Great Minds Think Alike...
I had the fortune of meeting a fellow entrepreneur on a recent trip to adtech in San Francisco. He created and sold a business to a major online player. He poured his heart into it and took care of the people he worked with to make it happen. We had much to talk about and found that we had a lot in common. Our business practices of empowering a team and understanding the hedgehogs that make our businesses go.
What was even better was that he challenged to think deeply about venture capital and all that it entails. We spoke of the benefits and the problems. But the best part was that he drilled down into what Mingle's real needs are. He did not let me off the hook with high level answers. It was a great session. What I think was most important was being able to chat with someone who has no agenda and a similar mind set. I think this helped clarify some business strategies. It is important to find people of like minds to challenge you.
Cheers,
Mike
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Friday, April 14, 2006
Late night work:
Sometimes the best work is done beyond the hours of 8 to 5. Tonight four of us are pushing hard to reach a critical goal and we are having a great time. It feels good to work as a team with a single purpose it is what collaboration truly is. A new type of extreme programming, four people on one computer all pitching in. It is these type of experiences that bring people together and bonds are created.
These are the times in a young business that will be reflected upon with a sense of pride when the product serves its ultimate goal, success.
And, the pizza and beer are not so bad either.
Cheers,
Mike
Be a Monkey!
One of the best ways to build a business is to be a pain in the ass to the existing 500 pound gorilla. Is there a market that they are under serving? Are their clients unhappy with them but have no alternative? These are very good markets to exploit.
The infamous 500 pound gorilla has got what I like to call the "Three M's", Money, Market Share and Momentum. But many times these make that gorilla an easy target to a broke, agile, no business having monkey.
Momentum carries the gorilla forward down the same path. Any change in business strategy can mean a loss of their current customers. He has to plan, measure, and move with passionless thought. The monkey swings from idea to idea and has to stay way out in front since he is often showing the gorilla the path. The monkey is the innovator the gorilla the executioner.
The monkey is hungry and does not have much capital, he needs to find some early success or die. He is willing to listen to his customers and create a product that is truly reflective of their needs. The gorilla pours huge amounts of money into marketing to convince customers that his product will solve their problems and to maintain market share. The monkey is passionate the gorilla is introspective.
Market share can be a pain for the gorilla. He has worked very hard to get where he is very resistant to change. Change means risk and uncertainty, this is bad for the stock price. New products might not sell as good as the old ones and he may lose customers. The monkey has no market share to speak of. He can create niches of customers for whom he will deliver the world. He can create new and innovative products where there is no market. He can steal whole markets with a shift in paradigm. The monkey is creative, the gorilla is protective.
And keep in mind some day you will be the gorilla to some young monkey.
Cheers,
Mike
One of the best ways to build a business is to be a pain in the ass to the existing 500 pound gorilla. Is there a market that they are under serving? Are their clients unhappy with them but have no alternative? These are very good markets to exploit.
The infamous 500 pound gorilla has got what I like to call the "Three M's", Money, Market Share and Momentum. But many times these make that gorilla an easy target to a broke, agile, no business having monkey.
Momentum carries the gorilla forward down the same path. Any change in business strategy can mean a loss of their current customers. He has to plan, measure, and move with passionless thought. The monkey swings from idea to idea and has to stay way out in front since he is often showing the gorilla the path. The monkey is the innovator the gorilla the executioner.
The monkey is hungry and does not have much capital, he needs to find some early success or die. He is willing to listen to his customers and create a product that is truly reflective of their needs. The gorilla pours huge amounts of money into marketing to convince customers that his product will solve their problems and to maintain market share. The monkey is passionate the gorilla is introspective.
Market share can be a pain for the gorilla. He has worked very hard to get where he is very resistant to change. Change means risk and uncertainty, this is bad for the stock price. New products might not sell as good as the old ones and he may lose customers. The monkey has no market share to speak of. He can create niches of customers for whom he will deliver the world. He can create new and innovative products where there is no market. He can steal whole markets with a shift in paradigm. The monkey is creative, the gorilla is protective.
And keep in mind some day you will be the gorilla to some young monkey.
Cheers,
Mike
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Knowing the right decision:
We often hear about leaders who have made big decisions correctly, even though their decision goes against conventional wisdom. Take Steve Jobs, of Apple, who in 2001 launched their first Apple store. Their thought was that for someone to truly give Apple a shot at being the computer of choice they would need sales people who really understood the product. They opened this store just as Gateway was closing their stores due to soft sales. Many analysts thought this was a poor decision. The rest is history, Apple operates more than 81 stores nationwide and their 2004 sales exceeded 1.5 billion.
Apple was already the hip computer. Following the lead of such stores as BCBG, Disney and Hollister, they turned their store into an experience. This electronic hip experience was backed up with a superior product and a amazing product development team. Steve knew this was the right decision at the right time.
Many times I have a hard time articulating the reasons behind a decisions, however, I know to the core of me that it is the right thing to do. I often will sit and think about the basis of the pending decision and allow my mind to bubble the reasons for the decision to the top. If I do not take the time to do this I feel the decision is more emotional than rational and I will err on the side of rational every day.
Cheers,
Mike
We often hear about leaders who have made big decisions correctly, even though their decision goes against conventional wisdom. Take Steve Jobs, of Apple, who in 2001 launched their first Apple store. Their thought was that for someone to truly give Apple a shot at being the computer of choice they would need sales people who really understood the product. They opened this store just as Gateway was closing their stores due to soft sales. Many analysts thought this was a poor decision. The rest is history, Apple operates more than 81 stores nationwide and their 2004 sales exceeded 1.5 billion.
Apple was already the hip computer. Following the lead of such stores as BCBG, Disney and Hollister, they turned their store into an experience. This electronic hip experience was backed up with a superior product and a amazing product development team. Steve knew this was the right decision at the right time.
Many times I have a hard time articulating the reasons behind a decisions, however, I know to the core of me that it is the right thing to do. I often will sit and think about the basis of the pending decision and allow my mind to bubble the reasons for the decision to the top. If I do not take the time to do this I feel the decision is more emotional than rational and I will err on the side of rational every day.
Cheers,
Mike
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Great Things Happening:
We launched our new corporate site (I use the term corporate lightly)! You can visit it at www.mingle.com. It is still a work in process, but check it out.
We are currently featured on blogger.com as a "Blog of Interest". So for all you new readers, please forgive my poor grammar and spelling errors!
If you are interested in becoming an alpha member please create a profile by clicking here. Why do you want to be an alpha member? It's free and you will be on the cutting edge of the future!
Enough with the infomercial.
Cheers,
Mike
We launched our new corporate site (I use the term corporate lightly)! You can visit it at www.mingle.com. It is still a work in process, but check it out.
We are currently featured on blogger.com as a "Blog of Interest". So for all you new readers, please forgive my poor grammar and spelling errors!
If you are interested in becoming an alpha member please create a profile by clicking here. Why do you want to be an alpha member? It's free and you will be on the cutting edge of the future!
Enough with the infomercial.
Cheers,
Mike
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Clarity:
Had a great call today with a prominent Venture Capitalist (have several more scheduled next week). He confirmed an opinion that we had been floating around the office for some time. We need to focus on our climber.com product. Like most entrepreneurs, we are thinking ahead to climber version 3.82 and in reality we are still completing our beta version.
Sometimes, it takes someone from the outside to gently nudge you in the correct direction. This does not mean changing the destination just the road. So we are working with godspeed to complete our user interface for Climber.com (by the way we are hiring talented User Interface people, send resumes to info@mingle.com). The new look and feel should be completed in the coming weeks and we should have a news set of features!
Cheers,
Mike
Had a great call today with a prominent Venture Capitalist (have several more scheduled next week). He confirmed an opinion that we had been floating around the office for some time. We need to focus on our climber.com product. Like most entrepreneurs, we are thinking ahead to climber version 3.82 and in reality we are still completing our beta version.
Sometimes, it takes someone from the outside to gently nudge you in the correct direction. This does not mean changing the destination just the road. So we are working with godspeed to complete our user interface for Climber.com (by the way we are hiring talented User Interface people, send resumes to info@mingle.com). The new look and feel should be completed in the coming weeks and we should have a news set of features!
Cheers,
Mike
Clearing the Mind:
I just got back from a great vacation with my wife. It was a nice break from the hectic pattern of life. It was the equivalent of my mind letting out a big sigh and I realized that I really needed to take time to decompress.
Laying on a beach with nothing but blue water and the sun is the best medicine for clearing the brain. I think everyone will agree that once you do decompress it allows your mind to attack your problems from a new perspective. It frees you from some of the biases that could cloud your judgment. This allows you to create a new solution with true insight. Your mind sorts out what it needs and flushes everything else out. For me this happens in the background, without really thinking about it.
Many people talk about similar experiences when they do yoga or meditate. I often sit quite for a few minutes and try to let go of the world.
Cheers,
Mike
I just got back from a great vacation with my wife. It was a nice break from the hectic pattern of life. It was the equivalent of my mind letting out a big sigh and I realized that I really needed to take time to decompress.
Laying on a beach with nothing but blue water and the sun is the best medicine for clearing the brain. I think everyone will agree that once you do decompress it allows your mind to attack your problems from a new perspective. It frees you from some of the biases that could cloud your judgment. This allows you to create a new solution with true insight. Your mind sorts out what it needs and flushes everything else out. For me this happens in the background, without really thinking about it.
Many people talk about similar experiences when they do yoga or meditate. I often sit quite for a few minutes and try to let go of the world.
Cheers,
Mike
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Burning Desire to Succeed:
One of the traits that I admire most in other people is a burning desire to succeed. When I hear the success of other people it inspires me. I recently was able to hear William Taylor speak, he is the founding director of Business 2.0 and author a book to be released later in the year, "Mavericks at Work". He provided many stories about success and the desire to succeed. It seemed that against all odds people succeed. He pointed to the example of the airline business where collectively it has lost billions of dollars since inception save one company, Southwest Airlines. He went on to say that Southwest was the best performing stock in the market since 1985 (I could be wrong on the year). The arguable worst industry in the world you find the most successful company. I take inspiration from this, Southwest understands itself and they can communicate their message effectively to their customers and shareholders.
I see this as a war of will and likewise I believe in any role you need a burning desire to succeed to stand out.. This passion for success is easy to identify in people. They are often high energy positive people who love a challenge. They are competitive and can see the value of a team of people with like mind. When many of these people get together with a single focus their chances of hitting that goal is increased exponentially.
Cheers,
Mike
One of the traits that I admire most in other people is a burning desire to succeed. When I hear the success of other people it inspires me. I recently was able to hear William Taylor speak, he is the founding director of Business 2.0 and author a book to be released later in the year, "Mavericks at Work". He provided many stories about success and the desire to succeed. It seemed that against all odds people succeed. He pointed to the example of the airline business where collectively it has lost billions of dollars since inception save one company, Southwest Airlines. He went on to say that Southwest was the best performing stock in the market since 1985 (I could be wrong on the year). The arguable worst industry in the world you find the most successful company. I take inspiration from this, Southwest understands itself and they can communicate their message effectively to their customers and shareholders.
I see this as a war of will and likewise I believe in any role you need a burning desire to succeed to stand out.. This passion for success is easy to identify in people. They are often high energy positive people who love a challenge. They are competitive and can see the value of a team of people with like mind. When many of these people get together with a single focus their chances of hitting that goal is increased exponentially.
Cheers,
Mike
Monday, March 13, 2006
Tough Weeks:
These last few weeks have been very trying. Anyone who has put together a software product know that this is a difficult process. Creating something that is unique online and creates true value for its users is even more difficult.
We have had to make some employee changes as well. This is very difficult in a young business, but the bottom line in the bottom line. A product that is delayed even a month or two means missing some critical numbers and also increases the burn rate. In order to stay on track sometimes it means making the tough decisions. This week was no exception. It is compounded by the fact that the changes we had to make were with truly great people, who will succeed elsewhere. They just were not the right people for the right job. In the book, "Good to Great", this is covered very well. The author explains that if you have someone in the wrong seat on the bus you are doing them a disservice and that you as the manager have to be the adult and make the tough decision.
Cheers to a better week,
Mike
These last few weeks have been very trying. Anyone who has put together a software product know that this is a difficult process. Creating something that is unique online and creates true value for its users is even more difficult.
We have had to make some employee changes as well. This is very difficult in a young business, but the bottom line in the bottom line. A product that is delayed even a month or two means missing some critical numbers and also increases the burn rate. In order to stay on track sometimes it means making the tough decisions. This week was no exception. It is compounded by the fact that the changes we had to make were with truly great people, who will succeed elsewhere. They just were not the right people for the right job. In the book, "Good to Great", this is covered very well. The author explains that if you have someone in the wrong seat on the bus you are doing them a disservice and that you as the manager have to be the adult and make the tough decision.
Cheers to a better week,
Mike
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Taking Employees Home With You:
I was visiting a friend who has a very successful design company. He was very frustrated with one of his managers. He had spoken to a lot of his friends and colleagues about this person. He had been thinking about it this person for some time and how she did not fit the company any more. She had become complacent and had some issues dealing with customers.
The bottom line is that she was stealing time from him. When he went home he was frustrated and consumed with her ineptness. Sometimes the toughest thing to do is to cut the cord. Today he is still struggling with this employee and time that he should be enjoying after work is being stolen by this employee.
He knows what he should do, but he has failed to act. As soon as he realized that this was happening, he became culpable. Once he solves this issue he will be free to work on items that will allow the business to continue to succeed.
Cheers,
Mike
I was visiting a friend who has a very successful design company. He was very frustrated with one of his managers. He had spoken to a lot of his friends and colleagues about this person. He had been thinking about it this person for some time and how she did not fit the company any more. She had become complacent and had some issues dealing with customers.
The bottom line is that she was stealing time from him. When he went home he was frustrated and consumed with her ineptness. Sometimes the toughest thing to do is to cut the cord. Today he is still struggling with this employee and time that he should be enjoying after work is being stolen by this employee.
He knows what he should do, but he has failed to act. As soon as he realized that this was happening, he became culpable. Once he solves this issue he will be free to work on items that will allow the business to continue to succeed.
Cheers,
Mike
Friday, February 24, 2006
Beware of Partners:
Sometimes lessons that you learn leave you jaded and hard. It is the difficult paths that we have walked before that we are careful to choose again. I hope that those who read this can learn from this lesson that I learned first hand. This is a very important lesson.
Choosing partners to start a new business happens everyday. Sometimes, people become so excited about the idea of the new business that they overlook attributes in their partners. They overlook many things in order to get the baby born. I have learned this lesson first hard. I had a partner who did not live up to her promises. It was only after the hard work of other that she wanted to become involved, after the business was profitable (she also had other non-business related motives). Keep in mind that a problem partner will always be a problem partner. If they are tough to take in the beginning, they will be unbearable later on.
So here is a list off must do's before entertaining the idea of a partner. This by no means is a catch all. Please feel free to send me some additions. These focus on their histories being an indicator of their future promise.
Great partners are the complete opposite. They are people who compliment your skill set and who from the beginning are committed 100%. They are also very difficult to find. Here are some ideas of places to look.
Cheers,
Mike
Sometimes lessons that you learn leave you jaded and hard. It is the difficult paths that we have walked before that we are careful to choose again. I hope that those who read this can learn from this lesson that I learned first hand. This is a very important lesson.
Choosing partners to start a new business happens everyday. Sometimes, people become so excited about the idea of the new business that they overlook attributes in their partners. They overlook many things in order to get the baby born. I have learned this lesson first hard. I had a partner who did not live up to her promises. It was only after the hard work of other that she wanted to become involved, after the business was profitable (she also had other non-business related motives). Keep in mind that a problem partner will always be a problem partner. If they are tough to take in the beginning, they will be unbearable later on.
So here is a list off must do's before entertaining the idea of a partner. This by no means is a catch all. Please feel free to send me some additions. These focus on their histories being an indicator of their future promise.
- Spell it out: Define the role and commitment level of each partner, down to the hours of the week that they are going to work on this project. Sign this document!
- Understand Outside Activity: Find out where their heart are. Are they working on outside projects? Are they 100% committed to your project?
- Talk to old partners/business associates: This is where I failed. People build a reputation over a period of time. What is the partners reputation like? DO NOT TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT! Ask around, take your time. Talk to co-workers, business associates, employees and anyone else who knows this person. Failures are ok and expected, but what is their success ratio. Who invested in these ventures, how do those people feel about them when things went south.
- Google them: But don't trust the press releases, websites and any other media which they might control. You can use this to validate history, but, take it with a grain of salt.
- Background check: This is a must. This will tell a lot about a person and their credit/legal history. Someone with bad credit will have a negative impact if you need to borrow or raise money in the future.
- Trust your Gut: You know what the right decision is already. If you have any hesitation you already know what you should do.
- Trust Someone Else's Gut: Chances are you know someone who can pick people out. Get them to spend some time around this potential partner. Their bull-shit sensor will be better tuned than yours.
- Ask a mentor: To this day, I have people who teach me lessons all the time. These mentors help act as a unbiased sounding board. If you do not have a mentor, there are places such as SCORE that will introduce you to older business people.
Great partners are the complete opposite. They are people who compliment your skill set and who from the beginning are committed 100%. They are also very difficult to find. Here are some ideas of places to look.
- Family & Friends: This is a double edged sword. These are the people that you trust the most, but sometimes these feelings get in the way. Be careful, but that said I have always done very well with family. You can't beat their commitment
- Co-Workers: This is great because you get to see how they work. Are they committed to task? Do they get their work done? Are they a dreamer but not a doer?
- Business Associates: Since they are in business, they have a reputation and history. Do you have friends or associates in common? Ask their opinion! This is a good group if you can find many good opinions about the potential partner.
- Church/Community Groups/Universities: All these areas have many people who know the potential partner. The more positive opinions you can get the better.
Cheers,
Mike
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Spilling the Beans:
Ok here it is... today you guys will get a better idea of the team magic mingle is working on. Over the next few weeks, I will outline some products of the products that we are working on. Today it is about Climber.
Climber is a brand new spin on the whole work world. It is for people who are currently happy in their job, but, would be open to receiving job offers at a salary level they choose. Suppose you are just happy as a clam in your daily grind. What would you do if someone offered you a similar job at 30% more pay? How about doubling your salary? What if you only wanted to receive job offer from a specific company (Disney, Yahoo, Google, Apple etc...)? And, no one knows who you are... it's a blind system. Once a company finds you, you choose whether or not you want to share your contact/resume information with them. You are passively searching for your dream job. All completely anonymous!
This is beauty of Climber While you are involved in your daily life our proprietary search algorithm is working for you. Seeking to match you with a company which could offer you your dream job! Additionally, companies are using the product from the other side. They are using the same search algorithm to find new employees. If the salary is to low or its out of the area... you don't show up!
Sign up today as an alpha member and let us find your perfect job... Climber.com
Ok here it is... today you guys will get a better idea of the team magic mingle is working on. Over the next few weeks, I will outline some products of the products that we are working on. Today it is about Climber.
Climber is a brand new spin on the whole work world. It is for people who are currently happy in their job, but, would be open to receiving job offers at a salary level they choose. Suppose you are just happy as a clam in your daily grind. What would you do if someone offered you a similar job at 30% more pay? How about doubling your salary? What if you only wanted to receive job offer from a specific company (Disney, Yahoo, Google, Apple etc...)? And, no one knows who you are... it's a blind system. Once a company finds you, you choose whether or not you want to share your contact/resume information with them. You are passively searching for your dream job. All completely anonymous!
This is beauty of Climber While you are involved in your daily life our proprietary search algorithm is working for you. Seeking to match you with a company which could offer you your dream job! Additionally, companies are using the product from the other side. They are using the same search algorithm to find new employees. If the salary is to low or its out of the area... you don't show up!
Sign up today as an alpha member and let us find your perfect job... Climber.com
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
On the Cusp of Greatness:
The gut feeling is so important in business. Many times you feel a nervous excitement about what is to come. This is one of the greatest times in business. All of your hard work is about to pay off, now it's all about execution.
Today, I feel that we are the cusp of greatness. The idea to make the Internet a safer place to start of relationship of any kind is a very simple idea. Staying true to that is tougher. But ultimately, your relationship with the customer is what will drive the business into the future. Our promise to our userbase is that they will always come first and they can trust that what we do will be in their best interest and not always in our best financial interest short term. But long term those two needs are firmly aligned.
The nervous excitement stems from having all the pieces to the puzzle and an idea of what the finished project looks like, but not knowing yet how to put it together. We figure it out as we go. We get feedback from what we have done and clues from the puzzle pieces placed properly.
Cheers,
Mike
The gut feeling is so important in business. Many times you feel a nervous excitement about what is to come. This is one of the greatest times in business. All of your hard work is about to pay off, now it's all about execution.
Today, I feel that we are the cusp of greatness. The idea to make the Internet a safer place to start of relationship of any kind is a very simple idea. Staying true to that is tougher. But ultimately, your relationship with the customer is what will drive the business into the future. Our promise to our userbase is that they will always come first and they can trust that what we do will be in their best interest and not always in our best financial interest short term. But long term those two needs are firmly aligned.
The nervous excitement stems from having all the pieces to the puzzle and an idea of what the finished project looks like, but not knowing yet how to put it together. We figure it out as we go. We get feedback from what we have done and clues from the puzzle pieces placed properly.
Cheers,
Mike
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Coming together:
Sometimes it takes mass amounts of thoughts to come to a single simple conclusion. Simple solutions are often the reduction a complex starting point. This takes time and energy to get everyone on the same page, and to buy in.
Today we had a great session. A uniform epiphany which each member of the team has bought into. A simple solution to an overriding problem of providing to many solutions to an even larger universe. This new vision is clear, until today it had been hidden beneath the clouds of past ideas.
Letting old ideas or products influence tomorrows decisions is a weak point in the armor of our bigger competitors. Sometimes, we too, allow a prior decision to influence future ones even though it clearly should not. It reminds me of the classic example of red and black on roulette. The chance of either color coming remains the same regardless of past outcomes. This is a lesson that I learn over and over.
Cheers,
Mike
Sometimes it takes mass amounts of thoughts to come to a single simple conclusion. Simple solutions are often the reduction a complex starting point. This takes time and energy to get everyone on the same page, and to buy in.
Today we had a great session. A uniform epiphany which each member of the team has bought into. A simple solution to an overriding problem of providing to many solutions to an even larger universe. This new vision is clear, until today it had been hidden beneath the clouds of past ideas.
Letting old ideas or products influence tomorrows decisions is a weak point in the armor of our bigger competitors. Sometimes, we too, allow a prior decision to influence future ones even though it clearly should not. It reminds me of the classic example of red and black on roulette. The chance of either color coming remains the same regardless of past outcomes. This is a lesson that I learn over and over.
Cheers,
Mike
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Core Statement
We had some great internal meetings today. We truly have a great set of people and that allows us the freedom have conversations where everyone gets it. As the company grows we may not have the luxury of a constructive all in meeting.
A company must remain fluid, but must also be true to its core beliefs. I believe this can be done creating a core statement. This core statement is the benchmark by which we make company decisions. Our core statement at mingle is the desire to create the safest, most secure place online to create relationships.
Once the core statement is created we can then test our decisions against it. We ask ourselves in the choice at hand is inline with our core company statement. Even though a decision may make financial business sense short term, are we doing the wrong thing for our customer long term? Are we selling out our customer?
The core statement forces consistency and reliability in a company. As times change it may be necessary to change and augment the core statement. It is important to note that most companies will change their products or services more than their core.
If executed correctly, customers will feel your core statement.
Cheers,
Mike
We had some great internal meetings today. We truly have a great set of people and that allows us the freedom have conversations where everyone gets it. As the company grows we may not have the luxury of a constructive all in meeting.
A company must remain fluid, but must also be true to its core beliefs. I believe this can be done creating a core statement. This core statement is the benchmark by which we make company decisions. Our core statement at mingle is the desire to create the safest, most secure place online to create relationships.
Once the core statement is created we can then test our decisions against it. We ask ourselves in the choice at hand is inline with our core company statement. Even though a decision may make financial business sense short term, are we doing the wrong thing for our customer long term? Are we selling out our customer?
The core statement forces consistency and reliability in a company. As times change it may be necessary to change and augment the core statement. It is important to note that most companies will change their products or services more than their core.
If executed correctly, customers will feel your core statement.
Cheers,
Mike
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Sometimes things are just so wrong: (OT)
Having a background in financial aid, I keep up to date on many things. On Feb 1, congress passed some changes to the federal budget that will affect every person in the country holding Stafford loans. In addition to disallowing students to lock their interest rates while in school (while they are at historic lows), they have made it illegal to use a free federal product (student loan consolidation) with any lender other than those who currently have your student loans. This means that even if another lender has a better interest rate, you are beholden to your current lender. If they provide you with poor service, you can not change. (These changes go into effect on July 1st. In order to avoid them you should consolidate before the deadline.)
The most disturbing part of this is how it evolved. Please take a moment to read this article and you will get an idea of how John Boehner and Sallie Mae have single handedly changed increased the cost of college for every student in the country. It is truly gross.
Other Reading:
New Bill Hurts Student Loan Program
Worries Mount With Rising Student Loan Rates
New Federal Legislation Makes it Important to Consolidate Loans
Sadly,
Mike
Having a background in financial aid, I keep up to date on many things. On Feb 1, congress passed some changes to the federal budget that will affect every person in the country holding Stafford loans. In addition to disallowing students to lock their interest rates while in school (while they are at historic lows), they have made it illegal to use a free federal product (student loan consolidation) with any lender other than those who currently have your student loans. This means that even if another lender has a better interest rate, you are beholden to your current lender. If they provide you with poor service, you can not change. (These changes go into effect on July 1st. In order to avoid them you should consolidate before the deadline.)
The most disturbing part of this is how it evolved. Please take a moment to read this article and you will get an idea of how John Boehner and Sallie Mae have single handedly changed increased the cost of college for every student in the country. It is truly gross.
Other Reading:
New Bill Hurts Student Loan Program
Worries Mount With Rising Student Loan Rates
New Federal Legislation Makes it Important to Consolidate Loans
Sadly,
Mike
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
The Friday 15:
Communication is a big deal in a growing company. Each person has the ability to contribute more ideas than they let on. Most of us would contribute more if we were asked in a non-threatening environment. With this in mind we have a meeting every Friday for 15 mins. This is an open ended meeting with the goal of talking about the prior week.
We focus on three main goals for the meeting. The first is to talk about any problems in the prior week. This enables people to talk about their problems and ask for help within the group. The second is to celebrate our accomplishments and failures of the prior week. The final goal is an open format where we talk about crazy off the wall ideas which could evolve into something meaningful.
As a manger of the company my goal is to talk as little as possible. I do enough of that during the week. I act as a facilitator and am not worried about the time too much.
Cheers,
Mike
Communication is a big deal in a growing company. Each person has the ability to contribute more ideas than they let on. Most of us would contribute more if we were asked in a non-threatening environment. With this in mind we have a meeting every Friday for 15 mins. This is an open ended meeting with the goal of talking about the prior week.
We focus on three main goals for the meeting. The first is to talk about any problems in the prior week. This enables people to talk about their problems and ask for help within the group. The second is to celebrate our accomplishments and failures of the prior week. The final goal is an open format where we talk about crazy off the wall ideas which could evolve into something meaningful.
As a manger of the company my goal is to talk as little as possible. I do enough of that during the week. I act as a facilitator and am not worried about the time too much.
Cheers,
Mike
Gypsy Programming:
Working with a new group of people always creates new ideas... I think one the best that this team is involving into is gypsies. This means that we follow the water. Whatever is generating the most interest both internally and externally we pour all our into. We realize that what we are passionate about today may turn be thrown away tomorrow. So we allocate our time to where the water is. If someone needs help we all pitch in.
This focus also forces us to think about single focused projects that are simple to use. You will see that each product drives to a single goal. They are all tied together but will have functionality that is unique to each. The goal is to keep expanding the total package of tools to engage and provide additional value to each user. If they can not add functionality to the suite for existing users we must justify the work.
Currently we are working on threhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.spell.gife main projects, climber.com/natch.com and edloan.com. Check them out if you time. Most of the work is still behind the scenes.
Cheers,
Mike
Working with a new group of people always creates new ideas... I think one the best that this team is involving into is gypsies. This means that we follow the water. Whatever is generating the most interest both internally and externally we pour all our into. We realize that what we are passionate about today may turn be thrown away tomorrow. So we allocate our time to where the water is. If someone needs help we all pitch in.
This focus also forces us to think about single focused projects that are simple to use. You will see that each product drives to a single goal. They are all tied together but will have functionality that is unique to each. The goal is to keep expanding the total package of tools to engage and provide additional value to each user. If they can not add functionality to the suite for existing users we must justify the work.
Currently we are working on threhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.spell.gife main projects, climber.com/natch.com and edloan.com. Check them out if you time. Most of the work is still behind the scenes.
Cheers,
Mike
Monday, February 06, 2006
More Progress:
Part of the problem of being on the Internet is that we are looking for everything to be done yesterday. We are still making lots of progress and we have a target launch date for climber.com of Feb 14 (Yes I know is valentine's day.) I do not expect the initial site to be all that pretty, however, it will have the functionality that sets us apart.
I have heard the phrase Web 2.0. When they mention this they mean all the companies who have been able to weather the storm and are now profitable as dot coms. I call these companies dot brawns. They are legitimate companies who use the Internet to make our lives simpler. EBay, Amazon, and monster are a few who have made the transition and changed the way we do and think about business.
I started to spill the beans about climber.com, but changed my mind. About a week from now I will paint the entire picture.
Cheers,
Mike
Part of the problem of being on the Internet is that we are looking for everything to be done yesterday. We are still making lots of progress and we have a target launch date for climber.com of Feb 14 (Yes I know is valentine's day.) I do not expect the initial site to be all that pretty, however, it will have the functionality that sets us apart.
I have heard the phrase Web 2.0. When they mention this they mean all the companies who have been able to weather the storm and are now profitable as dot coms. I call these companies dot brawns. They are legitimate companies who use the Internet to make our lives simpler. EBay, Amazon, and monster are a few who have made the transition and changed the way we do and think about business.
I started to spill the beans about climber.com, but changed my mind. About a week from now I will paint the entire picture.
Cheers,
Mike
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Replace yourself everyday:
Part of being a leader is delegation. Knowing what tasks to assign to someone else is difficult and letting go of important roles is even harder. Many new entrepreneurs have a tough time letting go period. You must let go to allow your business grow.
The best way to approach this is to get rid of any tasks that you repeat on a regular basis. This frees your time to focus on those things that make your business grow. Many people spend a lot of time writing checks and managing the day to day bookkeeping. In many cases those hours would be much more productive working with a new client or figuring out a new business strategy. Look deep into yourself and figure out how your business would do if you applied 100% of your time to what you do best.
Another benefit of this strategy is creating a business that runs itself, where no one person is its lifeblood. Everyone is replaceable including you. You may disagree but you will never get a larger company to acquire you if you can not convince them the business lives beyond your stewardship. In the book, Good to Great, one of the measure used in defining a great business is one that continues to succeed after the founder/leader has left. Thus, leaving behind a thriving business is a mark of your business acumen.
Cheers,
Mike
Part of being a leader is delegation. Knowing what tasks to assign to someone else is difficult and letting go of important roles is even harder. Many new entrepreneurs have a tough time letting go period. You must let go to allow your business grow.
The best way to approach this is to get rid of any tasks that you repeat on a regular basis. This frees your time to focus on those things that make your business grow. Many people spend a lot of time writing checks and managing the day to day bookkeeping. In many cases those hours would be much more productive working with a new client or figuring out a new business strategy. Look deep into yourself and figure out how your business would do if you applied 100% of your time to what you do best.
Another benefit of this strategy is creating a business that runs itself, where no one person is its lifeblood. Everyone is replaceable including you. You may disagree but you will never get a larger company to acquire you if you can not convince them the business lives beyond your stewardship. In the book, Good to Great, one of the measure used in defining a great business is one that continues to succeed after the founder/leader has left. Thus, leaving behind a thriving business is a mark of your business acumen.
Cheers,
Mike
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