Scaling Up Stage

“A business should be run like an aquarium, where everybody can see what’s going on–what’s going in, what’s moving around, what’s coming out. That’s the only way to make sure people understand what you’re doing, and why, and have some input into deciding where you are going. Then, when the unexpected happens, they know how to react and react quickly.

Literature is mostly about having sex, and not much about having babies; life is the other way round. David Lodge Startup pundits have focused primarily on funding events and product launches, and not much about how viable the business model and scale up strategy are.

This week I have been developing content for a client’s website. We are helping them formulate a message that is intended to explain both their knowledge of their customers’ problems and how they are able to help. Good marketing is really just good content. It focuses on your customers’ problems and how they will benefit from your offering. It is not about your product features.

We invest a lot of effort in finding partners and maintaining partner relationships. We do this for a variety of reasons. One of the advantages to working in a large firm is that there are normally resources and expertise you can call on when confronted with a challenge. There are typically other specialists who have your same job you can compare notes with; there are other managers who can offer perspective on management challenges. As a solo entrepreneur or member of a small team the limits of your perspective and capabilities can keep you from excellence in ways that may not even realize.