Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network: Pay It Forward

Take 2 minutes and watch this video:

Stay tuned to learn how I am going to do my part to help women entrepreneurs by paying it forward so they can pay it forward.  I find Dell’s call to action compelling and I will be part of this movement.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting  http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network Istanbul 2013 Video Highlights

I’m just back from the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network’s annual global conference held June 2-4, 2013, in Istanbul, Turkey. This video captures reactions from many participants:

I’ll be writing much more about this event.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

Dave Gardner To Keynote Endeavor Istanbul

I am very excited to announce that I’ve been invited to keynote Endeavor Istanbul on June 6th, 2013.  This event is about entrepreneurship.  I’ll be speaking about Designing Your Future.

If you are attending, I look forward to meeting you in person. If you aren’t attending, you are going to miss an incredible event!

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

It’s About The Customer

Note: This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive!

This week’s focus: entreprenership

When President Bill Clinton was elected to his first term in the White House, his key political strategist, James Carville, brought laser-like focus to the campaign by coining the phrase, “it’s the economy, stupid.” This mantra ensured campaign staff focus for the duration of the campaign.

When I coach entrepreneurs, I encourage them to adopt the mantra “it’s about the customer.” An entrepreneur should be asking how they can:

• address a need in someone’s life differently and better than others before them?
• create engagement such that customers become addicted to their offerings?
• get customers telling other customers about their experience with your product or service?
• have customers sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for “what’s next?”

For Apple and the late Steve Jobs, it was all about the customer. Consider the iPhone. People in major metropolitan areas put up with AT&T’s dreadful cell phone coverage for years just to have an iPhone. Today, 50% of robberies in New York are iPhones stolen from people as they walk down the streets.

It’s not just about your product or service. If you focus on your customer and what they will crave, you will thrive. Conversely, if you aren’t providing a customer experience across all customer touch points, that will undermine your business and create opportunities for competition to steal market share and your customers.

If you want to thrive, make your mantra “it’s about the customer” and then do what’s essential to create an incredible customer experience through everything you do.

Photo Credit: Flickr by Stitch: Istanbul Grand Bazaar

Thought for the week:

“No idea works, until you do.” – Robin Sharma

 

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What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2013 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

How To Stand Out In The Crowd At Launch Festival

Note: This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive!

This week’s focus: how to stand out in the crowd

The Launch Festival 2013 concluded in San Francisco this past week. Approximately 50 companies stayed in stealth mode waiting to reveal to the world what they were all about in front of angel investors, venture capitalists, fellow entrepreneurs and the media. Each company had a problem of how to stand out in a big crowd and attract the attention of potential investors.

While some may have thought it’s all about “them,” like it or not, they were being compared to identify which value propositions, teams and ideas had the best chance of disrupting a current marketplace and create huge upside for the founders and investors. For example, which among the 50 is the next Yammer which launched at the Launch Festival 5 years ago and sold to Microsoft for $1.2 billion last year?

How could companies have prepared better and attracted more investment money? In no particular order:

• Too much focus on the technology; not enough focus on ”who wants to buy and why.”
• If you are tackling a complex problem and your solution to that problem appears complex, you aren’t ready to bring your offering to the world.
• Entrepreneurs reliant on external data sources need to understand risks of sharing out of date data. Customers will abandon your solution if they show up for a cancelled meetings or events.
• Not enough attention on what potential investors care about, e.g., business model, monetization strategy, current revenues (if any), margins (current or anticipated), and, the team. Exasperated judges had to ask.
• Unprepared for judges pushback (objections)–need to anticipate potential questions and objections and have cogent responses, preferably preemptively. If you are caught flat-footed, it undermines you and your solution.
• Assume the judges don’t know more about your market potential than you do. You live it; they don’t. Judges were incorrect about several market assumptions and got away with it as the entrepreneurs let them.
• Stand up for your convictions when you know facts are on your side. Be humble when the converse is true.
• Most offered very little insight as to “why” their solution was going to be a game-changer and be widely adopted.
• When will tech companies learn that the “best” companies don’t win–it’s the companies that market, sell most effectively and get serious traction via end-user adoption that win.
• Most firms clearly needed assistance with marketing and with connecting their solution to paying customers–the “if we build it, they will come” school has been disproven time and again.
• If it’s likely the judges have little expertise in your industry or with your solution, you had better educate them in 30 seconds or less or they will make you feel like you don’t understand your market and total addressable market.

There were a lot of interesting companies at Launch 2013. Sadly, many more of them have the potential to thrive than probably will.

Thought for the week:

“Anybody can have a great idea. Few people can execute. Focus on that!” - Dave McClure, 500 StartUps

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What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

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Recent Blog Posts That May Interest You

• Fast Company: Got A Great Idea for An App?  Have Someone Else Bring It To Market
• Marrisa Mayer Earns $1.1M Bonus

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

What makes your product best?

Note: This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive!

This week’s focus: innovation

I attended a media/analyst event and heard a company claiming to be “the best” in their product category. That sounds like the hoopla you’d expect at this type of event. But, such a claim without substantiation is weak.

It’s not enough to merely proclaim you are the best. It’s far more important to back that up with how you’ve been able to achieve best-in-class capability. What makes your solution unique? Is there a “secret sauce?”

In this specific instance, it would have been easy to believe that “best in class” was derived from a hardware product simply being combined with Microsoft Windows 8. Yet, when I probed further, the uniqueness was derived from 3 or 4 other companies providing deep intellectual property and capability that would be very challenging for a less capable competitor to duplicate. That’s what I was looking for.

If you are the best, don’t just tell me. Explain to me what it is about your solution that makes it best. Doing this will help your company thrive.

Thought for the week:

“A ‘stuck’ business, whether entrepreneurial in nature or a Fortune 500 company, is one that fails to grow predictably every year, every quarter, every day. If you’re being carried along by the marketplace, then the moment the marketplace dries up, your business is going to dry up, too, because you’re not in control of your destiny. In good times, stuck businesses don’t even realize they’re stuck!” – Jay Abraham, Sticking Point Solution

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What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Slow speed and poor execution are killers

Note: This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive!

This week’s focus: business execution

It is said “speed kills.” In business, lack of speed combined with poor execution is a killer.

When a company is terribly late getting to the marketplace, it better be much more than a “me, too” product.

Example: Has any tablet manufacturer even come close to approaching the demand or appeal of Apple’s iPad? No. Yet, it’s out in plain sight for all to behold and reimagine. Yet, nearly 3 years after its launch, it is by far, the preferred tablet in the marketplace.

When HP came out with its WebOS tablet, not only was it late to market, it was a brick with poor performance and lacked the ecosystem iPad owners enjoy. HP killed the product 30 days after launch further tarnishing its brand. Lack of speed combined with poor business execution makes this a case study for years to come in business schools.

I’ve often said no product is better than a bad product. If a product isn’t ready for the marketplace or won’t captivate your customers, why bother? It won’t help you or your company thrive.

Thought for the week:

“We’re drowning in information and starving for knowledge.” -Rutherford D. Rogers

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What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Clipped–a new app available from 15-year old entrepreneur Tanay Tandon

Last month, I learned about a 15-year old entrepreneur who has not only developed an application but gotten it approved by Apple for inclusion in the AppStore and is available in the Android PlayStore as well.  The company is Clipped and it is run by Tanay Tandon, a high school sophomore who resides here in Silicon Valley.

To learn more about the application, please see his press release:

ClippedPressRelease

In the world of entrepreneurship, it is fantastic to see anyone demonstrate the ability to get a complex project like this to the finish line. He has a patent pending for the algorithm he developed that summarizes articles into bullet point summaries. He wrote a first rate press release announcing what he is doing.

I am very, very impressed.

Congratulations, Tanay!  I look forward to hearing more about what you do in the coming years.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

2 Challenges Innovators Face

Note: This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” that helps you and your company thrive!

This week’s focus: innovation

I had the pleasure of meeting Craig Calfee at Calfee Design, a bicycle designer and manufacturer in Northern California. His first innovation was a carbon fiber frame bike; Greg Lemond rode Calfee’s carbon fiber bike to victory in the 1991 Tour de France.

Another innovation Craig has brought to the marketplace is the bamboo frame bicycle. Craig told me entrepreneurs face two key questions from prospective buyers when bringing true innovation to market:

• Will it work?
• Will people laugh at me if I buy it?

It works. I can’t imagine people laughing when they see how it’s been implemented and understand the fundamentals around bamboo strength and structural integrity. Finally, the bamboo bike frame is gorgeous.

This innovation has allowed Craig to create jobs in Africa utilizing highly-renewable, green bamboo materials. And, he is selling bamboo bikes and bamboo bike frame kits here. This innovation is helping a lot of people thrive who needed an opportunity.

Note: If you are in Northern California, you can learn more about these bikes during an Association for Corporate Growth Silicon Valley dinner meeting on February 21, 2013 in Sunnyvale called “Transportation of the Future–Flying Cars and More.” Full disclosure: I’m moderating the panel discussion.

Thought for the week:

“You can have anything you want if you are willing to give up the belief that you can’t have it.”  – Robert Anthony

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What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

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Recent Blog Posts I’ve Written That May Interest You:

West Coast Business Travel On Amtrak

Bill Clinton Keynotes Dell World 2012–Ideas Worth Pondering

FAA Review of 787 Is An Illusion

Allegiant Air Needs to Improve Customer Experience

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

New Dell Center for Entrepreneurs

Pretty exciting news for entrepreneurs announced at Dell World 2012 yesterday:

New Dell Center for Entrepreneurs created by and for entrepreneurs

By Ingrid Vanderveldt

Today, I’m proud to announce the launch of the Dell Center for Entrepreneurs, a community designed by and for entrepreneurs to be a one stop shop for resources founders need to start and run and grow a business. Backed by the power of Dell’s online presence the site was created to serve as a gateway to the knowledge, solutions and opportunities to make this possible.

In my role as Dell’s Entrepreneur in Residence, I’ve been traveling across the United States and abroad to speak with entrepreneurs and business owners at all stages of growth to learn more about the challenges they are up against and furthermore how Dell can help. Dell Center for Entrepreneurs is the result!

The site provides information for change makers at all stages – the student with an idea; the owner of a specialty bakery; the engineer branching off on their own; the CEO of a 3,000 person firm – and will include:

• ·         Resources: Assistance in identifying capital through Dell Financial Services and the Dell Innovators Credit Fund which helps businesses of all sizes access the credit and leasing they need to invest in technology to fuel growth. Content is driven by best practices and creative thinking and includes webcasts, videos and case studies from Dell and industry experts.

• ·         Expertise: Building on what Dell has learned through its entrepreneurial journey, the Dell Social Innovation Challenge, Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network, and Dell Founders’ Club are cultivating a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, who connect with one another for new sources of financial and human capital, knowledge and markets. These networks can now be accessed through the Dell Center for Entrepreneurs site. 

• ·         Solutions:  Behind most great company growth stories are pioneering uses of technology. The Dell Center for Entrepreneurs will feature their stories and content will show how businesses of all sizes and at all stages are addressing top IT trends including: cloud, virtualization, BYOD, and how to leverage data to drive business.

Entrepreneurs, start-ups and small business owners are the key to a successful, sustainable economic future through creating new jobs, revenue, innovation and productivity around the world. Dell understands the importance of fostering an environment where entrepreneurial spirit can thrive and we invite you to take the time to explore the Dell Center for Entrepreneurs on your own, but first, check out Michael Dell’s thoughts on what this new community means for entrepreneurs and innovators everywhere.

Feedback, suggestions and questions are welcome.

Full Disclosure:  I am on Dell’s Customer Advisory Panel, Dell is a client, and Dell paid my travel to attend Dell World 2012.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

 

Is Your Business Suffering Growing Pains?

A Canadian colleague, Rich Martin, used the expression “growing pains” during a conversation we had recently. I had not heard that expression in a number of years. In the business world, “growing pains” usually describes inefficiencies that creep into a business over time until such a point when the cumulative effects are quite debilitating.

For example, let’s look at the Boeing commercial aircraft division back in the 1990′s. Boeing’s processes hit the wall when annual unit volume hit 600 commercial aircraft. During a 90-day period, Boeing had to stop production and carefully audit the completion status of each plane as it was no longer clear what manufacturing processes had been completed and which remained. It was a huge embarrassment for the company, caused late delivery of aircraft and a revenue disruption which impacted Boeing stock price. This set-back came just as Airbus was beginning to take market share from Boeing. It was a very costly and humbling stumble for Boeing.

Growing pains are almost expected to occur at different revenue plateaus in a business’s evolution. High-tech companies have traditionally considered those plateaus being a “natural occurrence” at the $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $200 and $500 million dollar revenue levels and again at the $1 billion dollar revenue level. Companies that enjoyed levels of success relatively rapidly never operationally planned for their success making “hitting the wall” all the more predictable and harsh when it occurs. Consider the Boeing example above.

During the past 4 years, many businesses have downsized and, due to revenue declines and limited budgets, needed action to optimize their systems and processes around new, lower revenue levels and lower staffing levels has been deferred. These companies are doing more with fewer resources with great pain, pretty much driving those who remain at the company nuts. The employees are chronically overtaxed, highly stressed and waiting to flee the company in search of a new opportunity just as soon as they can.

A lot of smaller businesses, however, never took the time to figure out what they needed from a process standpoint to efficiently run today’s business as well as tomorrow’s business. The owner took the lead and created jobs for himself/herself and others but left a business largely dependent on him or her. This imposes severe limitations if there is an opportunity to rapidly expand the business. When it comes to time to sell those businesses, there’s not much in place that is attractive to a potential buyer in terms of residual value and business upside undermining years of hard work and goodwill built over the years.

A business is more than what it does. For a business to be “in business,” it must have systems and processes that eliminate people dependencies and allow new people to join the organization and make a positive impact in short order. This allows for greater agility and speed. It allows for growth or contraction. And, it’s what makes a business far more valuable should the owner decide to retire or sell.

Does a business have to be brought to its knees from a business execution standpoint before action can be taken? Absolutely not. My best clients proactively engage with me to look at these issues.

Dave Gardner Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Dave Gardner

Five Guys An Entrepreneurial Success Story

A year or so ago, a Five Guys hamburger and fries restaurant opened nearby.  Being an aficionado of great burgers and fries, I had to try it. I really like Five Guys: the food and the staff.

Like a custom manufacturing line, customers get to watch them hand craft each burger before your very eyes made to order.

One of the things I love is they tell me where the potatoes come from for the fries they are making that day.

I’ve driven from California to Montana via Idaho many times and seen huge potato trucks hauling freshly-harvested potatoes down the highway.

Don’t you love it when you have a sense of connection to your food comes from?

Just today, I discovered a video reviewing Five Guys success.  I can’t embed it as I’d like to, but, I can provide a link.  Take a look at the video here.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

What would Steve Jobs have done?

Note: This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” which is offered to help companies thrive!

This week’s focus: entrepreneurship

Simple. Elegant. Pragmatic. That’s what I want from technology.

Technology must simplify a problem or opportunity and bring demonstrable value. Technology must not create complexity or a burden.

As an executive or entrepreneur, are you unsure about how to start to create technology?

Ask yourself, “What would Steve Jobs have done?” And, then, set out to do just that. That starting point will help you and your company thrive.

Thought for the week:

“To be angry is to suffer. To be sad is to suffer. To demand life be other than it is, that too is to suffer. All suffering comes from craving and clinging to the things we can’t control.” - Peter Ragnar

What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

$100M Dell Innovators Credit Fund Ignites Startup Growth and Innovation

Exciting news from Dell today!

· New initiative targets startup debt capital needs, connects firms with scalable technology solutions, markets and networks for growth

NEW YORK, June 7, 2012—Dell today announced the Dell Innovators Credit Fund, a first-of-its-kind Dell financing initiative that provides entrepreneurs up to $100M in the financial and scalable technology resources they need to maximize potential for innovation, speed to market and job creation.

A new Technology CEO Council (TCC) paper reports the highest-growth startups generate an outsized share of new jobs in the United States: 40 percent of new jobs come from the top-performing 1 percent of companies in any given year. Additionally, Web-knowledgeable small- and midsize-firms in a range of industries outpace their less Internet-savvy counterparts in job creation by more than two to one, according to a McKinsey Global Institute study cited in the TCC report.

The Dell Innovators Credit Fund aims to get end-to-end, scalable technology solutions in the hands of growing businesses during that crucial early time in market. Through Dell Financial Services, qualified angel and venture-backed companies can access up to 10 percent of their funded amount, or up to $150,000, with accelerated, limited credit terms. For those in needs of higher credit, additional financing is available on a fast track basis with a few extra steps.[i]

“Behind most great company growth stories are pioneering uses of technology. In talking with business owners and listening to their needs, they tell us what they need most is access to capital and technology that enables them to grow,” said Steve Felice, Dell president and chief commercial officer. “Dell’s new Credit Fund provides credit and access to technology to help fuel global growth and innovation while helping startups preserve precious equity capital for other business needs.”

Dell Financing Fuels Startup Growth

The Dell Innovators Credit Fund was created by Dell’s first Entrepreneur in Residence, Ingrid Vanderveldt, with the support and guidance of Dell executives and team members as well as the esteemed 13-member Dell EIR Advisory Board consisting of today’s leading entrepreneurs, visionaries and innovators.

“Using the Dell Innovators credit to create our web-enabled and all-electric super scooters is really a win-win-win for our company, our investors and for Dell,” said Lauren Flanagan, executive chairman and angel investor of Ann Arbor-based Current Motor. “In exchange for a low monthly payment, we get one point of contact and a really comprehensive, scalable technology solution that allowed us to get to market six months ahead of schedule, while conserving our equity capital for sales, marketing, research and development.”

Dell Innovators Credit Fund customers also receive benefits including a dedicated Dell sales team and ProSupport Services for a single point of accountability with access to highly trained experts and 24/7 total support on their top technology needs.

“To build scalable, high-return startups, entrepreneurs need access to early stage capital and great resources,” says Marianne Hudson, Executive Director of the Angel Capital Association (ACA). “Through the launch of the Dell Innovators Credit Fund, Dell is helping promising entrepreneurs obtain the technology solutions they need to grow and get to market faster, while stretching the capital they receive from angels and venture investors.”

Dell’s Commitment To Entrepreneurs and Startups

Today’s announcement is the latest among Dell’s innovative initiatives – like the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network and recently announced 9-city Small Business tour -  aimed at fostering the growth of small and midsize entrepreneurial firms. 

 Also launching today is the expanded Dell Entrepreneur in Residence community that includes specialized advice for entrepreneurs who are self-funded, seeking funding or already funded. The community also has additional information on the Dell Innovators Credit Fund.  Entrepreneurs at all stages of growth are invited to join this community to access videos and case studies featuring successful businesses, advice from Dell and industry experts, and details on Dell initiatives and technology offerings.

Dell is committed to meeting the end-to-end needs of its customers—from the cloud to the data center to the desktop and out to the mobile endpoint with scalable IT solutionsthat are easy to use, quick to deploy and help customers of all sizes attain the innovation and efficiency they need to deliver real business value and results faster.

“Companies, like Current Motor and others we have pre-qualified for the Dell Innovators Credit Fund, value Dell’s design-to-scale’ approach and entrepreneurial mindset that guides the creation of technology solutions that are agile, affordable and can grow as they do,” said Ingrid Vanderveldt, Dell’s first Entrepreneur in Residence. “Through its technology solutions, recently created Office of the Entrepreneur in Residence, and game changers like the Dell Innovators Credit Fund, Dell is committed to fueling the growth of entrepreneurs and the jobs they create.”

For more information about Dell Innovators Credit Fund, visit www.dell.com/eir. Applications open Thursday, June 7, 2012.

About Dell

As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is committed to helping small and medium businesses grow and better serve their customers by drawing greater value from technology.

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[i] All extensions of credit are subject to credit review and approval by Dell Financial Services and execution of agreements provided by and acceptable to Dell Financial Services.  Ten percent of funded amount is based on equity raised in preceding 90 days.  Fast track financing decisions for higher credit requests may be reached in as quickly as two to three days of receipt of requisite information.

Note: This is really exciting news.  Full disclosure:  I am a member of Dell’s Customer Advisory Panel.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting, http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

Obsession with news and market indices hurts businesses

Note: This posting is based on my weekly “Thank God It’s Monday” which is offered to help companies thrive!

This week’s focus: leadership

Aristotle Onassis, the late shipping magnate, offers, “We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.”

I’m pretty sure Wall Street and the main stream media do not accept the notion above. Our 24 hour cable news shows and websites do little more than constantly stir the pot of fear, uncertainty and doubt. “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.” Unless it’s not. Stay tuned!

The market indices are little more than a barometer of how we feel about the future. Some days, the mood is up; some days, the mood is down. So what!

Everyone would benefit if they payed less attention to the news and market indices and, instead, maintained a laser-like focus on creating success with their customers, employees and shareholders.

Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. This is the key to thriving.

Thought for the week:

What are the attributes of a successful entrepreneur? See Sir Richard Branson’s list here.

What do you think? I welcome your blog comments!

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Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

© 2012 Gardner & Associates Consulting  All Rights Reserved

Note:  To receive an email version of “Thank God It’s Monday” to start your week, please subscribe here.  I would very much appreciate your suggesting to others that they subscribe.

Privacy Statement:  Our subscriber lists are never rented, sold, or loaned to any other parties for any reason.

Sir Richard Branson: What makes a good entrepreneur

Inside the back cover of my edition of Business Stripped Bare by Sir Richard Branson are hand-written notes identifying Branson’s view of what makes a good entrepreneur.  Here is his list:

• Good imagination/determination
• Willing to take risks
• Courage
• Unique idea
• Right genes helps
• Persistence
• Spot gaps in market and exploit them
• Strong personality
• Stand out in crowds
• Passion for what you are doing
• Strong belief in achieving goal
• Confidence
• Tenacity
• Ability to inspire others
• Good with people
• Marketing skills
• Won’t take no for an answer
• Going where others fear to tread
• Bring prosperity into century
• Originality
• Good at assessing risks
• Protecting the downside
• Vision
• Good aspirations
• Energy
• Plenty of focus
• Appeal to a wide range of people–appeal to their needs
• Good sense of humor
• Good at encouraging people
• Patience
• High aspirations
• Desire
• Quality
• Giving people value for money
• Having fun

This is quite a list. It certainly give entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs something to ponder.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting, http://www.gardnerandassoc.com