Choosing a business opportunity

Having just finished my graduate degree in Business, this one is particularly close to my heart.  I am now in a position I've never had before - people are coming to me with their ideas and asking me to be a part of them.    It's exciting - because I get jazzed by other people's passions - and scary - because I'd be responsible for the fulfillment or derailment of another person's dreams.  If I want to be involved, I need to pick something and go with it.  So how do you choose one opportunity over another?

Questions to ask yourself

What you really need to succeed is the right attitude.  To do that, you need to find a path that matches you as a person.  Some introspection is required (in my case about 5 years), but these questions are well worth it.  

• Where do I want to be in 5 years?  10?  20?  
• What kind of work setting do I like?  Structured?  Unbound?  Secure?  Shifting?
• What is most important to me in life?  
• Is there anything I won't do?  Too dangerous?  Too disgusting?  Against my personal code?  
• What am I good at?  
• What do my family and friends think about my choices so far?  

Those questions above are certainly not comprehensive about planning your direction in life, but they are a great start.  Now that you have that all sorted out, you can start planning your future. 

What opportunities are available to me?  

This is really a function of your network of friends and family.  It is difficult to find a new job or other opportunity without the aid of your network.  In fact, many schools, including mine, tout the quality and reach of their network as part of the admissions process.  It is much easier to talk to people you already know than find work in a completely new geography.  

Which involve people I can work with?  

The people are super important.  Without a great team, an enterprise can't succeed.  Unfortunately, they can also kill the enterprise, if they are in the wrong positions.  Be sure (or at least pretty sure) that your partners are competent or able to learn, and good people.  You're going to be working with them for quite a long time, if things go well.  

Where can I make money?  

For me, this is one of the least important.  Yes, there are certain things you can do that won't make money.  But those are few and far between.  I know lots of people do things that I would have guessed wouldn't make poodle spit, but they have turned it into a career.  Don't be afraid to follow your dreams, because building custom cat towers can certainly be a full time job, if you do it right.  

Just do it!

Thank you, Corporate America, for reducing that awesome phrase to a tag line for shoes.  :(  But after you are pretty sure you have the right path, go for it!  Take the time to develop your contacts, try your hand at something new, and get involved.  It is crazy how easy it is to start something, if you know where you want to go in the future.  Or even if you don't know where to go, you can start something and see what it feels like.  

Best of luck in the future!  :)

Think hard before suing

Ah, law.  It is an imporant institution, but there are often better ways to handle a dispute.  I'm not trying to disuade you, but please be aware of the following items when deciding to take someone to court.

Its super expensive

I hope that everyone knows about how expensive it is to hire a lawyer.  Their rates are notoriously expensive, and can sometimes be measured in 5-minute increments.  Unfortunately, there also may be court costs associated with your suit, costs to pay off in the case of a loss, and the costs that may be passed on to you to pay for the other party's defense, if your lawsuit is frivolous.  In all, bringing a court case can cost tens of thousands to millions of dollars in fees alone.  

It will take forever

Another thing that lawsuits are notorious for is the time it takes to have them processed.  The courts are overworked, and they often have difficulty getting cases through their tight workload.  And schedule problems aside, there are a number of different motions you can make in court to get more time.  One example is the Motion to Extend Time, which allows a someone three weeks to submit an answer to an allegation.  

You have to put complete faith in a stranger's judgement

There are likely very people reading this who have a lawyer on retainer.  And hopefully very few who have so much contact with a lawyer that you would trust their judgement without a second thought.  For those of us who don't spend our time in court, we often have to trust that a lawyer has our best interests at heart and that we can trust their judgement when it comes to law matters.  I am terrible at accepting things I don't understand, so this is one of the strongest issues that might prevent me from executing a lawsuit.  

Any prospective business relationship is ruined

Lastly, there is a long-term consequence.  If you pursue a lawsuit, it is unlikely that the defendant will ever do business with you again.  You may even be on such poor terms that they begin to dissuade others from buying your product or service.  A lawsuit can be one of the most effective ways to burn bridges in history, so be sure before you do so.  

Why NOT to use business jargon

Jargon, basically, is a set of words used primarily by specialists for discussing a specific field of study.  Jargon is supposed to be made up of words that have very specific meanings to define exactly what you are trying to say.  But business jargon is often meant to confuse and mislead.

Bad reasons to use jargon

1. To sound smarter.
2. To cover that they don't know a better word.  
3. To make other people feel stupid.   
4. To fit into a group.
5. To evade difficult topics.

Why they're all terrible reasons

Because none of them is the reason jargon exists - to make things clearer!  Each of the reasons above is hiding truth for different reasons.  In one case, it is a weapon, in another a shield, and in another a white flag. Thankfully, I can keep using those metaphors because their use is too wide spread for them to become jargon.  

Words to Avoid

You can find a good list here.  Or here.  Or here.  Or any number of other places on the internet.  Personally, I despise the phrase touch base.  I think it has something to do with my dislike of baseball, though I'm not even sure that's where it comes from.  It gets more difficult when you try to avoid words that you learned had specific meanings, like I did in grad school, but don't have perfect synonyms.  ><

What you should say instead

Say Exactly What You Mean!!!  That's not so hard.  Putting your thoughts into easily understood sentences was something we learned before we entered junior high school.  Then, in the years of schooling since, we learned to be indirect when writing.  I, and everyone else, appreciates it when you say things succinctly and clearly.

Meeting Etiquitte

Meetings are a fact of life, unfortunately.  No matter what business you work in, private or public, for-profit or non-profit, people have to get together and talk.  That's all it is.  But in the business world, there are many unspoken rules about how a meeting runs and the etiquette surrounding it.

Deciding to have a Meeting

This is the most important step.  Meetings are formal requests to use someone else's time, and often require them to perform some work prior and after - making them a drain on the person.  A meeting also takes time away from other activities, so there is a very real opportunity cost to holding one.  Finally, you have to be sure that the topic of your meeting can be addressed best this way.  Not everything requires, or even benefits from, having everyone involved.

Setting up your Meeting

So you've decided to have a meeting.  There are x things you need to consider.  The attendees, time, and place.  

Choosing who you will invite involves both planning and politics.  First, be sure to invite the people who you absolutely need, such as contributors or approvers.  Without at least a portion of them attending, there is no purpose for your meeting.  The second group is determined by the interpersonal relationships and power structure.  Anyone who isn't a stakeholder and doesn't have the clout to get in the door can be overlooked.  But there may be people who may be offended if you don't invite them, even if they likely won't attend anyway.  Remember, meetings over nine people tend to be for communication, not work.  

The time and place will be determined by your attendees' availability.  When setting up meetings, first find out if someone else controls the calendars, and, second, have two or three time frames (2-3 hours) in which you can make it.  Be more flexible with your schedule the more important it is to have a certain attendee.

The Meeting

First, show up on time!  It is not hard to do, if you schedule properly.  And, in the USA at least, it is impolite to be late.  For me personally, it is one of my biggest pet peeves, and will sour me on a first impression.  

In the meeting, if you are in charge, be in charge.  Make sure to tell the group what the purpose of the meeting is.  Have an agenda, to make sure you address important points. Moderate discussions to make sure they don't run too long.  Respect the thoughts of those in the room.  Respect everyone's time.  

And if you're the attendee, be helpful and productive.  Try to be familiar with the meeting topic and agenda (if available).  When the meeting is called to order, sit down and give your attention to the moderator.  Respect the thoughts of others.  Be helpful when asked questions.  Give your best when asked to address a problem.  Don't be rowdy.  Just be well-behaved!

Post-Meeting

Responsibilities after a meeting really depend on the culture of the organization.  An emailed thank you may be appropriate.  Many attendees appreciate minutes.  Agreed action items should have timely follow-up.  At the very least, thank the attendees for their time.  Time is so valuable!  

Defining your customer

For some companies, the question "Who is your customer?" strikes them as too simple.  They sell to everyone. They sell to people with two feet (everyone).  They sell to people concerned with money (almost everyone).  People with a home (everyone).  People in the United States (not everyone, but still pretty big).  You should definitely have something more substantial than that!

Benefits of a Defined Customer

• You can really get to know exactly what your customer wants.  This applies to all of the marketing concerns - price, product, promotion, placement.  
• You can reduce spending on advertising and promotions by targeting where and when your customer is most receptive.  
• Your employees have a clear idea of who will buy, making them better able to focus.  
• You can calculate the value of a customer, and decide how much you want to spend on each. 
• Your people will have a better idea of what you do.  
• If you do it well, others may gravitate to your offering just because it has a strong, desirable image.  

Creating Segments

The key is to segment the total market into chunks you feel you can serve well.  I'd suggest starting with a geographic region, such as the USA or New York City.  Then you can further subdivide that group into smaller segments that fit your product.  You can use combinations of the following factors, or any other way of distinguishing people that makes sense.  They generally fall into two categories.

• Demographics - age, sex, race, income
• Psychographics -  personality, values, attitudes, interests, lifestyles

There have been many text books and business books written about the customer. I suggest you give your customer some thought, and if you want to get deeper into talking about your customer, start by reading the wikipedia page about Market Segmentation.  If you really want to get deep into it, the book Market Segmentation: How to do it, how to profit from it by Malcolm McDonald is a great, thorough text.