Starting It

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

2011-10-06T14:21:00.004-05:00

Here We Go "Again"

2008-11-26T18:18:00.007-05:00

Definition:

a•gain

-adverb

anew; another time; once more:

•in return; in reply: Honesty again/ humility again/ trust again.
•returning to a previous position or condition: A culture of possibilities again.
•in addition; furthermore: Writing the next chapter again.

It's time to build a great company "again"... Again Mobile, LLC.

Getting Better

2007-01-18T17:17:00.000-05:00

If you want to get better at business, you have to work with people who are better at business than you.

DigitalGrit is One of the Best Places To Work in America

2006-07-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Our goal has always been to build a great company. One that is hard-working, results-driven, innovative, challenging and fun. One that is recognized as one of the best places to work in the United States. Well, if you work hard enough, dreams do come true.

DigitalGrit Honored as One of the 50 Best Places to Work in America

DigitalGrit has been named among the top 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America. The list was announced on June 26th before an audience of more than 12,000 at the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) 58th Annual Conference & Exposition in Washington, D.C.

DigitalGrit, which ranked 21st among small companies, is a full-service interactive marketing firm headquartered in Boonton, NJ...

To read the full story:

www.digitalgrit.typepad.com

news.yahoo.com

The key now is to re-energize ourselves around our commitment to being the best place to work in the country - to keep the magic going and to take our game to the next level. To do that we will need to continue to challenge traditional business norms and be innovative in how we think about building a great company. There is no book on how to do it. In many respects we are writing it as we go.

Congratulations to the incredible team of passionate interactive marketers and technologists at DigitalGrit. And, thank you to our incredible clients, partners and friends who have helped us along the way.

Stay tuned because I am confident that the best is yet to come.

DigitalGrit - Best Place to Work - Again, Still

2006-03-02T15:21:00.000-05:00

DigitalGrit has just been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in the State of New Jersey for the second year in a row (2005 and 2006). Congratulations to the DigitalGrit team for creating a company and culture that is innovative, client focused, process driven, and fun! It's a special place with special people and the world's best clients. Learn more at:

(www.digitalgrit.com)

DigitalGrit Turning 6-Years Old

2006-03-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

I am very proud to say that DigitalGrit is celebrating its 6-year anniversary this month. We've certainly come a long way. Over that timeframe we've been able to grow revenues fairly consistently - over 50% again last year and on pace to exceed that this year. The thing that I am most proud of is that, given our significant growth, we've still been able to maintain high levels of quality and customer satisfaction - a real credit to the team we've assembled and our process-driven approach to service delivery. The good news is that our industry is hot and getting hotter. As we enter our 7th year, we find ourselves well-positioned to take our company to the next level. We've got the team, a great culture of teamwork and success, a proven track record, an impressive client list, and an innovative new set of products and services. So, as we celebrate turning 6, the future looks very promising.

Congratulations to the entire DigitalGrit team and "Thank You!" for all of your hard work and incredible passion for Interactive Marketing.

Happy Anniversary!

Leaders

2006-01-06T18:09:00.000-05:00

"We need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to whom are granted great vision, who dream greatly and strive to make their dreams come true."

- Theodore Roosevelt

One of New Jersey's Finest

2005-10-21T16:47:00.000-05:00

DigitalGrit has just been named one of New Jersey's Top 50 Finest Companies. Congratulations to the incredibly smart, passionate and hard working DigitalGrit team! New Jersey's Finest Companies.

News or Noise?

2005-10-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

Definitey news. Good news. The New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology awarded post-doctoral fellowships that will pay salaries of up to $55,000 to six scientists working in small, high- tech firms.

The fellowship winners are: James Flint at PharmaSeq, a biomedical engineering company in Monmouth Junction; Kathleen Gilbert at Pestka Biomedical Laboratories in Piscataway; Nazieh Masoud at UV Solutions in Newark; Mariela Reyes-Reyes at Advaxis of Princeton; Jason Steffener at Medsonics US of Newark; and Songmei Yu at RelevantNOISE in Flemington.

For the full story please see Star Ledger

Is It Just Noise or Is It Relevant Noise?

2005-09-23T14:07:00.000-05:00

We are right in the middle of an amazing and exciting period of "communication transformation." The impact that email, instant messaging (im), cell phones and text messaging are having on our lives is truly incredible. The bottom line is that the way we communicate today versus yesterday has been completely and dramatically altered. Everyone sees it and everyone is being impacted by it. From 10-year olds to 80-year olds - email, im, cell phones and text messaging have, overnight, become a standard way of life.

That's extremely exciting; however that's all basically for one-to-one communications - communicating from one individual to another individual. If you really want to get goosebumps, just look at what is happening to "one-to-many communications". Imagine how powerful it would be if every individual suddenly had the ability to communicate their thoughts, beliefs and experiences to the entire world. Imagine if the spark of a new idea could quickly be tested and enabled to gain momentum, or if a cancer survivor could instantly start to console others suffering from cancer, or if a successful entrepreneur could motivate and coach other aspiring entrepreneurs to realize their dreams. Well, web logs (aka "blogs") are making all of that a reality.

Sure, people have been using the internet for years to do a lot of the things discussed above. However, new web publishing technologies like Blogger, Typepad and WordPress are enabling anyone, whether they have technical experience or not, to easily publish, manage and maintain a personal, dynamic website. And the growing use of search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN -- and the new blog search engines like Technorati, Feedster and PubSub -- are enabling an audience hungry for specific information to easily find those new personal, idea-rich sites. So, instantly, anyone with something to say can start to say it and, if they have anything useful to say, can start to build a worldwide audience of loyal listeners overnight.

Now that's powerful and very exciting to a lot of people. So exciting, in fact, that there are 50,000 to 100,000 new blogs being published every day! Two years ago there were just 100,000 blogs. Today, there are already over 15 million blogs being updated, on average, about 3 times per week! So, if you have something to say and you haven't already set up a blog, go for it. You are now empowered to be heard!

Now, let's get down to the business possibilities of all of this.

Imagine the incredible power of tapping into that enormous conversation and pulling out business intelligence - knowing whether there is an emerging issue with your brand or what features customers really want in your products or what people are saying about your competitors. Well, good news: the blog phenomena is creating the most powerful market intelligence tool in the history of business. But the key is being able to pull the relevance out of all of that noise. Doing that requires the use of the most advanced text mining, search, and natural language processing technologies. It requires the development and deployment of complex tone extraction algorithms, business taxonomies and ontologies. And it requires leading technologists, marketers and analytics professionals dedicated to finding the "gold in them thar hills."

Introducing relevantNOISE - a new company we've just launched with an amazing team of experienced marketing and technology professionals passionate about blogs and the incredible business intelligence hidden within them. We're committed to pushing the boundaries of this technology further than any other company and are focused on being the best company in the World at mining blogs for business intelligence - so that our clients just have to listen and learn. Keep an eye on this one because the best is yet to come. It's just another Internet technology innovation emerging out of DigitalGrit.

Free Speech

2005-09-05T10:29:00.000-05:00

I'm anxious to more aggressively spread the word about some of the innovative things we are doing at DigitalGrit. As a result, I'll be actively trying to squeeze more speaking engagements into my schedule over the next year. To start, I'll be guest lecturing on "It's All Marketing" at Rutgers University in New Jersey on September 13th. This is something I've done in the past and have really enjoyed. To learn more please contact me directly. I'll also be speaking on "Becoming a Best Place to Work" at the Best Companies Conference in Chicago on Tuesday, November 15th. To learn more visit (www.bestcompaniesconference.com).

Growth is Good

2005-09-02T12:04:00.000-05:00

I haven't created a new post since June. Been heads down and working around the clock. Actually had to take a day off today just to catch up on a lot of things like getting a haircut, eating, and working on my blog. It sure is fun having so much going on. Isn't it?

The good news is that DigitalGrit is growing quickly. In fact, we recently were recognized as the #3 fastest growing technology company in the State of New Jersey (www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business-1/112373851120110.xml&coll=1). Boy, growth is good. While it sure creates a whole lot of challenges, it also creates a lot of opportunities for everyone - to learn, to innovate, to manage teams. I've worked in a shrinking environment before (AT&T) and it's not fun. So, grow baby grow.

What a Kick

2005-06-28T20:10:00.000-05:00

I enjoy real life motivational business stories. It's like a swift kick in the ass to help me start making things happen. It is not very often that I need that extra boost of energy. However, every once in a while I just need to get fired up.

The story of Steven Jobs, Apple Computer's CEO, has always inspired me. The way he founded Apple and then got pushed out. The way he started NeXT. The way he started Pixar Animation Studios. And then how NeXT was purchased by Apple and he was back as CEO. A great story. Well, if you need a kick in the ass today, please read the commencement speech that Steven Jobs gave at Stanford University earlier in the month.

(news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html).

Stimulating Innovation

2005-06-22T18:56:00.000-05:00

Over the past two years I've been really fascinated with blogging. For a non-programmer like me, the ability for anyone to share thoughts and experiences so inexpensively, quickly and broadly is a powerful concept. I decided to get my Starting It blog going a little over a year ago and have been having a lot of fun with it (although a real blogger would at least have several entries a week versus my once a month approach!). In my mind the elements associated with blogging - tagging, trackback, RSS, etc - all stimulate a ton of innovative business ideas. In fact, if you are interested in being an entrepreneur, this particular space is very exciting and full of incredible possibilities. To learn more about this emerging space and to start to stimulate your own innovative juices, check out this great essay on the topic (particletree.com/features/the-importance-of-rss). If you feel the way I do about "where marketing and the Internet collide", get ready for some goosebumps.

Where's the Monkey?

2005-06-06T18:10:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't written a post in over a month. I've just been too busy. I know, that's no excuse. But at least it's a good lead-in to this entry.

As everyone knows, depending on how a business is doing, there is typically more pressure on one part of the organization than on other parts (e.g., Sales vs. Operations). If revenues are below plan, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of the Sales organization. If revenues are above plan, Operations feels the weight of the World on its shoulders. It's just a normal business cycle. And it can change fast. One month Sales feels all of the heat and the next month the pressure is on the Operations team.

A colleague once told me that his former employer used a stuffed monkey to show which organization had "the monkey on its back" at any point in time. When sales were good, the head of Sales placed the stuffed monkey on the head of Operation's desk. When sales were slow, the head of Operations returned the favor. The questions was always, "where's the monkey?"

So what? Well, I think it is important for everyone within a company to know that it is normal to see these organization-based pressure points and that, in most businesses, the pressure is constantly shifting. Also, it is important for everyone to be extremely understanding of the group under pressure - because the pressure is probably shifting to them next! And, it shows how important it is to focus on continually developing forecasting and capacity planning tools to try to anticipate business shifts and alleviate as much pressure as possible.

The Best of The Best

2005-04-29T09:07:00.000-05:00

The awards ceremony for the Best Places to Work in New Jersey was held last night. 350 people representing New Jersey's top 50 employers attended the event. The countdown of the 25 Best Large Companies (having greater than 199 employees) and 25 Best Medium Companies (25-199 employees) was exciting. The organizations that pulled together the event did an excellent job - NJBiz, J.H. Cohn, NorthFork Bank, The New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, and The Garden State Council of SHRM.

I am proud to announce that DigitalGrit was recognized as the top (#1) medium-sized company to work for in the State of New Jersey. Our commitment to our employees and customers is second to none. As a result, we've been able to attract and retain the industry's best talent and work with many of the World's greatest brands. So, if you want to work with the best or for the best, please consider DigitalGrit.

Congratulations to the DigitalGrit team. They truly are the Best of the Best and I am incredibly proud of them and lucky to work with them on a day-to-day basis.

Champions Come Out at Tournament Time

2005-03-17T18:27:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again - coming out of Winter and into Spring. I love it. Spring is just days away. Baseball is in the middle of Spring Training. The NCAA Tournament has just tipped off. It's my favorite time of the year.

One thing I love about the NCAA Tournament (aka March Madness) is that the best players are at their best during the Tournament. As I say all of the time to my kids before one of their big sports tournaments - "champions come out at tournament time". It's true. Real champions always seem to rise to the occasion. They just have the heart, instincts and desire of a winner. They hate to lose. In fact, they absolutely refuse to lose. They have this incredible fire in their belly. They want the ball when the pressure is on - with only seconds left in the game and their team is down by 2 points. They give it everything they have - no matter what.

Well, the same is true in business. There are good times and there are tough times. An individual's business character, a department's character, a company's character is ultimately defined during the tough times. Just remember this one thing if you never remember anything else I ever write - people will always remember you for how you handled yourself during the tough times.

Champions come out at tournament time.

Better Business Blogging Baby!

2005-03-09T19:30:00.000-05:00

Debbie Weil (www.DebbieWeil.com), a thought leader on business blogging and a great friend of DigitalGrit, recently reviewed my Starting It blog and provided the following thoughts:

1) Have shorter and more frequent entries.

She's right. For some reason I got into this mode of writing a chapter for each entry. As a result, it's a real challenge to add new entries. So, shorter they will be! In fact, she has challenged me to do twice as many entries but half as long. I'm always up for a challenge.

2) Have categories for your entries.

Yes, as you get more content you really need to bucket your entries. Especially if it's a business blog. Otherwise, it's hard to navigate the information. I've got to figure out if that can be done in Blogger. If not, I may need to switch blogging technologies to something like TypePad (www.typepad.com).

3) Links are important.

That's true for enhanced search engine rankings. But, more importantly, effective use of links just makes reading the blog easier (link to info versus listing all of the content) and its content richer (links bring outside perspectives and data points into the mix).

Right on the money Debbie. Thanks! Short enough? Enough links?

Learn more about Debbie Weil at one of her many additional sites including:
(Blog: http://www.monalisaofblogging.com/, Consulting: http://www.wordbiz.com/ , E-newsletter: http://www.wordbizreport.com/, New blog! http://www.blogwriteforceos.com/)

From Good to Great

2005-03-06T13:30:00.000-05:00

Do you want to create a truly great company? Not just good but great? One of the best?

Well, we certainly don't know all of the answers. In fact, our business, DigitalGrit, is only 5-years old at this point so we still have a lot to learn. But one thing that has driven us from the start is our burning desire to create a truly great company.

So, how do you start? As discussed in previous blog entries, it really all depends on attracting and retaining the best and brightest talent in your industry - period. But how do you get the best talent? Believe it or not, there is a formula:

The best place to work = the best people = the best clients = the best company

It all starts with creating the best place to work. That's how you get the best people, the best clients, and ultimately create the best company. So then, the question is really "how do you create the best place to work?". Our findings to date:

First, the company must have a never-ending commitment to being the best. Every decision must be bounced up against the question - "What would a truly great company do on this issue?"

Second, you've got to say you are going to be the best right from the start - when it sounds funny to do so. Then, you've got to say you are the best before most people can even see that it has actually happened.

Third, you've got to be committed to measuring how good you really are on a regular basis and then putting a plan in place to improve the weaknesses. We recommend an annual survey. It can certainly be painful to learn the truth about how you are doing - but that's the only way to get better.

Fourth, you've got to have a core set of principals that you follow on a day-to-day basis. At DigitalGrit this includes:

1) A clear and compelling vision for the future and a demonstrated willingness to make the tough decisions required to turn that vision into a reality.

2) Action vs. inaction - make things happen.

3) A culture of excellence - success, growth, innovative "want to change the world" solutions, hard work, attention to detail, refuse to lose, planning, financial management, and fun.

4) An unwavering respect for each individual. Loyalty, commitment to diversity, accountability, empowerment, recognition.

5) A never-ending desire to learn and a true willingness to be humble.

6) Open, honest and frequent communications at all levels in multiple forms.

7) A commitment to hiring only the best.

We've still got a lot to learn and I am sure that we will add to this list over time. But so far so good. In fact, DigitalGrit has recently been recognized by NJBiz.com as one of the top companies to work for in the State of New Jersey. Our commitment to our employees and customers is second to none. As a result, we've been able to attract and retain the industry's best talent and work with many of the World's greatest brands.

I'd like to congratulate the amazing DigitalGrit team for this accomplishment. Without them we would never have been able to build one of the best companies to work for in the State.

However, now the goal becomes even greater. How do we become one of the best places to work in the World? That goal may sound funny to some people but not to the team at DigitalGrit. We've already got the best team, best clients and a burning desire to make it happen. So, I wouldn't bet against us.

Tto learn more about the Best Places to Work award visit
http://www.njbiz.com/?fa=printVersion&articleId=20127.

I've been informed that author Jim Collins has a fantastic book titled Good to Great. To learn more about Jim's book visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0066620996/103-9101052-7275809.

Taking a Step Back to the Basics

2005-02-01T17:14:00.000-05:00

In the late 1980s and early 1990s I was introduced to Michael E. Porter and several of his books including Competitive Advantage and Competitive Strategy (to learn more about Michael Porter visit his bio on the Harvard Business School website (http://ksgfaculty.harvard.edu/michael_porter). In fact, while I was at AT&T during the early 1990s, those books were essentially required reading. I was exposed to Michael Porter's work again during my MBA program. I loved the material but found one model in particular to be incredibly useful, Porter's "Five Forces Model". This is a framework Porter developed to evaluate an industry based on five key forces that impact an industry's structure. These forces include:

industry competitors
buyers
suppliers
the threat of substitutes
the likelihood of new entrants

This framework is extremely helpful when trying to understand an industry's dynamics and attractiveness prior to entering it. So, it's a great tool to use when developing your business plan. It is also a great tool to use once you're "knee deep" into an industry - to help you develop your going forward strategy.

To learn more about the specifics of Porter's Five Forces Model and how to use it, check out this site http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml.

I know you are probably moving so fast that it is hard to find any time for strategy. However, I highly recommend - no matter what industry you are pursuing or how long you've been doing it - that you take a step back and look at that industry within The Five Forces Model. In many respects, it can help you get a birdseye view of your industry and understand the dynamics that are driving its future.

But What's The "P" Drive?

2005-01-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

We acquired our first company this month. This was a major milestone for us as a business. We're extremely excited to join forces with an incredible team of talented marketers who will help us fulfill our corporate vision and business strategy (learn more http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3461041).

It is the start of a whole new chapter in our business. In order to grow and be a great company we are going to have to play the game to its fullest - make things happen. It's going to be an exciting year. We are certainly going to learn a lot in the process. So, I will be sure to share as much as possible through this blog.

Key Learning #1 - Accelerating Acquisition Integration.

While working at AT&T earlier in my career, I was fortunate enough to participate on several very strategic projects. Many were code-named projects like "Raptor", "Eagle", "Maple", "Seagull", etc. Many involved Merger and Acquisition evaluations.

Great projects, great learning experiences.

I remember working with one really smart guy from Mercer Management Consulting (www.mercermc.com). At the time he told me that Mercer had completed a major analysis to determine why some acquisitions work and others don't. While obviously there are a lot of different factors, one major way to increase the odds of success is to quickly integrate the communications systems - phone systems, email systems, intranets, etc. The quicker you integrate the communications systems, the quicker the teams are integrated and the synergies realized. However, he commented that in most deals, communication system integration isn't always highest on the priority list.

Well, it's been about 10 years now since I worked on those projects. So, I initially didn't remember the important piece of advice from my good friend at Mercer. And what did I quickly learn through my own acquisition experience? He was right on the money. Access to Outlook calendars, access to contact lists, access to intranets, access to forms and key files (what we call The "P" Drive) is so critical to accelerating the pace of integration and realizing its benefits. It is incredibly important - especially when the location is remote.

I hope this is a useful piece of advice when you think about a merger or acquisition.

"The Believers" versus "The Non-Believers"

2005-01-17T17:16:00.000-05:00

As everyone knows, hiring great people is critical. For a service company you are only as good as your team. So, the interview process is incredibly important. In fact, we spend a tremendous amount of time interviewing prospective candidates - as many as 10 interviews over several days. But, for those hires who make it through a tough interview process, what makes some successful while others just don't work out?

I don't know how to explain it but as a business owner you can get a good feel pretty quickly for "The Believers" versus "The Non-Believers" within your company. The Believers are those folks completely on board - 100%. They appreciate the work that's already been done to build the company, can see the opportunity in front of them, and are excited about pursuing it. They've had a sip of the Koolaid and they like it. They are moving 100 miles per hour on day one - as if they've been part of the team since the start. The Believers have a single-minded focus on driving the business forward. This doesn't mean they don't challenge decisions - but they do so in an effort to help them better participate in achieving the desired business goals. They aren't "Yes Men" - they just see the glass as half full and want to fill the remaining portion. A key point is that The Believers believe in good times and in bad. That is critical - because there are always some bad times. This unwavering support helps right the ship and prevents any further downward spiral.

The Non-Believers are the naysayers. They are never fully "engaged" in the business. They always seem to be on the outside looking in - evaluating. Often using "you guys" as if they aren't yet part of the team. Although you have agreed to hire them and they've accepted the offer, they've never really signed on - as if they are still going through their side of the interview process. They often challenge decisions not to better understand them, but just to challenge them. They seem to look at the glass as half empty versus half full. An interesting point is that they are typically less visible in the good times because the positive momentum of the business essentially proves them wrong and hides them. However, they are extremely visible during the bad times - essentially saying "see, I told you so."

My suggestions:

1) If you are starting a new job, be a Believer. You've already made the decision so stop evaluating and get committed.
2) If you own a business or hope to own a business, surround yourself with The Believers. In fact, during the interview process just come right out and let them know that there are The Believers and The Non-Believers and The Non-Believers just don't last in your company.

After 5 years we've gotten pretty good at quickly identifying and weeding out The Non-Believers and, as a result, have built an incredibly strong, high-performing team.

We Will Have Fun - Damn It!

2004-11-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

In my experience, a company's culture typically reflects its owners or leadership. During the first 3 years of our start-up venture you could summarize the culture in one word - "Serious". Well, you really can't blame us. We had certainly taken a huge risk by quitting our jobs to start an Internet-related business in early 2000 (not exactly the best time to start a new Internet company). So, it wasn't about fun and games. We had a lot of people watching us. We had a lot to prove. The fear of failure was tremendous. And, if you know anything about us, you know that we refuse to lose.

So, we were serious. Man were we serious! Serious about building a great company. Serious about having an impact. Serious about executing with excellence. Serious about quality, process and measurement. Serious about not screwing up. "Fun" for us was being serious about hitting home runs for our clients.

In late 2003 we did our first annual employee survey. We were serious about getting better - so we wanted to use the survey to identify key areas for improvement. And what did we learn? Well, first we learned that we have a great company on our hands. A place where people love to work. A place where people are proud of the work they do, the clients we have, the quality we demand, the team we have built and the results we deliver for our clients. However, we also learned that the company wasn't fun. We didn't plan a lot of activities together. We didn't create opportunities to build relationships beyond work. We didn't facilitate activities to help release the day-to-day stress. At the end of the day, we didn't have much "fun".

Wow, that was eye opening. It's actually very important. I've been exposed to great young companies and I've learned that fun is a critical element to a successful company. It helps build and enhance relationships. It helps release stress. It stimulates innovation. Hell, after almost four years of building this thing, even I wanted to have some fun. However, the challenge is that I'm just not good at planning and coordinating the fun.

So, it sounds silly but we actually scheduled "fun". Someone more suited for the role volunteered to lead the effort. We created a "fun calendar" of activities and events - some during work hours and some after work hours, some paid for by the company and some paid for by the individuals. Over the last 12 months activities have included - an omelet chef, a Halloween party with a pumpkin decorating contest, an afternoon at the movies, bowling, a masseuse, and more. We've had a lot of fun over the past year. Although it may have been forced to start, it has now emerged as an important element of our culture. We are now serious about hitting home runs for our clients and having fun. As a result, we are an even better company. Look out, the best is yet to come.

Nobody Likes Change

2004-09-22T03:07:00.000-05:00

When I was in high school I frequently visited the local gym to work out. The place was a mess. It had a very small work out room. The mirrors were cracked. The bars were bent after years of use. The padding on the equipment was either missing or worn away. It was a real disaster.

I attended college out of state but returned to the gym on my breaks. During one of my visits I was surprised to see a brand new work out room. The room was twice as big as before. It had all new equipment, new mirrors, and a whole new set of weights. It was now competitive with any other gym in the area. They did a really great job.

As I entered the room and greeted my longtime friends, "the regulars", I was surprised to hear all of the complaints. "I wish we still had that mirror that made you look thinner." "I can't believe they got rid of that bench we used for our nosebreakers." "I loved that worn-in curl bar we used to have."

Clearly, the place was better. However, most people were annoyed. It was different, out of the normal routine, out of their comfort zone. Things had changed.

When I returned several months later I found that people were once again back to their routines. They had made the necessary adjustments. Their initial anxiety resulting from the changes had passed. In fact, they were finally comfortable and happy with the new facility.

My conclusion from this simple example? It's true, in general people just don't like change. Even if it's for the better. They don't like to be out of their comfort zone.

So, what does that have to do with starting and growing a business? A lot. It is something you face virtually every day. Being an entrepreneur is all about change. It is a continuous adjustment to the marketplace. Change is a necessity. Without change you don't innovate. Without change you die. However, with change comes uncertainty. And with change comes resistance. As long as you anticipate the resistance and keep driving forward fast and hard, you will be fine. Remember, nobody likes change. But, like my local gym, the initial anxiety resulting from the changes will pass. Don't give in to the initial resistance. Don't blink. If you do you will be left with a mess rather than a "brand new facility". Onward and upward!

Follow The Goosebumps

2004-08-14T07:11:00.000-05:00

Have you ever sold something that gets you so excited that it gives you goosebumps when you talk about it? Well, it is an amazing feeling. It's easy to sell because customers can feel your passion. So, my advice is to start a business that gives you that feeling. If you already have a business, introduce new products and/or create a company vision statement that gives you that feeling. At the end of the day, create goosebumps and follow them. Then, just watch the magic begin to happen.

Yes, But Are You Really Any Good At Selling Vacuum Cleaners?

2004-07-12T21:39:00.000-05:00

When you first start a business, getting customers is the biggest challenge. Since you don't have any credibility, it's very hard to convince someone to do business with you. Think about it - you have no customers, no employees, no history. Why would anyone do business with you? Although you are certainly full of "piss and vinegar", that's only going to get you so far. It's a Catch 22. You can't get customers unless you have customers.

So, how do you get the ball rolling. Well, often you have to start with your "friends and family". Those people who are closest to you including immediate family members and/or your most trusted colleagues and connections.

Have you ever noticed that vacuum cleaner companies and cutlery companies (as well as many other industries) often hire kids right out of school to sell their products? Why? Well, they know that even if the individual isn't any good at sales, they will sell at least a couple of vacuum cleaners - one to Mom and Dad and one to their "Aunt Susan". Well, starting a business is no different. Your first deals/sales will likely come from your "Mom and Dad". For us it was our great friends at ADP. They trusted us and we didn't let them down. We refused to let them down. As a result, we have been providing services to ADP for over 4 years now. And, no matter how the story ends, we will always be extremely grateful to our great friends at ADP.

But at some point, if you truly aspire to grow your business, you have to find out whether you are actually any good at selling vacuum cleaners. The good news is that we are damn good vacuum cleaner salespeople.

Get The Biggest, Best and Brag

2004-07-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

Early in my career I remember someone saying “Marketing 101 – Get The Biggest, Best and Brag”. This meant to do whatever it takes to get the best brand name companies on your client list and brag that you have them. The theory was that, as a result of the client list, your company would have instant credibility. This would start a “snowball effect” – driving other top brands.

How true it is.

In the early days we spent most of our energy fighting for credibility. It was so hard when we didn’t have any brand name clients or case studies – even though we knew our stuff. However, the moment we had an impressive client list, things started to change. We didn’t have to spend as much time fighting for credibility and doing long-winded capabilities overviews. Our client list spoke for itself and provided all of the credibility we needed. Time was better spent discussing business challenges, potential solutions, and the structure of a working relationship.

The bottom line is that brand name clients help drive other companies in the door, help you acquire the best talent, and provide a lot of leverage in partnership discussions. The good news is that prospective clients finally started calling us. Hell, even VCs started calling us!

So, be as aggressive as you can to nail your initial big, branded clients – even if the deals are small. Bragging about those brands makes all of the difference in the world. Soon your phones will be ringing off the hook.

The "A-Team"

2004-06-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

Obviously, when you are starting a company, you want to hire the best possible people. Everyone will tell you that. Yes, my advice is the same - hire the best possible people. However, I would also add a couple of other points that I have learned over the past 4 years.

First, hire people who are truly passionate about having an impact. It may sound corny, but great companies hire people who want to change the world - those people who have a burning desire to learn, who get goose bumps when they talk about the possibilities of doing great things for clients, who care about building a great company, who see opportunities and drive them forward, who see problems and solve them, who refuse to lose, who raise the bar for everyone.

Second, let them. That's right. Let them be great. Value their opinions. Listen to their concerns. Let them make the call. Let them have the credit. If they are truly "A-Team" players, the results will be incredible and they will be happier than they have ever been.

However, be aware that not all "A-Team" players are alike. Some will just run with it and have an incredible impact fast. Others will take some time to get a feel for the company and the personalities before they start to demonstrate their leadership skills. And others are like starting an old lawn mower - it will take a couple more pulls of the cord but once you get it going you can't turn it off. For those people, giving them your trust, giving them a motivational speech, and giving them a swift kick in the ass will get them going.

After all of that, if you hire someone who doesn't turn out to be an "A-Team" player, let them know and let them go. No matter how hard it is, it is just too important to your business. In most cases, if you've built an "A-Team" company, it will be obvious to everyone involved - so there won't be any surprises.

In summary, hire the best possible people (aka "The A-Team") and then just get out of the way.

Crawl, Walk, Run

2004-05-20T11:20:00.000-05:00

I’ve been criticized several times for my "Crawl, Walk, Run" approach to running a business. I was told that the best managers have a much more aggressive style. Their approach to business is just "Run, Run, Run". Or they practice "Fire, Ready, Aim". Honestly, I think that is a bunch of macho crap and a recipe for failure. The best companies and best managers I’ve been exposed to throughout my career take a Crawl, Walk, Run approach to business. That doesn’t mean they don’t take risks. They take a lot of risks. That doesn't mean they don't make things happen. They are the best at making things happen. That doesn't mean they wait to do things. They are actually able to improve time to market and manage their risk through fact-based learnings and controlled investment.

I really enjoyed my days at ADP. The company has a tremendous senior management team with over 50 years of incredible success. One of ADP’s key business management beliefs is "Role Before You Roll". In other words, role-play before you rollout to the market. They are also big believers in "Pilot". Said another way, test it in a contained environment, ensure it works with excellence, and then move as fast as you can to make it more generally available.

Do they take risks? Yes, every single day. Do they manage their risks? Yes, through a Crawl, Walk, Run methodology.

In summary, it is certainly better to “Do” than to only “Plan”. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Therefore, it is better to Crawl with the hope of Running than to never Run at all. As one of my great managers once said about a marketing program the team was working on, “the sales team is fighting with bare fists right now so let's at least get them a stick. Let's not wait until we build the atomic bomb before we help them. Let's get something in their hands fast, have an immediate impact and build from there.” He was right on the money. If you are going to make something happen - faster is certainly better than slower. In addition, managing risk is key to long-term business success.

Pretend You Didn't Get The Message

2004-05-10T20:35:00.000-05:00

We had been in business for about a year and I was excited about the day in front of me. I had two prospect calls with senior marketing people in two Fortune 500 companies. It was a beautiful day, I was an entrepreneur, I was going to have fun, and I was going to close some business.

Well, the first meeting didn't go so well. Basically, they treated me poorly. It's a rather humbling experience to be "CEO" of a five person company. No one knows who you are and no one cares. You have zero leverage (more on that in a later posting). They made me wait in the reception area for about an hour. When I finally got a chance to do my pitch, it didn't seem like they wanted to share information with me or listen to a single thing I said. I remember walking out thinking "Oh, this is great. I left a great job at a great company to essentially get treated like an entry-level sales person. This certainly isn't going to be easy."

The good news was that I had another meeting planned at another major company for the afternoon. I'd show them. I was going to hit a homerun at that meeting.

On my drive back to the office I called in to get my voicemail messages. There was a message from my next appointment's secretary saying "Mr. Jones woke up this morning, saw your name on his calendar and wondered why he was going to meet with you. He wants to cancel the meeting and doesn't think there is a need to reschedule."

Well, it couldn't get any worse. That's it. I was done. Not too humbling an experience. And it wasn't even noon yet!

I decided to stop by my house for lunch on my way back to the office. I told my wife about my miserable day. She said, "pretend you didn't get the message." I said, "what?" She said, "pretend you didn't get the message and just go there anyway." Not too bad an idea, right?

So, I went to my appointment. I walked into the building and right up to the secretary. She said, "didn't you get the message?" I said, "what message?" Well, the secretary felt so bad that I never received the message she immediately "owed my one". She agreed to forward some of my company materials and reschedule the meeting. At least I had it back on my calendar.

Prior to the date of the next meeting, I called and left the following message:

"Good evening Mr. Jones. When you wake up tomorrow and check your calendar you are going to see my name on it. You are going to wonder why I am on your calendar and probably want to cancel the meeting. However, I've prepared an fairly detailed market analysis specific to your company and am anxious to share it with you. The good news is there is a lot of opportunity to drive incremental online sales for your business. The bad news is your competitors are one step ahead of you. I think, once you've had a chance to see the work I've prepared, you'll be glad we met. Thanks in advance for your time tomorrow and I look forward to meeting with you."

Well, we met. Long story short, we closed a $29,000 deal that turned in to a $150,000 deal that turned in to a $350,000 deal that turned in to a $1,400,000 deal. So, if someone calls to cancel the meeting, pretend you didn't get the message.

Make Things Happen!

2004-05-05T08:02:00.000-05:00

Far too often people don't make things happen unless everything is perfect. They spend way too much time in the conference room and not enough time executing. They find every flaw in the idea. Their business plan has to be absolutely perfect. So, guess what? Nothing happens. Something I've learned over my career is that "on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is perfect, a 1 is better than a zero". MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN. You can adjust and improve as you go.

Managing a Small Business in a Difficult Economic Environment

2004-04-21T20:36:00.000-05:00

Well, the good news is that we finally started a business. The bad news is that we picked the absolute worst time to start a business. March of 2000 wasn't exactly the perfect time to get started. In fact, that was exactly when everyone fully realized that the bubble had burst. Try raising money for a Web Services company in March of 2000. It figures, a day late and a dollar short.

However, in retrospect, it was the best thing that ever happened to us. Hell, we had no idea what we were doing so we probably would have waisted a lot of money. Instead we had to build the business the old fashion way. Here are some of our key learnings to building a business in a difficult economy:

Overall

- You must be even more aggressive and work longer hours.
- It's so easy to spend money. You've got to watch every single dollar you spend.
- You MUST practice right-to-left thinking. In other words, start with a plan and then figure out how to get there. Most people don't have a plan. As a result, they don't know where they are going and don't know when they get there.
- You've got to frantically work to create leverage. (more on this later - on another day)
- With adversity comes opportunity - so work hard, stay energized, and focus on getting strong so that when the economy turns you are ready to take off.

Funding

- Funding options become very limited - so you may need to go it alone.

Cash Flow

- Cash really is king
- Collections become increasingly difficult and increasingly important
- You may need to use incentives (prepayment discounts, etc.) to accelerate cash flow

People

- Great people are the difference between success and failure
- Don't hire until you definitely have to
- Make the tough choices quickly
- No hamburger helpers! (more on this later in a different entry)

Service

- Service, service, service. New customers are hard to get so don't lose the ones you have.

Services

- You must balance Focus and Flexibility (more on this later)
- Listen to the market and follow the need
- Deepen relationships and broaden services

When Things Are Going Great - Panic!

2004-04-16T19:49:00.000-05:00

The moment you think things are going great and you are exceeding your targets is exactly the time to force yourself and your team to worry. Building a business is so hard and takes so much out of you and your team. So, when things are going well, there is a tendancy to take a little break and take your eye off the ball. That's exactly the wrong thing to do. When things are going well, is exactly the time to focus on taking your busines to the next level. Increase your targets. Improve your metrics. Enhance client relationships. As the business owner it is your responsibility to create the burning platform for the team to rally around.

There Are No Right Answers

2004-04-07T18:02:00.000-05:00

The most important thing I learned while getting my MBA was that there are no right answers. Sure, there are to math problems but not to business strategies and decisions. There are really no right answers - time will tell whether a decision was good or bad. That is a beautiful thing! I used to sit in meetings with consultants at AT&T and be nervious to voice my opinion. Clearly, they had their MBAs and must know the "right" answer. Then, when I realized there are no right answers - wow, life was great. Every business decision I made was as "right" as anyone elses. In fact, if I made fact-based decisions, benchmarked the best-of-the-best, listened to the market, and followed my heart and gut, my decisions were actually as good or better than those of other managers. In fact, if you believe in it enough, over time you'll make it right - whether it is or not!

How To Get Started

2004-04-01T20:09:00.000-05:00

The big question I had when starting the business was where to get started. How do you prioritize and focus? Do you build the infrastructure so that you can do the work? Do you hire people who can do the work? Do you focus on raising money so you can do the things above? Or, do you focus on getting customers? If you could do just one thing, what would it be?

Well, I didn't really know. Obviously, it may be different depending on the type of company you are starting (technology versus service), whether you already have funding, etc, etc. However, we were starting from scratch. So, we didn't have anything. And our business was a Web Services business. So, where to start?

I interviewed over 20 senior business managers. Many with significant entrepreneurial experience. The bad news is that there were a lot of different answers. The good news is that those who had built their own businesses all agreed - focus on getting you first customer. Even if you can't actually execute on the work you should try to get a prospective customer to agree under contract that, once you are prepared to deliver, they will use your company.

The bottom line is that the hardest thing to do is get customers - period. Customers drive everything else. With customers, you will more easily get funding and be able to build the operations. Customers will drive more customers. Marketing 101 - "Get the biggest and best and brag." Great customers will also drive great prospective employees through the door.

At the end of the day, there are 3 things that can happen to your business. First, you can get revenue and fail at executing. If you do that, you will be out of business. Second, you can fail on the revenue side but be great at executing. If you do that, you will be out of business. Lastly, you can drive revenue in the door and execute with excellence. If you do that, you will survive and grow. It all starts with driving revenue in the door. So, get out of the conference room and go get your first customer.

The Idea, The Idea, The Idea

2004-03-16T18:44:00.000-05:00

So you want to have your own business do you? What are you going to do?

That's the big question. There was no doubt about it, I wanted to have my own business. The question was what I would do. The idea. I just needed an idea. I'd lay awake at night praying for the idea. Please, just give my the idea and I'll give it everything I have. I just need the idea.

This really bothered me. What came first - the entrepreneur or the idea? In fact, I wrote a paper in college with the same title. I was obsessed with "The Idea". I was an entrepreneur looking for an idea. My biggest worry was that I would never discover The Idea - and people would say I was full of shit - all talk and no action. In fact, when I was at ADP a consultant from Mercer Consulting told me that "99% of people who want to start their own business and don't by the age of 30 never start their own business". That scared the hell out of me! I was 35! I thought "I am full of shit!" Is it too late?

The Dream

2004-03-09T17:59:00.000-05:00

Ever since I started working, I dreamt about having my own business. I'd actually lay awake at night trying to come up with the idea. I told everyone I met that some day I would have my own business. Every time I wrote down my goals (I'm a big believer in writing goals), owning my own business was my primary goal. I went into sales at AT&T because "some day I was going to have my own business and would need to understand sales." I went back and got my MBA because "some day I was going to have my own business and an MBA would be valuable." When I left AT&T to go to ADP's small business group it was to "be around small businesses and meet small business owners because some day I am going to have my own business."

Now, don't get me wrong, I liked working for big companies. At the end of the day, they spent a lot of money training me. And, I was actually good at working for big companies. My bosses seemed to like me, I always had an impact, and I was promoted at a fairly rapid pace. However, I'd lay awake almost every night in pain. I was a guy who wanted to have his own business so bad that it actually hurt.

Why?

I don't know. I was always fascinated with the idea. Not sure if it was because I hate to be told what to do. Not sure if it was because several distant members of my family were entrepreneurs - so I had it in my blood. Not sure if I just wanted to have control over my own destiny. Don't know. But what I do know is that I have always had an incredile burning desire to have my own business.

I was always amazed that other people didn't feel the same. However, now I know that their are actually 3 groups of people. First, those who have no desire to have their own business. This is actually a very large group. I'd guess about 35% of the population. Second, those who say they would love to have their own business but will never do it. This is actually the largest group. I'd estimate it is about 60% of the population. Then, finally, those who actually start their own businesses. That's about 5% of the population.

My goal was to not only to be a major force behind starting and building at least one great business but to motivate and help others to do the same.