Why do we have a financial crisis? Here is why kids…

It is unbelievable that someone would get millions of dollars for running the company into the ground. And we have no rules against any of the dirt that goes on in order to make it possible for a company to go out of business, fire thousands of people, and have a select few walk away with millions in bonuses and parachutes when they failed in doing their jobs. These guys are obviously connected. Either that or America was designed to protect and work for a selected few. Those who play by their own rules and set ours to boot.

start your own business NOW!

I’ve finally decided to start my business. Now, WHERE THE HECK DO I START?’

Sound familiar?

This question comes up a lot and I’m always surprised by the “words of wisdom” seasoned entrepreneurs give. Things like “make a website,” “get your business license,” “buy this software,” “read this book,” “write a business plan” or “open a business bank account.”

This is great advice if (1) time is not of essence and (2) money is no object. Don’t get me wrong, those answers are correct. But I find they often miss the point by adding unnecessary burdens like anxiety and expenses to someone who’s just starting off. Most people I speak with don’t have the luxury of time or money. They want to get their business up and running quickly and start attracting clients so they can start making money to care for their families.

If you fit the latter description, don’t despair. I’ve come up with 7 steps to help you get up and running in no time.

Specify what you do. This is probably THE most important step. You can’t start marketing yourself without being absolutely clear on what services you offer. Split your list in two — services you DO offer and services you DON’T offer. Keep this list handy; you’ll find as time goes on, this list will narrow down to what you really love doing and everything else. This first step will help you define your specialty.

Determine who do you it for. You’ll often hear people (especially coaches) say you “must” choose a target market, or niche, if you want to succeed in business. It’s true that narrowly defining a target market IS important. But when you’re starting off, you can’t know who you like doing business with until you’ve had a few contracts. Start the process by listing the types of people or companies you like to work with. Remember, you want to be more specific than saying something general like “stay at home moms,” “small business owners,” “lawyers” or “baby boomers.” This second step will get you closer to identifying your target market.

Decide on your fee. Just because you’re starting up a business doesn’t mean you have to low-ball your fees. Base your decision on these 3 factors: (1) What is your competition charging? (2) How much are your potential clients willing to pay? and (3) Can you have financial freedom asking for this fee? Your decision may be mostly based on intuition or experience. Remember to ask for what you think you’re worth and don’t accept anything less.

Get business cards. And I don’t mean cards printed on your friend’s “really good printer.” These days, you can get professionally printed business cards for cheap. Don’t worry if you haven’t yet chosen a company name; just use your name to start with. Once you’ve decided on a company name, a logo and have started getting clients, you can order more cards.

Design your 30-second intro. You must be able to answer the “So, what do you do?” question in 30 seconds or less. Remember, your audience is tuned in to the WIIFM channel (“What’s in it for me?”). If something in your pitch doesn’t pass the “so what?” test, it’s best to leave it out (like “Hello, my name is Cristina Favreau and I’m a Certified Coach.” Really! Who cares?). Make it compelling. Talk about the benefits of doing business with you. Identify what makes you different from your competition. Get help to brainstorming ideas. Practice it, until it comes naturally to you.

Network. Once you’ve complete these 5 steps, you need to get out there and start networking. It’ll be difficult and scary at first, especially if your pipeline is empty, but the more you do it, the easier it gets and the more your pipeline fills up with contacts. Great places to start are local chambers and business networking groups. You may also want to join a few online groups where the people you identified in step 2 hang out.

Market your business each day. Marketing is telling people what you do over and over again. You have a limited budget, so stick to inexpensive strategies: give a referral, give away a free report, write a newsletter and blog, offer a free introductory session, give a presentation at your local networking venue or anything else you can think of that will get people to start seeing you as an expert in your field, even if you’re just starting off.

The trick to these 7 steps is to keep it simple. Just because you have limited cash flow doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. Your strategies at the beginning should be to get your name out there and to get clients.

Obviously, these 7 steps are not the end-all-be-all of starting a business. There’s still more to do. But going through these steps will give you a solid foundation to build on. In a following article, I’ll share with you the next steps to take, once you have these ones in place.

how to be the best manager ever

I have in recent times moved into a new career direction. I have long since worked as a software engineer with web technologies and data driven web sites. In the past few years I was mostly overseeing teams and persons efforts on new development as well as project integrations with one another. And so I moved from developer to development manager.

One of the most notable things to come out of this is a fresh viewpoint and discovery on people relations and life in general. After startling my new role I went on www.amazon.com and ordered the top five books on management I could find. Out of the top rated books the one that captured me and had the most benefit was The Dream Manager by Mathew Kelly.

In short the book details how employees of dead end jobs are able to be inspired to become a super workforce that reaps benefits of a company that cares and fosters their accomplishment of their dreams and in return reaps the benefits of a happy and united team of employees.

Also since reading this I proposed to my wife we both keep a book of our dreams and explained the premise behind this. She loved the idea and has started her dream book immediately. We are now a couple weeks into developing our dream books.

I also apply the dream methods to my team and personal get involved with dream development. This has gotten me into their good graces with little friction… especially with my overseas teams.

So what are you waiting for? Get this book ASAP and begin making the work place better, your home and family life better, and the world better. Not only will you be a better manager within a week but you will be a better spouse, parent, and person in general.

Agile > waterfall ???

The debate over what development method is better is still being waged. The agile method is not new to Information Technology anymore and has gotten put though he passes in many projects, of varying types, and by many teams worldwide. Since offering a compelling alternative to the stoic waterfall model it is time to ponder the question does agile live up to or even surpass the waterfall method?

In my professional experience working for various organizations in New York I would argue yes. But mine would be an argument based mostly on qualitative results. Today I stumbled upon this quantitative explanation of the agile method’s superiority to the waterfall model.

Also, I am interested to gather the thoughts of Information Technology professionals who lived on both sides of the fence and can offer opinions on this subject.

I am Kacalapy

In my first blog I will fill you in on who I am in the hopes this information will shed light on where I am coming from.

I am in my early thirties and have just had the best year of my life in 2008! Now this may sound crazy but I was fortunate enough to find the most amazing girl in the world. Since crossing paths with her my world became much brighter and several of my dreams came true. In short, the amazing girl is now my wife and we had a little girl. Also, I always wanted a Labrador and as luck would have it my wife came with one (Now my rambunctious standard poodle has a buddy).

By trade I am a software engineer in New York City. Where everything is at arms length but no good food in sight.