by Emma
Norm Brodsky is the founder of CitiStorage and seven start up’s and a three time Inc. 500 honoree.
For a full range of articles http://www.inc.com/
Ten Commandments of Business
1) Numbers run a business. if you don’t know how to read them, you’re flying blind.
2) Cash is hard to get and easy to spend. Make it before you spend it.
3) Don’t focus on the top line. Gross margin is the most important number on the income statement
4) A sale isn’t a sale until you collect
5) When your short-term liabilities exceed your short-term assests, you’re bankrupt
6) Forgot about shortcuts. Run a business as if it’s forever.
7) Identify your true competitors, and treat them with respect.
You have no friends in business, only associates.
9) Culture drives a company. In the long run, the boss’s most important job is to define and enforce it.
10) The life plan has to come before the business plan
These are an excellent guide for anyone looking to dive into a new business or expand an existing one.
Have fun.
by Emma
Seth Godin drives home a great message in his latest blog.
The circles (no more strangers
It’s so tempting to seek out more strangers.
More strangers to pitch your business, your candidate, your non-profit, your blog… More strangers means more upside and not so much downside. It means growth.
The problem is that strangers are difficult to convert. And the other problem is that they’re expensive to reach. And the hardest problem is that we’re running out of strangers.
Consider this hierarchy: Strangers, Friends, Listeners, Customers, Sneezers, Fans and True Fans. One true fan is worth perhaps 10,000 times as much as a stranger. And yet if you’re in search of strangers, odds are you’re going to mistreat a true fan in order to seduce yet another stranger who probably won’t reward you much.
Let’s say a marketer has $10,000 to spend. Is it better to acquire new customers at $2,000 each (advertising is expensive) or spend $10 a customer to absolutely delight and overwhelm 1,000 true fans?
Or consider a non-profit looking to generate more donations. Is it better to embrace the core donor base and work with them to host small parties with their friends to spread the word, or would hiring a PR firm to get a bunch of articles placed pay off more efficiently?