Your Employees Are Not Like You

I recently heard behavioral analyst Steve Sisler speak at an event for the Colorado Chapter of Entrepreneur’s Organization. Prior to the event, he asked us all to take two tests: a personality assessment tool that measures dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness (or DISC profile) and the Innermetrix Values Index, which measures individual drive and motivation.

I’ve always been skeptical of these types of tests, but there was something about Sisler that made him seem credible. He picked a few people out of the crowd and asked to see their DISC graph. Rather than state the obvious, he quickly pointed out aspects of their behavior that shaped their entrepreneurial efforts. He even guessed that someone was an avid poker player, just by looking at his graph. Below are the three main things I learned from his talk that CEOs need to stop doing to their employees ASAP (or risk holding the entire company back):

Stop thinking about your employees as if they’re like you. They’re not. They’re not motivated the same way as you are and they don’t process things the same way you process things. Sisler said, “We don’t see people as they are, we see them as we are.” Individuals are all wired uniquely, and it’s up to you to discover and understand exactly what makes each of your people tick. Jason Eckenroth, CEO and Founder of ShipCompliant, which provides regulatory compliance and supply chain automation for the U.S. alcohol industry, had this to say about his experiences working with Sisler: “I have begun to see people for their nature and to judge less if their approach is different than the approach I would take. My company would not exist if it were filled just with my clones. Instead we have a great mix of booster rockets, maintainers, safety and project managers.”
Stop rewarding employees the same way you want to be rewarded.
As the CEO, its easy to try to reward your employees in the way that you’d like to be rewarded. That’s natural. But unfortunately, it doesn’t always work. Unique individuals need unique rewards. For instance, I’d rather make ten thousand cold calls than give someone a performance review. It is just really difficult for me. Besides all the obvious reasons why it’s important to give regular performance reviews, Sisler said that some employees crave this kind of direct, ongoing feedback. They need to hear aloud that they’re doing a great job. But for others, it terrifies them. It’s up to you to know which of your employees need which kind of feedback.
Don’t match a person to a position; match a personality type to a role. We often sign up for jobs we’re not well-suited for (such as me giving performance reviews). It’s essential to understand not just what your people are capable of, but how to put them in a role that’s going to allow them to be the most naturally effective. Eckenroth told me that because he started understanding his people better, he was able move people to the right positions and approach them with greater empathy. “It is unnerving to have someone so easily point out your strengths and weaknesses but this actually empowered me. I could more easily manage against that weakness. It helped me quickly focus on my team member’s strengths, and to quit pushing them in areas that only highlighted their weaknesses.”

How do you quantify the value in understanding your people? What drives them? What bothers them? What makes them operate? What kinds of things do they need to hear to know they’re on the right or wrong track? If you need help figuring it out, you can find more about Steve Sisler here.

Sarah Schupp is the CEO and founder of UniversityParent.com, the #1 site for college parents to find everything they need to help their student succeed. Follow her on Twitter @Sarah_Schupp.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Where Do You Go For Quick Tech Advice?

Question: Your absolute favorite place to get business tech advice in a pinch? (e.g. Quora, Twitter, etc.) Why?

Hop Onto HubSpot

“When I need to learn about business tech in a hurry, the first place that I always look is HubSpot. They have a very complete knowledge base on all things related to Internet marketing. Their white papers and case studies are especially helpful because they give real-life examples of how companies can use different strategies in conjunction to move closer to their organizational goals.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

Read Feld Thoughts

“Brad Feld is the most consistently awesome source for tech startup advice. His blogs and books explain the details behind choosing co-founders, pitching investors, hiring early employees, compensating board members, and more. And his past and present leadership with top tech startups, accelerators, and venture capital firms lends huge credibility to his words.”

– Neil Thanedar | CEO, LabDoor

Keep the KISSmetrics Blog

“The KISSmetrics Blog is phenomenal at taking difficult technology and digital marketing techniques and breaking them down into step by step instructions. I love the no-nonsense approach they have to writing how-to, and also how they don’t feel any need to pack in a bunch of keywords so they pop up on Google News. They focus instead on writing truly useful content for tech businesses.”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

Look at Your LinkedIn Network

“I have a very smart and diverse network, and within minutes of shooting off an inquiry, I’ll get at least a dozen fantastic responses. The best thing about this approach is that I know I can trust these answers because they are grounded in real expertise and experience.”

– Alexandra Levit | President and Founder, Inspiration at Work

Take It to Twitter

“I usually turn to Twitter when I’m looking for advice, since I have a vast network there. It’s especially helpful when I’m looking for suggestions of new websites and tools either for my company or for a client. I’ve found people on Twitter to be one of the most immediate sources of advice and often quite accurate in terms of what I’m searching for.”

– Heather Huhman | Founder & President, Come Recommended

Utilize Advisers and Partners

“Anytime we run into a “wall”, the first thing I do is pick up the phone to call business advisers and partner companies, like our distributors. We love Quora and other sites for generic answers, but advisers and partners have a much greater feel for the context in which the issue exists. Their intimate knowledge of our business allows us to quickly and creatively uncover the core of the problem.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

Try Zappos Insights

“Zappos launched a new site called Zappos Insights where entrepreneurs can tap into the Zappos team and a network of fellow entrepreneurs for support and insights. Whether it’s tech advice or culture issues, it’s awesome.”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

Create an Email Group

“Rather than wasting time on Twitter, I send an email to a small group of people that have been helpful before. Some are friends, some are acquaintances, others are those who helped me develop my sites. But usually within 20 minutes, not only do I have an answer to my question, but I have some one to help implement it if need be. Consider using social media to find these contacts, and then get more focused.”

– Sean Ogle | Founder, Location 180, LLC

Use Community Groups

“Join Facebook and LinkedIn groups that have some solid tech experts in them. This way, you can reach out in an emergency to get some quick advice. You’re also building relationships at the same time.”

– John Hall | CEO, Influence & Co.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

The 6 Skills That Made These Entrepreneurs Successful

I’m not sure if there are any other occupations out there that require as many skills and abilities as it takes to be an entrepreneur. If you’re a pilot, you need to be familiar with the operation of your aircraft – but you don’t have to source its parts, build it and then sell it to an airline in order to be successful. If you’re an engineer, you might draft plans – but then you pass your designs off to others to see them brought to reality.

That’s not to say that these fields aren’t important or challenging – just that they’re not as all-encompassing as entrepreneurship. When you’re a solo business owner, every aspect of your company’s operation falls on your shoulders. You’re a visionary, yes, but you’re also a project manager, team leader, administrative assistant, sales person and more, depending on what the day calls for.

Given how complex the work of an entrepreneur can be, I want to take the next two weeks to break down some of the skills that you must have to be successful in this type of business. And since I’m a sucker for case studies, I’ve paired each skill with an example from a great entrepreneur throughout history.

Hope you find them helpful when it comes to cultivating your own skill as a business owner!

Never Be Satisfied

The best entrepreneurs are never satisfied with what they’ve already achieved. They’re innovators through and through, which is why you won’t see them stop and rest on their laurels. Even if they experience what the rest of the people in the world would consider to be “success,” entrepreneurs are already scheming away over how much bigger and better their next projects will be.

Entrepreneur: Milton Hershey

You’re probably pretty familiar with the name “Hershey,” but what you might not know is that this entrepreneur didn’t get his start in chocolate. In fact, the young Milton Hershey first experienced success with the Lancaster Caramel Company, based off a unique recipe he developed throughout his apprenticeships. Though the company was successful, he saw a brighter future for chocolate and sold his caramel company for $1 million in 1900 (roughly $25 million in today’s dollars).

Hershey tasted success with his first company, but it wasn’t enough for him. Cultivate this same sense of never being satisfied if you want to make it to the top of your industry as well.

Be Ambitious

Entrepreneurs don’t change the world through small actions – they do it through ambitious projects that radically alter the status quo in their industries. Because of this, the “holy grail” of all entrepreneurs is a product or service that’s so disruptive that it changes the core way people view, interact with and label the world around them (just as we don’t “conduct internet searches,” but instead “Google” for answers on the internet).

Entrepreneur: Mark Zuckerberg

When it comes to ambition, is there anyone better to look towards than Facebook titan Mark Zuckerberg? Zuckerberg didn’t necessarily start out with the goal of changing the way social interactions occur on the internet, but once he realized the potential of his fledgling social network, his ambition took over – pushing the company forward to more than 1 billion registered users around the world in 2013.

When it comes to entrepreneurial ideas, don’t just think small – think global. Think big and shock the world with your outrageous ideas.

Be Fearless

If you want to succeed in business, you can’t let a little thing like fear stand in your way. Yes, running your own business can be scary at times, but if you let that fear overtake you and prevent your forward momentum, you don’t stand a chance at finding entrepreneurial success.

Entrepreneur: Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely is the founder of Spanx – the billion dollar women’s undergarment company that’s become a household name. When Blakely first came up with the idea for her flagship product, she knew nothing about garment manufacturing, nothing about the patent process and nothing about retail. But she didn’t let the fear of the unknown stop her. By researching and outsourcing tasks when necessary, Blakely’s product line took off, making her the youngest self-made female billionaire in history.

If you get scared, find a way around it. Fear, when left unchecked, can seriously impede your process and threatens to derail your business entirely if it isn’t managed.

Take Risks

It’s not exactly revolutionary to say that entrepreneurs need to be risk takers. But the thing is, the best business people don’t just take risks for risk taking’s sake. Instead, they assess the situation and then take calculated risks that are designed to maximize their success while minimizing their overall exposure to unnecessary risk.

Entrepreneur: Mark Pincus

Before founding Zynga, the million dollar social gaming company, Mark Pincus took a major risk in walking away from a guaranteed funding source for his first company, Freeloader. Because the terms of the deal would have required Pincus to hire a CEO of his investor’s choosing, he opted to take a major risk and walk away from the deal – even though he had just a few months of cash left.

In the end, Pincus’s gamble was successful, as he was able to secure funding from another source and then sell off the company in order to provide startup funding for Zynga. It was a calculated risk, for sure, but a risk all the same – the exact model you should strive to emulate in your own business endeavors.

Follow Your Intuition

We all have a certain amount of in-born “gut instinct,” but only those entrepreneurs who choose to hone this sixth sense and rely on it to guide their business decisions will be truly successful.

Entrepreneur: Steve Jobs

Really, is there any better example of intuition at work in entrepreneurship than that of Steve Jobs? What’s fascinating about him isn’t the number of products he sold or the number of sales records he broke, but his seemingly-instinctive ability to develop concepts that consumers didn’t even realize they wanted yet. Before the launch of the iPad, the tablet market was stagnant. So much so that entering the field was a risky proposition. Yet somehow, Jobs reworked the concept to create the iPad, building an immediate fervor for a product that had no initial market interest.

Interestingly enough, Jobs recognized the role intuition played in his success. In an interview with Walter Isaacson published in the New York Times, Jobs attributes the development of his own powerful sense of intuition to time spent wandering around India at the age of 19:

“The people in the Indian countryside don’t use their intellect like we do,” he said. “They use their intuition instead … Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That’s had a big impact on my work.”

You don’t need to drop everything for an international sabbatical in order to develop your own intuition. Instead, take the time to listen to your inner voice and allow the information it gives you to find its way into your work every so often.

Know Your Vision

Finally, entrepreneurs have a way of taking what they see in the world and twisting it into the visions they have in their heads. They don’t accept reality as it is and work from there. Instead, they see reality and distort it in their minds – allowing them to cultivate visions and make breakthroughs that ordinary people could have never envisioned.

Entrepreneur: Bill Gates

One of the best examples of entrepreneurial vision is Bill Gates – the man who’s widely credited with both launching the personal computer revolution and with developing the world’s first piece of software (alongside business partner Paul Allen, of course) in 1974. At the time, “computers” as we know them now didn’t exist. Gates and Allen actually developed their code by borrowing time on the mainframe computers owned by educational institutions and large corporations.

To make the leap from this type of computing arrangement to the idea that PCs could be owned and operated by individual households around the world was truly an instance of vision at work.

Maybe your vision of the future won’t have the impact of the PC revolution, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be important for you, your business and for the world. Learn to see what isn’t there yet. It’s a critical skill that all entrepreneurs must master in order to experience success.

Do you relate to any of these entrepreneurs in the way you’ve handled your own startup business challenges? If so, share your thoughts below.

This post originally appeared on the author’s blog.

Sujan Patel is the founder and CEO of Single Grain, one of the top Digital Marketing agencies in San Francisco, CA. With more than 10 years of Internet marketing experience, Sujan leads the digital marketing strategy for companies like Sales Force, Yahoo, Intuit and many other Fortune 500 caliber companies.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Do You Make These Networking Mistakes?

QUESTION: WHAT’S ONE COMMON NETWORKING MISTAKE OR TURNOFF THAT YOU SEE BUSINESS OWNERS MAKE?

GLOATING ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL WONDERLIFE

“We live in an era that affords many new entrepreneurs the opportunity to redefine work-life balance. But even though your life might be the most outlandish saga since Deep Space 9, talking about your personal life for a moment too long can morph “Hmmm…interesting guy,” into “This person is full of themselves.” Don’t over-emphasize personal stories when business is what brought you together.” – Kent Healy | Founder and CEO, The Uncommon Life

FOLLOWING UP TOO LATE

“When you meet someone in a networking environment, it is important to follow up by email within 24 hours or connect through Twitter or Facebook. We live in a fast-paced world, so if you meet someone for the first time and send an email four days later to say thanks and follow up, the timing of your note communicates, “The time I spent with you really wasn’t that important.’ Be quicker.”

– Erica Dhawan | CEO, Erica Dhawan, LLC

FORCING FOLLOWERS TO VERIFY HUMANITY

“If I send an email or direct message on Twitter and get back a verification link, I’m immediately turned off. Setting up barriers in networking doesn’t make sense when the point is to enable easier communication! Be personal, don’t act like a robot. Those who don’t have enough time should be outsourcing non-personal tasks more to make the time to connect without all the hoop-jumping.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

NOT LISTENING TO THE OTHER PERSON

“Sometimes we get so passionate when talking about our products, it seems as if no one else is in the room. That passion is great and people like to hear others who love their jobs. However, it is important not to dominate the entire conversation and allow the other person to share what is important to them. The more you listen, the higher likelihood of discovering a business problem you can solve.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

WANTREPRENUERS MISLABELING THEMSELVES

“You know who they are! The ones who are at these events looking for people to help them get started with their business, they’re still unclear about what exactly they do, or they don’t want to tell you their business idea because they haven’t started and they don’t want you stealing their millions. They’re immediately closed off to any type of relationship unless you can help them.”

– Angela Pan | Owner/Photographer, Angela B Pan Photography

LEADING WITH A BUSINESS CARD

“A big no-no at any networking event is walking up to an individual or group and chucking your card to everyone within seconds. It feels like you are desperately fishing for leads in the hopes that if your card touches enough hands, you might make a sale. It would be just as effective for these people to walk into the middle of the room, launch their cards into the air, and yell, “52 pickup!””

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

NOT SHOWING UP AT ALL

“As Woody Allen said, “80 percent of success is showing up.” Many business owners (including myself) can at times feel too busy to attend events, but that’s a mistake. It’s critical to get out of the office, bounce ideas off of other people, get fresh perspectives, and meet potential clients, vendors, and employees. None of that can happen if you don’t show up.”

– Phil Frost | Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Main Street ROI

ASKING TOO MUCH, TOO SOON

“A serious networking error is focusing too much on what you can get out of an interaction. If you meet somebody by asking for something from them, it’s a huge turn-off. However, if you offer up your services to help them achieve their goals without asking for anything in return, chances are they’ll offer to do the same, and they’ll enjoy working with you. Don’t bargain or trade, focus on giving.”

– Travis Steffen | Founder, WorkoutBOX

FORGETTING IT’S A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP

“Networking isn’t just about you – you should be thinking about how you can help the other person too. Why would this stranger want to help you if you’re only in the relationship for yourself? Think about how your skills and expertise might be useful to your networking contacts and give, give, give before asking for something in return.”

– Heather Huhman | Founder & President, Come Recommended

FAILING TO RESEARCH ATTENDEES

“Many events share attendee lists through Eventbrite or other sites. The biggest mistake one can make is not being thoughtful about who you target, and then not being prepared to speak with those folks. The more that you can make the conversation personal and thoughtful, the more likely you are to succeed when meeting new people. Take advantage of great resources like LinkedIn and prepare wisely!”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

CONFUSING NETWORKING WITH SALES

“Too many business owners view networking as an opportunity to sell themselves or their company. Networking is about making connections that can lead to sales down the road. The biggest turnoff is when someone starts talking pricing and “What can we do for you?” at an event. Network, meet people and use the follow up as a way to set up a sales meeting. If you network properly, the sales will come.”

– Aron Schoenfeld | Founder & CEO, Do It In Person LLC

14 Things You Should Know About Finances Before Starting Up

QUESTION: NAME ONE THING YOU WISH YOU KNEW ABOUT MONEY AND FINANCES WHILE STARTING UP. DID IT LEAD TO A MISTAKE?

SAVE SOME FUNDS FOR LATER

“Getting money in the door is great, but high expenses can blindside you if you’re not putting money away for a rainy day. Having a buffer in the bank gives you confidence that you can keep the doors open long enough to get more cash into the business, and it also

helps reduce entrepreneur stress.”

– Nathalie Lussier | Creator, Nathalie Lussier Media Inc.

PAY THOSE BILLS ON TIME!

“I started my business as a 22-year-old kid right out of undergrad. I didn’t understand the importance of keeping track of my bill payments, especially student loans. As a result, I routinely paid them late, hurting my credit score. This hindered me later on as I wanted to access capital to grow, but was not able to by traditional means. I recommend I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

LEARN QUICKBOOKS QUICKLY

“In my last startup I left the bookkeeping up to my partner because he claimed to have basic knowledge with QuickBooks software. Unfortunately, his lack of expertise created thousands of dollars in accounting bills (not to mention the wasted hours). If I had known more about the program, I could have cross-checked his work and corrected course. Bookkeeping is too important to overlook — learn it.”

– Kent Healy | Founder and CEO, The Uncommon Life

HIRE AN AWESOME ACCOUNTANT

“There are a lot of solid online solutions that try to replace having an accountant, but ultimately nothing’s better than the real deal — and the real deal can often be found for a great price, as long as you ask around the tech community for someone who fits the bill.”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

PAY YOURSELF A MARKET RATE SALARY

“Entrepreneurs tend to undervalue and underpay what we do at our company. Unfortunately, this creates a fundamental flaw in all of our financial models, thus clouding our ability to make smart decisions from our numbers. Even if you can’t afford to pay out cash yet, have your accountant track it to give you a clear view on the company’s profitability and financial health.”

– W. Michael Hsu | Founder & CEO, DeepSky

UNDERSTAND HOW CASH FLOW WORKS

“A pile of account receivables is not the same thing as cash in the bank. Having learned this painful lesson many times early on in my startup days, I always stress to other startups to hold off on new hires or expansion plans until the cash is actually in the bank. It’s painful when you hire someone due to a big pending payment, only to have it delayed, and then telling them, “I can’t pay you.””

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

KEEP CONSISTENCY IN BILLING TERMS

“We have small and big partners, from local boutiques to the Major League Baseball Player’s Association. When we started Modify, we had stated payment terms, but were always flexible with partners. Ultimately, the lack of clear policies significantly impacted our business. Not only did we create more work through negotiations but we also lost track of receivables, which puts us at a risk with cash.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

INCLUDE AN INTEREST CLAUSE

“It’s important to include an interest clause in contracts so that a company knows they will face a penalty if they do not pay you on time. Otherwise, there are no repercussions to them sending you a late payment, since it is unlikely you’ll take legal means to go after them for it. If they know they’ll have to pay interest if they’re late, they have incentive to get you your payment on time.”

– Stephanie Kaplan | Co-Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Her Campus Media

THEORY AND PRACTICE AREN’T PARALLEL

“I majored in finance at NYU, worked as an investment banker on Wall Street for two years, then worked as an associate at a venture firm investing in startups. And when I started my own company, I didn’t know how to manage my money. The reality is this: my financial models were theory; cash flow is reality. We ran into some early problems by spending on ”future earnings” that didn’t yet exist.”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

REMEMBER REGULATORY OBLIGATIONS

“If you’re not clear on your regulatory obligations, beware of missed deadlines, costly fines, and time wasted attempting to correct these issues. Startups are responsible for more than state and federal taxes; look into franchise fees to the state in which you are incorporated or established, state and local business licenses, 1099 filing, and 409A valuation for companies with employee options.”

– David Ehrenberg | Chief Financial Officer, Early Growth Financial Services

EXPANSION HAS HIDDEN COSTS

“I wish I’d known about all the additional costs that come with hiring employees. There are health and retirement benefits, taxes and many other miscellaneous expenses that totaled to an amount that was quite surprising. Learn about this early so you are able to calculate exactly how much new employees will cost.”

– John Hall | CEO, Influence & Co.

ALWAYS BUDGET AND PLAN

“Even if you have little resources and capital, it’s still important to have a plan and a budget. Your business plan can be basic — as little as a simple list of goals for your venture. Of course, you’ll need a more detailed plan if you’re soliciting investors. TheSmall Business Administration website offers a great basic business plan template.”

– Andrew Schrage | Co-Owner, Money Crashers Personal Finance

PROFIT AND LOSS AREN’T EVERYTHING

“I wish someone had told me that P&L isn’t the only indicator for the health of your business — looking at and managing your cash flow is at least a weekly activity. Just because you’ve got big contracts coming in doesn’t mean you’re safe. Iif you ever want funding, you have to be vigilant about managing your cash flow and keeping your daily account balances high.”

– Raoul Davis | CEO, Ascendant Group

GET ACQUAINTED WITH TAX DEDUCTIONS

“When starting up, I wish I better understood tax deductions. That’s the reason I worked with a tax attorney to build a definitive tax guide for entrepreneurs. Taxes are complicated and intimidating, but having the right tools makes it easier to keep track, to spend money wisely, to maximize deductions and to stay out of trouble with the taxman!”

– Nick Reese | CEO, Microbrand Media

How Pitching Is Like A First Date

sales pitch Pitching your startup is like going on a first date. Entrepreneurs should be confident without being cocky, approachable without seeming desperate, and passionate without being over the top. The goal is to build up enough intrigue to be asked on a second date (or a follow-up meeting) without scaring the listener off. But that’s no easy task.

Here are four common pitching turnoffs that are easy to make — and advice for avoiding each:

PUSHING RATHER THAN PULLING

Picture going on a first date with someone who immediately rattles off the reasons why you should marry them. Not only would it eliminate the thrill of the chase, but you’d wonder what’s wrong beneath the hood. However, if the same person were to casually mention the homemade meal he or she cooked for some old Harvard buddies the other night, they would earn some serious points in the ‘potential mate’ department. It’s a matter of creating intrigue rather than trying to force interest.

The same goes for a company pitch. If the audience feels that they’re being force-fed a value proposition that they can’t relate to, their walls will go up. However, by piquing the their curiosity in a less forward way — such as describing the excitement you felt in saving thousands of dollars for one of your client companies — the audience would be left wanting more. Present genuine accomplishments in a modest, matter-of-fact way, allowing the listeners to discover the value propositions that are most applicable to their own lives. They’ll appreciate your product a lot more if it is their idea to latch onto it.

USING BUZZWORDS AND INDUSTRY JARGON

Buzzwords are like corny pick-up lines — they make the listener question the authenticity, credibility, and even sanity of the person pitching. Sure, you may have a ‘rockstar team’ that is going to ‘massively disrupt’ an industry with ‘game-changing technology,’ but using these clichéd words make you sound naïve. The listener immediately places you in a bucket with the 50 other ‘rockstar’ entrepreneurs that they’ve heard make the same ‘disruptive’ claims.

Keep the pitch genuine and crisp, using proof points, metrics, and anecdotes that the audience can grasp in a meaningful way. Similarly, steer clear of using too much industry jargon. Understanding a pitch shouldn’t require a dictionary or a biomedical degree. Speak in layman’s terms so that the audience is actually listening to the description and not trying to figure out what was just said.

PITCHING AROUND A POWERPOINT

Trust in a relationship is crucial, so another dating red flag is a person who sounds too scripted (ex: “I didn’t know beauty until I saw you.”). Similarly, relying on a PowerPoint too heavily can make the entrepreneur sound canned and insincere. The audience should feel like your pitch is unique and heartfelt, not like you’ve fed these lines to thousands of other listeners.

Though it’s tempting to build a PowerPoint at the same time as a pitch, trying to force the pitch to be visual right away compromises the story arc. Instead, start offline with 20 notecards. Use the first 10 to answer the basic questions: problem, solution, market opportunity/size, team, unique IP/technology, competition, distribution strategy, business model, financials, funding status, etc.

Fill the remaining 10 notecards with good company bragging points (aka “power cards”). Examples would be impressive metrics (4 out of 5 users tell a friend about the product), high-quality partnerships (three Fortune 500 companies agreed to beta test the platform), or powerful quotes from customers (“ABC company increased our ROI by 5X”). Then arrange, combine, and re-arrange these 20 notecards until they fit into a story arc that flows, using relevant ‘power cards’ during transitions. Memorize the key facts, but keep in mind that no one wants to date someone who is following a script word-for-word.

CRAFTING THE PITCH ALONE

It’s not a bad idea to get a second opinion on your outfit before a date. Likewise, a little guidance, encouragement and even tough love from your friends can be crucial for polishing your message. The perfect pitch isn’t created in a vacuum.

Since entrepreneurs are self-starters by nature, few accept the fact that they can’t create a pitch alone. In reality, however, you’re often too close to your own company to know how to pitch it.

During my three months in the TechStars accelerator, each company was challenged to pitch every Wednesday night to a room of 35-50 peers. When the buzzer rang (three to five minutes later), the person pitching would have to be completely silent and accept criticism with a smile. No excuses. The trick was to truly listen, say “thank you,” and accept whatever challenge was given for the following week. If someone suggested that you pitch without slides the following week, or to use a fake character as an example, you’d do it for your own benefit.

But you don’t need to join an accelerator to get peer feedback. Start a weekly Meetup group with other entrepreneurs in the area. Not only will this be good practice for investor meetings, but the variations will prevent the pitch from becoming too scripted.

At the end of the day, you make the final decision about what feels right for your pitch, but the process gives you needed perspective, confidence and practice. Just like dating, at the end of the day, your demeanor is more important than the words you use.

Heidi Allstop is the founder of Spill, a confidential site for young adults to “spill” about hardships and share life advice with one another. She launched the company as a psychology student at University of Wisconsin-Madison and spread it to 150 college campuses in 15 countries. A TechStars alum and the winner of the Global Social Venture Competition, Allstop is on a mission to bring empathy online.

How To Hire A Programmer If You Can’t Code

I’m one of those founders who can do everything besides code. Marketing? A breeze. Accounting? Accounted for. Operations? Cake walk. Code? I’ll be right back!

Not being able to code has put a damper on my ability to hire the right programmer and further grow my businesses. I have hired three programmers who all seemed fantastic and brilliant during their interviews, but ultimately couldn’t deliver. I always blamed the programmers (it was their fault for misleading me about their true abilities). But then again, maybe the fact that I’ve had the same experience three times means that it had more to do with me than I would like to admit. As a founder, you need to be able to correctly assess the programmer you hire. But the question still remains, “How can I hire a programmer if I don’t have a programming background?”

For people who are code illiterate, I just might have unlocked the secret to hiring the best programmer available.

STEP 1: CONSULT PROGRAMMER FRIENDS

The first thing I did was reach out to friends who are programmers for other companies or who currently lead a team of programmers. One friend of mine, Ravi Patel, was generous enough to sit down with me and explain the hiring process he uses. I was able to get a better sense of how to approach first-round interviews, ask key questions, and judge responses. This was a great way to get my feet wet before the interview process started.

STEP 2: ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

If you ask the wrong questions in an interview, you have no clear way to accurately measure the programmers’ ability. To avoid this, here are some questions to guide you:

“Tell me a little about yourself and your background.” I like to get to know the person, to learn how they first started programming, and hear some of the things they have built. While they share their stories, try to see if you can picture yourself and your team working with them on a daily basis.
“What hours do you prefer working? During what times are you most efficient?” This question helps me get a sense of how the programmer works. I personally need a programmer to be available during 9-to-5 hours, mainly to help our staff with any problems they might have. However, I don’t mind if they work whenever they are most productive.
“What are your current time commitments?” It’s important to know what else they are currently working on to see if they can truly commit. Only hire programmers who can commit to your company 110 percent.
“Do you see yourself as a project manager, a developer, or both?” This question can be a little tricky to answer. I want a project manager who can help me design new features and interfaces. I want a developer who can follow exact directions so they can build what we need. I prefer hiring programmers who can do both.
“How would you manage a team of programmers?” The key things to look for here are leadership skills and whether they can lead by example. I don’t want a programmer to take the back seat once they have a team to manage. They shouldn’t be afraid of getting their hands dirty.
“How you would fix these issues?” This is a make-it-or-break-it question. Provide a few examples of problems you’ve encountered in the past. Present them with the exact same problems to see how they would fix them. Their answers should be similar to the solutions you used, or better. If they can’t give a concise answer, that’s usually a good indicator that they are not the right person for the job.
“I need this done over the next couple of weeks. What steps will you take to finish them on time?” Present them with a few things that need completing urgently and a few things that need doing over the next few weeks. Listen to how they plan to finish each thing and ask them for an approximate time frame.
“What would you do to ensure that our servers are up 100% of the time?” If our servers crash, we lose money, our clients lose money, and most importantly, we lose clients. If the programmer I’m looking to hire has some database and server knowledge, they need to explain to me how we can maintain 100 % uptime and what flags we can implement to give us alerts on any impending server crashes.
“If I need something that you have never done before, how would you approach it?” I ask this question to see how they approach situations that they have typically never been presented with before. Usually, I look for how they would research a solution and if they are the type of person who enjoys a challenge.
“Here is what I expect from you.” Let the applicant know from the outset what you expect from them. Tell them how much commitment you expect: if you want them to be available during weekends, if they need to be available at odd times in case of big issues, what they are expected to build, etc.

STEP 3: BRING IN THE EXPERTS

These questions give me a better sense of who the top three or so programmers are. After I select my top candidates, I ask the same friends to help me interview them for the second round. During this stage, we ask more technical questions to better expose the talents of the finalists. If you don’t have any friends who can help, try contacting a nearby programmer through LinkedIn as a consultant. After you receive feedback from an expert, you should be in a good position to pick the right candidate for your team.

As a friend once told me, a decent programmer you get along with is much better than a brilliant programmer you can’t stand. The decent programmer can always learn through experience and research, whereas the brilliant programmer probably can’t change his personality enough to suit.

Shahzil (Shaz) Amin is the founder and CEO of Blue Track Media, a performance-based online advertising company that specializes in customer acquisition through multiple digital channels. His first company was formed after high school and his latest one, Plugged Inc., focuses on selling and manufacturing headphones. He’s always looking meet new people and learn from their experiences. His hobbies include playing sports, eating wings, and laughing.

12 Tips For Pitching The Press

QUESTION: NAME ONE TIP FOR PITCHING A MEDIA OUTLET ON AN ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE.

PITCH THE STORY TOO

“Journalists love to tell a story, so pitch them your startup story rather than just telling them about what your product is. Make it colorful and interesting so they can easily see how this would translate into a compelling piece for them to write.”

– Stephanie Kaplan | Co-Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Her Campus Media

TIE IN A HOT TREND

“The best thing to do when pitching media is to tie in your current pitch idea with a topic that is already hot in the media. Media outlets want to get the most viewership possible, so they like to ride popular stories as long as they can. This tactic especially works when you can tie a celebrity into your story – my most popular post was “5 things LeBron James can teach us about entrepreneurship.””

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

INCORPORATE THE NUMBERS

“Business is a lot of numbers, so including numbers (revenue, profit, employees, etc.) is always helpful for a pitch. When we pitch Back to the Roots, we always mention the impact we have on coffee waste by saying “on track to divert 3.6 million pounds.” When quantifying the story, the pitch, idea, and the significance become clear for the journalist. It’s easy for them to skim over in a hurry.”

– Alejandro Velez | Co-Founder, Back to the Roots

HELP THEM HELP YOU

“When pitching to a media outlet, try to find something relevant in your business that the outlet is passionate about or they may have been discussed in the past. Helping them create new content — with a little sprinkle of your own business — will help establish a relationship and help open doors for future/better opportunities.”

– Angela Pan | Owner/Photographer, Angela B Pan Photography

DO RESEARCH, BE PERSONAL

“Working in media has taught me the importance of personalization. A few targeted pitches to the right people, using their names and addressing how your product/service fits within their specific outlet will get you much further than a mass pitch sent to every email address you can get your hands on.”

– Alexis Wolfer | Founder/CEO, The Beauty Bean

BECOME AN AUTHORITY

“Some of the best-received content that we’ve had published has been in response to changes in our industry and hot topics in the news. A good way to secure a media placement is to reference a current event, trend, or statistic that affects your business and detailing how your company is developing or changing as a result.”

– Eric Corl | President + Co-Founder, Fundable LLC

FACTS TELL, STORIES SELL

“The media exists to tell compelling stories, not to provide free advertising for a business. Think of your business as a TV series and create multiple story arcs. Do you have a quirky startup story? Are you piggybacking on or revolutionizing a trend? Make a list of 10 or 15 story angles for your venture, then match each one to its most appropriate media target.”

– Melissa Cassera | President and CEO, Cassera Communications

THEY’RE PEOPLE TOO!

“Sometimes, people forget they’re pitching a real person, not just a “media outlet.” This journalist is a person, with tight deadlines, frustrations, and an overflowing inbox, just like the rest of us. Follow that journalist on Twitter: What time does he usually publish stories? Why would he care about your business or story? You want to be a convenience, not just another spam email.”

– Alexander Torrenegra | Co-founder, VoiceBunny

HAVE CELEBRITIES USE YOUR PRODUCTS

“Nothing has made pitching to media outlets easier for me than being able to say that influential celebrities support our work — particularly if the celeb is willing to go on record for a quick quote or interview. Media outlets want to know that their article, if published online, will collect good traffic, and they know that celebs drive this traffic better than anyone else in the world.”

– Shaun King | Founder & CEO, HopeMob

BE FRIENDS ALREADY!

“Nothing works better for pitching a media outlet than already having a pre-existing relationship with an editor or writer there. So don’t wait for a reason, make some friends for friendship’s sake!”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

DO SOMETHING CRAZY

“You read about it all the time: someone puts themselves on the line with some kind of stunt, and everyone starts talking about it. What is something that you can do that would have the press all over you and want to talk to you about? Be creative and don’t hold back — and you will get your PR.”

– Louis Lautman | Founder, Supreme Outsourcing

KEEP IT SHORT

“Don’t send a long email. Journalists are pressed for time and have little to no patience. Keep it short and to the point to boost your chance for being successful in the pitch.”

– Ben Lang | Founder, Mapped In Israel

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11 Ways Mentors Are Essential To Your Success

QUESTION: WHAT IMPORTANCE WOULD YOU PLACE ON HAVING A MENTOR IN BUSINESS AND IN LIFE?

FOLLOW THE PARALLEL PATH

“Having a business and life mentor is not only important, it’s essential. Entrepreneurs are very close to our business and a mentor is someone who can see things from a distant and different perspective. A key to success is surrounding yourself with people who are further along the life and career path than you are; just remember to choose mentors who are going in a direction you aspire to go.”

– Christine Hassler | Founder, Twenty Something, Twenty Everything

YOUR PROBLEMS AREN’T NEW

“The best thing for me about having a great mentor is that I always have someone to remind me that my challenges are not new. At our lowest points, we are susceptible to think that no one has every been through our pains. Mentors are there to help us snap out of it and stay focused on achieving business and personal success. Also, hearing how the mentor handled situations acts as a guide for me.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

A PIECE OF PERSPECTIVE

“A mentor is so valuable for giving you the much needed perspective that we tend to lose in life and business. By reminding us how far we’ve come and that these challenges can be overcome, mentors can boost confidence, redirect our paths and help celebrate big wins.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

IT’S AN INVALUABLE INVESTMENT

“My mentors have provided me with more guidance, strategies, insight and connections than all other resources I’ve been exposed to combined. Finding the right mentor who is truly interested in your success and your goals is one of the most powerful things you’ll ever do as an entrepreneur.”

– Travis Steffen | Founder, WorkoutBOX

TAKE THE ULTIMATE SHORTCUT

“Experience may be the best teacher, but your mentor’s experience is the best teacher of all. That’s because getting the right mentor is like taking the ultimate shortcut. You can learn from their mistakes without repeating them yourself, and you can model your actions based on their successful formula.”

– Pete Kennedy | Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Main Street ROI

LEARN FROM OTHERS’ MISTAKES

“Having trusted mentors for your business and life allow you to learn from others’ mistakes instead of having to learn them on your own. Some mistakes are unavoidable (if only because we’re all too stubborn to learn from others sometimes!) but even a few avoided mistakes will save time, money and sanity.”

– Alexis Wolfer | Founder/CEO, The Beauty Bean

MENTORS AREN’T BUSINESS ADVISERS

“Every startup has formal and informal advisers, whether they’re professors, investors, partners, family or friends. As an entrepreneur, you will often have to make choices that are good for the business, but possibly bad for you. Most advisers focus on the company. It is critical that you find a personal mentor that has your best interests — not those of the company’s — in mind.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

ACCELERATE YOUR LEARNING CURVE

“By running a business while in college, having a mentor has taught me way more than any of my professors have ever. Granted, I didn’t pay much attention in class when I should, but there’s nothing that beats real world advice, perspective, and networks. All in all — get a mentor!”

– Kenny Nguyen | Founder/CEO, Big Fish Presentations

POSITIVELY BIASED POINT OF VIEW

“Someone who offers actionable advice and has a positively biased point of view, who really believes in you, is invaluable. Turning to a mentor often means the difference between giving up and moving forward. I don’t know if I could have achieved success without my mentors to challenge me, push me, and help me keep my eye on the ball.”

– Nick Reese | CEO, Microbrand Media

FIND YOUR OWN GANDALF!

“What would the LOTR hobbits have done without him? Think of yourself no differently. Those with wisdom in this world don’t have it to keep for themselves but to share with others, and all are grateful to do so. On this journey of entrepreneurship and this journey of life, the stakes are too high not to have someone to help guide our steps. Mentor: absolutely necessary. Long white beard: optional!”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

WORK/LIFE GUIDANCE WORKS

“Find a mentor who has balanced life with business. Work/life balance is extremely important, and if a mentor can help you take a step back and look at the big picture, it can be one of the most valuable assets in life.”

– John Hall | CEO, Influence & Co.

14 Tips For Keeping Team Morale Up When Times Are Tough

QUESTION: WHAT ARE SOME TOP TIPS FOR KEEPING UP TEAM MORALE WHEN YOU’RE FACED WITH FAILURE OR FRUSTRATION?

LOOK AT FAMOUS FAILURES

“Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump — they’ve all failed multiple times in their respective careers. Change your corporate mindset and teach employees that experiencing failure is the only way to succeed — it’s a healthy way to overcome the sting of post-failure frustration and strive toward success.”

– Melissa Cassera | President and CEO, Cassera Communications

DON’T APPEAR DEFEATED

“All entrepreneurs go through tough times during their maturation as business leaders. When faced with failure, the best thing that you can do as the leader is to keep an even keel and not get depressed. This is good for you and your team as well. It is hard to believe in a business if the owner doesn’t even believe that problems can be conquered. Therefore, keep your game face on with employees.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

BUILD A TOLERANCE FOR FAILURE

“Too many companies view failure as a weakness. Although too much failure can be fatal, becoming allergic to it is equally dangerous. Your team should know that failure following a solid effort and thorough strategy is nothing to be a shamed of. I like the mantra, “Fail quick; fail often.” Because no one can foretell the future, your team should understand that failure is part of progress. “

– Kent Healy | Founder and CEO, The Uncommon Life

FOCUS ON ACTION

“Once you recognize what went wrong, shift your energy and focus to resolving the problem, creating safeguards and identifying issues earlier. Nothing beats down morale faster than wallowing in the mistake. Instead, turn that frustration into an opportunity to do better next time. You’ll also set your team back on path and give them a goal to reach.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

BE OPEN AND HONEST

“A big mistake a lot of bosses make is that they try to shield everyone around them from the failure or disaster and handle it alone. The false thinking behind this is normally, “If I tell them something is seriously wrong, they might freak out and jump ship.” The reality almost always tends to be if you are open and honest about the situation, your team will rally around you to find a solution.”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

REORGANIZE AND REGROUP

“We follow the saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. When faced with failure, we take a step back and look at what works and what is bleeding. If need be, duties and responsibilities will change, standard procedures are modified, and even shifting around people’s desks helps liven things up and enhance communication between departments.”

– Justin Beck | Co-Founder and CEO, PerBlue

ESCAPE ON A TEAM OUTING

“When major failures occur, there’s often nothing that you can do in the short term. The most important goal during a time of significant frustration should be making sure that your team is intact, aligned and energized in order to bounce back. Taking the team bowling, out to a nice dinner or even on a short overnight trip to keep the good will and teamwork strong, which will help you persevere.”

– Aaron Schwartz | Founder and CEO, Modify Watches

FORESEE AND SHARE

“When times are tough, the worst thing you can do is try to hide the news. Let the team know there’s a rough patch ahead, but that you have faith in them and the business. Take time to answer questions and understand their concerns. They’re the ones who will help you through rough waters, so they deserve to know how the business is performing. You’ll find that most team members will rally to help!”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

DON’T FOCUS ON THE FAILURE

“If you’re worried about a temporary failure affecting morale, then focus on the morale, not the failure. Fix the problem, but make sure your team is focused on what’s going well instead of what isn’t. Don’t let the first mistake lead to the second.”

– Nick Friedman | President, College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving

DOCUMENT WHAT WENT WRONG

“Writing what went wrong on paper was a really good idea for us, as it laid out the big picture on our mistakes. By having a document on what went wrong, we can then fix our processes to prevent the mistake happening all over again. No matter what failure though, we always remind the team that greatness is remembered the most when dealing with trials and tribulations — not just success.”

– Kenny Nguyen | Founder/CEO, Big Fish Presentations

GO BACK TO BASICS

“Maintain a sense of humor, don’t point fingers, and never, ever cut the team-building portion of your budget. Most importantly, spend some reflecting on your core competencies and those things that got you to where you are. Then, do those things. Throwing a party might help everyone feel better for a night, but ultimately, you need to remind your team why they joined in the first place.”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

MEET AND GENERATE IDEAS

“If you think about it, most people, whenever faced with issues either are in need to talk to family, friends, psychologist, etc. The times we’ve gone through failures or frustration, the thing we find most effective is talk, talk and talk. We talk to generate ideas, we talk to generate hope, and brainstorm until morale is back up and ready to go even harder.”

– Pablo Palatnik | CEO, ShadesDaddy.com

LOOK FOR AN EASY WIN

“If you’re facing a steady stream of frustration, it’s incredibly wearing. Just a small win — something that can give you a rush and maybe get some momentum going in the other direction — can help morale immensely. It doesn’t have to be particularly big, but it does need to be a clear success that requires some input from everyone on the team.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

GROWTH COMES FROM FAILURE

“Embrace failure. In fact, encourage your staff to fail regularly. Teach them not to look at failure as defeat but as a missed swing. If you don’t swing, you can’t ever hit the ball.”

– David Cohen | Vice President, Round Table Companies

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The 4 Disciplines of Great Company Culture

The word “organization” and the word “organism” come from the same root word. Company culture bears many similarities to natural ecosystems. The way founders do business in the beginning of a startup are the seeds for what kind of company they will develop in two, five and ten years.

Whether you know it or not, the way you run your startup now is setting the stage for what is acceptable and what’s not in your budding organization. That’s what culture is: a natural outgrowth of the way early business owners choose to do things.

This also means that company culture is something that can be designed, just like a beautiful backyard. After you decide what “crop” you want later, plant the seeds for it. Set your goal and reverse-engineer it. Adopting this mentality provides some powerful instruction for how to work right now. Do you want a stressful, frenetic, unbalanced culture in five years? No? Then stop planting those seeds in your startup! Orange seeds do not grow into oak trees, nor do hectic company cultures grow into balanced ones.

If you want an energizing, productive, and astonishing company culture, there are four core disciplines you must “plant” in order to grow it:

STRENGTHS

When designing a company culture, the first “seed to plant” is a bold and unapologetic focus on people’s strengths. Every company I’ve seen that has a great culture contains this simple but often overlooked premise: focus more on what’s RIGHT with people than what’s WRONG with them.

When left to the path of least resistance, our social conditioning will drift us back towards a focus on making weaknesses less weak (think about every performance review you’ve ever had). But this method only leads to mediocrity, never greatness. If you want your company to do something exceptional, the only way to get there is by starting with strength.

ACTION ITEM: Start learning more about how to leverage strengths—remember, this does not come naturally. You can easily get started by reading a few books (Strengths Based Leadership, Stretch: Leading Beyond Boundaries) and by taking a strengths assessment (Strengthscope, StrengthsFinder, etc.).

SIMPLICITY

Back in 2006, the new CEO of Nike, Mark Parker, had an interesting conversation with Steve Jobs. He asked Jobs if he had any advice for him as a new CEO. As you may suspect, Steve did. He told Mark that, while Nike certainly made a lot of good things, they also made a lot of “crap.” “Just get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff,” he said.

A relentless obsession with simplicity is one of the things that makes Apple so unique. But how does this kind of focus happen? If you ask the senior team at Apple why they do business the way they do, they will give a rather fascinating response. Their culture is aligned to do one thing: make a better product. If they can’t make a product better, they simply refuse to do it. This continual re-centering on what I’d call a “noble cause” allows them a sense of focus and simplicity unmatched by many organizations.

ACTION ITEM: Discover, articulate, and filter everything through your organization’s noble cause. The marketplace is growing more crowded by the minute, and for a new company to succeed it must have a “noble cause” that allows employees to say NO to a thousand good things, so they can say YES to two or three great things.

SPACE

The best performers in the world — concert cellists or olympic athletes — all employ a remarkably strange and similar method: they create rhythmic cycles of intense performance and powerful renewal. They alternate between periods of extreme energy output and drastic energy rejuvenation.

In startups and small businesses, we do the first one very well (energy output) and all but ignore the second (energy renewal). Here’s the real kicker: not only is our current pace unsustainable over the long-term (thus the intense burnout we see in startups), but it’s also not helping us achieve our best in the short-term.

For many of us, this seed is the most difficult one to plant. As entrepreneurs/owners/leaders, we feel like we’re SUPPOSED TO be busy. What we repeatedly forget, though, is that busy-ness never equals output. “Pushing through” is not the best way to achieve greatness, whether we are delivering a product or designing a culture.

ACTION ITEM: Schedule rejuvenation. This time will probably look a bit different for each individual, based on their strengths. Put these times on your company calendar and be serious about sticking to them. If you don’t value renewal, I promise you that no one else will, either.

SYSTEM

In business, the term “system” encompasses a lot: recruiting, on-boarding, compensation, vacation, working hours, dress code, working locations, etc. Every single policy or procedure that touches people is either growing the culture you want or it is destroying it. It can never do both.

ACTION ITEM: Start asking, “Why do we do [recruiting/vacation/whatever] the way we do?” Find a few people in your company who truly care about creating a great place to work, and have a strategic conversation with them. Ensure thatevery single one is supporting an environment that leverages strengths, reinforces simplicity and creates space.

After all, if you’re going to be creating a culture, it may as well be an astonishingly great one!

Josh Allan Dykstra is a recognized thought leader on the future of work and company culture design whose articles and ideas have been featured by Fast Company, Business Insider, MSN.com, Under30CEO, and The Agency Post. He is a co-founder of Strengths Doctors, a consulting firm which helps leaders and entrepreneurs design energizing places to work. Connect with him online at joshallan.com.

12 Ways To Improve Low-Tech Industries With High-Tech Solutions

QUESTION: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE AN ENTREPRENEUR WHO WANTS TO USE A HIGH-TECH OFFERING TO IMPROVE A TRADITIONALLY LOW-TECH INDUSTRY?

IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT INNOVATION

“You may have built the best possible solution for your industry, but what if your customers are satisfied with their pen and paper methods of dealing with the problem you look to solve? Your customer may have a significant problem, but they may not see that or agree. It is important to then learn what motivates their decision-making process and form your pitch to address those motivators.”

– Andrew Hoeft | CEO/Founder, Pinpoint Software, Inc.

EDUCATE BEFORE YOU SELL

“At RewardMe, my team and I hit the ground running and began pitching absolutely everyone at conferences and trade shows about the power of customer loyalty in restaurants. The problem was that franchise executives weren’t looking for our product; we had to educate before we sold. We therefore created PDF guides and webinars to teach about the power of customer loyalty and why to do it now.”

– Jun Loayza | President, Ecommerce Rules

MAKE SURE YOU CAN BUILD IT FIRST

“There are theoretically many high-tech solutions to traditionally low-tech industries, but if you can’t build them yourself, you’re unlikely to win. Figure out what you’re good at and what you and your team can accomplish, and then attack the industry from that angle first — otherwise it’s time to learn the things you need to know, not pay for them.”

– Derek Flanzraich | CEO and Founder, Greatist

DON’T SAY IT SAVES MONEY

“Having talked to mostly all B2B startups, one of the most best strategies I have seen work is when the startup markets their tech improvement as a new profit center, not a cost-saving one. It’s a much simpler sale when you can walk into a boardroom and explain how it’s going to make their company more money, instead of trying to explain how it will potentially save them future dollars.”

– Seth Kravitz | CEO, Technori

HAVE A TON OF PATIENCE AND TRUST

“I experienced this when we tried to introduce wireless connected, LCD-screen vending machines into a fairly antiquated industry back in 2005. My takeaway was this: don’t act like you’re the savior of the industry, or make the rest of the industry feel that you’re saying, “Our way our the highway.” It takes a patient, tactful approach. Develop trust first, and the road will be much easier.”

– Luke Burgis | Director, ActivPrayer

MOVE ON A TREND FAST

“I had this problem in the speaking industry years back. It was antiquated and companies weren’t really using the Internet and social media to the fullest. I was able to take advantage of technology change and get a foothold in the marketplace quickly. A couple of years later, many of the other bureaus were great with social media. If I didn’t move fast, I would have never been able to get started.”

– Lawrence Watkins | Founder & CEO, Great Black Speakers

BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE STATUS QUO

“Industries that have been around for a long time and the people who work in them will often resist new ways of doing things –even if they’re better. Innovators must make their products and services compatible with the status quo and easy to both learn and use. Taking these considerations will make for a smooth and successful transition into general market adoption of your offering.”

– Christopher Kelly | Co-Founder, Principal, Convene

IS THE INDUSTRY READY TO ADAPT?

“There are many industries that are trailing horribly behind technology — legal services and recruiting services are two that immediately come to mind. But beware: just because an industry is ripe for innovation doesn’t mean it’s ready to change. Before starting a venture like this, interview plenty of companies to gauge how difficult it will be to sell the product in the space.”

– Jesse Davis | Business Development, Appinions

BUILD RESOURCES AROUND YOUR PRODUCT

“With a disruptive tool, or even something that requires more tech aptitude than the typical option in an industry, you have to make it easy for users to adopt what you’re offering. That includes providing everything from a user manual to tutorials to case studies. Educate your customers so that what you’re offering is actually on the path of least resistance for them.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

TALK WITH LOW-TECH INDUSTRY FOLKS

“Talk with a ton of low-tech industry people about your idea and take their feedback very seriously. This step of customer development is critical and often overlooked.”

– Brent Beshore | Owner/CEO, adventur.es

DON’T OVER-ENGINEER ANYTHING

“Don’t over-engineer. Too many entrepreneurs create technology for technology’s sake. Focus on the customers and their problems, and make sure that your solution solves their problems while keeping the technology in the background.”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

SURVEY THE EDUCATION LEVEL

“Make sure that the people who will be using the high-tech offering are educated, willing and able to use your solution. This barrier to entry is often underestimated.”

– Abby Ross | Co-Founder & VP Operations, ThinkCERCA

3 Steps To Building A Strong Network

As any entrepreneur will tell you, there are few things in the world of business that are more valuable than a great network. After all, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. And when it comes time to start a new enterprise, expand a company, raise funds or even find a co-founder, you’ll be relying on the value of your network to help you accomplish these milestones. Here are three steps to make sure you have the strongest network possible:

MAKE YOURSELF UNCOMFORTABLE.

No, I do not mean wear a wool sweater in Phoenix in August. I mean put yourself out there. Unless you are one of those rare people who can meet a random stranger on the street, strike up a conversation and get a stranger’s life story within 30 seconds of meeting them, approaching someone you have never met before can be nerve-racking.

But if you want to build a great network, you have to do it — a lot. The more you do it, the better you will get. Make it your goal to get people talking about themselves, while genuinely listening to what they are saying. If you fake it, they will know and you will have burned a potential valuable connection. Dale Carnegie’s classic “How To Win Friends and Influence People” is an incredible resource built largely on this idea. If you haven’t read it already, I highly suggest you do. Twice.

Next time you meet someone new, smile, introduce yourself and ask a simple question; i.e. “Where are you from?” Proceed with small follow-up questions. You will find that they talk at length and naturally warm up to you. It’s basic, but it works.

BUILD YOUR NETWORK BEFORE YOU NEED IT.

Far too often, aspiring entrepreneurs get to a point in their business when they need advice but have no clue who to go to for direction. I call this the I-wouldn’t-even-know-where-to-start dilemma. It is the result of one simple fact: they do not have a network.

You have to put in the necessary time to build genuine relationships with the right people. Successful people are always connected to other successful people. Join local business networking groups or venture associations (i.e. Los Angeles Venture Association, LAVA) and immerse yourself in rooms full of them. You want to be a millionaire? Surround yourself with millionaires. You want to be a drug addict? Surround yourself with drug addicts. This might sound ridiculous, but it’s absolutely true.

On a related but important note, do not go to someone you have recently met and start asking for favors. It will appear that you’re trying to take advantage of them and they will pick up on it. Invest the time to build real relationships, and thus, your network.

FOLLOW UP, EVERY TIME.

You know the person who says they are going to do something, then doesn’t? You do not want to be that person. In fact, you want to be the opposite of that person.

When you meet someone, even if you do not think they can help you directly, ask if you can keep in touch. Send a simple follow-up email the next day saying that it was nice to meet them and that you look forward to staying in touch. Finally, stay in touch.

Just because you don’t think they might fit your idea of an important connection does not mean they don’t know 10 other people who are perfect for what you may try to accomplish in the next month or year.

This last point is what a great network is all about. Networking is not just about the people with whom you are directly connected; it is about getting those people to tap into their networks on your behalf when you need it most.

Adam Callinan is the Co-Founder/Co-CEO of BottleKeeper, the simple yet practical solution to the warm beer and broken bottle epidemics that have plagued the world for centuries. Adam is also the Founder/CEO of PiCK Ventures, Inc., the parent company of PiCK, a mobile wine technology company. Adam and his wife Katie now live in Manhattan Beach, California. Tweet @Adam_Callinan

Stop Testing And Start Something

blog-writing When we started the “When You Work At A Nonprofit” Tumblr blog, an interesting thing happened. A prominent nonprofit publication asked us to write a post about it, on the topic of “how to create a blog that fills a community need.” They wanted us to discuss the process behind getting a blog started: how we chose a platform, how we determined the voice and content, tips for keeping an updated content schedule, and all those other “bloggity things” (their words).

We couldn’t help but shake our heads.

Their request summed up the epidemic of overthinking things that, in our opinion, plagues the nonprofit sector. As an industry, nonprofits tend to overthink things — it’s a huge problem that stems from a deep aversion to risk and fear of failure. As a result, we try to help nonprofits overcome their fear of risk, and not overthink things.

We’re big advocates of just trying something and seeing where it goes. Our blog is a good example of that approach.

We didn’t create a strategy for it. There was no evaluation of tools. There was no discussion about voice. There’s no content schedule that we agree on. It’s very “Lean Startup” — we just decided to do it one day, and we did it in about an hour. We tweeted it out and it took off from there. Here’s how other organizations can do the same:

1. USE TECHNOLOGY TO RUN A SMALL TEST

Instead of investing hours of time or waiting months to “get things set up,” use new technologies to allow you to get set up quickly and with very little cost. There are tons of consumer technologies that are easy to set up, and you shouldn’t have to pay more than $20/month for just about anything you want to do. Even at that price, the benefits of a small investment of $240 per year far outweigh the cost.

How we did it: We created the blog using the blogging platform Tumblr (free), and used a theme that was pre-installed on Tumblr (free). We found and uploaded gifs (free), and posted them with some catchy, snarky text. We added a Google Analytics tracking code (free) so that we could see if anyone actually came to the site. We had our programmer add a small Facebook Like/Share plugin (cost: $125). We added a signup form using Mailchimp (free), which let people sign up for a weekly “best of” email. We tweeted it out using Tweetdeck (free), but you could just tweet using Twitter as well (free).

Total time spent: 3 hours

Total cost: $125

2. MAKE IT MEASURABLE

Build in mechanisms for tracking, so you can see the progress and success of your test. Google Analytics, an email sign-up form, social sharing: all of these are important tracking elements. Even if it’s not tied to donations, there’s tremendous value in building your list, increasing social following, and getting people into your organization’s ecosystem.

How we did it: We started a Google Analytics account under our master account, specifically for “When You Work At A Nonprofit”, then added it to the blog. We also embedded a Mailchimp signup form, so people can sign up to get the top posts emailed to them each week.

3. JUST START, THEN USE RESULTS TO MAKE YOUR CASE

Most people are quick to stop you before you get started, but hesitant to get in the way if you’re moving. Especially if you can show data. Once you just try something with your test, and you have data from your measurement tools, you can make the case that your test is worthwhile.

How we did it: On the first day of “When You Work At A Nonprofit,” we got 115 views. Second day: 3,000 views. Third day: 96,000 views. Fourth day: 115,000 views. Since we added the newsletter sign-up, over 5,000 people have signed up. I doubt management or the Board would argue with results like that.

4. IF IT DOESN’T WORK, THAT’S OK TOO

A test is just that — a test. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won’t. That’s actually the goal here: it’s called “failing fast.” Try a test to see if it will work before spending real time and money. It is always better to fail quickly after a 30-day test using free or low-cost tools, than to invest months and significant expense.

The important part is to decide what’s failing. To some organizations, 100 signups is success; to others, that’s not worth the time it takes to maintain the test. Failure is determined by whether the cost of your time is worth the benefit afforded by the test. Use your best judgment to determine what’s failing and what’s a thumbs up.

How we did it: For another project we started, Lean Impact, we originally planned a telesummit: a one-day online summit featuring thought leaders in the Lean for Social Good space. We were testing whether people were interested enough in the topic to pay $20 for an educational experience.

We secured six speakers (free), set up a page on Lean Impact (free), created a graphic to advertise the site on the Lean Impact homepage (cost: 1 hour designer time), used Eventbrite to sell tickets (free), and planned to use Google Hangouts On Air to host the online event (free).

Total cost: $125 of designer time

Only four people bought tickets. As a result, we reached out to potential participants to ask why they didn’t buy tickets, and we learned that people needed in-person interaction with Lean Impact first before paying for something online. We quickly cancelled the telesummit and instead planned three in-person events in New York, DC and San Francisco. Each event had over 500 attendees.

Even though no one bought tickets originally, the test was a success. We failed fast. Instead of contracting with a venue, signing catering contracts, using a complex event ticketing service, and paying speakers, we spent $125 and had our answer in 60 days.

5. DON’T STOP TESTING

If your test takes off, that’s the ultimate thumbs-up. But the success of a test is not the end goal. If test Number 1 works, take the next step towards a test Number 2. For example, if X number of people from the test opt in to a newsletter, will they then open a newsletter targeted directly at them? If X people participate in a Facebook contest, will they then donate if a landing page has messaging specifically targeted towards contest participants? Think about each step as a test.

When everything is a test, you’re able to get things up and running faster. You can see results more quickly. You’re less invested in the results, positive or negative. You know when to call off the test and move on to something else. And you can try new and better things.

A version of this post originally appeared on Medium.

Leah Neaderthal is the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Start Somewhere, which uses design and technology to help social good organizations look incredible online. Leah is the co-creator of the popular “When You Work At A Nonprofit” Tumblr blog, and she is the Co-Founder of Lean Impact, the community of people and organizations using Lean Startup principles for social good. Follow Leah at @leahtn.