Want to create a business that stands apart from the me-too competition? Or do you want to create something that’s so fun, so good and so profitable that you can’t help but crush it? I’m guessing it’s the latter. In … Read more
Two of my favorite business books are Jim Collins’ Good to Great and Built to Last. They’ve helped me roadmap prior businesses, and I routinely check back to my dog eared pages with notes (so many notes) to refocus my efforts with Bikerumor. One of … Read more
With Bikerumor (my cycling blog), we get a flood of new product releases every day and needed a quick, simple way to share them with all of our staff and freelance writers. After looking at various project management systems, all … Read more
When starting a company, there are soooo many questions that are far more complicated to answer than “Should I become an LLC, an S-Corp or a C-Corp?” But choosing the correct corporate structure for your company has long-lasting implications, so it’s best … Read more
I had no idea what I was doing when I launched BURN Energy Drink in 2002. Sure, I knew how to create a brand, develop a product and bring it to market. But I didn’t know anything about the ready-to-drink … Read more
My last two posts gave you questions to guide you through development of your product or service, whether your customer knows what they want or not. Whatever you’re going to sell, the goal is to solve a problem or fulfill a customer’s … Read more
Last post, I gave you 10 questions to help define your customer so you can refine and perfect your product to meet their needs and ease their pain points. This assumes your customer knows what their needs are. That they … Read more
This follows on the concept my prior post about ensuring your product solves a problem and amazes your customer. Now, it’s time to define your ideal customer so you can fine tune your product so it blows their mind. First question: Are … Read more
So far, you’ve figured out why you want to start a business, what type of business to start, and the need to make your product both better and different than what’s already out there. Simultaneously, you need to figure out … Read more
Answer: Yes. Except sometimes better doesn’t matter as much as different. Let me tell you a story. In 2002, I launched an energy drink called BURN. At the time, there was only Red Bull, Hansen’s, SoBe Adrenalin Rush and Coke’s KMX in … Read more