Product Development Strategy

Brand building

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 by Laura Colar

'Build your brand'. It's become a highly popular buzz phrase in marketing, technology and social media circles. Building a brand is a process, some would say a life-long undertaking for any company or product. It takes innovation, great customer relations and cosistent messaging.

If you're the leader of a company, small business or not -- it's just as important to build your personal brand. You are the public face of your operation to the customers, the media and various business partners. In meetings, in the headlines and cocktail hours, people will relate or be drawn to the personal brand you have developed and project. You had better start working on it if you haven't already.

Inc. Magazine has some pertinent suggestions to help you start.

Pick an area of expertise
So you're going to be an ambassador for your brand. But what do you want to be known as an expert or pro in? Maybe you run a marketing firm - your specialty can't be that broad when building a brand. What do you bring to the table that no one else can? Maybe you're great at the design aspect of marketing or maybe you know all of the technologies that can assist in marketing efforts. Just make sure you've zeroed in what it is you can do for others that really sets you apart.

The web is your friend
After you meet a potential employee or business partner or hey, your daughter's boyfriend -- where is the first place you go to get the 'real' scoop? Google of course. You should automatically assume this is where people are going to check out you, your company and anything else you've published or are associated with. You should be making sure your website as up to date and state of the art as possible. Also be sure any other sites you have profiles on are updated and grammatically correct such as LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.

Writing and blogging
Making your perspective readily available for anyone who may be interested in it shows you care to communicate with others and you know how to intelligently express your opinions. It can also help you make connections with others, whether they be for business or personal purposes. If you blog regularly and invite comments, criticisms, etc. you open the door to two-way communication that can ultimately benefit you. (i.e. what if someone sends you an idea on new products or has insight into a global marketing strategy)

Make some headlines
Being quoted in stories or making an appearance in any form of media can benefit your personal brand, positioning you as an expert people go to for insight and information.

There is so much one can do strategically to enhance your personal brand which will ultimately benefit your company as well as yourself. It's not about publicity, attention or making yourself known. It's about establishing who you are, what it is you're about and being sure you can be seen in enough places where those who need to find you can do so.

Teaching others to blog

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 by Laura Colar

We discuss the importance of blogging and social media quite often. It should be a part of everyone's business plan and an even greater part of your company's marketing strategy. And while you can appoint one key person to handle the load, it's important you have diverse voices coming from all areas and levels of your company so the average reader gets a comprehensive look at your operations.

Yet explaining the importance of blogging, making sure others understand it and are willing (maybe even excited) to participate isn't easy. You should be prepared for it to be a long process, one in which you will need to be patient and regularly follow up with people. I have been charged with implementing a social media strategy here at Milestone Advisors and encouraging others to take part so we provide well-rounded information on all of our specialties (which include marketing, technology, outsourced bookkeeping and much more).

Here are some suggestions that might make the process a bit easier for you that I have learned through trial and error:

1. Take time to explain and be sure participating members truly understand the value of social media, what it means to your company, your customers and more.

2. Explain the technical aspects of the platform you're using. You will surprised at how many people don't adapt quickly to different software products. Carving time out to walk people through the steps, leading by example will save you time in the long run

3. Do some creative brainstorming as a group. Just explaining what blogging is and how to do it isn't enough. And leaving it at that can lead to your team members sitting in front of their computers with question marks in their brains and blank stares on their faces. Helping them talk through subjects they can write about a few times will help them to easily develop story ideas on their own.

4. Send them some examples of blogs you really like, whether that's because they are well-written, tackle pertinent subjects or are just fun -- giving your team examples will also aid in inspiration.

5. Continue to provide encouragement. You're asking your team to step out of their comfort zones and do something for the good of the company as a whole. A confident financial advisor or marketing strategy pro may be nervous about sharing their thoughts in an open forum like a blog, check in regularly with words of advice, tips or positive feedback. It will go a long way

Company blogs aren't easy to get off of the ground and they're not easy to maintain but I will say, they are more than worth the effort. They enable you to connect with like-minded businesses, leaders, enhance your brand and maybe, sell a little!

Jack Stack says we're recovering

Friday, May 14, 2010 by Laura Colar

Jack Stack believes the economic recovery is under way. In fact, he asserts it has been for quite some time. He then warns - if you don't have a business strategy or business plan developed and in place to take advantage of the upswing, you may miss it completely.

It may be difficult to believe, particularly in our tiny worlds where we still hear about small businesses struggling for capital or individuals losing their jobs. So, where does Stack get this perception from and what evidence is he using to support it?

"I’ve been speaking eyeball-to-eyeball with entrepreneurs all across the country — in places like Pittsburgh, New York City, Richmond, Va. and Fresno, Calif. — and when I ask them how they did in the fourth quarter of 2009 or the first quarter of 2010, I keep getting responses like, “amazing,” “fantastic,” “record-breaking” and even “best we’ve done in years.”

Yet it seems we're all a little afraid of admitting things might be getting better. Maybe for fear the the worst is yet to come, just as we've allowed ourselves to breathe easy.

But there is firm evidence pointing to companies around the country once again experiencing growth. Stack uses his own company as example, SRC. He admits he had spent so much time reflecting on the economic collapse that when portions of his operations were experiencing new growth, he missed it completely.

Another sign he claims to see -- an increase in lead times, the period ordering something and actually receiving it. This means more and more orders which means more money being spent. Can we get two huge thumbs up for that.

"If you’re still not convinced, do some research of your own. Ask your customers and peers how they’re doing (and tell us in the comment section below how you’re doing). Do your own eyeball-to-eyeball research. Just as importantly, start putting together a strategy to take advantage of the recovery whenever you believe it’s going to hit. If you keep looking in the rear-view mirror and forget to look at what’s headed your way, not only might you miss a golden opportunity to build your business, you might just give your competitors the chance to move ahead of you or, worse, to eat your lunch right out of your hands."

We'd love to hear what you're seeing, hearing and experiencing yourself that either confirms Stack's assertion or proves it wrong. Please share, do you think we're in the midst of recovery? What evidence do you have that supports your claim?

Depending on your answers this might be the perfect time to initiate buying a business that supplements current operations, compiling new financial projections or rebuilding your financial model for the improving economy or to begin the product launch plan you put off when the bottom dropped out of the market. Any way you look at it, it may be time for action!

Do Facebook Fan pages make sense for B2B marketing?

Thursday, March 25, 2010 by Laura Colar

As social media continues to grow by leaps and bounds in its practical applications for business operations and people's careers it's imperative we know as much as possible about the ways in which people use the forums (potential customers/clients included), how they prefer to be communicated with and what their motivations are for spending time on them.

But does Facebook have practical application for those of us working in B2B? Granted, we can all relate to its useful nature for any consumer product -- people love to visit and connect with their most trusted brands, see what promotions are being offered, what new spring line is being revealed or who won the latest contest. I could go on and on but we get it, it makes complete sense for those brands and companies to have a visible presence on Facebook. I, for one, am connected to Ann Taylor Loft across all SM mediums, I can't help myself and I get some pretty great coupons (which of course, lead me to shop and spend there more often than normal but I still sleep at night).

Yet in the same breath, all of us who work in B2B will acknowledge that marketing plans and marketing strategies often look much different than the fun and flash often associated with B2C. Yet, marketers, social media experts and leaders (and market research itself) alike are finding that Facebook has become a great place for B2B operations to be seen.

Follow this link for well done and highly effective Facebook Fan pages that B2B companies have added into their marketing communication strategies, product development plans and business plans to connect with clients in new way and demonstrate they're on top of the trends.

Creating an advisory board

Friday, March 12, 2010 by Laura Colar

An advisory board can alleviate pressure from CEOs, management teams or founders. They can provide valuable insight and advice to grow your company or deal with challenges that develop along the way. A board can also hold a CEO accountable for decisions, a valuable check to have in place.

And the great part, you don't always have to take their advice.

Jim Bourdon, chief executive of Accounting Management Solutions has a column in the NYT that address a decision his board of advisors helped him make and tips for putting one together that will benefit your operations. Here are some of the main takeaways.

HAVE AN OBJECTIVE The most successful boards are formed with a specific goal in mind.

BE OPEN TO CHALLENGES In addition to making sure that your advisors will not be mere rubber stamps, seek out those who fill knowledge gaps within your company or your own background.

TURN TO A NETWORK Search for advisors by taking inventory of your contacts who possess skills or expertise you lack, eventually settle on a ranked wish list of eight (most experts agree that small-business advisory boards of more than six are not productive).

PUT IT IN WRITING Though advisory boards are more informal than boards of directors, they should still be governed by written agreements. It is vital to consult with your lawyer before forming and working with your board.

PAY FOR THE ADVICE Your board members will not be in it for the money. For many, being a part of a board offers mentoring, networking and social opportunities that make the experience worthwhile. It is still, however, a good idea to compensate them.

After reading the column, I believe as your operation grows and becomes more complex, a board seems to be an intelligent tactic that will only improve your business. When building an initial business strategy or business plan structure, think about it.

How to get the word out about your blog

Thursday, March 11, 2010 by Laura Colar

Involve bloggers in your specific industry who are already established and have a regular following. Once they begin linking to you, their much larger audience will get curious and click through to what you're saying. It also gives you instant credibility. Getting someone's attention who has the right amount of influence won't be easy. It may take time to develop a thoughtful, comment-provoking post but the results warrant the extra effort.

Use all other social media avenues to promote your blog and great posts. Whenever something new goes up, link to the post on Twitter, alert your fans on your Facebook page, etc. Each individual has their own specific preferences, some people spend more time on Facebook than others, some hate Twitter. Putting your news and name across the boards will recruit the greatest amount of readers.

Want others to link to you? A snappy, intelligent headline that strikes people as they scan the page will garner the interest that leads to the extra step of not only reading your post, but passing it along to others. The best promoters of your blog are unbiased third parties. People will trust them as they have nothing to gain by sharing your news.

Promote your blog offline. Put a link to it on your business cards and incorporate that into your letterhead, mention it in business meetings and add it to your PowerPoint presentations.

I think we all believe in the power of blogging by now. Use your posts to promote your company, introduce a new product or service, share news and provide potential clients or customers with a great resource for information (useful).

Incorporate blogging as well as your favorite best practices into your business strategy, new product development strategy, marketing communication and much more.

Entrepreneur is synonymous with leader

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by Laura Colar

The basic concepts that lie behind being an entrepreneur.

You're creating something out of nothing, you should build a team around you that will support your goals and vision who also have the capabilities to help you expand. They should be creative, smart innovators, like you and have some diverse backgrounds to bring skills to the table you may not have.

Hiring a team for a startup is different than hiring for an older business. For the latter situation, you should be looking for organized, experienced people who are also comfortable with being leaders. They need to reliable and have high ethical standards. And don't forget, good communicators!

What about when you are expanding beyond an initial or leadership team? You should have some protocol in place that touches on expectations for employees, meetings and compensation practices. This will make it easier to bring new people into the mix. The other consideration, anticipating a change in communication. More people means more diversity regarding personality type and communication preferences. Getting a system in place that will make sure you're facilitating positive communication will be essential.

Let's talk about some common mistakes entrepreneurs make formulating a company, product and culture. Often times, these can occur in the hiring process, it's easy to hire people who look great on paper but aren't committed to your mission. Unfortunately, their lack of motivation can unravel projects quickly.

Don't hold on to control too tightly. Learn to let go. If you trust the people you've hired, at some point, taking your hand off the back of the tricycle is a must. They should continue moving forward as you stop and watch them go - freeing up your time to think strategically about growing your baby (company). And be understanding of mistakes, they happen to everyone from time to time.

Most important, accept and embrace your identity as an entrepreneur. Take your passion and communicate it clearly to investors and employees. Use these facts about what it means to be a leader and what it takes to succeed to develop an organizational development strategy, marketing communication strategy strategic HR plan that will give your passion a blueprint.

You are completely responsible for building the new world as your company will be part of it.

Blogging, another perspective

Friday, March 5, 2010 by Laura Colar

Why do you have a blog? Is it to garner publicity and brand recognition in a cost-efficient manner? Is it to drive sales and growth? If so, you might be going about achieving those things in the wrong way says Joel Spolsky, founder of Fog Creek Software and management columnist for Inc. Magazine.

In his most recent column, Joel asserts that too many blogs focus simply on the companies themselves, new hires, acquisition announcements and other company events. This type of communication doesn't recruit regular readers or garner interest in actually doing business with your operation.

Joel asks, what's the proper formula to turn a blog into an area that helps generate revenue?

The answer:

"...an entrepreneur's blog has to be about something bigger than his or her company and his or her product. This sounds simple, but it isn't. It takes real discipline to not talk about yourself and your company. Blogging as a medium seems so personal, and often it is. But when you're using a blog to promote a business, that blog can't be about you. It has to be about your readers, who will, it's hoped, become your customers. It has to be about making them awesome." (Advice from well-known game developer and author, Kathy Sierra)

There you have it. Blogging should be about making those you seek to serve or do business with even better.

As you develop a marketing communication strategy that incorporate business blogging, be sure to align your communication with the needs of your audience just as you would in any other marketing activity (new product positioning or development, product launch plan, etc.)

Meetings making you unproductive?

Thursday, March 4, 2010 by Laura Colar

Every company has a different approach to communicating internally. Meetings are used to discuss company issues as well as brainstorm to develop plans for clients and delegate responsibilities for the execution of said plan.

Getting together is necessary to discuss the latest market research forecasting, new financial models or a product launch plan. Yet, sometimes they simply equate to lots of talking, little doing.

Yet, when run effectively, meetings put everyone on the same page and foster positive relationships throughout a company as well as the resulting creativity that occurs when minds meet.

MarketingProfs offers actionable advice to run a meeting that doesn't waste your time or your clients' time.

    •    Set a clear agenda when you schedule the meeting. The best outcomes happen when everyone is fully prepared to discuss the topic at hand.

    •    Ask for full participation. Instead of letting one or two voices dominate the conversation, create a collaborative environment in which all ideas are welcome. "Encourage everyone to speak up," he suggests, "but respect those that require time to process what they're thinking by not putting them on the spot right away."

    •    Don't lose track of time. According to Stephens, you should set a limit—and stick to it. "When the time is up," he notes, "the meeting is over. If you didn't accomplish [your] goal you'll plan accordingly next time won't you?"

    •    Establish what each participant will do next. Make everyone accountable by distributing an immediate summation of each team member's responsibilities.

I would recommend adding an area to your business communication strategy or strategic plan that deals with internal interaction and meetings. Establishing best practices for regularly occurring meetings will foster positive communication and increased productivity.

Inspirational black entrepreneurs

Thursday, February 25, 2010 by Laura Colar

In recognition of Black History Month, Entrepreneur has compiled a list of the most iconic black entrepreneurs in history and dubbed it 'The Soul of Small Business'.

1. Oprah Winfrey (this should have been blatantly obvious)
Her story is incredible, her beginnings meager and her success unprecedented. Oprah reinvented daytime TV and transformed her personality into a brand with sheer innovation.

2. Berry Gordy
Gordy transcended racial lines of jazz, R&B and soul music when he developed the interracial 'Motown Sound' later leading him to found the iconic Motown Records.

3. Madam CJ Walker
The daughter of slaves and no stranger to personal tragedy, Walker developed her own product (a scalp conditioning/healing formula) and became the first female, self-made millionaire in the U.S.

4. John Johnson
The founder of Ebony and Jet magazines, Johnson provided African Americans with their own mainstream media outlets.

5. Cat

hy Hughes
Hughes developed and grew Radio One to the tune of 65 stations after being denied financing by 32 banks.

6. Russell Simmons
Simmons is an icon and attributed with making hip hop an acceptable and often applauded part of America's mainstream pop culture.

7. Magic Johnson
Yep, he's a basketball star. But he's also a smart investor. He's developed movie theaters, restaurants and coffee shops in urban areas in an attempt to revitalize their neighborhoods.

8. Tyra Banks
Beautiful to look at and smart too. Banks has become a media mogul, developing wildly successful TV shows, dabbling in music and movies and creating camps to teach young girls self-worth.

Here's what to take away from their examples.

Oprah is a marketing machine and it's all based on who she is, inserting bits of yourself or your personality into your company's marketing communication strategy or marketing strategy plan may give you that slight edge.

Both Walker and Johnson created something brand new. Innovation will help you lead the way in your industry accompanied by a product development business plan.

Cathy Hughes struggled to secure bank financing and won the battle. It's not an easy process but you only need one yes.

Venture capital is alive and well (and it can do good!), we know this thanks to Magic.

As for Tyra and Russell Simmons, they welcomed new technologies and adopted advancements in the media to launch their brands.

The best place to learn can often be the past.

A tip from Google's play book

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 by Doug Allgood

A trend that I see in working with fast growth technology companies is the tendency to invent and build everything. As we work together on the business plans and product development strategies, we find opportunities to focus on what the company does best. We put into practice a Google strategy of "Do what you do best and link to the rest." When working on your business strategy, focus on what ultimately brings value to your customers and enables you to specialize. Seek partners to help perform what is not core to the business strategy. Many times this simple advice creates some real issues in the company where long term employees have built complexity into the operations and feel what they do is central to the success of the company.

My advice is to update your business strategy and analyze what your customers most value. Milestone can assist in an update or review of your business plan and we will also help with the "link to the rest" strategy. We accomplish this by providing tangible ideas for simplification and efficiency in your operations by a focus on what is core to the business.

Software Selection - Don’t Go It Alone!

Sunday, February 21, 2010 by Doug Allgood

The process for evaluating and selecting a software package is a major decision that brings multiple risks to a business. Especially when the software selected is critical to the growth and scalability of the company. I often recommend getting consulting help early in the process so that the results and return on investment can be achieved. Let’s face it; you may only go through a software technology selection a few times in your carrier and therefore should not go it alone.

The first place to start will be to develop a questionnaire for the evaluation and to weight each question so you can measure the responses when returned. The questionnaire becomes the key requirements for the product and should also include items on maintainability, fit to your technology plan, security, and business continuity technology. When sending out the responses, I recommend you notify the potential supplier that the responses will be tied to the agreement when the selection is completed. I have witnessed many companies skip the strategic questionnaire evaluation step and go directly to the software demo. Decisions made from the demonstration only approach yield disappointment, frustration, and significantly higher costs.

In addition to the requirements and the questionnaire, you should put time into developing measurable goals on what a successful implementation will achieve for your business and tie this into the statement of work. These goals usually can be lifted from your business and financial plan. Having well communicated goals understood by both companies will increase the chance for a long term partnership.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on these suggestions and I would welcome the opportunity to share more strategies on software selection.

Before You Build Your New Product . . .

Friday, February 5, 2010 by Jeff Good

I recently met with the CEO of an early-stage software development company, just to see how things were going. "Things are moving forward", he said, ". . . busier than you can imagine . . ." The good news is that the company had customers - good paying customers, in fact. Like many product development companies, though, they were tight on cash and barely making it month to month. In addition, because many of their products were still in the development stage, they had negotiated a wide range of pricing and payment arrangements with their customers. When I asked about the company's long-term pricing strategy and whether customers would be willing to pay prices that supported a profitable business (given the costs necessary to deliver the products), I got a blank stare. "That's a really good question," he said . . . "I sure hope so."

What a shame that so much hard work and money is often expended without really having a long-term vision for the company's profitability or a well thought-out business plan. As I reflected on our conversation, a few things that might help similar early stage companies came to mind:

Know your market - Having a great product is not enough. Market research is necessary to understand who will buy your product and how much they're willing to pay. Figure this out early before you spend too much time or money building a product.
Understand your cost structure - Just because someone is willing to pay for your product doesn't mean you'll have a profitable business. What does it take to deliver your product - all in? This includes not only the direct costs of manufacturing, delivery, installation, etc., but also the costs of product development, maintenance and overhead. Is there enough profit, given market pricing to cover projected costs? Does the projected profit make it worth your effort personally? As comedian/actor Steve Martin once said, "... it's a profit deal."
Predict your cash needs - Many early stage businesses sacrifice profits early on to capture market share and gain critical mass. This is fine as long as you have the cash to finance those early losses. Having a solid financial plan that carefully models cash flows is critical - you don't want to run out of money!

Of course, there are many other important elements to an effective business plan, but these are a few critical starting points before you get too far down the road.

Market Research Not Important? Think Again.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 by Glenn Dunlap

I was approached recently by the CEO of an upstart software as a service company to consider helping his company develop a corporate finance strategy and raise the requisite capital. We talked at length about the application that the company had built, the customer base, the channels that the company sold through, and the market opportunity. We also talked about some of the obstacles that the company faced in order to be successful.

It appeared to me on first blush, that while the product was a great solution, the "problem" wasn't painful enough to the prospective customers to cause them to beat a path to the new application or even make the purchase if proactively presented with the solution. But that was only my first reaction and I've been wrong before. We needed to dig a little deeper.

I offered to review the business plan and bring in our part time CIO to help assess the technology and the opportunity. But before we had received the information for our discovery process, we received an interesting call from the CEO.

The company had decided to put everything on hold. Everything. The board had met over the weekend and decided that it would take too long to pull together the necessary funding to continue the next phase of the product development plan. The other option would be to attempt to grow the business organically but they didn't feel that could be done successfully either.

What initially appeared as an incredibly large target market was actually not nearly as large as thought. The challenge? The pain factor, or lack thereof, that I mentioned before. I was afraid of that...

It's difficult for early stage or startup companies to consider spending time or money on market research - largely because both resources are so scarce. The other concerns are that asking prospects for feedback and input could "let the cat out of the bag" too early, cause challenges with meeting deliverables, create competitors, or put intellectual property at risk.

All of these concerns are legitimate and should be addressed and treated with caution. However, the risk of spending time in production or development ahead of completing a thorough market research process can cause greater problems down the road.

If you have a great idea that you are considering turning into a product or business, work with an individual or firm that can provide you with the market research services to support business plans for small business. You'll be glad you did and you'll be better positioned as a result.

Innovation: Do you have what it takes?

Monday, February 1, 2010 by Laura Colar

One of the many insightful professionals whose tweets I follow and read on a regular basis drew my attention to this article about two weeks ago. 'Why Victims Can't Invent Anything' takes a fresh approach to why many struggle with innovation to either enter a new marketplace or continually develop in order to compete in their current one.

Part of the article can be broken down into a simple concept we're all familiar with - that is, in life, do you typically see the glass as half empty or half full? However, when applied to your business outlook, this theory naturally becomes a bit more complex.

When problems arise do you welcome them, knowing that in the end whatever product or service you produce will ultimately be more complete solutions for your customers/clients due to issues faced early on? Do you see these challenges as times to innovate, to stretch yourself, your employees, your company?

Or do you throw up roadblocks, adopt exasperation as an attitude and complain?

If you regularly do the latter, the piece asserts you're robbing yourself of the ability to innovate. When you complain about hiccups in time lines, frustrations with research and development or any other inevitable hurdles you make yourself a victim. And as the article argues, victims never invented anything.

To lead your company or organization into the future you're going to need the ability to innovate which means no excuses, problems/challenges = opportunities to change the landscape of your marketplace.

This outlook doesn't have to be inherent, it can be learned. After all, many traits or characteristics of entrepreneurs are more skills they have honed than anything else. You can't be the only one whose adopted this attitude either. It should be a part of your organization's identity and brand so all employees not only identify with it, but exhibit it in their approach their every day routines. This means assessing your business plan, product marketing plan business strategy or marketing communications strategy - make the can-do attitude a part of your company culture and you'll be able to innovate on a daily basis.

Our outlook for 2010

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 by Laura Colar

As we look ahead toward the coming year and beyond, we find ourselves full of optimism. By listening to our clients and responding to their evolving challenges, we have recently expanded our service offerings, some of which are already beginning to see traction. Several recent engagements have stemmed from our ability to supply clients with more functionality and expertise in additional areas and as their needs grow, we are able to meet and fulfill each one.

We’re also beginning to see signs that the economy may be turning. The credit market is beginning to loosen and over the course of the next year, we expect to see lenders relax their lending practices to provide small businesses with the working capital they need to flourish. Additional factors, such as manufacturing and factory orders also seem to be on the upswing and unemployment rates have begun to stabilize. All good news!

While the above are indicators that, as a nation, we’re embarking on the proverbial road to recovery, we still proceed with an element of calculated caution. Many operations have been weakened by the events and turmoil that surround the past few years and we anticipate bumpy roads still ahead of our clients and in turn, ahead of us as well. However, this also provides us with a great opportunity to help you navigate out of these difficult times, demonstrating our value and making our services more indispensable than ever before. Our desire is to become your long-term partner, assisting you in whatever aspect of business you may need advice.

As you look to 2010 and even further, what challenges or successes do you anticipate for your company? Is it time to reassess your business strategy? To revamp an old marketing strategy or build a completely new product development strategy? Maybe you're taking a look at your old accounting practices and finding inefficiencies you'd like to change. Whatever your situation may be, we can help.

We want to leave you with one word that embodies Milestone Advisors’ vision for 2010 and that is opportunity. As entrepreneurs, you know how to look for opportunities in every situation. We look forward to seeking it out as well as help you find and capitalize upon it.

Stanley Bing brings it again

Friday, January 15, 2010 by Laura Colar

In one of his more recent posts, the always opinionated columnist for Fortune starts out discussing sleep patterns. He reminisces about when he was a young professional just starting out, he firmly believed he required a full eight hours of sleep in order to function well on the job. If he didn't get it, he just knew deep down his productivity was going to suffer.

Now he points out that his job requires him to consistently switch living, functioning and yes, working, between two timezones. Therefore, he has learned to work effectively and produce desired results without the famed and restful eight hours. He then makes this assertion:

"I may be wrong here, but I think most of senior management, in corporations and governments alike, function on something like this very same sleep schedule. Work all day. Stay up late. Get up early. I wonder what it does to our decision-making processes. Actually, I don’t have to wonder. I know what it does. It makes people a little bit grouchy, more impatient, more solution-oriented, with shorter attention spans and a greater need for visual, auditory and sensory stimulation. We are never tired. We are always tired. And if we stop moving forward, we sink in the water, like sharks. They don’t sleep much either, do they. Maybe that’s why they’re one of the few species to survive while so many others have fallen to the wayside. And why they pretty much run any corner of the ocean they choose to inhabit, come to think of it."

I think he's right and I like the analogy here. That's why entrepreneurs succeed. They're the people whose passion burns so hot, they can't sleep at night and instead are up working on a global marketing strategy for a product launch plan that details a new brand no one has ever heard of. These are also the people who drive the economy and why America as a whole can be the global competitor it is - we can't concentrate on tonight's Leno when we know there's an organizational development strategy that needs to be laid out. During Sunday's sermon we're running through our company's numbers and reminding ourselves that a new finance model needs to be created. The wheels are always turning, the desire to achieve is a constant.

So yea Stanley, I like it. We're sharks.

And goodness sake, don't be late!

Friday, January 8, 2010 by Laura Colar

We meet with people literally every day. We have people into our offices for introductions, to discuss the potential needs of their companies or operations and how we might assist them in their goals. We meet with each other to get on stay on the page. We meet with current clients to share with them market research, build business plan strategies or develop a product marketing plan for a new service or product they plan to roll out. Our conference room is always busy and often we're on the road, meeting our clients where it's most convenient for them.

Unfortunately, sometimes meetings can become a waste of time if they're not run properly and people don't demonstrate proper business etiquette. After all, running effective meetings is a way to build positive relationships with clients and prospects. Here are some tips we found and liked:

1. First decide on how formal your meeting will be

2. There is a skill in inviting the right people to a meeting

3. Prepare a meeting agenda in advance and circulate this to your attendees - remember that meetings can come in all different durations, so get people’s attention by having weird duration meetings

4. Use meeting ground-rules to help avoid speaking for the sake of speaking.

And, as the title reflects, don't be late, ever.

Innovation needed not just to start, but to sustain success

Friday, January 1, 2010 by Laura Colar

We've discussed the necessity of innovation as a major economic driver before. We've also asserted that the innovation itself could hold the key to creating new jobs and opportunities throughout the country and spending dollars to empower it is where how our nation remains a global leader.

But, as a recent article in the Chicago Tribune points out, innovation should be an ongoing component of every company to increase customer satisfaction and public perception of your operations (not just the driving force behind starting the organization).

Take a look at the piece and remind yourself that ongoing efforts to continually innovate must be as strongly emphasized within your business plan as product development strategy (as the can be two different things). If you leave innovation in the beginning processes, your competitors may and most likely will, surpass you.

Reflecting on the past year

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 by Laura Colar

Okay, enough blogs about assessing your current business plan strategy, company goals or product development plan and whether or not you need to develop a new marketing strategy or organization assessment. Let's have a little fun (although all those things are valid exercises).

Fortune recently published a piece that highlights the 'Dumbest moments in business in 2009'. The highlights include Direct TV using the late Chris Farely in ads, AIG's new CEO calling Congress a bunch of 'crazies' and botched credit card reform.

Take a look at the list and let us know what strikes a chord with you. After all, two very important things any small business owner or entrepreneur must have is skin as thick as an elephant's and a well-honed sense of humor.