11 Tips For Increasing Customer Loyalty

Now that your product is launched, tested, iterated and you’re getting customers, how do you keep them? Our friends at the YEC asked 11 entrepreneurs, founders and experts “What’s your best tip for increasing customer loyalty?

Always Over Deliver

“First and foremost, meet the needs of the customer, then take it up a notch and over deliver. Whether you provide deliverables ahead of schedule, throw in bonuses or surprise and delight with cool new features, continue to give more.”

– Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

Ridiculously Good Customer Service

“To quote a recent customer email, “I really appreciate your thoughtful and professional response. I don’t get that a lot from customer service. Usually, it’s scripted nonsense that makes it seem like I’ve done something wrong. You’ve single-handedly improved my perception tenfold. Someone there ought to give you a pay raise.””

– Matt Mickiewicz | Co-Founder, Flippa and 99designs

Treat ‘Em As You’d Want to Be Treated

“Empower your employees to help customers the way they would want to be helped. Ditch scripts and “company policy” in favor of dialogue and intuitive problem solving. Customers want to be treated like human beings, not sales figures.”

– Vanessa Nornberg | President, Metal Mafia

Try Genuine Transparency

“If you screw up, be willing to openly acknowledge it and take responsibility for it. Always be real with people, and cut out the “robot act.” Show a genuine desire to improve, even if you’re already doing a good or great job in servicing them. Customers really appreciate that sort of interaction, especially when you show you understand them and actually give a darn.”

– Matthew Ackerson | Founder, Saber Blast

Love Them and Thank Them

“As Gary Vaynerchuk says in his book The Thank You Economy, you need to “shock and awe” your best customers. This means actually giving a crap and rewarding them for no particular reason with thoughtful gifts. I agree 100 percent. Are you telling me the best you can do is an automated Happy Birthday email?”

– Patrick Curtis | Chief Monkey and Founder, WallStreetOasis.com

Customer Loyalty Works Both Ways

“If you want customers to be loyal to you, don’t forget to be loyal to them. Focus on your core, die-hard clients. The fringe customers will come and go, but your core will stick with you through the good times and bad. Keep those customers happy at all cost. Customers reward loyalty with loyalty.”

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

Build a Broader Relationship With Clients

“If the only times you talk to a customer is when you’re getting paid or providing support, you won’t exactly be their favorite person. Creating a broader connection makes you someone that they’ll want to seek out. Something small, like forwarding a relevant article, can be enough to create a positive association, but keep your eyes out for bigger opportunities.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

Sincerity, Seriously

“Customer loyalty is, in my opinion, built and substantiated with honesty. But more than honesty, it’s really about sincerity. Clients or customers want to look into your eyes and know that you don’t just mean what you say, but you are what you say. They know that everything you do and say is a part of who you are. Because of that, they know they can trust you, and that keeps them loyal.”

– Steven Le Vine | CEO/President, grapevine pr

Send the Message Clearly

“How much would it mean to you if the founder or president of one of your vendors called you up on the phone to ask you how your business was doing, and if there was any more that they could provide for you? Don’t say you care, show you do. Pick up the phone and make it personal.”

– Benjamin Leis | Founder, Sweat EquiTees

Reward the Remaining Ones

“Make your customers feel special by rewarding them for their loyalty. A thank-you gift, access to an exclusive event, a special offer, they all go a long way. And now, there are many services that can help without requiring a major capital investment. For instance, at Merchex, we’re working with dozens of luxury merchants to identify their best customers and effortlessly reward them.”

– Michael Tolkin | CEO, Merchant Exchange

Keep Their Best Interest in Mind

“I believe the best way to increase loyalty is to only offer people what they truly want and need. If someone isn’t the right fit for my company or they no longer need the services, I tell them. Coming from a place of total authenticity not only turns clients into raving fans, but also wins the hearts of people who are amazed you didn’t try to pressure them into a sale.”

– Elizabeth Saunders | Founder & CEO, Real Life E®

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.

11 Founders give advice on getting a job with a startup.

Startup Act 3.0 Aims to Open Borders for Entrepreneurs

Some pieces of legislation refuse to die. For a third time, lawmakers introduced a bill that would create visas for foreign entrepreneurs looking to start a business in the United States. The Startup Act 3.0 is a bipartisan bill that would grant entrepreneurs who employ at least two full-time employees or raise investments up to $100,000 an additional three years to grow, with the possibility for permanent status, according to Mashable.com

Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much at the moment, but the Startup Act 3.0 has support on both sides of the aisle. Even President Obama has voiced his support for these “entrepreneurial visas.” Obama noticed that bright foreign students are studying at American Universities, but don’t have the opportunity to continue toward the American Dream. “Once they earn that diploma, there’s a good chance they’ll have to leave our country,” Obama said.

Not every bill gets three strikes. But the Startup Act 3.0 could be the next step toward economic recovery and social reform.

Potential Impact

The beauty of new businesses isn’t just the jobs or innovation. It’s also the secondary consequences. Foreign entrepreneurs, B2B businesses and consumers all stand to gain from the Startup Act 3.0. Obviously, foreign born entrepreneurs gain access to launch business in the United States. While many will argue that the U.S. is becoming a less and less fertile place to start a business, it still boasts the largest economy in the world, according to Economywatch.com. As startups launch, they strengthen B2B businesses through partnerships. A startup usually can’t facilitate credit card transactions on its own, but a company like Capital Processing Network offers expertise and support. The result? Both businesses become stronger. From the consumer’s perspective, there’s no downside to new startups. Competition means lower prices, higher quality and increased innovation. Considering the vast positives and potential for more job opportunities, it’s no wonder the Startup Act has come back to life.

Visas and Immigration

Part of the reason the Startup Act has needed three renditions is because it dives into a currently unsettled territory: immigration. According to Huffingtonpost.com, previous renditions of the bill failed to pass because of their controversial nature. Immigration is no less controversial, but once again, entrepreneurial visas are on the table. During his recent State of the Union address, President Obama called for a comprehensive immigration reform bill in “the next few months.” It remains to be seen whether this comprehensive reform will interfere with the Startup Act 3.0.

Inside the Bill

According to a press release from Virginia Senator Mark Warner, one of the bill’s sponsors, the Startup Act 3.0 includes provisions beyond creating new visas. Additional provisions include:

A mandate that grants U.S.-educated foreign students who graduate with a master’s or Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering or mathematics a green card and allows them to stay in the United States
Research and development credits for startups less than five years old
Elimination of per-country caps for employment-based visas
A mandate that makes permanent the extension of capital gains taxes on the sale of startup stock held for at least five years

These provisions reveal that the Startup Act 3.0 packs a punch. Perceived by some as a small piece of immigration reform, lawmakers hope 3.0 will jumpstart the economy.

Did you see these 48 startup stories from SXSW?

Crowdfunding Creates Great Customer Base

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(image psmag.com)

Drive Revenue, Customer Development Through Crowdfunding

One of the biggest advantages to raising funds through kickstarter is the potentially broad community of backers formed around the fundraising campaign. These backers create an instant base of potential beta testers, early adopters, customers, suppliers, evangelists, and twitter followers (and retweeters).

New and established companies should consider how crowdfunding can be used to generate revenue (as opposed to investment). People who have skin in the game, even a small amount, are much more likely to be loyal customers, give valuable feedback, refer you to new customers, and help the company in countless other ways.

Here are some scenarios that we could see playing out:

1) Growth Stage Startups: A startup like Birchbox with over 100,000 subscribers closes a $25 million Series C financing round. It then allows each of its customers the opportunity to participate in a $1M crowdfunding follow-on round on the same economic terms. Their current customers would be thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in the upside of the Company and, with skin in the game, would be more likely to recommend the product to their friends, give feedback, and help the company. More people would want to become customers in order to be part of the “club.” Also, because this would be a follow-on to a venture backed investment, many of the concerns about fraud are minimized.

2) Local Franchise Businesses: A local business like Vezzo allows everyone within its zip code to participate in a crowdfunding round for purposes of opening a new store. Local investors will become local customers and evangelists and suddenly the pizza stores have hundreds of new local people financially incentivized to promote the new and current pizza stores.

3) Early Stage Startups Requiring Critical Mass: Some businesses (particularly social media) don’t work without a critical mass of users (see facebook, twitter, foursquare, quantia MD, quora, lawpivot, etc.) to create network effects. Even if a company is capable of raising money through the traditional angel or VC route, it may actually prefer to go with a crowdfunding round in order to gain access to this potential early user base. After a successful crowdfunding round, the company would be able to tap into hundreds or thousands of early adopter types with skin in the game, forming the necessary critical mass.

4) Early Stage Startup Customer Development: One of the key tenets of Steve Blank’s customer development principles is to get customer validation prior to going through the expense of creating a product. You would do this through surveys, landing pages, mock screen shots, and letter of intents where potential customers agreed to be early users. Getting a customer to invest in a product before it is created may be the best way to validate the product before it is created and will be a great indicator on whether a customer would buy, or at least try, a product once created.

The feasibility of each of these scenarios is highly dependent on the rules that the SEC ultimately comes down with on what can be contained in a crowdfunding notice and how it may be delivered.

What else? How else could crowdfunding be used to generate revenue?

This post originally appeared on the seedinvest blog one of our great content partners. Check out the whole seedinvest blog here.

11 Founders Offer Advice On Getting A Job With A Startup

Startups are what are fueling the new economy. The bulk of job creation is coming from companies that are less than five years old, and startups are becoming more and more attractive. A lot of college students are finding the startup culture more attractive than traditional corporate America. These 11 founders offer tips to getting that post college job with a tech startup.

Become a Regular at Tech Meetups

“As with any industry, networking like hell is the name of the game. If you become a regular at tech meetups in your area, you’ll make the types of friends who can get you through the door at those startups you’ve had your eye on.”

– Steph Auteri | career coach, writer, and editor, Word Nerd Pro

Don’t Ask for Permission

“If you want to land an internship or a full-time job with a startup in your area, pick out the top ones that interest you and give yourself permission to start adding value for them. Literally. Don’t ask for their permission to start, just begin by creating something (e.g. a competitive research report, a SWOT analysis, or by finding bugs on their website). Showing initiative gets results.”

– Matthew Ackerson | Founder, Saber Blast

Be Incredibly Persistent

“The unfortunate truth is that most startups have an unorganized hiring process. Resumes and emails often get lost in the shuffle, and may not resurface when it’s time to make a hiring decision. Be persistent and keep emailing and applying until you get a response, one way or the other. Startups will appreciate your hustle.”

– Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

Crawl, Walk, Run

“The best way to work your way into a tech startup is to chose a few companies you’re super passionate about, and try to work your way into a job. You can do this by making contact with people at the company and trying to get a part-time job or internship to prove yourself. If they like you, they’re likely to then hire you full-time when they have an opening. It also lets you “try before you buy.””

– Jason Evanish | co-founder, Greenhorn Connect

Score Informational Interviews

“Informational interviews are a great way for students and new grads in any field to get to know professionals who can help point them in the right direction. Find a few people who have already gotten “in” and invite them to coffee to ask them about their experiences. They’ve been there too, so chances are they’ll love to help.”

– Allie Siarto | Partner, Director of Analytics, Loudpixel

Work on an Awesome Project

“Want a startup to sit up an notice you? Prove that you can do great things without needing someone to poke and prod you. Build something cool of your own: a small event, app or some other creative project proves your worth before they even consider hiring you. As an added bonus, you can prove that you have skills that don’t show up anywhere else on your resume.”

– Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

Be Willing to Start at the Bottom

“Even if you have 20,000 Twitter followers and graduated at the top of your class, be willing to do what it takes. You’ll get more responsibility if you’re willing to learn — it sounds counterintuitive, but it’s true. Be open to learning from people who are outside of your area of focus and interest. Ask to help with projects outside of the scope of responsibility. Show you care!”

– Susan Strayer LaMotte | Founder, exaqueo

Spoons and Windows?

“Startup founders get hundreds of emails per day, so yours will definitely get deleted before they even get to your sentence about you ‘being a hard worker who can add a lot of value’. To get noticed, send them something absolutely ridiculous. In the last year, I’ve done two big deals because I sent CEOs a 4-foot wooden spoon and a real window, based on conversations we’d had in the past.”

– Joe Cassara | Founder / CEO, You Need My Guy

Research and Development

“The easiest way to get a startups attention is to build something amazing. Pick out a tech startup of your choice, find their API docs, and build an awesome product on top of their service. As you’re working on the project, you’ll network with the startups developers — the next time they are looking for a hire, you’ll know their system better than most.”

– Wade Foster | Co-founder, Zapier

Be Open-Minded to the Startup Scene

“Keep an open mind for all different types of startups. You might have your heart set on a startup that focuses on sports, but could find a great job working for a startup involved with medicine.”

– Josh Weiss | Founder and President, Bluegala

Just Start Writing

“If you’re looking to get into the startup world, get yourself noticed by blogging. If you have certain marketable talents and passions, write about them. Then, share the content with as many people as you can. If you’re transparent in your writing by saying you’re hoping to be hired, your words just might land on the desk of an ideal decision-maker.”

– Logan Lenz | Founder / President, Endagon

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.

We’ve got more startup tips for you, here.

The Pilot In Command: Facing Unexpected Obstacles Head On

Moe Glenner (photo: Huffington Post)

By Moe Glenner

As a professional pilot, I meticulously pre-plan my flight including strong and continuous consideration and planning for the weather. I can’t control the weather, but I can control how I react to it, including choosing to divert or not fly in it at all. However, there are times that, despite the planning, Mother Nature has her own little surprises. Regardless, as Pilot in Command (PIC), I must continue to safely fly the plane.

It is no different with life’s surprises for any of us. Sometimes, we can anticipate them and pre-empt either the change itself or its impacts. Other times, we may not be able to control the events themselves, but we can certainly control how we react to them and our consequential actions afterwards.

Ask yourself this question: Do events control you or do you control events? Or better yet, are you influenced by life events or do you influence life events? How many times are we faced with a situation that seems hopeless and resign ourselves to whatever fate presents?

Resignation is insidious. Sometimes when “the chips are down,” we will defer our own free will and ability to take charge of the situation and instead wallow in whatever was presented. Typically, this will happen at what I call a “failure moment.” For many of us, the failure is a fait accompli. It is time to accept the reality and finality and move on.

But if we look at the failure as not the end itself rather a means to an end, then the failure is just a speed bump to be traversed and not finality. In fact, failure might not be a bad thing in itself. Failure can spur as to be more innovative, better at what we do and possibly reach an even better solution than originally intended. The key is not to resign and/or give up when confronted with failure. After all, failure is an opportunity to be even better if we alter our mindset to accept it as an impetus for being better.

Once, an early morning airline flight was cancelled before I even left for the airport and then mysteriously reinstated with a long delay. Despite written notice of the cancellation, the airline refused to reschedule me without their requisite $250 rescheduling fee. Escalating the situation to senior management did not satisfactorily resolve the issue. In essence, I was out of luck and money.

At first, I was quite angry. How could the airline not take responsibility for its own screw-up? Why do I have to pay extra just to get them to rectify their own error? Why do I now have to placate my client about my non-arrival, even though it wasn’t my fault? What am I going to do about this in the future?

After the initial anger subsided and a calmer head prevailed, I decided to do something about it. I always wanted to be a pilot and fly to different places. Twenty years ago, I intended on taking flight lessons but somehow “life got in the way” (or rather, I allowed it to detract from my goal). Ten years ago, I intended to take flight lessons, but again “life got in the way.” Now, I was ready to do it and not have to rely on the airlines and their arbitrariness. With careful planning, I was ready to go.

Through considerable effort and dedication to learning, practicing and flying nearly every day, I was able to gain the various certifications necessary to not only fly myself in good weather, but even in poor visibility weather and to fly others around as well. As a professional pilot, I even have additional income opportunities available by being a corporate pilot for local companies. I was able to take an adverse experience, that for some is routine, and channel that into positive action. I was not and am not willing to concede to a culture of victimhood. I refuse to believe in “it is what it is.” I will only believe that “it is what you make it to be.” Of course, it helped that I was motivated to make the change and that I remained motivated throughout.

We are constantly faced with changes in our everyday lives. Some of them are (or can be) reasonably anticipated and perhaps even planned for. Others are sudden and/or involuntary. Either way, the only thing constant in life, is change. How we plan and react to these changes is critical to personal success and realization of our goals.

It is too easy and convenient to simply blame others for our own lack of success. We blame our society for all of its ills. We blame our government for their ineptness (even though it was us that elected them). We blame and blame and blame some more but with all of the blaming and pointing fingers, we ultimately concede control of our own destiny. As such, we have taken ourselves out of our optimal state and instead moved to the United States of Denial.

Denial is a powerful psychological weapon that we self-employ to keep away the truth. With apologies to Jack Nicholson (A Few Good Men), we can’t (and don’t want to) handle the truth. It is easier to close our eyes, ears, and brains and pretend that whatever ails us is not our fault. And it is therefore acceptable to blame whatever culprit happens to be convenient. We see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe, regardless of the actual reality or the truth. Except that we can and should handle the truth. How else will we improve? How else will we make ourselves and the world around us better if we won’t even concede that it is our problem to solve?

It would have been too easy for me to simply blame the airline and leave it at that. What guarantee would I have had that it wouldn’t happen again? I refused to be a victim and took concrete action that would reduce the likelihood of a repeat occurrence. This action required an investment of time, effort and money, but it would be difficult to argue that a solid return wasn’t achieved for that investment.

What happens when we inevitably hit that “bump in the road?” We must continue to fly our airplanes. When a pilot is on final approach for landing, he lines the plane up to land on the centerline of the runway with no drift and pointed down the runway. If he encounters a strong crosswind and doesn’t take positive corrective action, the plane will drift in the direction the wind is blowing. The plane might not be pointing straight and on landing might actually go off the side of the runway, damaging the airplane and possibly resulting in injuries (or worse). By taking immediate corrective actions, such as slipping or even a go-around to land on a different runway or different airport, the pilot affirms his control of the situation and allows for a positive and safe outcome.

Our intended goals should not be setback by a strong crosswind, a bump in the road, or even severe turbulence. We need to immediately recognize the situation and then take corrective action to stay on-track and continue pointed straight down the successful goal achievement runway. We are in command and we must stay in command to achieve positive results.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Moe Glenner is the founder and CEO of PURELogistics, a leading consulting firm that specializes in change management, and a regular speaker at trade shows and industry events. Glenner earned his MBA at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from Villanova University. In Selfish Altruism, Glenner explores the personal motives and emotions that can impact organizational change. Selfish Altruism ($13.95) is available at www.amazon.com.

Now check out this Guest Post, Startup Marketing Lessons From Everywhere Else.

10 Tax Tips For 1099 Startup Employees

By Kevin Sandlin, Founder at @deductmor

It’s tax time. For tax accountants, it means filing extensions and sifting through piles of papers for clients. For W-2 employees, it means getting your stuff together to give to your tax guy. But for 1099ers, it means paying your taxes.

Didn’t use to be that way. Before 1943, everyone got all their pay in their paycheck, and everyone had to file and pay their federal taxes on or before April 15. During WWII, Congress introduced payroll withholding and quarterly tax payments with the vote of the Current Tax Payment Act of 1943. The U.S. Department of Treasury describes tax withholding as follows:

“It also greatly red

uced the taxpayer’s awareness of the amount of tax being collected, i.e. it reduced the transparency of the tax, which made it easier to raise taxes in the future.”

You gotta love Congress, don’t you? There’s your history lesson for the day.

It’s 100% your responsibility to pay Uncle Sam just because you got a 1099. YOU and you alone are responsible for paying the full amount of payroll taxes on the amount listed on the Form 1099.

“The 1099 form by itself is nothing. A 1099 means you’re liable for self-employment tax.” – Thomas Jensen, managing partner of Portland, Oregon-based Vaerdi Financial

Here are ten 1099 tax tips that should help you get through April 15 a little easier.

Health insurance premiums are tax deductible for the self employed. If you are self-employed, you may be eligible to deduct premiums that you pay for medical, dental and qualifying long-term care insurance coverage for yourself, your spouse and your dependents. Read the rules here.

Do your 1099 taxes quarterly. Doing something painful a little at a time makes it less painful. Keep that in mind for # 4 as well. You generally have to make estimated quarterly tax payments if you expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when you file your return. Do the math: if you make ~$5k/quarter, pay estimated quarterly taxes.

Mileage: it’s your BIGGEST deduction. To get the maximum deductions for your business vehicle, you must maintain a written log of business miles. I don’t know anyone who does this. Instead, take a picture of the odometer every Monday. Make it a habit. Fifty-tive cents per mile adds up quick and big.

Set 25% aside from every single payment you receive. If you were a W-2 employee, you would pay (ok, the government would withhold) half of your Social Security (FICA) and Medicare tax. Your employer pays the other half. But you’re not W-2, are you? So guess who your employer is? YOU! You pay ALL of your FICA and Medicare tax. Put it in a savings account so you can’t touch it.

Know what you can and cannot deduct. Your taxable 1099 income is the same thing as your “net profit”, which is your 1099 income minus your deductible (‘ordinary and necessary to operate your business’) expenses.

The home office deduction. Do. Not. Miss. This. Deduction. Create a dedicated space to work from home. Measure it in square feet. Figure out the percentage of that space in relation to your whole house. You can deduct that percent of all your home expenses: utilities, mortgage interest, cleaning, repairs & improvements, water, etc.

Retire! OK, don’t retire yet, but think about it and put money towards it. The best tax write-off for the self-employed is a retirement plan. A person with no employees can set up an individual 401(k). As of 2012, the individual can contribute $17,000 as a 401(k) deferral, plus 25 percent of net income.

Go back to school. Any educational expense is potentially tax-deductible.

Keep every receipt. “Every receipt” means every receipt. Create a system that fits your 1099er lifestyle and stick with it. You want to reduce your taxable income (aka ‘net profit’) as much as possible. The IRS requires receipts for deductions.

Go digital! And there’s an app for that (shameless plug). Sign up for the beta at deductmor.com and you can get this service completely free forever. deductmor lets you knock out #9 and #10 simultaneously. Keep every receipt by going digital. Take a picture of every receipt. deductmor stores it (securely, forever), and organizes all your receipts every quarter (#2, check!) and every year into a report your tax accountant will swoon over.

Full disclosure: I founded deductmor. There are several other very good services for capturing receipts with your smartphone. I encourage you to check them out, and use the one that’s best for you.

Startup Marketing Lessons from the Everywhere Else

Brandery,Startup Branding,Mike Bott, Startup Tips, Guest Post

Mike Bott GM of The Brandery and former P&G Brand Manager talks about Branding for startups at everywhereelse 13 (photo: Allie Fox for NMI)

By Joe Recomendes, Command Partners

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Everywhere Else conference in Memphis, TN to meet and learn with many promising startups from across the country – Dan Rogers of Millenium Search, LLC has outlined some of the most promising companies in attendance on his blog – but I was there to focus on marketing for the startup community. The conference was founded to provide a networking opportunity for startups not based in the hubs of New York or Silicon Valley, but rather those entrepreneurs cutting their own paths “everywhere else” in the country.

I was there not as a startup, but as a marketing agency looking to see what startups are doing to market themselves and learn from other successful founders. Scott Case, the CEO of Startup America, provided a crucial wake-up call to the founders in attendance – “It’s not ‘if you build it, they will come,’ it’s ‘If you market it, they will come.” Startups everywhere need to pay attention – you may have a great idea, but if no one knows about it, it will not work as a business.

A branding session by The Brandery outlined the following steps that every startup should consider when beginning a marketing strategy and build a brand pyramid, the foundation of all marketing messaging:

Brand Promise – The essence of your brand, and the highest-level benefit that your company or products contributes to the consumer.

Brand Positioning – The value statement of your company or product, similar to an elevator pitch. Why does anyone need the idea that you are bringing to market?

Brand Character – The portrayal of your idea that should convey truth and inspiration while demonstrating the need for your idea.

Brand Attributes – The base level of your brand, which should illustrate points of difference and points of parity between your product or idea and your competitors.

Once you have your brand defined, it’s time to consider how you will market your idea, and through which channels. Startups should consider the following strategic marketing initiatives:

A Website – Absolutely, a must have for traffic, leads, and information about your company. This should be the foundation of your marketing channels, and should be optimized to capture and convert leads. All other marketing efforts should drive people to the site. While I won’t go into detail here, it is also important to support your website through SEO, PPC, email marketing, and other website marketing efforts.

Public Relations – Depending on the quality of your media outreach efforts and the potential importance of your idea or business, public relations can either be a huge boon or wasted time. As a technology startup, getting coverage in Mashable, Techcrunch, VentureBeat, etc. can catapult you into the public sphere, but the chances of getting this coverage without properly curating your pitch and relationships are slim.

Social Media – While time-consuming, a well-groomed presence on social media can give an air of credibility to your brand, while allowing for communication distribution and engagement with your key audiences. Start with a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Angel’s List. These four networks will allow you to engage existing consumers, find new leads, and show a presence to potential investors.

A Pitch Deck – For getting new investors, a pitch deck will be a crucial piece of your marketing mix. Ensure that it is short but impactful by providing the information that investors need, and consider revising your deck for each pitch based on the conversations that you have had with the investor prior to your meeting.

Marketing a new startup can be time-consuming, but is of paramount importance to achieve awareness, recognition, and success. If you’re unsure where to start, hire a startup marketing agency to help define your brand and business goals, and execute your marketing strategy for you.

What have you found to be the most valuable channel for marketing your startup, or what other advice would you give? Let us know in the comments.

Command Partners is a Charlotte based internet marketing company with a passion and love for startups. Find out more at commandpartners.com

Don’t miss everywhereelse.co 2014 more information can be found here

Beware the Ill-Planned Innovative Rollout

Startup Tips, Guest Post, Moe Glenner,nibletz,huffington post

Moe Glenner, Founder PURELogistics (photo: Huffington Post)

By Moe Glenner, Founder PURELogistics

It happens repeatedly. A company adopts a new technology platform that ostensibly will ease the workload, streamline operational processes and result in overall gains in efficiency and budget spending. The intention is spot-on but the execution is decidedly less so. A post-mortem will usually reveal errors in the execution but misses the real culprit: planning errors. While Garbage In – Garbage Out (GIGO) is true for any process, it is especially apparent in change initiatives. If the initiative is not planned properly, the end result will almost always reflect that lack of planning.

I frequently observe companies that attempt technology-based change initiatives with the latest and greatest new technologies. Many believe that the provider of this technology will also ensure that their technology will successfully effectuate the intended changes. They effectively defer the planning, execution and most importantly control to this third party. More times than not, this recipe fails and takes the change initiative down with it. The result; blame the technology and try to find a “better” technology. In other words, they blame the equipment and not themselves.

When my clients engage my consulting services to help effectuate change, I advise them that successful change involves a three-step process: Plan, Communicate and Execute. These are not mutually exclusive, as each step comprises elements of the other two steps.

Step 1 – Plan

Since planning is the most critical step, most of my attention will be here. Successful planning necessarily means an objective discovery of the real problem driving the change. Frequently the stated and/or obvious problem is not the real problem, rather a symptom of a bigger underlying issue. We can better discover the real issue by channeling our inner four-year old and repeatedly ask why. In Total Quality Management (TQM), the 5-Why Process is a useful tool to achieving real issue discovery.

For example, if we are having trouble staying compliant with the Unsafe Driving portion of CSA:

Q1: Why are we having this trouble?
A1: We’re ticketed too often for speeding, illegal lane changes, etc.

Q2: Why are we getting ticketed so often?
A2: Because our drivers are rushing to make their deliveries

Q3: Why do they need to rush to make their deliveries?
A3: Because their schedules require them to make x number of daily deliveries

Q4: Why do we need to schedule so many deliveries per driver?
A4: Because otherwise we can’t meet our service commitments

Q5: Why are our service commitments so tight?
A5: Because the competitive landscape requires them.

The 5-Why Process doesn’t have to repeat 5 times and it could actually be more than 5 questions. When we hit a why, that we don’t have a clear answer for, we likely are at the real issue.

Once we have discovered the real issue, we need to properly define the scope of both the problem and its intended solution. A frequent planning occurrence is when the problem is clearly defined, but the solution slowly expands to include more than just the problem. In project management terms this is called ‘scope creep’. While it is admirable that a solution goes well beyond what it’s intended for, if the ‘well-beyond’ is not planned for, it could compromise the entire initiative. The signs of scope-creep will usually include budget and time overruns.

Once the scope has been established, proper risk management must be employed. What are the risks involved with rolling out this new technology? If it’s an EBOM rollout, will our veteran drivers have trouble with it? If they do have trouble, can we provide them the proper support? With the difficulty in finding new drivers, what is the risk with rolling out this initiative and possibly losing some veteran drivers? What is the plan if we do lose these drivers? While we cannot possibly plan for every contingency, we can plan for every category of risk. This will give us a significant head start in successfully addressing the problem and continuing on unabated.

Step 2 – Communication

There is no such thing as over-communication. The key is to provide honest, constant and relevant communication between the change team members, upwards to senior executives and outwards to those that will be affected by the change. This communication must take place in every step of the change process for the initiative to be successful. Since most of us resist change primarily due to the fear if the unknown, we must make special and concerted efforts to combat this through every form of organizational communication (i.e. face-to-face, email, video conferencing, etc.). Most importantly, if we don’t have an immediate answer, we must honestly and in a timely fashion, communicate this as well.

Step 3 – Execute

Assuming that we have planned and communicated properly, we still must execute according to plan. If we have planned properly, than the likely ‘hiccups’ inherent in any change initiative will have been planned for and can be addressed according to plan.

The end result will not be an ill-planned innovative rollout, but a rollout that encompasses the best of change management and, most importantly, accomplishes its intended goal(s).

Moe Glenner is the founder and president of PURELogistics, a leading consulting firm that specializes in organizational change. He earned his MBA at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from Villanova University. Glenner’s new book, Selfish Altruism: Managing & Executing Successful Change Initiatives ($13.95 | Amazon), explores best practices in organizational change. For more information, visit www.moeglenner.com.

The pivoting features when creating the next rockstar mobile app

Or if we’d rephrase it, how long would it take before a user would give you a hug because he had a good experience with your app? Why? Besides having a great app in terms of users and success, hugs are less expensive than bandages.

We talked about what mistakes you can make when developing a mobile application. But it would be presumptuous to just point out mistakes. Now we’re going to focus on what you should never loose sight of if you want your mobile app to become the next app rockstar.

We’re going to highlight on what makes an app a great mobile app that people actually like, what can make it a viral app, what features are sine qua non and how it can grow beyond its limitations and get a lot of users patting you on the back.

1. This cannot be stated enough….UX, user experience, la experiencia del usuario, you get the picture

Think about Angry Birds. Yes , I know, everybody keeps beating the drum on how that game took over the world.

Even so, whether intentional or no, it really hit the nail in the head when it came to psychological impact and reasons. Why do people play that game? Let’s analyze it for a moment.

As people, we like to destroy things in games, and it’s no wonder why games in which you throw birds at entrenched nasty pigs ( and scream evilly and cute) would be addictive. The micro-physics in Angry Birds creates a unique user experience each time you catapult those frowny birds into everything. What mobile app mechanic can we learn from this example?

Simply put, when developing an app, create the possibility for the user to customize his own experience as much as possible. If it’s a social app, then let them customize colors, icon sizes, buttons, etc. If you’re gunning for a business app, then you should focus on what content the user deems to be relevant : such as choosing preferences over certain information providers (like newspapers, business blogs, etc.) so they won’t have to check each bit of info one at a time. ”

Make a user feel like he can play with the app in more ways than just tapping a few buttons and closing it. In doing so, you gain a greater level of user engagement and retention. Make it fun and easy or in other words, make creation a part of the user experience. It’s their app at the end of the day and making it feel even more personalized will go a long way for them to remember you.

2. Push notifications = a light tap on your shoulder to improve the day

Push notifications. They can mean anything from alerts, products, offers, updates, beeps, images, anything.

They are essential to the success and survival of a mobile application. From getting certain discounts or new updates on an app, PN’s can remind your users that your app either is still there or that you can ease their day.

For example, a way Foursquare created and maintained user loyalty was through push alerts. When a user was 10 check-ins away from becoming mayor of a certain location, it would provide an incentive to continue using the app.

The key words of push alerts are : targeted, context, geo-points, geo-location, timezones. Unlike ads where often you can shoot blindly and hope for a catch, push notifications mean you know your niche and if you do it right, you’re going to expand it.

3. Contact points, friend invite, developer and customer feedback = visibility and friendliness

In the App Store or Play Store, you’re going to find apps by the bucket. So how exactly is that shiny piece of code you wrote going to attract any attention?

Simple. The user knows who developed it, who published it and what to expect. Reviews are golden. This should be done with simplicity unlike web browsers, where you have to create an account (a uselessly tedious business) to post a comment or a review. A one tap, one touch contact point (i.e. address, mail, phone number, forum) where you tell the developer or the company of that specific app what it’s all about.

Without contact points, the user will feel isolated with his app, which is quite the opposite of what a mobile phone means. Your app philosophy should emulate this concept.

Also, don’t forget about social one touch sharing, like Facebook, where you like the app and want to share it with your friends or invite them. Another useful trait is bug reporting from users. Although the chances of encountering a bug on a mobile app is rarer than a few years ago, it’s a great way to quickly correct mistakes through on time feedback.

4. Social integration – if you want your app to be known it has to support social interaction

People like to talk about their mobile phones, that’s a given. What they can do, how they pay their bills and don’t have to wait in line, how they filmed their cat doing a back flip and so on.

We’re going back to the Angry Birds analogy. So what was one of the leading causes for the proliferation of this game? Social interaction.

Among many other of its traits, one of the things that made the game such an immersive experience was interaction and competition. You could play the game and see the ranking of your friends on Facebook for example. And that really made users want reach the top rankings and use the app more

Gamifying your app is a must. If you make it fun for users then you’ll set the stage for a memorable experience. Monetizing an app is nearly impossible if the app is a headache to use or it’s simply too complex without any reason. It’s all about psychology and the things we tend to remember were those bits of info encapsulated in fun emotions.

Again, it’s about simplicity that has infinite ramifications. One tap sharing and fun comments from users to their social companions is the most powerful form of communication that leads to brand visibility and retention.

,,Extremely useful for understanding user experience : 48 psychological facts you should know”

According to Susan Weinschenk, synchronous activity bonds the group. Your mobile app will be popular if it supports features such as interactive ratings or reviews (either through smart push notifications or an easy to scroll comment bar, either from friends or experts). Buzzword: Interactivity = popularity.

5. Cross-platform compatibility

Or one code to rule them all. It means that a program developed as cross-platform is fully capable of operating on any mobile phone regardless of what operating system that phone is running.

Application development frameworks offer the beauty of code reusability. A magnificent and useful app such as Google Maps would have been a hell to program for one OS at time.

They don’t just cut down development costs and time pressing situations, but they offer the advantage of updating the app as quick as possible. Thus you can ensure you can deliver content /updates to your app faster and users will have higher retention and appreciation. If the app you’re going for is a native one, then having cross platform tools will give you a boost in ensuring fast delivery for updates and changes.

6. If less is more, then great apps mean a dialectic of simple and brilliant implementations

Great mobile apps are very task-focused. A nice analogy would be the classical saying ,,Do you want the short version or the long version of the story?”. With mobile apps the same truth applies. The hardest part in any area is to make something simple.

It’s quite easy and tempting to fall into the mindset of ,,Yeah, we need a button for that, and a scroll for that one, 50 side scrolling screens and so on.” But tablets and smartphones aren’t desktops. Quite the opposite of what people were saying at the dawn of smartphones, which was ,, A computer in the palm of your hand”. It’s a little more than that.

Because the screens are small , you need clear buttons and a precise functionality. Here’s a good example of rules for a clean and simple design.

A stunning app is one that incorporates complex ramifications in a few simple buttons and touches and not dozens of buttons for just one thing. Don’t rush when mulling over complexity and needs. Think about the old military saying. ,,Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”. Just what do we mean with it? Well, the nature of mobile, being on the run and everything. Even though people spend more time on their mobile than on their desktops, one of the reasons for this is clever and fluid simplicity.

7. Analytics are the backbone of where your app is going

Besides finding out how many users actively use your apps, other bits of info can be the turnpoint in knowing what to add or what to cut out in your app. Analytics can be combined with smart push notifications to deliver the most relevant content where it matters and when it matters.

They are also a boon when taking the pulse of in-app purchases and polishing monetization strategies.

The key traits of mobile app analytics are:

Acquisition and user metrics such as downloads and new user
Engagement metrics such as retention, crashes and conversions
Outcome metrics such as app sales and in-app purchases

We could mention other traits a great mobile app should have but that is dependent on the nature of the app itself. QR code scanners are useful in retail and shopping. In-app ads are starting to become a little more refined but then again, this is solely linked to what you want to do with your app and if ads are going to be your main monetization plan. Other things we could highlight would be GPS coupons (repeated visits to a certain place give customers a bonus or discount), loyalty points and promotions.

A viral app has the possibility of creating an online community by itself if it’s done right.

And there we have it. Now these are just the main elements when designing an app that has the possibility of becoming viral. In the end it comes down to basic psychology and user experience. The pivotal features you need to always consider is how your app can spread through social media. To give a soul to an app means to make it interactive and unbound.

And the most coolest trait is that your app will do most of the heavy lifting and actually market itself, leaving you with a lot of monetization options rather than picking a niche and crossing your fingers. Elements such as customer points, badges, in-app money, rewards, they all gamify and create more engagement, fun experience and all round good user reaction.

Unless you’re putting one time apps intentionally, all of these will lead to your own app success story.

This is a guest post by Appscend (http://www.appscend.com) — the all-in-one cross-mobile performance based application platform. Appscend offers its customers the fastest cross platform development technology available on the market today together with a complete list of backend technologies that ensure application & user management, a powerful push notifications platform as well as app analytics, ad-integration, in-app purchases and over-the-air distribution services.

The Minimum Working Thing GUEST POST

WorkForPie, Lean Startup,MVP, Brad Montgomery,startup

WorkForPie co-founders Cliff McKinney & Brad Montgomery (left) (photo: nibletz llc)

By Brad Montgomery, co-founder WorkForPie

I’ve been pondering this post for a long time. Any student of startups is probably familiar with the phrase Minimum Viable Product. It’s really a simple idea, and I think it embodies an important philosophy for anyone starting a company. The idea is that your product (whatever it is; e.g. a service, a physical thing, or some software) should be as small as possible, but still be a working, viable product that customers will buy.

The concept is fairly easy to understand, and I don’t really think anyone misudnerstands the idea. However, the execution of that idea is incredibly difficult. Who knows why this is the case, but I’m going to postulate that the terminology is getting in the way.

Let’s get some definitions out of the way.

Minimum. The least or smallest amount possible.
Viable. Capable of working successfully.
Product. An article or substance that is created or refined for sale.

I don’t really think anyone has a problem with these terms individually, but put them together, and I think many people have wildly varying interpretations of their definitions. One reason, I think, is that people unknowingly emphasize the wrong words. Let’s break it down even further.

Minimum

This may be the most important word. Yet, I think it often gets the least amount of emphasis. Honestly, if I were to change the phrase (and I am!), I’d keep this word. It’s perfect. We want to do the smallest amount of work possible, but we need to strongly emphasize that.

This is hard to do. People like to make things more complex than they need to be.

Viable

Here’s where things start to get confusing. The problem is, that many entrepreneurs (especially first-timers–myself, included!) very rarely agree on what will work. It’s also very tempting to try to build a solution without fully understanding the problem.

I say it’s OK to not fully understand what you’re doing (that’s what startups are all about!), so it’s even more important to adjust your definiton of viable. And, you know what? It’s much smaller than you realize.

Product

This is where things really get confusing. When you say the word product, many people start thinking features! Seriously, go to a business guy, an engineer, or anyone that calls themselves an entrepreneur; sit down and brainstorm a new “product”. Start making a bulleted list of all the features that you’d like to see, and then tell me how many pages you have after an hour.

That’s the problem. People envision a product as a fully-featured, complete, does-it-all-with-bells-and-whistles… thing. As soon as you speak the word product, you’ve already started having feature-creep, and you’ve already forgotten that all-important adjective: minimum.

Build a Minimum Working Thing

I’ve complained long enough, so now I’m going to propose a solution. In the tech-startup world, I suggest that we ditch the phrase Minimum Viable Product, and adopt the phrase Minimum Working Thing.

Again, let’s break it down:

Minimum. Do the least amount of work possible. This is important! You know why, right? If you’re in a startup, you’re going to have to go back to the drawing board. You’re going to have to re-work some things. Build less up front in order to save yourself some time later on.
Working. Deploy something that works. Remember, you’re just as interested in failure as you are in success. Your first few iterations don’t have to launch your company into success. They have to teach you the direction in which you need to travel. If people can use it to do something, then it’s working. It doesn’t have to be successful.
Thing. Don’t build a product. Don’t build features. Just build a thing Yes, I’m being intentionally vague, because your thing may be very different from someone else’s thing. In fact, take that long list of features that you think your product needs, and circle the first item on the list. That’s your thing.

So there you have it. Ultimately, forget what you think you need to build. Instead, build something really small that works, and let your customers start using it. Then, pay close attention to what they do and how they use your minimum working thing. They’ll guide you the rest of the way.

About the author: Brad Montgomery is a developer and the co-founder of WorkForPie. Cliff McKinney, WorkForPie’s other cofounder penned these guest posts here and here.

WorkForPie is hosting a huge party at everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference

Entrepreneurs, Are You Sticking to Your New Year’s Resolution? [Infographic]

A new year, a new you. It’s such a commonplace mentality once January rolls around, but how many of us have already lost momentum and broken our resolutions? The first month of 2013 is almost over, and it’s around the time co-workers, friends, and family stop asking about your resolutions, causing us to push them to the back burner ourselves. But all is not lost. It’s still important to set goals, even if you know you won’t always stick to them perfectly or achieve them within a year’s time. This infographic by OnlineEducation provides some interesting facts and figures about goal setting, including tips that could be helpful when it comes to keeping your resolutions this year.

For example, they suggest writing your goals down. Having clear and documented objectives made individuals 10 times more likely to achieve them. And yet, statistics indicate that only about one in five individuals actually write down their New Year’s goals. But also remember to pace yourself, trying to making too many changes too quickly could backfire or create only short-lived results. Additionally, make sure to re-evaluate your goals and ensure they are for you alone, and not dependent on other people. This makes them much more attainable, and more rewarding as well. Above all, know that if you have lapsed a bit, you are not the only one. It’s not too late to get back on track for the rest of 2013!

Learning from Instagram’s Faux Pas! Guest Post By Moe Glenner

Once again, a technology-based company has exposed to the world their classic misunderstanding of change. In Instagram’s case, the failure was two-fold: a failure in planning and an even bigger failure to communicate. In late 2012, Instagram tried to generate revenue by sharing its users’ photos. (The new policy has since been retracted.) Unfortunately, the company’s new policy was not communicated properly and resulted in a predictable firestorm of bad publicity and the loss of a number of users. Instagram’s public change failure can provide important lessons for anyone or any organization pursuing change.

Lesson 1 – Planning for Risk can Make-or-Break the Change Initiative

While we would like to believe that Instagram planned for potential risk emanating from their new policy, it’s clear that if they did, they didn’t do it very well. Instagram’s risk planning failure is especially poignant given recent missteps by Facebook and Netflix. The media and users closely scrutinize any and all policy changes, especially those involving privacy. As users, we have become very educated and involved with changes to the technology platforms we use most. Similar to many technology applications, Instagram struggles with revenue generation. The attempted policy change was undoubtedly, an attempt to generate revenue. Somehow they didn’t plan for any backlash and their immediate retraction only served as direct proof of this lack of risk planning. All changes must plan for probable risks and have ancillary planning for other risks. Ignoring this rule, will most likely lead to change failure with its resulting costs.

For organizational changes, risk management is a serious endeavor and must be handled appropriately. While it is impossible to identify every possible risk, it is possible to identify risk categories. By this identification, response plans are put in place to immediately address a risk pending its categorization. The key to successful identification is communication.

Lesson 2 – Honest, Relevant and Timely Communication is Critical

Unfortunately for Instagram, the only communication was in full damage control mode. While appropriate, the communication was much too late to save the change and did little to mollify many users who subsequently defected. The time for communication is prior to, during and after the change has been implemented. This communication must be honest as to intentions and goals. It must be relevant to the specific change initiative being forwarded and it must be timely to the current stage of the initiative.

Communication must be honest, constant and consistent between the project sponsor, team leader, team members and those affected by the change. In the planning stage, a wide array of resources must be utilized to establish categories and then identify probable and potential risk. Honest communication allows for robust dialogue between team members and subject matter experts and the formation of a realistic risk plan. Once the change initiative is started, communication becomes especially critical. Lack of relevant and timely communication will lead to confusion, fear, resentment and even pushback to the otherwise appropriate change initiative. All of these negative results will severely and potentially fatally impact the likelihood of success. Thus, there is no such thing as over-communication but lack of communication is real and must be combated.

Above all, this is the time to be brutally honest and realistic with ourselves and our colleagues. We have a tendency to take on goals and internal change projects that are overly ambitious. Once the initiative is started and the going gets tough, we start compromising with ourselves and questioning the likelihood of success. Honest communication, internally and with our support team, allows for greater probability of realistic goal-setting and realistic achievement.

If Instagram’s goal was to generate revenue, their change initiative should have planned for a potential backlash and it should have been communicated in a manner that incorporated the risk strategy and allowed for meaningful dialogue during all stages of the change initiative. By learning from Instagram and others like it, we can effectuate successful and enduring change in the future.

Moe Glenner is the founder and president of PURELogistics, a leading consulting firm that specializes in organizational change. He earned his MBA at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from Villanova University. Glenner’s new book, Selfish Altruism: Managing & Executing Successful Change Initiatives ($13.95 | Amazon), explores best practices in organizational change. For more information, visitwww.moeglenner.com.

The nibletz.com team is at CES 2013 Check out all the startup stories out of the International CES

Fair & Square How To Divide Equity In A Startup (Guest Post)

How to Use a Dynamic Equity Split Program in Your Start-up

You and a partner start a company and split the equity 50/50. You do all the work and your partner flakes out. He owns half your company and wants to keep it. Now what?

This is called a fixed equity split program and it is the most common method of splitting up equity among founders. However this painful situation is very common. It is virtually impossible to design a fixed split equity program that doesn’t cause problems. A dynamic equity split program, on the other hand, provides most fair way to divide up shares in a start-up company among founders, early employees, partners and anyone else that deserves a slice of the pie. It will allow you to determine exactly the right number of shares each person deserves based on (and here is the key) the relative value of their individual inputs.

In a dynamic equity model the founder or founders who provide 90% of the great ideas, early seed money, sweat equity and other resources will wind up with 90% of the reward and the junior developer who provides only 2% of the great ideas, early seed money, sweat equity and other resources relative to the founders will receive 2% of the reward. This is how it should be; anyone who thinks differently is probably someone who wants more than their fair share.

The book, Slicing Pie: Funding Your Company Without Funds, is essentially a user guide to dynamic equity splits for entrepreneurs. It provides detailed instructions on making one work. However, here is the nutshell version of how a dynamic equity spilt model works:

Step One: Have (or be) a trustworthy leader

Only join a start-up company where you can trust the other people, especially the leader. The leader will control 100% of the equity while a dynamic model is being used. This means that an unscrupulous leader can take advantage of everyone. The leader is responsible for tracking the shares and keeping things fair. He or she will provide the appropriate cap table to the lawyers who create the formal equity agreement when the time is right. The right time to issue the equity is when the company shows real, actual, concrete evidence of value.

The leader will also make sure that when a person leaves they are treated fairly. I’ve posted a summary of how to treat people fairly when they leave a company on my blog at SlicingPie.com.

Step Two: Assign values to the various inputs provided by each participant relative to other inputs

A relative value is not the same thing as an actual value. Actual values in a pre-money start-up company are pretty much impossible to determine. Relative values are much easier to calculate and much more meaningful. The key is to set a relative value that is fair given someone’s background, experience and job responsibilities. For instance, the sweat of an experienced CEO with a couple of homeruns under her belt is relatively more valuable than that of an entry-level graphic designer. However, two founders with similar skill-levels may have a similar value to the firm.

When it comes to the value of someone’s time the relative value should not only take into account their skills and experience, but also the requirements of the job. You should be sure to subtract any current compensation the person receives in cash. Equity compensation is provided in exchange for what people put at risk in a new company. If you pay them a fair salary you shouldn’t have to give them any equity because they aren’t risking anything.

Time isn’t the only input an individual can provide. Other inputs include cash, loans, ideas, intellectual property, important resources (like equipment and supplies), strategic relationships and even things like office space. Nearly everything in a start-up company that can’t be bought with cash (if you don’t have it) can be acquired with equity. A dynamic model will tell you exactly how much each is worth relative to other inputs. Everything has a relative value that is fair to the provider and the other participants. Over time these relative values really add up. I’ve posted a summary of how to calculate relative values on my blog at SlicingPie.com.

Step Three: Calculate shares by dividing an individual’s contribution to the company by the total contribution (individual value ÷ total = shares %)

This will give you exactly the percentage of equity a person deserves. No more and no less. I call the total contributions to the firm a “Theoretical Base Value” or TBV. It’s theoretical because it’s not real. It simply adds up the values of the inputs based on the value you assigned in step two. So, you may determine that a founder is “worth” $200 per hour. But, if he works 1,000 hours the company may not actually be worth $200,000 more. I hope it’s worth a lot more than that, but the point is that the value of inputs are only important as a relative measure. I’ve posted a calculator spreadsheet on my blog at SlicingPie.com to help keep track.

This means that over time the potential equity split will change depending on what someone contributes. This is why it’s called a dynamic split. When you get a major investor or start generating enough cash flow to pay people you can calculate the equity, issue official shares, sign a shareholders agreement and be on your way. So, the sooner you raise money or the sooner you make money the sooner you can “lock in” the equity.

Dynamic equity splits make no assumptions about the future value of a company. It doesn’t matter what the future value will be. All that matters is that when you actually create future value everyone who risked something to help you get there should get their fair share of what’s created. Only a dynamic equity split can achieve this. Only a dynamic equity split provides a framework of fairness and respect for all participants. All other methods are prone to failure in their ability to treat people fairly. When I say “all others” I mean all others and “others” is what is commonly used today. That means the model you used or are planning to use in your start up is putting you and your team at risk of unfair equity allocation.

Sorry!

Dynamic equity splits are very uncommon, however, because the process isn’t well understood. Additionally, the dynamic nature of the split scares people who want to grab the biggest possible piece for themselves. Even the founder who errs on the side of generosity will ultimately fail because they, themselves, will be treated unfairly.

I’m on a personal mission to make sure that every entrepreneur on the planet understands dynamic equity models before they make the horrible mistake of using a traditional fixed model. Too many start- up companies are destroyed due to conflicts that arise when people on the team are treated unfairly. The dynamic model can accommodate all possible outcomes in a way that motivates and inspires a person who is treated with fairness.

To learn more about dynamic equity models visit my blog at SlicingPie.com and buy my book, Slicing Pie. If you can’t afford it let me know and I’ll give you a copy!

Mike Moyer is the author of “Slicing Pie: Funding Your Company Without Funds”

Linkage:

Moyer’s Blog

Get the Book “Slicing Pie: Funding Your Company Without Funds” here at Amazon

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Mike Muhney: Business Is A Contact Sport, Your Mobile Device Gives You A Competitive Edge

Business is a contact sport. And every contact counts, as does the way you treat them. After all, your customers are your competition’s potential customers. And those you’ve yet to reach, well, their business is only one good play away. The competitor who wins their business will most likely do so by utilizing whatever means possible to reach them first and best. Make no mistake about it, whether your competition considers you a threat or not, they want you to be a casualty.

More often than not, the success of your business efforts depends on more than the product or service that you provide. It’s also determined by the attention that you deliver to customers and potential customers in order to grow your business. As you prioritize building effective relationships, you’ll not only gain, you’ll maintain a powerful, competitive edge. So how can your mobile devices be used to help you to compete more successfully? Three words: Mobile relationship management. With the powerful tools available on mobile devices, there is no longer an excuse for not building better business relationships.

Back in the mid-80’s, the laptop computer and its mobile technology enabled people to have access not only to their spreadsheets and word processing documents at all times but also their contact information, both business and personal. It’s no coincidence that of all the applications professionals had with them at all times, they found having the breadth and depth of information about each of their contacts most useful. They were the first business “competitors” to recognize that business was truly a contact sport. They could deal with more people, more effectively than those who relied on paper systems and were faster and better than their competitors at leveraging that information.

For the first time, professionals could take along their digital files for anytime/anywhere access to their entire filing system of all the pertinent contact data and their entire relationship history with those contacts. Compared to those who didn’t use mobile devices for the purpose of disciplined contact management, they had a significant edge in demonstrating their concern, credibility, and competence. Today’s competitor has even more efficient means at their disposal, the tools available on their smartphones and tables.

When they first emerged, laptop adoption was slow, and the number of users harnessing the power of mobile computing for contact management was even smaller. Those days are long gone. With millions of people carrying a mobile computing device, a smartphone or tablet, there has never been a better time or means to manage your relationships, calendars, and communications on-the-go, all with the goal of winning more business.

Imagine if, in addition to all the other fun ways you use your mobile devices, you now have instant recall with photographic-memory-like detail regarding every contact in your network, and everything you know about them. Sure, your competitors can see that stuff, too. Not much of a competitive advantage there. Instead, you can go above and beyond by capturing, recording, and following up on the information you exchange privately.

In addition to this insider-information, a mobile relationship manager is the best personal assistant…ever! It helps you schedule important meetings and calls, alerts you of impending deadlines, or even reminds you of a little detail that could mean a lot to your contact. Even if you’re lucky enough to have a full-time personal assistant, they probably aren’t on-call 24/7. But your mobile device is!

Whether you work for yourself, a small company, or even a large one, everyone is his or her own business. Your “employment” is dependent on results, most of which don’t occur without a strong network of real relationships. Further, whether you like it or not, everyone is in sales. That’s right, whether you’re an accountant, attorney, or architect, what you are is a salesperson. Why? Because even if you’re not selling a product or service, you’re selling your ideas or your methodology, even if it’s just to your supervisor. The bottom line is that we all deal with people and are therefore relationship-centric to some degree. Managing those relationships more effectively than your competitors, even those in your own organization, gives you a competitive advantage.

Don’t forget that every person with whom you have a relationship also represents countless others, the people in their networks, with whom you could potentially reach, as well. Demonstrating concern, credibility, and competence could determine whether or not you obtain access to them. Who would risk their own reputation by recommending someone whom they don’t know or who hasn’t earned their recommendation? For that reason alone, using your mobile device to build and strengthen relationships gives you a competitive edge in growing your business, by turning existing customers into repeat and perhaps even into referring customers.

The playing field is more level than ever before, because we all have similar access to existing tools. The advantage now goes to the competitor who adopts and implements those tools in the most effective manner. When you use your mobile device to manage your contacts, calendars, and communication, you’ll have the “right stuff” when it comes to the quantity, and more importantly quality, of your relationships.

Mike Muhney is a recognized expert in the field of relationship management. He is the co- founder and co-inventor of ACT!, the software product that created the entire Contact Management software category and is acknowledged as the catalyst that started the entire CRM (Customer Relationship Management) industry. Today, he is the CEO and co-founder of VIPorbit Software, creator of the Mobile Relationship Management category for users of smartphones and tablets, beginning with the iPhone and iPad. VIPorbit provides full-featured, affordable solutions to today’s mobile device user. VIPorbit can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store or www.viporbit.com.