10 Commandments of Starting A Business

The 10 Commandments of Starting A Business

Richard Kligman

October 20th 2009

Disclaimer

Before investing in any business, seek the advice

of your business advisers & lawyers. Oh, and don't

forget to ask your spouse!

My Name

Nachum Y. Kligman

My Name

Nurbn Y. Kljmn

Another Quick Story

“H” as in …..

First Question You Need to Ask

Why Do You want to be in Business?

Are you a Masochist Just Kidding…. a little

Then Why?

Be Your own Boss?Make Your Own Hours?

For the Money?For the Prestige?

Getting Started

Everything Begins with an...

IDEA

"Nothing else in the world... not all the armies... is so powerful as an idea whose time has come."

Victor Hugo

A Dime a Dozen?

So many people out there are impressed by ideas alone.

People often forget just how useless an idea is without the

sweat, courage and brains needed to execute them

But What is a Good Idea?

Ok, I'm willing to make the sacrifice, but what is a Good

Idea?

The Best ideas?

Find a Need and Fill It

What Are You Creating?

Need vs. Want

NEED

A need is something you have to have, something you can't do without. A good example is food. If you don't eat, you won't survive for long. Many people have gone days without eating, but they eventually ate a lot of food. You might not need a whole lot of food, but you do need to eat.

WANT

A want is something you would like to have. It is not absolutely necessary, but it would be a good thing to have. A good example is music. Now, some people might argue that music is a need because they think they can't do without it. But you don't need music to survive. You do need to eat.

Are all good product ideas taken?

Are all good product ideas taken?

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"

Wayne Gretzky

Now that you have the idea

Are You Ready?

The 10 Commandments

The First Commandment

I am The Lord your G-D

Why Change a Classic?

•Put in the proper effort•Things out of your control (9/11)•Be Honest•Taxes •Paying On Time•Pray :)

The Second Commandment

Thou Shall Be Passionate

“Genius is one per cent inspiration,

ninety-nine per cent perspiration”

Thomas A. Edison

• Is it fun?

• What are you willing to do?

• 40 hour weeks? Try 80!

• Downgrading your lifestyle?

• Family First?

• Is Passion all you need?

The Third Commandment

Thou Shall Have Enough

Money

Enough Money

•To Live On•To Bring your product to market•To Give yourself enough chance for success

Raising Money

•Savings?•Friends & Family•Credit Cards•Banks•VC's

The Fourth Commandment

Thou Shall Build A Strong

Team

“Take away my people, but leave my factories, and soon grass will grow on the factory floors. Take away my factories, but leave my people, and soon we will have a new and better factory”

Andrew Carnegie

Teammates

•Co-Founders/Executives•Employees•Vendors•Investors•Advisory Board•Family?

Taking in Co-Founders

Pros

• Two Heads are better than 1

• Share Risk

• Larger Network

• Get More Done

Cons

• Share Equity

• Share Decisions

• Possible Fallouts

• If more than two, you can lose control

The Fifth Commandment

Thou Shall Worship the Purple Cow

What is the purple cow?

It’s a book by Seth Godin. And it is something that is so remarkable that you don’t need marketing. It will spread by word of mouth.

Seth Godin

Examples

Halfway, Oregon

Examples

Two things are guaranteed at the remarkable DinTaiFung restaurant in Taipei: the extremely long line outside and the size/weight of their world famous steamed juicy pork dumplings. Each dumpling uses only the freshest ingredients, weighs a precise 0.74 oz, and has exactly 18 folds. In 1993, NY Times named DinTaiFung as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world. Even with many outlets worldwide today, thousands of tourists still visit Taipei every year just to eat at its original location.

One of the stories told about the restaurant owner is that he takes the tour buses to hear what people say about his restaurant. One day, he found that bus stopped before reaching its destination and tourists were encouraged to use the restrooms so that they can avoid using the ones at his restaurant. He went back and installed the most advanced toilets available in the restrooms and made sure that they were cleaned every 15 minutes. Since then, the restrooms at DinTaiFung also became one of the most talked about topics for tourists.

What if you made things more Fun?

http://www.rolighetsteorin.se/en/

Time for A Break

Can someone please make me a coffee? Milk with 2 sugars please.Thanks!!!

The Sixth Commandment

Thou Shall Love Thy

Employees

“Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?”

Stephen Wright

Loving Thy Employees

• Treat them how they want to be treated

• Give them training and the tools they need to succeed

• Let them know clearly what is expected of them

• Make them always feel appreciated

• Make them feel part of the company (Shares)

• Make it fun

• Ask for Input

The Seventh Commandment

Thou Shall Have A High

Perceived Value

Definition

Customer's opinion of a product's value to him or her. It may have little or nothing to do with the product's market price, and depends on the product's ability to satisfy his or her needs or requirements.

People Are Willing To Pay

For the Experience

Which one costs more?

Which one costs more to make?

How to Increase Your Perceived Value

• Professional Logo

• Professional Website

• Business Email Address

• Phone Answering Service or System

• Big Name Clients

• Testimonials

• Speaking Engagements

• Writing Articles

• Dress for Success

• Sell for Higher Price

• Endorsements

The Eighth Commandment

Thou Shall Network

Use Your Network For

• Finding Partners

• Finding Investors

• Getting Feedback

• Finding Clients

• Marketing

• Finding Fans

• Personal Branding

• Help Others

• Business Development

• Keeping In Touch

Social Networking

Blogging

Social Marketing

Other Networks

• Clubs

• Religious Organizations

• Meet Up Groups

• Alumni

• Friends/Family

The Ninth Commandment

Thou Shall Love Thy Customer

Love Thy Customer

• Follow Up After Sale

• Send Personal Cards

• Do More than you say

• Involve them in decisions

• Be open and accessible

• Do what you say (Hours of Operation, getting back in 24 hours)

The Tenth Commandment

Thou Shall Always Be Learning

From Day One - Research

• The perfect name

• Experts in your market

• Market Research

• Test, Test, Test

• Potential Clients

• Potential Investors

Failure Is An Option

Unless you fail to learn

Always be Learning

•Books•Trade Magazines•Trade Shows•Online Forums & Networks•Blogs•Actual Classes

Magazines

Books

Blogs to Follow

www.techcrunch.comwww.mashable.com

www.chrisbrogan.comwww.fourhourworkweek.com/blog

www.webdesignerdepot.comwww.briansolis.com

www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC

Sites To Visit

www.ted.comwww.techcrunch50.com

www.inc.comwww.entrepreneur.comwww.fastcompany.com

www.vator.tvwww.demo.com

The 10 Commandments

• I am the Lord your G-d

• Thou Shall Be Passionate

• Thou Shall have enough money

• Thou Shall build a strong team

• Thou Shall worship the purple cow

• Thou Shall Love thy Employees

• Thou Shall Have a High Perceived Value

• Thou Shall Network

• Thou Shall Love thy Customer

• Thou Shall Always be learning

Thank You

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www.linkedin.com/in/richardkligmanwww.qoof.com

www.israpreneur.com