Ideas To Deals

Weekend Long Run May 25, 2012

Memorial Day Weekend coming at ya!!! So happy, I need a break.

So the craziest week ever has come to an end. Not only was our primary federal funding grant proposal due (I guess that is only important if we want to get paid) we also had a few folks over for a little event I like to call the Ohio Growth Summit. Yeah 200 of my best friends (small business owners) came over to do some business. It was quite a day. I'll be doing a recap over at the OGS site next week once I'm fully awake (not much sleep this week) but I wanted to share a couple of personal insights here with my loyal reader (wait am I up to three now?).

First of all it was totally incredible. When I started the Ohio Growth Summit in 2005 I think this is what I envisioned. A totally engaged audience learning, growing and committing to growing their businesses. The speakers, the content, the networking and the food were all incredible (we all know the food is really the key). This was the biggest event since 2009 when Chris Brogan keynoted. I think the difference is that in 2009 people were interested because Chris was there, which a great reason. This year, however, I think the appeal was because it was the Ohio Growth Summit, the brand had taken center stage. Having said that the brand is only as good as the value that it delivers and we had the most incredible speakers this year. Nate Riggs, Mike Whaling, Keith Speers, Rick Coplin and David Rivers really created super breakout content and brought in true rockstars to be part of OGS. They deserve so much credit for our success.

Then there were the keynote presenters. Keynotes for OGS are typically people that we pay to bring in to the event. I look for a combination of valuable content, quality presentation skills and someone that speaking at OGS is about more than picking up a check. It's pretty easy to get the first two parts but it takes a little more to find the third. Overall we have been pretty successful in getting the right people. The best ones are the ones that come to the event and are part of the overall experience. I'm happy to say this year we nailed it with Paul Evans and Gini Dietrich. They both were so accommodating and easy to work with and were all about making the experience remarkable for the attendees.

I've know Paul for awhile and he came highly recommended by Carrie Wilkerson, whose opinion I value greatly, so he was a no brainer. Paul did not disappoint. He had the attendees hanging on his every word and really set the stage for the attendees to be ready to learn and grow. Paul told me if we needed anything beyond the presentation just to let me know. I think he would have worked the registration table handing out name tags if I would have asked him.

Gini was the reason that there was an OGS12. This is a difficult event to coordinate for our team. It takes a lot of time and effort and it is only part of what we do. I knew I wanted Gini in Columbus this year. I knew her from our social media connections but she needed to to be here live and in person. To say I was excited to have her here is an understatement. I tracked/stalked/probably better make it tracked, her flight progress online to make sure I knew when she was in Columbus. I tweeted when she was in town, in the building, on stage, everything. I even parked her car. Let me tell you she was so worth it. Gini was remarkable as I anticipated. Not just as a speaker but as a truly great person. Today I got what may be the greatest honor ever, being Gini's Follow Friday recommendation on the Spin Sucks site. Check it out. She says a lot of nice things about me, I guess I fooled her. Seriously it means a lot to me and I will never forget it.

Finally I must acknowledge the team that worked behind the scenes to make OGS12 happen. The entire SBDC team was critical to making things happen. Two people in particular Ariana Ulloa-Olavarrieta and Tonya Wilson. Tonya has been the go-to person for me for the past five years both on the Summit and other SDBC programmatic needs. She has stepped up time and time again to make the Summit a success and this year was probably more above and beyond than usual. She put up with my crazy ideas and deadlines. I don't know how I could do half the stuff I come up with without Tonya.

This is Ariana's first Summit as a member of our team. She stepped up and it was like she had been involved for years. Actually there was a time in the early morning where Tonya was doing some last minute computer work and was not on-site so I started calling Ariana Tonya when I needed something (What do you want I was running on NO sleep). She always had a smile on her face and even when I was stressing she was calm. They both did great and without them we could not have held this year's event.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge the contribution of Amy Schmittaur. Amy was the OGS social media presence. She not only got the OGS brand out in front of everyone she was there to recommend strategy, help with the technology and slap me in the face and tell me that I needed to do more like make videos to promote the Summit. That is way out of my comfort zone but it helped. People saw them. I can't tell you how many times I apologized for how bad I was to people who told me they saw my videos and liked them (they were probably just being kind about liking them). 

The Ohio Growth Summit is a lot of work so are we going to do it again? Yeah I guess you all talked me into it. OGS13 will be here before you know it.

Now on to this weekend's business long run. Remember these are articles that I have come across this week that would be good to look at to improve your business. Summit over and my grant is submitted. Time to get my run groove back this weekend. Not sure how many miles I'll get but I promise I enjoy every one of them and be reading these posts when I'm done:

Startup Tools & Must Haves at Snapshots and Secrets ~ Really nice list by Janine Renee simple tools that can really make an impact on your start-up. 

Aweber vs Mailchimp Title Bout at andynathan.net ~ Which one will be best to help you get your list on?

Communicating Via New Technology: The Twitter or The Egg at Thought Leaders  ~ What comes first the Tweet or the reason to Tweet? 

2 Most Unfortunate Reasons Your Blog Doesn't Get Link Love at 12Most.com ~ You need to get links to get noticed but you need to be noticed before you get links...Solution?

What to do About that Chip on Your Shoulder? at Both Sides of the Table ~ Edgy “change the world and eff the establishment” chip is different than “all you haters suck and why won’t anyone back me wah wah wah” chip.

Be sure to get out and put in your mileage this weekend so you are ready for your business marathon.

Weekend Long Run May 18, 2012

First of all I want to apologize to my dedicated reader (I might even have two dedicated readers) that I haven't been writing much hear lately. I've been in Ohio Growth Summit mode the past couple of weeks so if you want to see what I have been writing head over there to check me out (but then come back here). Things have been beyond crazy but I think it will all be worth it. What the heck, I can sleep another time.

One thing I have learned this year doing the Summit is there is a lot of competition for people's attention. In the past I knew that we were competing with other live events but this year I got the question "Why should I go to and pay for the Summit when I can just read the speaker's blog?" Maybe I'm old school but I was kind of surprised when I got that question. Clearly people can see the value of a live interaction with speakers, right? Maybe not. On-line content is easily accessible and really valuable. Hey, I love and use on-line content all the time. I generally put six or seven posts on here every week that I think can help a business so I'm all in. Having said that direct interaction face to face interaction can't be ignored. The ability to look someone in the eye, ask a question and get a response specifically tailored then have a dialog can have great benefits. You will have to get dressed and venture out but direct human connections will take you a long way.

If I have one piece of advice for anyone starting or growing a business is to never miss an opportunity to meet and interact with people you can learn from. You don't know what you don't know. Learning from others mistakes will allow you to avoid making the same mistakes. Avoiding mistakes saves you money and keeps you moving forward, not re-setting. Learning from others successes will help you move faster. 

Now on to this weekend's business long run. Remember these are articles that I have come across this week that would be good to look at to improve your business. Like I said things are crazy busy right now and my stress level is through the roof. I have to get a few miles in this weekend just to get away and of course I'll be reading these posts:

5 SEO Tips at Social North ~ Julia Rosien (a new favorite of mine) lays out an interesting menu of tips to help you get found.

LivingSocial and Chase Launch $250,000 Business Grants Program at SBDCcolumbus ~ This not as much an article with content as an announcement of a small business grant program. Since they don't come around to much I wanted to make everyone aware of it.

5 Reasons Why Social Media Doesn’t Work For You at Savvy Sexy Social ~ Katherine Salt outlines a number of things that may be holding your social media strategy back. 

How To Be a Pinterest Superstar at Mom Advice ~ Looking for a how to use Pinterest guide? Here you go.

5 Ways to Bootstrap Your Startup at Read Write Web ~ Our friend Rieva Lesonsky offers up five ways to build your business through bootstrapping.

What To Do When You Run Into A Wall at Sparkspace ~ Great post on how to break through your wall.

The 4 Types of Crowdfunding at Small Biz Daily ~ You've probably heard about a fundraising tool called crowd funding but what do you really know about it? Here is a quick guide to get you started.

Be sure to get out and put in your mileage this weekend so you are ready for your business marathon.

 

Weekend Long Run May 4, 2012

No this post is not a tribute to Kenny (Although "The man makes a pretty strong bird") it is about taking charge and doing what is right for you. I have a friend and business client that I have been working with for over a year now. She has been in business for a number of years but decided that she wanted to shift from a consulting/service model to a product business. To do this she started down a path seeking private equity funding. She went through the usual plan, pitch, revise, pitch thing that we all think of when it come to seeking funding but it was the next step that provided the lesson learned...Due Diligence. Once you get an investor interested they will go into due diligence to really get an understanding of your business, technology and you. This is also when the real deal is cut. Through this effort to gain understanding the investor and entrepreneur will come to an understanding of what the investment terms and milestones will be. This is also when the entrepreneur needs to be careful not to sell their soul. I always tell the entrepreneur when I am working with them that I can give them all the advice in the world but at the end of the day they are the boss and need to make the final call. It is easier to do that when they work with me because I am not writing them a check but when there is serious funding involved sometimes it is difficult to remember who is in charge. This is when you need to channel your inner Kenny.

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done."

My friend did just that. She and the investor worked and worked to reach an agreement but it was not to be. She decided that she needed to walk away from a mid-six figure investment. She listened to everything, understood the ramifications of taking the funding and not taking the funding and made a decision that while difficult, in the long run she felt would be best. She was the boss. It was her business and she knew she had to live with the consequences of the decision. She is now moving forward, seeking other investors and setting the path for the future of her company.

Now on to this weekend's business long run. Remember these are articles that I have come across this week that would be good to look at to improve your business. The good news is I have begun running again. The bad news is that I am so out of shape that my runs are pretty short and slow but at least I am running. This weekend I'll get in a few fun filled miles then read these posts:

Build Your Business with Keith Speers at Ohio Growth Summit ~ This is a video interview I did with Keith Speers where he discussed his experiences in dealing with companies looking to grow. With the exception of me being in the video it is pretty cool.

Another tech bubble on the verge of bursting? at Crain's Chicago  by Gini Dietrich ~ Ideas to Deals regular Gini Dietrich shares her thoughts on the recent valuations and acquisitions in the social/digital space.

How I Blog at Brass Tack Thinking at Brass Tack Thinking ~ Remember in school where they asked you to show your process? Amber Naslund does just that by sharing her blogging process with us.

Your Return on Time Invested at the Sales Blog ~ Anthony Innarino discusses his thoughts on what kind of deals to pursue. 

How to Project Your Basic Business Numbers at SBA.gov ~ So you know how to do projections? That's BS, nobody knows how to do projections but this helps.

5 Ways to Bootstrap Your Startup at Read, Write, Web ~ Rieva Lesonsky gives five tips to help you progress with your start-up on minimal/no cash.

Weekend Project: Research the Audience You Want … but Don’t Have at ProBlogger ~ "Build it and they will come" is not a good strategy. Check out this comprehensive approach to finding your blog's audience.

Be sure to get out and put in your mileage this weekend so you are ready for your business marathon.