BRAVO Partners With Foursquare

The NYTIMES ran this article today about a partnership agreement between Foursquare and BRAVO Network. Foursquare, a mobile phone app that allows people to explore towns and give reviews and tips, has partnered with BRAVO to engage viewers on locations inspired by their shows. It's another step in the interaction companies are looking for with their consumers as mobile apps allow for constant connection. This is a fairly groundbreaking agreement that will likely inspire many other networks to follow suit.

BRAVO WORKS WITH FOURSQUARE TO ENGAGE FANS ON PHONES.

Mark Cuban's Message To The Young

You can't argue with the man's success. Mark points out that you can't be in too much of a hurry to grow-up and the importance of absorbing all the basic business principles you can. As most of us will find out, you learn more through real world experience than any class can teach.

SUCCESS & MOTIVATION: SCATTERBRAINED AND IN COLLEGE

Eugene Lin: iPHONING MY WAY TO RETIREMENT

Great speech from Eugene Lin on how he finally made money selling iPhone apps. Keep trying until that one slightly inappropriate idea takes you to the bank.

iPHONING MY WAY TO RETIREMENT $.70 AT A TIME by Eugene Lin from Ignite Show on Vimeo.

The Corner Office MBA: The Value of Mistakes

By John Collins

All driven, ambitious individuals set goals. I doubt many use the word “failure” in a list of those business or personal goals. That is a mistake. It ignores the value of screwing up, of trying something new, or innovative, or untried, or “crazy” and not immediately succeeding. It does not recognize the value of mistakes.

Few disregard the worth of a formal education. Learning generally has a well deserved reputation for value on its own -- try getting a gig at Goldman Sachs without your name on a diploma. But generally, my experience is that many entrepreneurs and managers (especially young, cocky ones like I was) discount the worth of lessons taught by failure. Because failure was the antonym of my ambition, it took years of experience to teach me the value of mistakes. “Business judgment” is a trait of effective, successful leaders. The only way to learn “judgment” is through experience. The experiences that made the most lasting effect on my success were not always successes.

I am not suggesting that one should plan to fail – that you start your day, week, month or year by looking forward to a disaster. I am suggesting that you not ignore the view from behind – that you finish your day, week, month and year by carefully understanding what did not work as well as accounting for what did. This is especially true when managing others, when developing talent in others to leverage your success. Few individuals get rich working alone. If you make those working for you (or with you) fear mistakes, what you get are monkeys with typewriters. They will eventually spell a word, but will never create value.

So, what is the value of mistakes in business? It is certainly not the effect -- it is the cause. Analyzing why something did not work, or how a mistake occurred, and using that “education” to make changes designed to make it work or prevent re occurrence. That is the value of failure. Encouraging innovation will likely not result in universal success with every attempt – mistakes are unavoidable. If you think you never make errors, you are mistaken. However, you can universally learn from every failure – and improve your chances of future success.

About the author: John Collins is an entrepreneur and business consultant based in Washington D.C. He formerly founded and served as CEO of Portsmouth Financial Group, Inc. and held senior positions at Knightsbridge Management LLC, Feltman & Co, DeStor Corporation, and The Home Depot.

Make Your Business Happen

It is possible to start a business in a recession.

The financing is out there. Venture Capital firms handed out $17.7 billion in financing, angel investors are looking to nurture and mentor, and, what seems to be the most exciting of all, the age of the incubator is upon us.

Picture this: You move to San Francisco to develop your business where you are given office space surrounded by other smart, motivated entrepreneurs sharing ideas and contacts. At night, you go to dinner with some of the icons of technology, business, and investment. This is the essence of the Y Incubator founded by Paul Graham and Company. They also give you an investment to obtain between 2-6% of your company. It's hard to imagine a better way to get started and this is far from the only incubator that exists. They are sprouting up all over the country from Charlotte to Seattle. And, of course, those running the incubators are doing everything they can to help you succeed in order to make their investment worth while.

Angel investors can sometimes be exactly what their title says to your business. They provide capital and, with the right investor, the opportunity to use their knowledge in your growth. Target entrepreneurs from your industry and you will find a more hands-on director who can help guide through the perils of a start up. Netscape founder Marc Andreeson was already a legend in Silicon Valley before he started investing and mentoring the next crop of web 2.0 innovators. Contacts and industry knowledge that come from a person of his stature can change the game for a young company.

Venture capital firms want the next idea. Think mobile, on-demand, or a completely new model of commerce. They are still investing at very high rates, but don't think they are your only option.

Be creative. There is no better time than now, recession or not.

Engage With Your Community

Decrease your spending and increase potential clients and buyers through the new wave of digital marketing.

It's time to use a more integrated, targeted, and brand-building strategy to create a buzz and reputation customers will associate with your company. The new platforms include blogs, podcasts, virtual worlds, web communities, and social media. The beauty of these mediums is the initial investment of time and not money.

There are a lot of tutorials on how best to use digital marketing, but it all boils down to a few simple lessons: be transparent as a brand, engage in conversations with your customers, and use multiple platforms to establish credibility and reach a wider audience. Twitter and Facebook are a great place to start with their ease of use and the vastness of their communities. Start a page, begin engaging in conversations, and don't over-promote. The brand itself is going to have to cede some control to the customer and trust the process.

Become active in the various ratings systems such as Yelp. These sites are only growing and a few bad reviews can be costly to your business in the same way a good review can help. Ask why people had a negative experience and what you can do to rectify the situation. The beauty of sites like Yelp and Twitter is the ability to identify unhappy consumers and change their minds.

A Digital Nomad

While I don't agree with all of the principles of Tim Ferriss' 4 HOUR WORK WEEK, it certainly has some good points. He did a series of testimonials from followers and I watched this video with a very small amount of jealousy. Maneesh Sethi showcases all the ways you can make money on the internet using a little creativity.

The Corner Office MBA: Listening

by Evan

God gave us two ears and one mouth.

Nearly 70% of our country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from consumer spending. As Americans, we produce and consume goods and services that drive our economy. Someone comes up with an idea - that is then manufactured, packaged, marketed and distributed to an end consumer.

Therein lies the rub.

The end consumer. The purchaser. The individual who has a “need” that must be satisfied through obtaining the “product”.

In school you’re taught the basics. Reading, writing and arithmetic. But they never teach selling. The one thing that you could attribute the majority of our GDP too. And what is selling? Selling is communication. Selling is understanding the various qualities and capabilities of a product and being able to translate that information to a consumer. We must be informed of what they want in order to deliver the proper advice and sell them. What does the consumer want?

Therein lies the rub.

The consumer, your potential client, has a certain set of needs that must be satisfied through the purchase of the product. We must find out what these are through a process called “Discovery”. We ask questions to identify what the client wants and then we – shut up. Stop talking. Remain silent. When a potential client is telling you what they want – listen to them – understand it – and try to mentally match your product(s) with what they had in mind. Ask more questions to refine their criteria.

The conversation should be back and forth, but should mostly be centered around the client. Cause its not about you – its about them.

Therein lies the rub.

When you are in the process of discovery , LISTEN to what the client has to say, and don’t be afraid to repeat it to them. This is probably one of the most effective, yet underrated techniques in selling. After you are done asking a question, listen to the answer and then repeat back to the client what they just said.

Its not easy to listen, in actuality its one of the most difficult things to do. But for those of us who can master the discovery process, and listen to the answers, we will become much more effective in the world of sales.

About the author: Evan is an investment advisor at one of the top firms in Los Angeles. His clients include affluent individuals and private institutions.

The Founder Factor

Fred Wilson has a cool take on company founders. They run the most innovative, forward-thinking businesses because it's always about what comes next and not the merits of the past.

THE FOUNDER FACTOR

Learning From A Recession

Survival was the main objective for many companies during the recession that has gripped the global economy for the past 18 months. Businesses got leaner, more reactive, and certainly learned to operate with more efficiency as a matter of necessity rather than want.

Whether your company was in the real estate market or not meant little when the international markets froze, prices tumbled, and a wide-ranging economic disaster struck. It is nothing any of us could have planned for (except for the brilliant hedge fund managers who bet against the bubble and took home 1000% gains for their efforts) but an event that truly separated the good business managers from the great. Those of us lucky enough to be young, still-employed and interested can take away many great business lessons.

Don't become complacent. Your balance sheet is the most important indicator to how you can survive in a climate of free-fall. When markets freeze, the ability to get financing to keep your company moving becomes near impossible. Your reserves are your ticket to survival. Unless you operate the rare 'recession-proof business', you can count on a large percentage of your sales and profits dipping in these tumultuous times. Cash flow will be the key. Always monitor your books and understand how long you could survive if things change.

React quickly. Don't wait until the business is lost to make the necessary cost and staff-cutting decisions to save the company. Make your company as lean as possible without compromising the essentials. Sales, marketing, and research & development must remain strong. While making these changes, always remember the tremendous opportunity a recovery brings. Position the business to reap the rewards of another company's lack of preparation. The only way to dig yourself out of a revenue and profit hole is to make sales!

Diversify your customer base. One account should never be responsible for more than 15% of your revenue, especially in tough times. Always envision the future based on the possibility that you could lose your biggest account. What would happen? Understand the impact a sudden change could have on the books. This is also an opportunity to diversify your employees. Recessions are a great time to recruit talented people who have had a run of bad luck.

The leader must make themselves visible. Your company needs to know who is in charge and that they have a plan to attack the problem . Her or she is their ticket to employment. This kind of decisiveness and leadership has a trickle-down effect in how they deal with customers and market to prospects.

Take the lessons from tough economic times and apply them when times are good. It is the only way to truly ensure your companies' ability to survive and thrive in all climates.

The Great Business Of Apps

Mobile app development companies may soon rival software pioneers like Microsoft.

Apps are remarkable not only because of the functions they can simplify, but also because of their revenue potential:

1. Consumers purchase the apps.
2. Users are exposed to advertising embedded within the app
3. In certain situations, digital products can be bought to enhance game play

That is a remarkable business model. The digital products are the smartest aspect of this operation and the most successful developers have a keen understanding of this. Further, every click is being recorded and analyzed to increase productivity and profitability. Venture Capital firms have taken notice and are investing and incubating these companies at increasing rates.

There are relatively few barriers to entry in this market. By all accounts, learning to write the software is an easy task and the hardest part has been gaining approval from Apple. Google is attempting to take away that obstacle allowing a much freer process of getting apps onto phones operating on their Android system.

The next step is combining the everyday functions of these apps with a serious, branded business purpose. Corporations are writing programs to allow their employees in the field to work directly within their systems. This can be accomplished by almost anyone with an IT department and a little training. Also, the movement to Augmented Reality in combining the Internet and what is seen in front of you should be a huge breakthrough, and it can only happen with a phone.