Entrepreneurialism & Product Development (3.5)

Editor's Notes

1. Are you passionate about what you’re planning to do?You will face uncounted obstacles, distractions, and daily-living events. If you’re not passionate, they will overtake you, remove the luster, and make it harder to stick with.
2. When everything seems against you, everyone’s telling you how wrong you are, the bank won’t give you money, or you need to reconstruct your dream from scratchDo you have the Guts, the Fortitude, to stick with it?If someone’s not paying you (e.g. AR), do you have to guts to take them to court? If a landlord, the fortitude to evict?
3. No matter who the successful entrepreneur is, they are always surrounded by their team.Donald TrumpRobert KiyosakiYou need a CPA, Insurance Agent, AttorneyYour team will give you strength, support, you never knew you had. They will comfort you when the world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket.
4. The Top reason many businesses fail – Cash Flow.Do you have a source of cash (lot of savings, another job, a wealthy uncle…) sufficient to meet your needs?If not, do you know how to obtain the cash?Cash is king. It is the liquid that keeps your venture alive. With out it, you’re dead.
5. Top Reasons Products Fail to Deliver: They Lose Focus, Are Late, & Completely Miss the Mark.
6. Listen, to your marketMarket | Customers, Interchangeable termsWhat are the problems they have. Remember, this is about them…not you! Which problems can you help with?Who else is doing what you might want to do?
7. Listen, to your marketMarket | Customers, Interchangeable termsWhat are the problems they have. Remember, this is about them…not you! Which problems can you help with?Who else is doing what you might want to do?
8. Listen, to your marketMarket | Customers, Interchangeable termsWhat are the problems they have. Remember, this is about them…not you! Which problems can you help with?Who else is doing what you might want to do?
9. Know who your customers are(1) Understand their needs, pain, problems.Case Study:Home DepotVendor invoices were being lost in the mail room. They handled 10s of 1000s of invoices daily. The losses increases Help Desk support activity, lowered vendor/partner satisfaction, increased angst for all.(2) What keeps your customers up at night?A powerful, focusing questionProductivity & Revenue: The sole driversHome Depot’s management lost sleep over meeting contractual requirements, uncontrolled costs, and a sincere desire to simply do better for their vendors.
10. Product Development is the process of simply taking your idea, and
11. Clearly define your offeringWhat must it do?How must it do it?Where is it done?When is it done?Why?Understand what it is notWhat must it not do (if only for now)How shouldn’t it be doneWhy not?How will you get there?What resources are needed? Can you access them?How long will it take (Will the need still exist?)
12. Clearly define your offeringWhat must it do?How must it do it?Where is it done?When is it done?Why?Understand what it is notWhat must it not do (if only for now)How shouldn’t it be doneWhy not?How will you get there?What resources are needed? Can you access them?How long will it take (Will the need still exist?)
13. Clearly define your offeringWhat must it do?How must it do it?Where is it done?When is it done?Why?Understand what it is notWhat must it not do (if only for now)How shouldn’t it be doneWhy not?How will you get there?What resources are needed? Can you access them?How long will it take (Will the need still exist?)
14. You need to get a product to market and sooner is always better than later.The age old argument between early (but buggy) verses delay (with better quality) will always haunt you.Accept that reality, recognize it is a necessary truth, and get moving.Know what you must have in order to startGet something out thereCollect feedbackAdjust as necessary
15. You need to get a product to market and sooner is always better than later.The age old argument between early (but buggy) verses delay (with better quality) will always haunt you.Accept that reality, recognize it is a necessary truth, and get moving.Know what you must have in order to startGet something out thereCollect feedbackAdjust as necessary
16. You need to get a product to market and sooner is always better than later.The age old argument between early (but buggy) verses delay (with better quality) will always haunt you.Accept that reality, recognize it is a necessary truth, and get moving.Know what you must have in order to startGet something out thereCollect feedbackAdjust as necessary
17. Collecting feedback is important. It helps you validate your idea; make sure it will serve the market’s needs. Getting feedback is another reason why ‘good enough’ for quick market entry is important.The sooner you find out what isn’t working, the sooner you can tweak it so it can work.But, be careful to avoid the dreaded, evil feature creep.This is the result of an uncontrolled, or poorly controlled product definition. If you keep adding on features, you’ll never ‘finish’ anything. Tight focus on what must be achieved is important if you want to deliver your product or service before your resources are expended.
18. Collecting feedback is important. It helps you validate your idea; make sure it will serve the market’s needs. Getting feedback is another reason why ‘good enough’ for quick market entry is important.The sooner you find out what isn’t working, the sooner you can tweak it so it can work.But, be careful to avoid the dreaded, evil feature creep.This is the result of an uncontrolled, or poorly controlled product definition. If you keep adding on features, you’ll never ‘finish’ anything. Tight focus on what must be achieved is important if you want to deliver your product or service before your resources are expended.