The Business End

I have talked to a number of individuals who have been thinking about starting a new business over the past year. Starting a new business in a great economy is still scary much less if companies are failing all around you. I personally have found that the old saying is true: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

There are a number of market fundamentals that are showing signs of recovery. In the past I have been overly optimistic and just because you want things to improve does not mean they always will. I am looking at a number of factors that lead me to believe we are on the road to recovery.

What’s changed??

As much as many of you would like me to say it was/is the Obama Administration, I think that had a role to play but all credit can not simply go there. Take into consideration that our previous bustling economy  had plenty of money.  Most individuals have very little financial education and as a result they overspent. Combine that with the fraudulent practices of those in some of our biggest companies. It was a recipe for disaster.

It had to get worse before it got better. As such, we saw some of the most stable (or what we thought were stable) banks in America crumble right before our eyes. No doubt this is what our grandparents saw in the dawn of the great depression. Thankfully we had people who had studied the Great Depression in great detail and planned accordingly. As it turns out we all own 34% of the world’s largest bank.

Now don’t read this yet thinking we are out of the woods. Think of it as we were falling at terminal velocity and now we are just happy that we found our parachute. Meaning, we are still falling as the new unemployment report today shows. We are just not falling as fast. Last week we were told that GDP was at -1 from -6. Folks, thats STILL BAD. I feel that it’s just been such a crappy market that we feel any glimmer of positive news is good.

Take all of this gibberish I just pooped out on this blog and throw it on the wall to see if it sticks. I think now is the time to be bullish on the market. When I say market, I mean all you MAIN Street guys not you WALL Street guys. (I’ll save the wall street talk to a later post.)

If you are a Main Streeter then I suggest you get your butt moving and make it happen. Get your business up and as consumer confidence creeps back up you will see slow and steady growth. If you are growing even at at rate of 1% that’s still growth! Chances are if it’s a slow growth then you have less volatility.

Most of you will want to start businesses out of some sort of emotional passion that you have had. Maybe you have always wanted to start a Bar or a Wine shop or a Restaurant. Before you do, analyze what the rate of return is on that business and how consumer confidence will affect your model. Also look at your business competition and get an idea from them if this is something that is cyclical. How will you survive on the valleys? Do you have enough liquidity to push thru to the other side?  Sadly, most don’t because they made their decision on an idea that it would be “COOL” to have this business. Just make sure that it’s a true need and you are doing something clearly different than everyone else.

If you figure out all these details then I am sure that you are on the right track. I think history will soon repeat itself because we have not solved the core of the financial crisis. FEW PEOPLE HAVE FINANCIAL EDUCATION! If that is you then I suggest you do something, even if it’s just reading a book. Einstein said: “compound interest is the greatest invention of the 20th century.”

Perhaps its still will work in the 21st century? If you were going to get something moving, I would start now. Just my $0.02. So as it happens again remember as people get more money in their pocket books, they will no doubt spend at a faster rate. Hopefully this latest cash crunch has taught us all a lesson both on the public main street sector and even with the big boys in wall street.

ORIGINAL POST: www.mckane.com/blog

I suppose in any realm, if you want something to be done you need to find a way to convince those around you that your issue needs the most attention. I sometimes think that we get caught up in this idea of running a business or making just enough money on the side that we do little research to see how our proposed client base will purchase.

I have been guilty of this many times. I remember a time where I would simply start an idea because I thought it was cool and my gut would say it sounded like a business idea. The only problem was I had an untrained gut! I trusted the wrong source.

I found one of the best ways to determine if your business is going to survive is to find a call to action. The way I did it was ask questions. For instance, I have been working on a new idea called TERRAMARKER.com. You can visit the site, get a login and request a custom aerial image anywhere in the DFW metro-plex. Now this idea is cool and maybe even nifty. This time however, I decided to ask around to see what people wanted. The results I received were very helpful.

In the aerial photography business, a good number of your clients are going to be brokers. Which also means (sorry no offense) that they are cheap, and even after your cheapest price they will still try to get you even lower. There are always exceptions but as a whole this is true because a broker only gets so much for the transaction of a property and they might not close meaning they might not make their money back.

So I took to heart this idea and I decided to come up with an idea that would make their life easier. I listened to them complain about other photographers and I also listened to them talk about the things they wish they could have. Thus TERRAMARKER.com was born. Of course it’s not fool-proof right off the bat but what new idea is?

Now that I understand this call to action I can build this business with brokers in mind. They can get a free account, access an aerial map and select the building in which they would like to film. This of course is done at a fraction of the cost most photographers charge and brokers can schedule something without the need to get on the phone and call us. It’s all automated.

So do your research and come up with a good way to determine that call to action. I promise that once you find a way to answer questions that your clients are asking, you will find running a business is that much easier. Also, try not to make it to complex. Remember that you have had probably months or even years to contemplate your idea and most buyers will listen to you for about 15 seconds and they glaze over. Give them the simple explanation and the call to action why you are in business then see what happens from there. I think you will notice that you will bring in more clients this way.

Original Post: www.mckane.com/blog

Monday morning, I wanted to get out of my usual place so that I could start up my week in peace. You see, typically I like to reserve Monday mornings for my time. What that means is that I need to plan who I am going to see and what needs to be completed by Friday. So instead of staying put, I decided to put myself in another environment for a change: A Coffee Shop, Murray Street Coffee Shop to be exact.

I have often wondered about these coffee bean entrepreneurs who are the same ones you would find sitting hours at a starbucks. I’m pretty sure they are here for the same reason. I think deep down the human element needs some form of social stimulation even if we don’t talk to each other. Just knowing that people are around is sufficient. I like to change things up sometimes because while I wait for my office to be built out, working from home has its disadvantages. So it begs the question: “Why have a real office if you can just go to a Coffee Shop?”

I have talked to these coffee bean entrepreneurs and most of them are starting out and some are just working independently with a group of others just like them. One guy I talked to is working on a series of iPhone applications and he does it all from his coffee shop. It’s pretty interesting to see these guys in action. Its almost like a matrix of workers that are connected only by email and instant messenger. With this concept comes several inefficiencies. For one, there is no structure like there is in an office. I tend to like a open office much better than a closed office. My old business partner said that he liked open offices because he wants to be able to yell at people. If you knew him you would know why he said that. All joking aside, he has a great point. When you need something you need to tell someone and sometimes technology can be a huge stumbling block. This of course can be a pro and a con. It’s also important that I bring out that you can retro-fit this idea into a coffee shop. You just are not guaranteed a spot if the place is busy.

Ok so back to these guys who sit at these coffee shops. Are you one of them? I wonder how many of you if given the chance would jump at an office if you spent the same amount of money as the $5 coffee twice per day. Basically $200 per month gets you a desk where you get all the same resources: Wifi, Coffee, Satellite TV, and Maybe even an XBOX here and there.

I’m exploring possibilities with others who share the same vision in helping these coffee bean entrepreneurs see the value in having a conference room, a mailbox and a place to call home. The question I have is: “Is there any value to this?” Some would argue that coming to the coffee shop has less to do with business but more about social interaction. OR just a place to look like you are working as you search for work elsewhere. There have been a number of articles written about these types. Of course these would not be good candidates for such a real-estate venture. Then there are places like West Village Starbucks in Dallas Tx. Personally I think its more of a fashion show than anything else. I guess there is a certain appeal to that as well. Just wondering what the motivation is for these coffee bean entrepreneurs. I would love to hear some candid comments as to what you would prefer.

FOR THOSE IN DALLAS LOOKING FOR A YOUNG PROFESSIONALS HAPPY HOUR
I am hosting my monthly event July 7th 2009 at 5:30pm.

Tower Club Dallas
1601 Elm Street Suite 4800

This is a private club so you will need to rsvp for access…
RSVP: 214-432-4405