Big Break

I haven't posted in several weeks because we caught our big break! Actually...the title comes from the fact that I haven't posted for a few weeks. We really haven't caught anything. Mostly, we're plugging along with the business. The website will launch this week, we finally have our business cards and potential clients are now being courted for our services.

All-in-all there has been steady improvement on a daily basis and we are determined to land some profitable accounts in the very near future. I fear that patience to do so may be wearing thin with my business partner, but this is truly the first time we've had the tools in place to execute a sales effort. Now it's time to step-up and prove that this development has been worthwhile and that we can deliver on our promises.

A vision is exciting, a tangible product has potential, but without a completed sale and a satisfied customer this business is nothing. Time to deliver...

Prioritize

It's been an odd week personally. I've been balancing a few financial struggles since I was between jobs for 6 weeks last fall and have basically had to play catch-up since. With holiday gifts, license plate registration, losing and repurchasing eye glasses twice, car repairs and a speeding ticket I've had a string of bad luck that has kept me from saving much and paying off debt.

So, I made the decision to take a second job and focus on bettering my situation. After applying, interviewing and being hired at a local fitness center I thought I was prepared to play both the role of entrepreneur and employee. As it turns out, I arrived at training and realized otherwise.

There is nothing worse than a true gut check; one that is so uncomfortable that you physically feel sick is hard to ignore. While training for the new job, I felt just that. It was a step back personally, was not related to my career and was a temporary solution to a temporary problem. I realized I was biting off more than was necessary when I starred at a calendar and saw the nearly 70 hours of my week blocked off for work.

I came to the conclusion that if I am to work 70 hours, it should be on getting this company further off the ground. We're making great progress right now and signs of getting into the market are beginning to feel more real. If I can hold off and manage my finances closely for a few more months while working exclusively on the company I will see commission by Spring.

Sometimes it takes getting all the way up until the last second to realize that a perceived good idea is really a bad one. I'm happy I've listened to my gut and have even found a less time consuming and stressful manner (legal of course!) to make some extra cash for awhile. Sometimes your instincts are your wisest mentor.

Rumbling Stomach

While there have been days of routine and boredom in this process, today's events remind me why I am determined to succeed as an entrepreneur. I opted to review the original business plan for the current service we are developing to check for consistency and judge if it needed to be updated. What I've found is that everything we originally wrote is still relevant; only the idea has evolved to include additional tools for producing revenue, better elements of organization and a number of new features/benefits to attract advertisers and users.

This activity became so exciting and immersing, that it wasn't until my stomach started rumbling that I realized I had nearly skipped lunch. Now, here I am downing a bowl of spicy chili and reflecting on the need to remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing, because it's a long road to success and losing your passion is not an option.

The Opening Pitch

Today I embarked on my first sales pitch; the client being a friend that was passed onto me by my business partner. The expectation was that the deal was nearly complete before I had even arrived and the pitch was just to download some information and meet our point of contact, the business' manager. As it turned out, the manager had marketing responsibilities within the establishment as well and was determined to grill me with questions to ensure that our service offering wasn't something that she could provide for the company internally. Needless to say, I was intimidated at the start.

Then, midway through my presentation my instincts kicked-in and I shifted my approach. Instead of explaining, I humbled myself and I listened. I asked why she felt the service would be something that they could do themselves, knowing I had a short list of quality reasons why they could and a longer list of reasons why they should let us provide the service instead. In the end, it was a phrase that I blurted out that may have helped break down her wall, "You could unclog a toilet, but sometimes it's worth calling a plumber." In other words-- we know you can do the dirty work, but it's a lot more efficient and less mess for you if you let us do it for you.

As I left I felt a bit defeated in the respect that I had to try so hard, yet empowered by my ability to react in the moment and customize my style to the client. You can obsess over the detail and intricacies of a presentation until you fall over, but you can't always predict the personality or disposition of the individual(s) that you're going to pitch to. Ultimately you must be prepared for any question, ready to change course and willing to go outside your personal ways if you expect to complete the deal. Today I accomplished just that & to my relief, my record is 1 for 1.

Right On Time

For weeks we have struggled to come up with an appropriate name and brand identity for our new consumer service website. Last week, after taking the holidays off from brainstorming all-together, I randomly blurted out the catchy term that we hope turns to gold. While domain names are being registered and final votes are being cast I cannot reveal exactly what that word is. However, I can reflect on this naming experience.

I've learned that the closer you are to something, the harder it is to see. By over-complicating the process we had saturated our minds with preconceived notions of what the name/brand should be. This limited our thoughts and restricted the ideas we were generating. When we stopped thinking, opened our minds up and just let our brains flow freely we were rewarded.

Whether you are creating a brand identity, writing a proposal or assessing your child's homework assignment; sometimes it's better to walkaway for awhile or take some time to hear someone else's thoughts before making decisions or judgments. You'll save time and likely strike it big.

New Year, New Hope- Testing the Market

The approaching turn of the calendar year brings me relief and excitement when it relates to this business venture. While things have slowly limped along over the holiday season, I am anticipating a sense of reinvigoration and excitement that will come with a fresh 365 days to turn nothing into something.

The research and development of our first product is progressing nicely. I have personally collected and organized a database of information that should be both valuable and well-received by Internet users. While there are a few areas of concern, I see the testing phase as a welcomed next step to smoothing the wrinkles out of our idea.

Realizing that any product or service launch should be sampled in a test market builds my confidence that we'll get this concept right when we release it to the masses. Anyone that rushes past this step is foolish to believe that a good idea poorly executed won't be cast aside at the first sign of shoddy design. It's something to remember if you're in a hurry to get on the market. I worked in the healthcare industry long enough to see that even medical device companies make that mistake. If it fails, be happy your product doesn't end lives, but fear that it might end yours as an entrepreneur.

Wise Word Blurbs

Browsing the net for blogs on entrepreneurship, I came across www.cheaprevolution.com, a site focused on Internet entrepreneurship. Their latest post lists twenty quotes on the topic, a few of which I found extremely inspiring.

"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

"Some people dream of great accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them" Anonymous

As I progress in the day-to-day development of the company and our introductory services, I am finding it easy to forget how unique of an opportunity I've been granted. These quotes are statements I plan to reference as a reminder that successful entrepreneurs are those that sacrifice early and often for their business. Extra hours, extra effort and fearlessness are aspects to commit to if you expect to achieve relevance in an established marketplace.

Checkout the Cheap Revolution blog for other posts covering a variety of Internet topics and find a few quotes out there that motivate you to push harder when the comforts of life pull.