Starting and Running A Business

Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon, VA invited us to come speak to a group of students about our experience on starting and running a business. Here's the presentation.

Transcript

1. A Geek's Perspective On Starting & Running A Business
2. Who We Are I'm Jeremy Bise Co-founder of ThoseGeeks Website design and hosting Focus on small business and non-profits (B2B) Started the business in 2003 We've designed over 60 sites We host over 150 sites
3. A Journey
4. With lots of ...
5. The Beginning Two co-workers decided we could make some money by combining skills It was just a hobby/side-thing to make some extra money After about a year, we some saw potential and formed a real business Partners both had real jobs -- Jeremy in school; Clint working
6. Today I am a full-time Geek Clint is in Afghanistan
7. Tomorrow ...
8. Thinking About Starting A Business Make sure you love doing it
9. Thinking About Starting A Business Make sure you love doing it Figure out how you're going to be different
10. Thinking About Starting A Business Make sure you love doing it Figure out how you're going to be different Ensure you can commit -- time and money
11. Thinking About Starting A Business Make sure you love doing it Figure out how you're going to be different Ensure you can commit -- time and money Be prepared to work hard and be patient
12. Thinking About Starting A Business Make sure you love doing it Figure out how you're going to be different Ensure you can commit -- time and money Be prepared to work hard and be patient Understand the tax consequences
13. Starting The Business Get your #!@t together Support of family, friends, partners Find somebody to learn from What are you going to call it? How are you going to get your name out there? (biz cards, website, collateral) I don't believe in formal business plans. I do believe in thinking things through and putting them into action. A lot of what business is -- experimentation. I do believe in numbers to tell whether those experiments worked.
14. Starting The Business Get your #!@t together Choose an entity Read up on the different kinds and choose the best one for you: Sole Proprietor Partnership Corporation Limited Liability Company Each has different tax consequences as well as state and federal requirements The Virginia Department of Business Assistance has a great rundown of entities and step-by-step instructions: http://www.vdba.virginia.gov/
15. Starting The Business Get your #!@t together Choose an entity Equip yourself Business requires more than just providing a product or service: Accounting (do it yourself or hire a bookkeeper?) Marketing (printed materials, social networking, website) Learn stuff (lots of free workshops by VDBA and SBDC)
16. Commit To Learning Industries and customer expectations change Find publications, blogs, and monitor news sources to stay on top (Google Reader is your friend -- http://www.google.com/reader) If your business doesn't change it will die
17. Ways To Grow Referrals / Word Of Mouth -- THE BEST
18. Ways To Grow Referrals / Word Of Mouth -- THE BEST Inbound Marketing -- social media, search engines, being an expert (blogging)
19. Ways To Grow Referrals / Word Of Mouth -- THE BEST Inbound Marketing -- social media, search engines, being an expert (blogging) Outbound Marketing -- direct mail, ads, etc.
20. Ways To Grow Referrals / Word Of Mouth -- THE BEST Inbound Marketing -- social media, search engines, being an expert (blogging) Outbound Marketing -- direct mail, ads, etc. Partnerships -- find complimentary businesses and something out
21. Provide Proof That You Rock GET TESTIMONIALS AND BUILD A PORTFOLIO OF YOUR SUCCESS Showcase that success
22. Customer Service Listen more than you talk
23. Customer Service Listen more than you talk The customer is not always right, but you can bend sometimes. Other times, "no" is appropriate.
24. Customer Service Listen more than you talk The customer is not always right, but you can bend sometimes. Other times, "no" is appropriate. "Why" goes a long way -- teach them something
25. Customer Service Listen more than you talk The customer is not always right, but you can bend sometimes. Other times, "no" is appropriate. "Why" goes a long way -- teach them something Keeping a customer is a lot easier (and cheaper) than getting a new one. Retention!
26. Day To Day CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Keep up with what's said, pending deals, and what you need to do on a daily basis. http://www.highrisehq.com http://www.batchbook.com http://www.zoho.com
27. Day To Day Accounting / Invoicing If you don't keep records, Uncle Sam will be upset. http://www.freshbooks.com http://www.getharvest.com http://www.xero.com http://www.quickbooks.com
28. The Secret There is no secret. If there were a recipe for success, businesses would not fail -- and most do. Listen, be the best at what you do, and evolve.
29. Questions? Jeremy Bise jeremy.bise@thosegeeks.com www.thosegeeks.com http://twitter.com/thosegeeks http://twitter.com/jeremybise http://linkedin.com/in/jeremybise