Diary of a Startup: The Value of Building Your Company's Rolodex

Last week was a very busy week at KikScore. We had meetings all over the place on many different fronts. We had lunch meetings, phone calls, various team meetings, checkins with partners, drinks with some of our favorite corporate development friends and meetings with friends and colleagues that also double as advisors. On the way back from one of our last meetings, my partner Mike and I were debriefing on all of the meetings we had just completed. Then it dawned on us that nearly every one of these meetings came from a team member of KikScore, a friend of friend, colleagues from previous and current jobs and folks that KikScore team members have done business in the past.

Over time and especially at the inception of a startup (and small businesses too), a company’s contacts and rolodex can immensely help the strategic direction of a company. That is why we all hear from so many people that we should all on a regular basis network and get out and meet people. But I would say even more importantly, there are probably many people that lie dormant in an entrepreneur’s contacts that the entrepreneur met many moons ago. These “hidden rolodex gems” should not be forgotten.

Entrepreneurs and owners of small business should be proactive in maintaining and cultivating these forgotten contacts. I will be the first to admit that I have not been great at cultivating some of these gems. But one of my mentors once said the easiest way to engage these buried contacts, is just pick up the phone and call them or send them an email. What do you really have to lose? Now in your re-introduction call or email to these folks, make it clear to them that you are not looking for a job or something and instead are looking to chat and get some guidance. You will be amazed at the responsiveness that you may get.

Here are just some of the ways our contacts have helped KikScore and could help your startup (and small business):

1. Providing great feedback on our business model;

2. Ideas for new channels to pursue;

3. Ideas on potential new enhancements to our product;

4. Introduction to partners; and

5. Referrals to other advisors and thought leaders.

As you grow you company’s contact list, return the favor to people that contact you looking for guidance and counseling. Pay It Forward so you do not look like your company is only looking out for itself. And you never know when someone asks you for guidance, it may end up helping your company like it has with us at KikScore.

Please tell us how you develop your company’s rolodex.

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What AC/DC Can Teach Small Businesses About Staying Power & Success

As some of you know I grew up in Northeastern Ohio back in the 1980’s and 1990’s.  One of the staples of my youth was the sound of AC/DC‘s hard rock classic “You Shook Me All Night Long.”  I played that song and so many other AC/DC songs while I got dressed before high school, on the drive in to school, in between Algebra 2 and Biology class, before, during and after soccer practice — well you get the picture.  It was AC/DC really 24/7 not just for high school, but through college and even those during brutal times in law school during the 90s.

The interesting thing is AC/DC has put out so many songs and albums so consistently over the last 37 years (yes, I said 37!) that they have fans that span multiple generations.  They are such an iconic band that one of this summer’s blockbuster hit, Iron Man, made its entire movie soundtrack a greatest hits anthology of AC/DC’s best tracks spanning four decades.  Now that is impressive! In fact, this is the second time in AC/DC’s career that they have had a movie soundtrack exclusively devoted to them. The first being Steven King’s “classic” Maximum Overdrive.

AC/DC’s decades of continuous success, incredibly loyal fan base that spans generations and nearly 70 million records sold in just the US  could probably be the basis of a business school case study – just maybe not at an Ivy League school!  So there are lots of lessons to be learned from my favorite Australian band (besides maybe the eternal Little River Band who sang “Lonesome Loser“- just kidding!).  Here are just a few items that small businesses can take from AC/DC’s years of success and ability to keep cranking out hits:

1. Pick a Theme & Stick to It Relentlessly – AC/DC has had a simple and very straightforward theme for their music over the last four decades.  I will not get into the substance, but lets just say there is a reason high schoolers and especially teenage boys like the lyrics and the stories in their songs.  Listen to AC/DC classics like Who Made Who, Thunderstruck, Highway to Hell, TNT, Shoot to Thrill, and Heatseeker. The theme is consistent in almost every one of these songs. So AC/DC takes this theme and pounds away at it so it is woven into nearly every song, every album and through their lead guitarist’s Angus Young’s antics at live shows that theme plays out in their concerts too.

So if you are a small business, pick a theme or core idea like AC/Dc has and make that theme be the central focus of everything that you do as a company.  Let that theme define you.  The most famous current themes for companies in 2010 are Zappos fabulous customer service and Apple’s innovative devices.

2. Avoid the Fads – Disco, 80’s hair bands and then grunge.  These were three fads that have come and gone over the last 40 years in music.  Some bands tried to ride the fad and they faded into obscurity when those fads died.  AC/DC instead kept to their core and avoided these fads that popped up over the years.  Their avoidance of these fads helped keep AC/DC’s fan base happy with the music they had grown to expect from the band.

For a small business, its takes discipline to avoid the fads like AC/DC has.  Stay very clear of the latest fads that are out there because those fads can be the death of your business – ask all of those dot com companies that vanished back in the late 1990s!  If your business sticks to what it does best and makes an effort to avoid the fads and latest gimmicks, that can help to keep your company focused on what is important to your customers.

3. Give Your Fans a Great Show Each Time – I have been to multiple AC/DC concerts in my life.  My first one was back on November 23, 1990 (actual ticket stub is pictured at the top of this post)!  I have also seen a lot of videos of them playing live too.  AC/DC consistently gives fans a great show.  Lets think about that for a minute.  This band has to play the same songs over and over again in different cities, states, countries and continents.  But each time AC/DC brings down the house when they play “Hells Bells” or when they end the concert with their famous “For Those About to Rock, We Salute You.”  Great shows means happy fans which then translates into more album sales for AC/DC!

So small businesses, rock out each time you have the opportunity to be in front of an actual or potential customer.  Treat every experience as a unique experience because it certainly is for that customer.  When I left the last AC/DC concert, I was exhausted it was such a great show and I wanted more!  That is the way small businesses need to leave their customers, exhausted and wanting more – in a good way.

4. In Adversity, Stay on Theme and Do not Waver – In February 1980, AC/DC lead singer who sang on classics such as Highway to Hell, Walk All Over You and Let There Be Rock, Bon Scott, died of an alcohol overdose in London.  The band considered quitting all together.  Lucky for us they did not.  Not only did they keep going, but they hired Brian Johnson to be the new lead singer and put together arguably the best hard rock album of all time, Back in Black.  The solid black cover with only the title of the album served as a tribute to the fallen Bon Scott.  In its darkest hour, AC/DC came back from near break up and put out an album that is the second best album selling worldwide ever beyond only Jacko’s Thriller.

We can all learn the trait of resilience and the ability to get back up after a devastating loss from AC/DC.  Small businesses, there will be those dark days and tough hours especially as you deal with competitors, new technologies and angry customers.  The trick is to push through because when you come out on the other side of the difficult times, you will be stronger and you can be super successful too!

5. Keep the Band Together so Your Fans Stay Happy –AC/DC has had a relatively stable core set of band members that have been continuously centered around around two brothers – Malcolm and Angus Young. In fact, four of their five members have been with the band at least 30 years!  That is amazing.  AC/DC could have gone the way of Van Halen – another great rock band – but instead of multiple line up changes and replacement of lead singers like in Van Halen,  AC/DC’s stability has significantly contributed to band’s years of success.  It sure is a lot easier to stick to a core theme like we discussed in #1 above, when you do not have moving parts.

For small business, it is all about getting the right people in place like AC/DC has done.  Once you get the right people in place, give them the core theme for your company and then just let them do their jobs – even if they are outsourced vendors or part time employees.  The ability to keep a good team together for a long period of time and have appropriate succession planning for people who may leave increases your chances of small business success.

This really has been a fun post to write. I hope it has been a fun one to read too.  With AC/DC being one of my favorite bands, I am pleased that they could bring me even more enlightenment than they did in my early years.  If you can all be a little more like AC/DC in your business – there probably not too many people outside of the hard rock music world who say that  – your chances of having a successful small business will increase!

Did you think AC/DC would ever teach us small business lessons?  Or are you like my partner, Mike, who thinks I should have picked Whitesnake (probably his favorite) as the band to discuss here. By the way, I challenge him to incorporating Whitesnake into his next post….lets see if he can meet the challenge.

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The Need for "Holistic" Security

After seeing the title of this post, I know you’re thinking I’m now into yoga or alternative medicine.  When I’m saying “holistic” security, it’s meant more in terms of taking a more global view of security…not making sure you bring a gun while shopping at Whole Foods. 

Here’s an example of what I mean: I’m sitting in a Starbucks yesterday doing some work.  I drop my computer bag and walk over to make an order.  Even though I’m only 15 feet away from my computer, and I can see it the entire time, I get nervous about someone stealing it.  So I get out of the line, grab my computer and stand back in line with my Dell laptop (and my iPad…because I’m a big nerd).  What strikes me about this is how concerned we are about the physical security of property, but are more cavalier with online/non-physical security — e.g. we go to countless sites with dodgy security and no idea who the site owners are. 

This is crazy.  I mean a lot more negative things can happen to me from online security issues than someone stealing my laptop (let’s not talk about anyone stealing my iPad…i couldn’t bear the thought).  My identity, my credit, my bank accounts can all be compromised with an online issue.  With the physcial security issue, all they get is a laptop that is encrypted and can be remotely zapped to prevent any compromise of data. 

I know this sounds like a set up for a sales pitch on KikScore, and I guess it is a bit, but the main point is that being “protected” or “safe” should also consider online activities.

I’m done preaching.  Any thoughts?

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Un-LifeLock Your Life

I saw this article the other day in Wired magazine and it reminded me of how important security is while shopping online even if you have additional measures in place to help protect your identity from being stolen.  The article basically details how LifeLock’s CEO, Todd Davis, may get the worst marketing move of the decade award for publishing his Social Security Number in the ads for their product and on highway billboards in order to prove that their product will keep online shopper’s identities secure.

Sure enough, 2 years later and his identity has been “stolen” an unbelievable 13 times!  To be fair, it sounds like his identity may not have been “stolen” necessarily but his Social Security Number was used to fraudulently open a bunch of cell phone accounts and then they went into collection when they were never paid on.  I think some additional research needs to be done here on these cell phone company’s account creation policies because if someone can just write a social security number and name down on a form that isn’t theirs and walk out of the store with a cell phone and active account that may be another issue.

So back to the CEO of LifeLock…I guess the two lessons here are obvious but big ones: 1) Never under any circumstances allow your Social Security Number to get in the wrong hands online or in a store as the consequences are dire.  2) Don’t use LifeLock.  Sorry, this may be a great product but I can’t put my faith in a company that has a CEO that is this dumb/cocky.

By the way, LifeLock also has a few pending legal matters in the courts since they also claimed that if anyone used their product and still had their identities stolen that they would give them $1 million.  Apparently a few people used Lifelock’s product and still had their identities stolen, but Lifelock doesn’t want to cough up the cash.  I guess all these consumers would have had to do in order to get the $1 million without any complaints from LifeLock would have been to publish their Social Security Numbers on a billboard!

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Do You Need To Travel To Succeed in Business?

If you work for a big company, travel seems less like a luxury and more like a nuisance.  Sure, everyone talks about the need for “belt tightening”, but even through the most severe economic crisis we’ve faced in years, I traveled more for my day job than ever before.  How could this be?  The rationale is that during the difficult economic conditions, retaining customers is the highest priority (so off we went, visiting customers). 

I’m about to do a three week stint, traveling to the East Coast, the Midwest and the South.  The trips are all important, but if this were on my own nickel, I’m not sure if they would be necessary.  Which brings me to my point…I do have a point.  For small/start-up businesses, the math involving the cost of a trip and the benefit from it becomes crystal clear.  There are no meet-and-greet trips when  you’re financing the trip.  You only go when there is a contract to sign or an important relationship to forge.  Otherwise, conference calls and webinars work just fine.

Shouldn’t that be how large companies also opertate?  If I the travel budget were more tied to executive pay, I guarantee that there would be a higher scrutiny of costs and need for a trip.  Of course nothing can substitute a face-to-face meeting, but do you need a perfect substitute?  What if I can only do webinars with a customer, but give him a 5% break on his bill?  Would that engender more good will and customer loyalty than a steak dinner and forced conversation?

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Memorial Day Weekend: Check That BBQ & Also Your Company's 2010 Goals

So Memorial Day weekend 2010 is here!  First, we all know Memorial Day is a weekend that we use to reflect on all of those that have given their lives in service to the country.  Beyond this very important commemorative part of the weekend, it also marks the unofficial beginning of the summer season.  Many people take this weekend as the first time of the year to roll out the grills, take out the lawn furniture and throw a little barbecue for family, friends and neighbors.

For businesses, the Memorial Day time of the year can serve as a great initial milestone to gauge where your company stands in regards to your goals, priorities and key initiatives that need to be accomplished for the year.  So take this time to  objectively look at some of the following areas of your business to make sure you are on the right track to achieve your goals for 2010 and beyond:

1. Focus. Is your business focused on the rights things to meet your goals?  If not, take the time to refocus and eliminate the clutter that is distracting your company.

2. Goal Review. Take the time to review in detail each goal you have for 2010.  Also take a close look at every activity that relates to that goal.  That will allow you to take a status check of how far along your business is toward meeting each goal for 2010.  If you do not have a list of goals and activities, here is a post that describes the importance to putting together annual goals and critical activities.

3. Team Review. Look at your team and make sure all of the team members are in the right place and that every team member is working toward the company’s goals.  Also this is a good time to make sure you are building the right team.  If you have a gap, make sure your team can fill that gap or hire the right person to fill the need so you ensure you meet your goals.

4. Customer & Product Review. Ask yourself these two questions we have discussed previously: A) Are you supporting your customers manically so they have a great customer experience and B) Are you improving your product on a daily basis?  These questions go to the fundamental core of your business so they are of critical importance for you to keep asking yourself and your team.  Once you take stock and get your answers, make sure you act on the feedback you give yourself for these two questions.

5. Flexibility. Now is also a good time to look at your goals, team, activities, tasks and plans and take the time to re-prioritize based on what you are seeing in your business.  The key is to stay nimble and do not get in your own way.  Reacting quickly to a market opportunity that has arisen or to a new customer demand that you can meet will put yourself in a position for even greater growth for your business.  But be careful, do not fall into the trap of lurching from one project or task to another and not fully completing items that your business and team have already started.

So during this Memorial Day weekend, take a little time to also do a status check on your business.  If you do this review, your business may be in a better position to achieve those 2010 goals.

So how are you going to spend Memorial Day weekend?

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Just Say No, But Say It Nicely

One of our main distribution strategies for KikScore is working with partners.  Our ideal partner is one with that has a lot of interaction with small online businesses, or small businesses that want an online presence.

In my day job, I work with with partners quite a bit (or as Corporate America calls them…Channels).  As with any type of sales, reaching out to partners involves a lot of rejections.  Either they don’t have time or the proposed relationship doesn’t fit into the partner’s strategic vision.

What has surprised us at KikScore is the overall interest that our product has received from a partnership standpoint.  We’ve approached 10 different channels and we are in deep discussions with 6 of them.  That type of success rate would get you in the baseball hall of fame (as a hitter, manager or pitcher).

This type of positive reaction has likely twisted my perception.  So when I reached out to a larger company today — with a contact from a mutual friend — I thought it would be a warm reception.  Uh, wrong.  The person I contacted not only said no, but almost chastised me for bothering her.  Sorry, delicate genius.  Let’s hope you never lose that corporate job and have to start approaching people on your own.

Also, I’ll never be a customer of this company.  It’s not because she said no, it was how she said it.

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Ahoy, Matey! Pirates and Business

If you open your eyes and mind, it’s amazing where you can find business lessons in everyday life.  The book I am reading, Michael Crichton’s final novel: Pirate Latitudes takes the concept of war from the pirate’s view.  There are a good number of similarities to small business and overtaking your competition to be learned from it.  To come up with a new business idea, it doesn’t necessarily have to be ‘new’ but ‘better’ is critical to success.

Here’s some lessons that the privateers (often mistaken for pirates) of long ago still apply…

Build a good team – When Captain Hunter came up with his risky idea of attempting capture of a Spanish treasure ship in a far off, dangerous and assumed well protected island, he needed a strong team to accomplish the quest. Building the right team for business success can be tricky, but you can’t do it alone.   Delegate responsibilities that foster team member’s strengths.

Create a more comprehensive solution – After overtaking the treasure ship, the privateers are stalked by a Spanish warship that is more heavily armed with both men and weaponry. The weakened privateers come up with a risky yet tactical solution to attempt to take down the larger ship. Creativity and doing something different with your current resources is a strong business sense. KikScore wasn’t the first trust seal out there, but it is different and more comprehensive than the competition

Overtake the competition – I’m not finished reading Pirate Latitudes yet, so I’m only theorizing here… but based upon the creativity noted above and their zeal to secure the stolen treasure, I have confidence the privateers will conquer the larger warship and bring home the gold.  Obviously in business, war is not the best option, yet clever advertising and getting your business message out there can overtake the competition.   A strong and consistent approach helps.

Pirates and privateers are mysterious, resourceful and have a rather catchy form of conversation.

How is your business pirating through the marketplace?

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Business Roadblocks — Is Growth Our Own Worst Enemy?

One of the reasons I enjoy being part of the KikScore is the fact that it is our own business.  Sure we have meetings and on big decisions we need to get a majority vote, but generally I can do whatever is in the best interest of the company. 

The flip is true for my day job.  No decision can simply be made.  I must first draft a compelling email, then create an attractive power-point presentation, and finally convince our legal/compliance department that I’m not the anti-christ (which is harder than you may think).  I would say that despite having a full-time job dedicated to creating new opportunities,  I spend less than 50% of time actually doing it.  The rest is overcoming internal process.

So is that what is really meant when we say that small businesses are “nimble”?  Is it that they don’t have internal machinations dedicated solely to preventing risk or is it because entrepreneurs are able to make quick decisions (and why they are their own bosses in the first place)? 

A better question is: can you ever avoid creating your own business roadblocks?  Every small company that is successful eventually becomes a larger one.  At that point, the larger company has a business to actually protect and risk takes on new meaning.  Certainly a small business doesn’t fret about risk as much, because they are “judgment proof” — meaning that if they are ever sued, the business simply packs it up and the owners move onto something else.  With a larger business, it can actually pay a judgment and risk means something (at least to the shareholders).  Perfect example is my day job.  10 years ago, it was a start-up with 3 employees.  Decisions were fast and the business grew faster.  Now we are part of a larger organization and our growth is a fraction of what it used to be.  On the other hand, we’re very profitable now (and were not in the beginning).  So risk means something to us.

What do you think…is there a way to avoid this?

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KikScore & the Pittsburgh Steelers Promoted on the Same Pickup Truck? – My Worst Nightmare

Disclaimer, this is a vacation post (yes, I am out on vacation from my day job but KikScore never stops!) but I had to discuss what happened this weekend. This post is really about branding your business and how you sometimes have no control over how your customers will sing your praises.

My 5 month old daughter, Asha, made her first trip this weekend to see her grandma, uncle, aunt and cousins in my wife’s hometown just outside of Pittsburgh, PA.  Great idea, seeing the family, getting out of DC for a weekend and spending some time on my mother-in-law’s beautiful farm.  It actually was a lot of fun, even having my brother-in-law make fun of me when I made the crazy comment asking why does the backyard have so many rattlesnakes – are they attracted to the the vegetable garden back there.  Uh…..how many snakes do you know are attracted to vegetables over perhaps some chipmunks, small rodents etc that usually populate most farms?

So where does KikScore  and branding come in?  We had just arrived Friday afternoon on the farm.  I was pulling our car into the farm when my saw my wife’s family pick-up truck.  The truck was parked there outside the farm house and I had to snap the above picture.  So on the right hand side of the bumper is everything I have grown up to detest in an important part of my life – football – that would be the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Yes, when you grow up outside Cleveland, Ohio you are indeed taught that at a young age.  Then on the left side of the bumper is the gorgeous bumper sticker, of a company that I passionately give my blood, sweat and tears to every day – KikScore.

So on that one side of the bumper I see something I enjoy mocking and on the other side is my pride and joy.  So there I was – what do I say or feel?  I just had to laugh and be super proud that my family has so unconditionally adopted KikScore to the point that my mother-in law greeted us when we arrived in her KikScore baseball cap.

So what is the point of this post.  That sometimes your small business or your startup can not decide/control how your customers decide to evangalize your brand.  When you see your brand out there be promoted like this, just smile, laugh and be proud.  And also be sure to say thanks as I did when we pulled away from the driveway late yesterday right before we started our 4 hour ride home.

Have you seen your business being promoted in a similar way?

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