Start Up Blog

Creation has a mindset. It is instinctual. It is in all of us, and that’s why we live in civilizations. We’ve created new ways, new things. People often mistake the emotional rewards of consumption with creation. When people are consuming they’re living vicariously. We replace the instinct to create, with consumption.

This world rewards creators. Business is about creating, which is why it can be rewarding. Conversely, most people associate success with consumption. Consumption is an illusion we’ve made or done something useful. It’s a shortcut. Hence, conspicuous consumption often exudes a sense emptiness.

Is this why we see so many balanced and satisfied craftsman, farmers and artists? People creating things have a air of contentment. A sense of self reliance. Even if what they are creating is a simple vegetable patch that feeds their family.

It’s because the true rewards in life come from the act of creation. Consumption is a poor substitute.

Create something.

My previous entry We Need espoused the virtues of doing rather than planning. I do not bend. However, you will ‘need’ to do certain things at certain points. Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking all your needs can be achieved symmetrically. A pre-launch desire for symmetry will kill you before your start.

A world of flux will cause a never ending planning cycle….A world of flux will cause a never ending planning cycle…..A world of flux will cause a never ending planning cycle…..

We need a unique idea

We need to work 24 hours a day

We need to keep it a secret

We need a lot of money

We need someone to fund us

We need to keep our jobs for now

We need some legal advice

We need to crunch the numbers

We need a big launch

Yes, you might need some of them, but not all pre-launch.

Needy people are never satisfied. Needy people struggle with inertia. Don’t be too needy, or you’ll never get to revenue. Launch now, need later.

Collect it

Conserve it

Preserve it

Clean it

Desalinate it

Recycle it

Maintain it

Distribute it

Water barons will be the new Rockefellers.  Historically, water was wealth. This is why every major city in the world is built on a ‘now polluted’ waterway.

Prediction: In the coming decades “Waterpreneurs” will be revered as visionaries and gain significant power and wealth. Through simply focusing on something others took for granted. They will find ways to sustain life as the economic value chain pollutes our key asset. Waterpreneurs will have a micro focus, providing solutions at a household level, which will then migrate en masse.

It’s ironic that value is always associated with availability. When something is on tap, we don’t question its sustainability.

Like the previous bug list, but related to you job, company and position as an employee. The things you say you wouldn’t do. Mine is written on a letterhead from a company conference which says something like “We have the power”. Not kidding.

The idea is simple. Write down the things you don’t like in your current job and company. Anything from procedures, culture to the way your line manager treats you. Be specific. File it away.

Once you’ve started your own business and have employees, take out the list periodically. Make sure you haven’t become what you despised. Make sure your employees have the environment you would have liked.

It’s never been easier to be mentored on a specific subject, from experts, for free. There are even live feedback mechanisms from other interested experts. It’s called blogging and you may think this is a ridiculous entry giving you’re reading one right now.

It’s only ridiculous if you really understand the bloggersphere. Many of us don’t. I’m still learning. The real power of this medium is dialogue. My favourite blog has 25,000 readers a day. The publisher has his email address listed on it. When I email him a question he gets back to me within a day or two with an answer, a link, a blog entry or if I’m really lucky a free PDF copy of his latest book.

Go on, ask me a question!

0. The preferred capital amount for any start up business.

Try leveraging human capital instead. You can still build a global brand, you can still get scale and you can still achieve automation. You can still achieve 4.

If we had known the challenges of raising capital (yes we got it, and yes we learnt much), beforehand we may have come up a different concept.

Capital costs you time and reduce your return on investment. If your new start up doesn’t cost you anything (or very little) to get off the ground, you’ve got less to lose, and it removes financial excuses.

Consider zero, or find a way to move closer to it before you start.

I just saw a stray cat enter our backyard much to the distain of our moggy, Mumapuss… well you know what happened…. There was a lot of hissing, a couple of left jabs with claws out, bushy tails and the obligatory chase up over the back fence.

Territory is about physical space, location, proximity to food, water and shelter. The basics which sustain life. Our cat was simply protecting what it needs to survive. Humans do it too. When a stranger knocks on your door the default thought pattern is; “Who is this? What do they want?” Your natural defenses kick in.

Cats are pretty smart too. They know that there isn’t really enough room for two in most houses. It’s no different with brands. They’re also territorial. When the local alley cat turns up for a feed, the incumbent wont move to the left and share the food bowl. There’ll be fight, every time.

Brands too are only territorial about their house (read distribution point). If you’re getting a great feed elsewhere, they won’t even notice. If you want to get off the street like your local alley cat, stop living day to day, then find a new place without a cat. Be nice to the owners, offer them something emotional and they might adopt you.

I sold my car. I did this for environmental and financial reasons. I telecommute, so my need for a car is limited. However when going to the city, now I take the train.

The benefits are numerous. Here are a few:

• It bought me at least 2 hours a day. 2 hours I use reading, working, preparing, watching and sleeping.

• Reduced stress - No traffic jams, consistent arrival times (so far)

• Thinking time

• People watching. The people who will be buying our product are on the train.

• Brings me into the world, it doesn’t segregate me from it like a car does.

• No parking issues or costs.

And Al Gore would be proud.

The best way to understand your target market is to immerse your self in it.
Reading about it in the newspaper or in some research report is a poor alternative.

When did you last immerse?

By the time an insight is empirical, measured and proven, it is no longer an insight. Here’s how I define the term Insight as it pertains to marketing:

A revelation of consumer understanding, which is not currently being leveraged for profit.

It needs to be a revelation to be an insight. If you are leveraging… “The insight of…”  you’ll just be swimming in competitive soup.