Week 6

$100 challenge - we are still going with the chocolates, I have been assigned to help out with making fliers, this has been good for me because I haven't been able to help much with sales because of my classes during the day, and working nights.

This week we started focusing on marketing. Start up nation talked about 5 company naming mistakes that can kill your business.
1. Using a literal or descriptive name
2. Basing the name on a product or service
3. Letting the map determine your company's future direction
4. Use a meaningless acronym to spell out your identity
5. Relying on your last name as your first alternative
These are all great ways to keep your business open to the possibility of expanding, or being sold in the future. What ever the future holds for the business will be better served with a name that invites and inspires.

We also talked about an article called "In praise of the purple cow". This was the idea of driving down the countryside and seeing a lot of normal cows, and how that can get boring very fast, and how if there was a purple cow on the side of the road that it would grab your attention. This is true of starting your own business, you need something that will stand out and grab people's attention. Also you can't just coast when you have their attention, you need to keep them coming back for more. Keeping your ideas fresh is a good way to invite new people, and keep people coming back for more.

W also read on the "Y Generation" , and how we are coming into a time were people are no longer satisfied with working for a large cooperation, we can see that there are needs that are not being fulfilled by the big companies, and that we have the skill sets to be able to fill those gaps. This is why there are so many startups around, people want to work for themselves and gain the satisfaction of seeing their customers walk away happy.

We also got another case study about Premier Print Solutions, and we had the owners of this business come in and talk to us abut what they did, and where they are planning on going. So it was neat to be in on what was going on with their company, and to see where I could be at some point with my own business.

Acton Hero - Phil Romano
Always have a point of difference
If it doesn't feel good to me, it won't feel good to a customer
Service a need, don't just make a profit
People remember you for what you did, what do I want to be remembered for?