Limit… less: Ignore Limits – Focus On Opportunities
By John Greathouse | January 12, 2010
During the late 1800’s, American author Horatio Alger wrote 129 novels, most of which recount the deeds of impoverished young people who overcome their modest means to establish independent lives as self-sufficient, middle class citizens.
Years after Alger created this new genre, it was derisively (and incorrectly) termed “rags to riches.” A common critique is that Mr. Alger’s heroes succeeded by conveying a simplistic formula comprised of honesty, cheerfulness, virtue, thrift, and hard work.
Dismissing Mr. Alger’s works as juvenile rags to riches novels misses the author’s primary point and the reason why the books had such a tremendous impact on several generations of American entrepreneurs.
Topics: Entrepreneur, Fundraising, The Fringe | 2 Comments »
Pour And Stir II – Managing Your Cost Per Customer
By John Greathouse | December 2, 2009
“I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half.” John Wanamaker
If Mr. Wanamaker had access to the Internet, his oft-repeated quote, would have never been uttered. In the “good old days”, pre- 1999, advertising dollars were largely gambled away.
As noted in Pour and Stir Part I, the key to the successful execution of this strategy is managing the following equation:
The cost to acquire a customer < lifetime value of a customer
This entry focuses on how you can minimize your cost per customer acquired by systematically establishing the infrastructure necessary to track the results obtained from a variety of online and offline marketing vehicles.
Topics: Entrepreneur, Strategic Planning, The Fringe | 3 Comments »
Pour And Stir I – In Pursuit Of The Ideal Business Model
By John Greathouse | October 20, 2009
Note: This is Part I in a three-part series on The Perfect Business Model. Click here for Part II, and Part III
Authentic, hand-crafted Persian rugs always include intentional imperfections. They are said to be, “Perfectly Imperfect, and Precisely Imprecise.” The same is true with many crafts and architecture created in Muslim cultures.
I am not a Muslim scholar, but a layman’s interpretation of this tradition of intentional errors is that it arises from the belief that attempting to emulate God’s perfection is sinful.
Fortunately, entrepreneurs need not fear running afoul of this sin when crafting their business plans, because all of them are inherently imperfect and imprecise.
Topics: Entrepreneur, Launching Venture, Strategic Planning | 1 Comment »
Sales Kids With Grit – Web 2.0 Paper Routes
By John Greathouse | October 13, 2009
What do Warren Buffet, Martin Luther King, John Wayne, Walt Disney, Harry Truman and Wayne Gretzky all have in common? In addition to all of them reaching the pinnacle of their chosen professions, they also all started their careers performing the same job.
All of these extremely successful individuals were paperboys*.
At its peak circulation in 1969, the weekly newspaper Grit had a circulation in excess of 1.5 million. Each paper was delivered by a child and all of the money was likewise collected by children and sent to Grit’s main office by snail mail. Despite its inherent inefficiencies, Grit was able to sustain a profitable business reliant largely on youthful labor for over 80-years. Surely a savvy, modern-day entrepreneur can utilize online tools to leverage young peoples’ collective energy and fervor.
Topics: Entrepreneur, The Fringe | 2 Comments »
Fast Follower III – First Mover Disadvantage
By John Greathouse | September 29, 2009
This is part III of a three part series. Click here for Part I and Part II
John Fitch was first. He spent the majority of his adult life fruitlessly attempting to capitalize on the novelty and uniqueness of his invention. Unable to raise funds from wealthy individuals, he solicited $300 from a hodgepodge of small businessmen, including tavern owners, grocers and physicians.
In a matter of months, he developed technology that was superior to that created by the world’s leading scientist over the prior 15-years, despite his lack of a formal education.
He debuted his technology in Philadelphia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It exceeded his expectations and thrilled those who witnessed it, including a number of prominent Founding Fathers. However, he was still unable to secure adequate funding to commercialize his technology.
Fitch spent the next three years traveling the country repairing clocks as a means of surviving, all the while saving money for the eventual launch his venture. In 1790, he began offering a service that eventually transformed world commerce and generated trillions of dollars of wealth. Unfortunately for Fitch, his adVenture folded 18-months after it began.
In 1798, at the age of 55, a frustrated, destitute Fitch scrimped together enough money to purchase a handful of opium pills, which he used to end his life. His suicide note was prophetic:
“The day will come when some more powerful man will get fame and riches from my invention, but no one will believe that poor John Fitch can do anything worthy of attention.”
Topics: Entrepreneur, Launching Venture, Strategic Planning, The Fringe | 2 Comments »
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