What we can learn from The Last Lecture

I am currently reading an excellent book titled The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - www.thelastlecture.com

I have said many times before, when I read books, it is not necessarily about the specific content or context, but what lessons can be learned that can apply directly to life – and when I say life, this could be your personal, business or perhaps both.

While the book tells a very powerful and emotional story, the underpinning theme is about ‘Really Achieving your Childhood dreams’. From this, I see many lessons that small businesses can learn from and apply directly to the way they approach their entrepreneurial endeavours.

Follow your heart - There are many things to do in this life but we must follow those good pursuits that we are most drawn to. Often we don’t follow our heart out of fear, laziness, lack of confidence, apathy, or other reasons but we must learn to overcome these negative feelings and follow our hearts desires. A lot of start ups fail to get off the ground because the owner is just not committed and always looking for excuses for not starting. Get over it.

Focus on what you want to become - too often in life we focus on ourselves, often worrying selfishly about what we are getting. In life, rather than focusing on what we get, we should focus on what we become. In many consultations, would be entrepreneurs (and even established businesses) want us to tell them where they are going and decide what they should become. Decide that for yourself – we can help facilitate and enable your dream but we can’t achieve it for you.

Never underestimate the importance of having FUN – being your own boss should be fun – yeah, of course there is hard work involved but we chose this path for a reason. We chose it for fun, laughter, challenge, risk, ownership, accountability – In business we often get caught up in our daily projects and hurdles. Give yourself and your employees’ permission to dream and, above all, have fun while you're at it. I encourage you to always have fun as there is just no other way to play it.

Brick walls are there for a reason – too often people complain about the brick walls that are put in front of them. They are there for a reason. As Randy Pausch says "They are there to test how bad we actually really want something". Entrepreneurs and small business owners are faced with hurdles every day, some seemingly insurmountable. But if you're passionate about what you do, those brick walls are easier to scale and you will have more fun on the climb. If we want it bad enough you will get over the brick wall. Otherwise the walls just become an excuse.

The last point I leave you with is this - Do not give up striving for your childhood dreams: Even if you do not achieve them, there is still a lot of FUN to be had from trying.

Communication!

Communication in a small company can be difficult, and in a large organization is nearly impossible. Making sure the activities of your company are at least in some part familiar to everyone who represents you takes constant effort, but if it is not done consistently the image of your business will quickly fall prey to the old adage of "The left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing".

Each individual who represents your organization may come into contact with an internal or external client, potential client, supplier, or media personality and should have a resource they can turn to, to be able to keep informed of the goings-on. With the advances of technology, this can be as simple as an email folder for events and distribution procedure, an up to date online calendar, a notice board in a place everyone has access to, a communications department, or a well-informed receptionist. The best systems are clear, uniformly available, updated regularly and accountable by someone.

As obvious as it may be, when you don’t communicate your wishes, you take a risk that people won’t guess what your preferred response is. The benefit of a closely knit team is that you learn to read each other, can forecast reactions and preferences, and then formulate responses that reflect your group. When you don’t have this advantage yet your best bet is to be extremely clear – and let it be known that you welcome questions and will make time to clarify any issues.

The most amusing example I've encountered lately (business or residential) of a communication blip was aired over my radio this morning. The excited announcer was placing a live call to the just-announced winner of a pair of coveted concert tickets. After several rings, the phone was answered by a woman whose tone gave the impression that she was employed at the residence. The DJ asked if he could be connected with the individual and gave both names of the person he was looking for. She replied he lived there, but she wanted to know who was calling for him. When the announcer identified himself, he stated that "John" was a listener who entered a radio contest. The woman then politely responded that it must be the wrong number, that the "John" who lived there would not listen to that station, and hung up the phone. I hope "John" wasn’t listening from his vehicle, because if he were things may be a little tense tonight.

Facebook is really ADbook

Over the last 3 weeks I have spent a majority of my consultations talking about the power of social networking for business. It's not that my clients don't believe that it can be effective they just can't see how, they have no desire to sit for hours chatting to their highschool friends -- and what does that have to do with business anyway?


Well, from my own experience, for both the Entrepreneurship Centre and my own 2 businesses this is what has worked for me on Facebook alone:

• The Marketplace -- I bought a bed from one of my closest friends that I didn't even know she was selling! I bought it within 18 minutes of her posting it.
• The Calendar - We've listed workshops and special events and had enrollment due only to learning about it through facebook.
• Status Updates - whenever I use my status update to say I've uploaded new product to my jewellery website, my personal web stats go up and the first time I did that I sold a piece within 18 hours of posting it.
• Photo Album - again with my jewellery, sold a piece just by creating a photo album with images of my jewellery.
• Groups - After creating the Young Entrepreneurs of Kingston group we had over 20 members in the first day.
• Business Page - the Entrepreneurship Centre has a page, and without inviting anyone to become a 'fan' we have18 fans signed up. It's a great audience to use as a focus group when we need them.

And none of those things cost me a dime - well, ok the bed did! In total I probably spent about 15 minutes on Facebook to accomplish all of these things. Now what about paid options?

• Ads - Within 30 minutes of posting an ad that targeted 15-29 yrs olds in Kingston and Napanee only we had over 30,000 views of the ad and 18 click throughs! And do you know what it cost? $2.22. There's no other advertising medium out there charging rates that low with such a quick and high return.

With all these options with ADbook, I mean Facebook, make sure you business is taking advantage of this tool, just don't get swallowed up (too much) chatting with your highschool buddies!

Courage

Recipe for an entrepreneur:

Mix:
2 cups of commitment
1 cup of high energy
6 tablespoons of focus

Toss with:
1 cup of tenacity
½ cup self control

Serve with self confidence, and a tall glass of courage.

Whether born and bred, or taking a new and exciting plunge, being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. The world of business is full of unexpected twists and turns, and there is only one guarantee: even the most organized and prepared entrepreneur can expect the unexpected. But tell any entrepreneur “it can’t be done” and you can be sure to hear this answer: “Watch me!”

Courage is tackling new business challenges and taking on the risks of running your own business. Investing your life’s or a loved one’s savings or acquiring a large loan for the business, are just some risks for entrepreneurs. Confidence in your planning and making crucial business decisions is courageous. You may have (what you think) is the greatest new idea, and work hard to prove your passion to the world. Establishing rapport with suppliers and customers, creating a sought-after product or a desirable service, and maintaining a positive attitude are attributes of a brave sole.

Courage cannot be bought or taken in a multivitamin, but it can be borrowed. Mentors in your community can provide support to concerns you have about your new business. Like you, your mentor has experienced the trials and tribulations of small business ownership and can offer guidance in difficult times. Turn to a mentor and borrow their courage in times of need.

It takes a courageous someone to remove themselves from their business and determine if their business is still a lucrative venture. If after a year of business you determine that the idea you’ve become so passionate about and invested in, is not profitable you must decide whether to close your doors or to change your business’ direction. Courage is closing your doors, and saying, “this is not the time or location for this idea’. Courage is redirecting your business’ goals for a more successful endeavour.

Courage takes its place in each stage of your business’ lifecycle; the embryonic stage, growth, maturity, and decline Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk, uncertainty, or intimidation. Courage is an entrepreneur.