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It's been a really eventful day. Two flights, one from OKC to Dallas/Ft. Worth, one from Dallas/Ft. Worth to San Diego. Jenn and I found a really inexpensive deli right at the corner of our hotel in Downtown SD, and got a delicious salad. We walked the harbor and looked for things to do the rest of the week we're here. We may take a harbor tour, a dinner cruise, and go see a few museums. Of course we're going to go to the zoo, and watch out for Sea World!

I uploaded just over 50 new pictures (not captioned this time, taking caption proposals), so go over to http://pics.bradfair.com/ to have a look!

As a slight change of pace, Jennifer and I decided to take a vacation to San Diego. I figured I would share our trip with you, just in case you were interested in what's going on!

Jenn woke up at 2:00am this morning, too excited to sleep (apparently). I followed suit at 3:00. We got around and had everything packed shortly thereafter, and spent until 4:20 comforting the cat - she knew SOMETHING was going on, just didn't know what!

After a quiet hour-long drive to OKC Airport, we checked our bag and made it through the security checkpoint. It has been a very long time since I've flown, and I thought that the security checkpoint would be a bit more of a hassle. I felt it was thorough but simple. 

Right now, we're sitting next to the gate watching little trucks pull planes around while people are sprinting towards the doors (I guess they're running late).

We depart in an hour and ten minutes, and the flight is an hour long. Check out pictures at http://pics.bradfair.com/main.php?g2_itemId=15. More blogging about our trip to come!

Another one straight out of the Harvard Business Review, this time from well before I was born!

The authors of this article assert that there are five stages of growth in a business, and that they are non-linear in nature. Not all companies will go through all stages, and the stages don't progress in the same order for every company. Here they are:

1. Existence - getting customers, meeting their needs. These two things mean that a company exists.
2. Survival - Switching focus from existence to the relationship between revenues and expenses. Here is where you worry not only about whether you can make money or not, but whether you make more than you spend!
3. Success - This isn't the end of the road, by any means. By the time you're here, you've created a viable business that brings in sufficient profit. You have two things that you can do:
1. Use the success of the company to finance the owner's lifestyle/other activities, or
2. Use the success of the company to finance further growth.
4. Take-off - After making the decision for more growth, your primary concerns are managing the growth and financing the growth.
5. Resource Maturity - The authors say that this is the point at which you have "arrived" in your business. Less than one percent make it here, but that is by choice for most. Here, you must take hold of the business after its high growth stage, and implement systems to help control the company.

1. Company Specific
1. Financial Resources (cash and borrowing power)
2. Personnel Resources (how many people, how awesome are they, what level are they)
3. Systems Resources (Business Process Automation, planning/control systems, info systems)
4. Business Resources (customer relations, manufacturing/distribution processes, reputation, etc)
2. Owner Specific
1. Owner's personal goals and business goals
2. Owner's operation abilities
3. Owner's managerial abilities, and willingness to delegate
4. Owner's strategic abilities

The interesting thing about these "key factors" is that they are ALL important, but that in each stage some are more important than others. According to the authors, here is what you should focus on in each stage:

1. Existence
1. Business resources - what little you do have needs to be quality.
2. Owner's operation abilities - your ability to do what the business does.
3. Cash - For without it, nothing survives.
4. Matching personal and business goals - if your business goals and your personal goals are dissonant, get out now.
2. Survival - at this stage, doing what your business does, and keeping an eye on revenue & expenses is your focus.
1. Owner's operation abilities
2. Cash
3. Success - There are two sub-stages here, disengagement and growth.
1. Disengagement
1. A little less on your ability to do, but that's still the #1 focus.
2. Of the eight factors, all are rising in importance but cash, ability to do, and business resources.
2. Growth
1. Matching business and personal goals. This is a risky and stressful time, make sure you really want it!
2. Operational abilities
3. All of the rest are important here, but not the PRIMARY focus.
4. Take-Off - It's ALL important in this stage, but here's the order of focus according to the authors.
1. Cash - if you can't finance growth, you'll fold
2. Strategic planning - You must have the road map to get there.
3. Systems and controls - Since you can't do everything personally in a high growth stage, you must have systems in place to bring you the results you're looking for.
4. Business/Personal goals
5. People - Do you have the right kind of people, in the right positions? How's your culture here?
6. Delegation - if you can't delegate, you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Your people are there for you, to do what you tell them to. Give them things to do, and let them!
7. Your ability to do - Since you're delegating and focusing on growth (strategery), you shouldn't be in the day-to-day of doing what your business does. It's less important, but since you're a teacher in this stage (delegate!), it's still important.
8. Business resources - these are becoming increasingly a natural byproduct of business operations. Manage your relationships, but don't give it all your attention.
5. Resource Maturity - in this stage, the systems are in place. Most things are important, but managed - not a CRUCIAL focus. The only crucial focus is:
1. Strategic planning. Many companies forget that the market moves with or without the company, you might as well move with it.

• Every business goes through these stages differently. Some stages may even be skipped or not touched.
• Use this as a guide to what you should be thinking about in the future. If you're in the Survival mode now, but you intend on getting into the Growth stage, make sure you account for the crucial factors of the growth stage.
• When considering advice from other business people, consider how their businesses evolved. The evolution of Wal-Mart was not the same as the evolution of Facebook, so Sam Walton's and Mark Zuckerberg's advice about the same business issue may vary quite a bit.

Straight out of the Harvard Review from Nov-Dec. of 1996, these questions are still relevant today. Of all of the businesses that start, a staggering number fail. Every time I hear the number of successful businesses, it lessens and lessens. I recall hearing most recently that one hundredth of one hundredth sounds about right. As a young entrepreneur, these three questions can help your chances of success by:

1. Looking into your definition of success (Where do I want to go?)
2. Mapping the road to success (How do I get there?), and
3. Addressing obstacles (Can I do it?)

Where do I want to go?

As an entrepreneur, you needs to consider what you want personally from the business(es) you start. Are you looking to get filthy rich? Have an outlet for creative talent? Spend more time with the kids, or on vacation? None of these are bad things, but each one lays a separate foundation for the company you will create. 

Once you pinpoint what you want from your business, you should give serious thought to what it really takes to get there. If you're looking for filthy rich, you'd better be capable of the long term risks, late night hours, and delegation of your company. If you want to spend more time with the kids, or go on more vacations, realize that the way to do that is not by spending all day every day slaving over that next deliverable. You need to create a company that will facilitate those goals! I mention this under the "Where do I want to go" heading because you may need to reconsider your goals after considering the type of business you need to create.

How will I get there?

Be clear in planning how to get where you want to be. Account for geographic reach, policies, rates of growth, decision making, and financing the business. As Albert Einstein said, "You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother." If you can't articulate your thoughts on how to get there, you should take a second (or third) look.

Make sure that your plan, whatever it may be, can generate sufficient growth and profit. If money is to business what ATP is to humans (think oxygen), then you'll need enough of it to keep going. Also, ensure that your plan accounts for the fact that "stuff happens." Over the next ten years, there will be significant technological change, political change, and economic change. You can't be prepared for everything, but having thought through what you can definitely helps.

Can I do it?

When I read this question, I instictively said "Yes!" After further consideration, this question is much more difficult to answer. Even if your strategy is flawless, it's worth nearly nothing if you can't execute. Can you get the resources you need to succeed? Can you help develop your employees to their fullest?

When asking this question, consider that you will need to establish the infrastructure to facilitate your company's operations. If you want to grow quickly and sell, you'll need to develop systems of delegation, financial management, and much more. If you are looking for freedom to spend time with your family, you'll need to ensure that your business can handle not having your undivided attention all the time.

Lastly, know that as your business grows, your role will likely need to change. You may start on the front lines, doing the day-to-day. As time goes on, you'll find that your role develops to a management role, where you spend your time training and teaching. 

Summary

These three questions are admittedly extremely difficult, but they must be asked. Make sure to revisit these questions as time progresses - goals aren't static all throughout your life. Likewise, each of these questions build off the other two, so your answers may vary widely the next time you think about them.

Well it finally happened.  My laptop was on the verge of crashing for half a year, and it finally met its fate.  Luckily, my wife and I caught it before it happened, and purchased a Compaq computer from Wal-Mart for $470.  It seems to be a steal so far.  It came with Windows Vista Home Premium, and was relatively easy to set up.

I was excited about getting Vista, because I've heard so much about it speech recognition capabilities.  I have been pleasantly surprised that its speech recognition is as enhanced as it is.  It seems to be 85 to 90% accurate, and when it does make mistakes, they are relatively easy to correct.

The biggest difficulty that I have with Windows Vista speech recognition is that it does not recognize the way that I pronounce the word two.  I suppose with more practice, it will start recognizing numbers as well as it does words. 

One of the reasons that I was looking forward to Windows Vista's speech recognition: blogging.  I dictated this entire post, and its accuracy astounds me still.

If you're the type of young entrepreneur that looks for faster ways of doing things, and you often find yourself in front of the computer,  Windows Vista speech recognition may just be your friend.   

I'm a big fan of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. I've used it to get out of some tight spots, to meet and befriend new people, and to get involved in some really excellent opportunities. Each of the skills I have learned in studying NLP have helped me make use of a model I learned called KFC. No, not that chicken company either - KFC is a model that helps you reach your goals. Here's the lowdown:

K - Know What You Want

Easy, right? Not always! To really get what you want, you have to know exactly what it is you want. An example is that of a person who wants a million dollars. There are a slew of ways to get a million dollars. You can borrow it. You can steal it (I don't recommend this one). You can work really hard all your life for it. You can borrow two million dollars and lose a million somehow. If all you really wanted was a million dollars, you've reached your goal. If, however, your real goal was financial freedom, or a million dollars in liquid assets with no other debt, you'll definitely not be able to use a few of the above methods to get there. Knowing what you really want is the first step of the process.

F - Find Out What You're Getting

Contiuing on with the million dollars mentioned above - if you want a million dollars of your own with no other debt, and yet your income is rapidly declining, you're definitely not moving toward your goal. You need to know what it is you're getting, and compare it to what you want.

C - Change What You're Doing To Get What You Want

This is the toughest of all three, but it makes perfect sense. If you want something but are not getting it, something has to change - you. What changes can you make to put you on the path to getting what you're looking for? Change what you're doing, and assess the results. If it helps you in the right direction, good job! This is the perfect place for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. I like to study those who have reached the same goals that I set for myself. I like to figure out what behaviors they have, and what has been critical in them reaching their goals. Wherever it makes sense, I try to make those behaviors part of my being.

As you change, your goals change. As your goals change, make sure to reassess the situation and see if you're getting closer to your new goals. This process is circular, and each of the three parts need to be considered regularly. If you feel so compelled, give me an example of what KFC can help you with!

If you've found your business growing to the point that you no longer have a hand in the day to day grind, you might realize that there are several things concerning you about the way your employees handle business. These little annoyances can have a large impact on the company if not taken care of. I've seen excellent ways to set employees on the right track, such as incentive plans, meetings, and team development. Those work great for existing employees, but for new employees there's another way - New Hire Training!

Why Have New Hire Training?

New employees are excited from day one. They come to work eager to learn how everything comes together, meet new people, and make a good impression on their new place of business. If Day 1 confuses your employee with conflicting messages from different sources, they won't come back on Day 2 with the same attitude. If you channel their energy from the start to help create the results you're looking for, it's much easier to get consistently high quality work, and everyone is happier because of it.

What To Include In New Hire Training.

Ideally, New Hire Training will give your new employees the information they need to succeed in your company. This includes HR information such as time off, pay, the Org. Structure, specific legal requirements; it may also include any job specific information such as accounts, clients, ways to find information not covered in training. In my industry (Information Technology Consulting), new hires should learn how to quickly find almost any piece of technical information they are looking for. The old adage about teaching a man to fish is the sole purpose for New Hire Training.

What NOT To Include!

It's worth mentioning that there are a few things you don't want to include in your training:

• What happens on your last day
• What happened on somebody else's last day
• Information that is not relevant to those being trained
• Information your new hires already know

Your New Hire Training should be informative, interesting, involved, and a slew of other words beginning with i. Make sure you spend plenty of time developing your training plan, and ensure that it includes all of the information your new hires need to avoid the annoyances of the every day grind. After you train your employees, monitor their performance. See what information they retained. What information are they spreading to your existing employees? Are they able to help each other out? Once you've seen some areas of improvement, make note of them and include them in your next training class.

Used effectively, New Hire Training will help keep your company on track. It will help focus your new hires' energy towards the right things. It can create a culture of continuous improvement, and really set you apart from the competition.

I have an acquaintance with an excellent business idea, enough funding to be getting on with, and excited companies ready to buy his product, and yet is making $0 in sales. I have another acquaintance who hesitated submitting numbers that had too much speculation involved in them. Yet one more person I know doesn't like getting involved with anything until he knows everything about it. What do these three people have in common? I think the answer is that they are waiting for an event that can never happen.

Many young entrepreneurs get pretty wrapped up in their product or service. They insist that it must be just right before it is capable of making money. The truth is that it's better to have a mediocre something making a difference in people's lives than it is to have an excellent something making a difference in nobody's. For instance, I've developed a piece of software for websites that makes keeping your website up to date as easy as sending an email. I made it just for myself, and had no intention of selling it. I had a few people that found the same problems with their websites as I had with mine - they were time consuming to update. Having this program that I made, I was able to help them along with their sites. The software is nothing spectacular, it simply gets the job done. If I didn't release the software because I wanted it to be perfect, I don't think I would have ever completed it. It is more valuable being available to people in its simple form than it is not being available at all because it's not yet perfect.

If I can impress upon you any single piece of advice for your company or idea, it's this: DO IT. Don't wait for some idea of perfection. Make it good enough to have value, and get it out there. If you're capable of making it fantastic in the same time period, then do that too. Then, let your customers tell you what there is to improve, and improve!

In the military--

  Knowing the other and knowing oneself, in one hundred battles, no danger.

  Not knowing the other and knowing oneself, one victory for one loss.

  Not knowing the other and not knowing oneself, in every battle certain defeat.

  -- Sun Tzu

The Art of War is an interesting text about competition. Its advice is applicable to competition in every fashion, and especially helpful to the young entrepreneur. If you haven't read it, I recommend getting it as soon as possible. Sun Tzu's quote above has a few interesting ideas packed into it.

Not Knowing Your Competition or Yourself

It is pretty easy to see that if you don't know your competition or yourself, you're doomed for failure. If you don't know what decisions you are capable of making, what your "army" is capable of doing, or what you have going for you, you can't possibly know how to compete against others. If you find yourself in this category, start working now to understand you and your company, and how things are tied together. That'll at least take you away from certain defeat and towards an even playing field.

Knowing Yourself, Not Your Competition 

If you know yourself and not your competition, Sun Tzu says you'll win one for every loss. This is where most companies fit (else the odds would be different). Here, you know what you're capable of, what you can do and can't do, and how to act on that information. If this is where you are at, you definitely have some room for improvement. The best way to win in a competitive market is to know the market, its players, and the moves that each are making. You can see that knowing where things are headed gives you a great advantage, and knowing how you can use that information (that is, knowing yourself) gives you much much more.

Know Your Competition and Yourself

Knowing your competition and yourself is the ideal place to be. Here, you can see the market's moves, and act on them accordingly. You know what your company is capable of doing, and can find ways to use the market's movement to your benefit. This is a prerequisite for much of the advice in the book The Art of War. If you aren't at this point yet, take some time to learn as much as you can about your industry and the people in it. Learn about your competitors' decisions, and how/why they are made. See what openings there are in the market - where people aren't, where people are but don't want to be, and why. Armed with this knowledge, you can put your company in a positive position in the market, and have a good time getting there.

As a young entrepreneur, you may find yourself in a position where you begin accepting résumés. If you've ever spent time creating a résumé, you might remember how much time you spent on it. If you are anything like me, you may have ensured that you used high quality, watermarked paper. You probably spent a good 30 minutes making sure that no ink was smeared, the watermark was as close to the center of the page as possible, and that when held up to the light, it was readable from left to right. When you accept a résumé in person, remember your experiences creating one. Here's a list of what you should consider doing when given a résumé:

• Smile
• Sincerely thank the applicant for their interest
• Review the résumé for a few seconds while they are there to let them know that you will at least read it

Here's a list of what you should NOT do when given a résumé:

• Frown
• Fold or crease the résumé
• Set it upside down on a big stack of papers
• Give the applicant the impression that it will not be read
• Throw it away

What other items can you think of to add to the lists of "do" and "don't" above?