the power(lessness) of words

Everyone knows that relationships are important in starting and running a business. But how do you communicate effectively so that you can build those relationships? One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues. Another study indicated that the impact of a performance was determined 7 percent by the words used, 38 percent by voice quality, and 55 percent by the nonverbal communication. Time for a voice coach and maybe some method acting.

a milestone! design of site approved

A milestone in our company start-up process: we just approved the design for our website. It was hard to balance wanting to get it done and wanting the perfect look and feel(I seriously had to beat down the perfectionist in me so that I would not ask for a redo of every exclamation point, font size, etc), but we're very happy with what we have. Arry did a ton of work communicating with our developers -- thanks, Arry! I can't wait to see the finished product!

can entrepreneurship be taught?

Ten years ago, it was rare to find a course in entrepreneurship at a business school, even a large, well endowed one. Now, entrepreneurship courses of all kinds are everywhere -- from community colleges to the best business schools. The question is: can you teach this kind of thing?

The Small Business Administration recent released a study of business school alumni to compared the entrepreneurial activities of those who took an entrepreneurship course and those who did not. Here are the higlights:

-Those who took an entrepreneurship course both worked at and started their own entrepreneurial organization at a higher rate than those who didn't.

-Of those working at entrepreneurial organizations, the organizations of those who took an entrepreneurship course were much more likely to offer new services and products, file patents and use new production techniques.

-Those who took an entrepreneurship course were more likely to see themselves as effective or extremely effective at identifying new business opportunities.

Interesting stuff and begins to get at the question: Are entrepreneurs born or made? Of course, these are self-reports, and maybe all entrepreneurship courses do is teach people to talk a good game...

The "final four"

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of participating in a speaker session with Andy Liu, founder of buddytv.com and investor of 16 other businesses. He ended his talk with his "final four" of entrepreneurship (I don't really know what "final four" is a reference to (I'm assuming a sports reference), but the point is that these are the four most important things in starting and running a successful business).

1. "Sprint" attitude: Cut launch times in 1/2, reduce features, maximize testing, execute. In other words, get it to market as quickly as possible and make adjustments based on feedback.
2. Extreme focus: Focus on improving one tangible, measurable element of the business at a time. Make sure the whole company understands what your focus is so that they can act accordingly (this sounds like "make a matra" from Guy Kawasaki's Art of the Start to me).
3. Firm thesis: Act proactively based on your thesis/assumption about your market and your business rather than reacting. If you are in "reaction" mode, there will be no time/resources to enact the things that got you to start the business in the first place.
4. "Ring the bell" and celebrate: Give yourself at least 2 years -- start-ups are a marathon. Make sure you celebrate small victories and milestones to keep motivated.

For more from Andy, check out his blog: inspiredstartup.com.

10 "D's" of successful entrepreneurs

1. Dream: Entrepreneurs have a vision of the future and the ability to pursue their dreams
2. Decisiveness: They don't procrastinate. They make decisions swiftly.
3. Doers: Once they decide a course of action, they implement it as quickly as possible.
4. Determiniation: They implement with total commitment. They don't give up despite the obstacles.
5. Dedication: They are totally dedicated to their business.
6. Devotion: Entrepreneurs love what they do.
7. Details: Entrepreneurs must be on top of critical details.
8. Destiny: They want to be in charge of their own destiny.
9. Dollars: Money is not the reward. Money is viewed as the measure of success.
10. Distribute: Entrepreneurs distribute the ownership of their business.