in a house that’s rented for the occasion.”

That is deliberate.
A good setting increases pricing.
Pricing is also relative.
Surround a lower priced object with
higher valued goods and
it will sell for more.

Online Marketing Lead Times

A couple years ago,
I could contact a site owner and
have my banner ad up on their site
the next month.

No longer.
It is November and
I already have my spots reserved
for my May book launch.

Why?
Because space on the popular sites is in demand
and sells out quickly
(especially with eBook authors wanting
to advertise where their readers are… online).

So you may wish to re-look at
the online marketing lead times for
that new 2008 product launch and
adjust for the changes in the marketplace.

Short Term Goals Keep The Momentum Going

Clicking on my favorites,
I see that many of the promising new bloggers
I’ve been reading recently have disappeared.

I understand.

It is difficult in blogging, business, life
to keep the excitement level high.
The longer the project,
the bigger the goal,
the more difficult this is.

That’s why I break down my larger goals
into more achievable short term goals.
It gives me something to celebrate,
something to tell others about,
something to even send out press releases for.
Most of all, it keeps me moving forward.