Startup Portal

Developing and shaping vision

longscorner — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:07:04 +0000

Vision is the starting point for giving shape and direction to the venture. Some sense of vision must exist before strategy development and planning can start. If it is to lead the business in the right direction, vision must be properly examined, refined and evaluated. Continue to read Developing and shaping vision

What is entrepreneurial vision?

longscorner — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:46:14 +0000

Entrepreneurs are managers. They manage more than just an organization, they manage the creation of a ‘new world’. This new world offers the possibility of value being generated and made available to the venture’s stakeholders. True value can only be created through change – change in the way things are done, change in organizations and change in relationships. Entrepreneurs rarely stumble on success. It is more usually a reward for directing their actions in an appropriate way towards some opportunity. Effective entrepreneurs know where they are going, and why. They are focused on the achievement of specific goals. Continue to read What is entrepreneurial vision?

The Entrepreneurial Mystique

longscorner — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:50:28 +0000

There is a mystique about the word “entrepreneur.” According to the Random House Dictionary, an entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes risk for a business or other enterprise. In other words, an entrepreneur is—or can be—you. Of course, some entrepreneurial ventures are more financially risky than others. If you are thinking about starting a business, you need to assess your level of comfort with risk, both financial and personal. Most people would try out their business schemes at least once if money were no object. However, it takes more than money to keep your venture growing and healthy. You need a passion for what you’re doing, a persistent drive, and the confidence to keep up with marketplace trends. Continue to read The Entrepreneurial Mystique

How to Turn Disruptive Change into a Source of Ideas

longscorner — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:37:32 +0000

Jeff Timmons, whose book New Venture Creation has been a bestseller for over a decade, calls good ideas a “tool in the hands of an entrepreneur.” Indeed, finding good ideas is the first step in the innovation process. Successful serial entrepreneurs are able to recognize patterns before an opportunity takes shape. They search for ideas at the intersection of markets, industries, and emerging technologies. They look for disruptors that will “unfreeze” a stable industry and the companies that compete within them. They look for business models that worked well in one market and can be adapted and applied in another. They recognize that they must listen to customers but must sometimes educate the marketplace to new approaches. Entrepreneurs learn to identify ideas by raising their head above day-to-day operations and expanding their vision. They then prioritize and narrow the many ideas they generate into a potential opportunity that addresses a compelling problem for customers who are able—and willing—to pay. This post will present some guidelines to help you leverage disruption to turn ideas into opportunities to create sustainable business advantage. Continue to read How to Turn Disruptive Change into a Source of Ideas

Disruptive Change as a Source of Innovation

longscorner — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:44:57 +0000

Disruptions in the business environment cause economic shifts that destabilize industries, companies, and even countries. They allow new entrants or forward-thinking established players to introduce innovations—in products, markets, or processes—that transform the way companies do business and consumers behave.

These disruptive innovations are not just novel inventions. Successful innovators take ideas and turn them into opportunities by adding a business model that creates sustainable economic value for all stakeholders. They then go one step further and exploit the opportunity by creating a sustainable business.

So what are some of the disruptors that innovators are exploiting to create value? As you review the list below, take a moment to stop and think: What are some of the disruptive changes in your industry that might serve as the source of innovation for you and your company?

Continue to read Disruptive Change as a Source of Innovation

Five Myths About Going into Business for Yourself

longscorner — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:23:50 +0000

Sometimes a person decides to go solo on a whim, based on some common myths about the joys of working for oneself. If you’re considering starting a business, review common myths presented in this post before you decide to proceed, so that you can avoid the pitfalls that go along with them. Continue to read Five Myths About Going into Business for Yourself

Eight Questions to Ask Before You Start a Business

longscorner — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 06:24:34 +0000

Have you been thinking about making your endeavor into a business? Are you confused about where to start and what to do? If you answered yes, your next move is to answer the following questions for yourself. This will help you to gain the clarity needed to find direction. Also, the thinking and research you do as you answer these questions will become your steps for starting your business. Don’t be like 95 percent of wannabe entrepreneurs who think they have a great idea and jump into business without careful planning. Some people who follow this strategy are very successful; but if you look before you leap, your percentage for success will be much higher. Continue to read Eight Questions to Ask Before You Start a Business

Stay Interest: Develop New Business Approaches

longscorner — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:18:11 +0000

If you’re easily bored by routine, you have a choice: move from one business to another every few years in search of variety or use this trait as a catalyst for innovation in your existing enterprise. Unleashing your creativity is undoubtedly the most powerful cure for boredom and, sensibly harnessed, it can work wonders to make a good business better. Whether you’re in a service, retail, manufacturing, or construction business, your customers will respond positively if your business regularly introduces new products and services. Even improving the way your business looks and sounds will almost always be positively remarked on by your customers. Continue to read Stay Interest: Develop New Business Approaches

Stay Interest: Make Time to Do What You Enjoy Most

longscorner — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:03:58 +0000

Hopefully, you were drawn to start your business because you were attracted to some core part of it. If you work as an authors’ agent, you probably enjoy books. If you make cabinets, chances are you like the process of woodworking. Similarly, most successful golf teachers not only love the game, but enjoy helping others master it. And many people who sell realestate get a genuine thrill from matching someone to the perfect home. But whether you simply like your field or have been lucky enough to turn a beloved hobby into a successful enterprise, actually running your business will inevitably involve many workaday aspects. Instead of happily spending your hours on your business’s fundamental work—the activity you found so attractive in the first place—you’ll often find yourself too busy to get to it. Continue to read Stay Interest: Make Time to Do What You Enjoy Most

How to Stay Interested in Your Business

longscorner — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:43:35 +0000

Even in a business you care about, there is the obvious danger that boredom will eventually creep in. If you increasingly find reasons to be elsewhere—taking lots of vacations, attending trade shows, starting a side business, or spending lots of time on nonprofit boards or a government commission—it’s time to reexamine your commitment. Even if you still put in a reasonable number of hours on the job, do you still have the intensity and creativity that put the business on the map? If, instead of coming up with—and more importantly, implementing—the steady stream of ideas needed to keep the business fresh, you’re more worried about why you’re shanking your seven iron or buying the perfect sailboat, your business is unlikely to continue to prosper. Continue to read How to Stay Interested in Your Business