Networking with Sir Richard Branson

If you've been working on the business start up idea of the century, you could win a day with Sir Richard Branson on his Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. Or you could pay your own way with a cool $40K.  

Either way, you'll be rubbing elbows, knees and toes with a cross section of the world's top business visionaries in internet marketing, manufacturing, investments and trading, fitness and wellness products, software and consulting. And, let's not forget the opportunity to brainstorm with rebel billionaire Sir Richard Branson about your winning business idea.

All business? Of course not. It's a private island for heaven's sake. Plan on a little adventure, camaraderie and fundraising in between. MBA founder Yanik Silver says the event is not on corporate team building or motivational development. It's an all-inclusive adventure outing that encourages high-level networking and powerful connections that "can only occur outside normal business settings."

The competition is the work of Maverick Business Adventures and Joe Polish's Centurion MasterMind Group. Joe Polish is the founder of Piranha Marketing and creator of the Genius Network Interview series. The trip is just one of the 50 prizes being awarded for the most promising start-up businesses with high-growth potential in the competition they call, Startup Open.

The competition coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010 (GEW) Nov. 15-21 staged internationally by universities, colleges and entrepreneurship-focused organizations who are looking at ways of conducting business that can improve lives, build economies and expand human welfare.

The inaugural event of GEW was held in 2008. Last year, more than 7.5 million people took part in some 32,000 events across 88 countries. This year 10 million people in 102 countries are expected to participate.

 

Better hurry. Registration for Startup Open closes Oct. 31. http://www.startupopen.com/ for complete details.

Leadership in Northwest Arkansas

Bill Rancic in NWA at Biz Expo

This month we look at leadership in small business. We were inspired by Bill Rancic at the NWA Business Expo and Conference in August and saw how creativity, perseverance and leadership can take you far. As you may recall, Rancic was the first winner of Donald Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice.”  Admittedly, his experience with Trump has opened doors, but Rancic’s penchant for business started early in life.

Like many entrepreneurs, Rancic hopes to share his experience and business mindset with the leaders of tomorrow. His book, “Beyond the Lemonade Stand” is one effort to coach youth about how to succeed in business – especially by being smart, fair, and helping those who need it.

Here in Northwest Arkansas, Champions for Kids endeavors to do the same. Be sure to read about their upcoming Leadership Conference and what CFK’s CEO learned at Harvard that applies right here at home.

What makes a good leader? Biz2Biz NWA’s September issue is full of ideas, comments and suggestions from your peers and colleagues in Northwest Arkansas.  We can all benefit from the aggregate of  this knowledge and experience as we lead our businesses and our community to greatness.

B2B Bingo by Janie Clark: Back to School Basics

B2B Bingo by Janie Clark: Back to School Basics: "Freshmen and their parents fill the BHS gym. I went back to High School this week. And let me admit to you here and now, it's been 40 year..."

Back to School Basics

Freshmen and their parents fill the BHS gym

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I went back to High School this week. And let me admit to you here and now, it's been 40 years since I was a freshman. Things have changed. And then again, they haven't.

Bentonville High School, home of the kick-butt Tigers, has 3500-plus students to its name. This year there are 1100 freshman converging in from two junior highs. It's a Blue Ribbon school with a good reputation and good grades, and it was easy to see why. Administrators were organized, efficient, armed and ready. Mandatory orientation was held for freshmen only on this particular day, and students were encouraged to bring their parents. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

So here we are, the over 40 and the under 20 all bumping into each other in the hallway as we hunted down our classrooms. Teachers introduced themselves, shared their backgrounds and a smattering of family life, served students and their parents the course expectations and, of course, the caveats of day.

What's changed in 40 years? Everybody chews gum. Everybody has a cell phone or iPod (which can't be on). Lunch includes fresh fruit and other items one can actually recognize as food.

What hasn't changed? Lockers are impossible to open. Textbooks are heavy. Teenagers are self absorbed and unfocused. Algebra is still a foreign language.

The biggest change, of course, was my attitude. If only I had known back then, what I know now.

Putting the Marketing Cart Before the Quality Horse

With so much focus on marketing, could businesses be putting their hype before the horse?

I read an interesting story by Jack Neff in Advertising Age magazine, who talked about big corporate botch ups. The "Big Three Transgressors Against Public Trust " -- BP, Toyota and Johnson & Johnson -- aren't the only ones who have had problems this year.

Kellogg recalled 28 million boxes of cereal; P&G has recalled 8 different branded items since November; Unilever recalled Breyers, Country Crock and Slim-Fast; and McDonald's took back its Shrek glasses.

All that investment in marketing to build brand and brand loyalty goes the way of the garbage truck when companies put their marketing message monies ahead of quality control. Cutting costs can destroy brand equity.

Since Northwest Arkansas is tied to the Walmart ship, this is news relevant to all of us. I can imagine what madness our colleagues at Walmart face when recalls of this caliber occur.

But, since I'm a small business champion, it strikes me that the message for our ears is about quality on a much more subtle level. Instead of recalling products, we're faced with recalling customers and clients. We all know the numbers -- acquiring new customers takes five to ten times more effort than keeping the ones you have. Are we following the math?

What do you do to make sure the quality control in your business is up to par? What is it that your business does to build brand equity in your neighborhood marketplace?

Top notch customer centric service?  Well trained, happy employees? Clean, up to date environments?

There's a lot to think about. As you look to grow your business and market share -- even if it is a small business -- it's worth putting your dollars on that horse called "Quality" to win.

Taking advice from Keith Hicks

As a solopreneur I'm always busy. I never finish all the job tasks on my plate for the day. Okay, I admit it, I rarely finish them all, ever. Something always gets shoved to the back burner to simmer until it evaporates or boils over.  There's some comfort that I am not alone in this.

Finding more time in my work week was a topic that caught my eye when the article came across my editor desk for the August issue of Biz2Biz NWA Digest.  The author was Keith Hicks, a local business coach, who writes an article each month on various business development topics.

This month's really hit home with me. Time. Finding more time. I don't want to spend more time. I don't want to hurry through my tasks. I don't want to skip or short circuit the time it takes to do a job right. So what is this concept of finding more time?

You'll have to read the article to get out of it what you will, but the tidbit that set my brain stirring was this concept of delegating.

I've always thought I was pretty good at delegating when I have someone to delegate to. I don't micro-manage, or restrict how someone comes to the desired end result. But when I read Keith's article I had one helluva ah ha! moment.

"Recognize everyone is not you," Keith Hicks wrote. "Don't get caught up in the 'only I can do this right' trap. If an employee can do it 80 percent as well as you, let that be sufficient. Let them do the work you hired them to do."

It dawned on me then that this is how companies of one become small businesses that grow into larger businesses. It dawned on me that this is the difference between being a person who works for herself and a business owner leading a product (or service) up the ladder of  success and profitability.

You may be laughing at me this very moment. Well, duh, you say. But if we're all taking a spoon of truth syrup, the reason we go into business for ourselves is so we can control our environment. So we can do it the way we want to. Because we believe only "I" can do it right.

And that's the trap. It takes a village.

Thanks, Keith.

You look good in a hat

I ran across a blog site today where the gentleman was celebrating his new business. He was so excited about branching out on his own; full of vigor and vision. He had gathered all the periphery associated with starting out on his own. He posted a clever little series of pictures of his new office (a corner with a crummy old desk), his new commute (from kitchen to living room), his new coffee maker (the Starbucks around the corner) and new dress code (which didn't include pajamas).

I felt his enthusiasm. I felt his glee. I felt like hiding the key to the closet that houses all the hats he will now need to wear. 

As a solopreneur, he will soon enough encounter the myriad of roles he will have to play to make his business succeed.  Like an actor on stage who must perform all the roles, including directing the stage and the orchestra, he will do well in some and suffer through others.  It is a quick costume change, from one hat to another, but it requires full compliance, none the less.

CEO, CFO, COO, CSO, HR, Marketing Director, Sales Director, Chief Engineer, Lawyer, Accountant, Bookeepper, IT, Clerk, Receptionist, Event Planner, Networker, Proofreader, Customer Service Rep, Buyer, PR Pro, Education and Training Coordinator, and Janitor ... all in one seamless segue!

"A hat is a flag, a shield, a bit of armor, and the badge of femininity. A hat is the difference between wearing clothes and wearing a costume; it's the difference between being dressed and being dressed up; it's the difference between looking adequate and looking your best. A hat is to be stylish in, to glow under, to flirt beneath, to make all others seem jealous over, and to make all men feel masculine about. A piece of magic is a hat." Martha Sliter