Startup Advice
Never be shy about promoting yourself because if you aren’t going to no one else ever will. – Gene Simmons
When I first wrote the piece “Fake it Till You Make it” a couple of people became morally outraged and delivered sermons on a popular networking site. My original piece was basically about the need for aggressive self-promotion, particularly in this day and age. There’s an actual legal term for this strategy: puffery. Yes, it’s legal. My two critics jumped to the erroneous conclusion that I was suggesting illegal behavior. I wasn’t. Continue reading
Pivot: Possibly the Most Annoying Business Buzzword in History
Everyone needs to agree to never use this dreadful word again. Please don’t use it. It makes you sound like someone who lacks the depth to think deeper than the buzzword of the month. Continue reading
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
This is about a real life Zelig and the entrepreneurial spirit.
Do you really need to fake it till you make it? In my humble opinion, the answer is yes in the majority of instances. This is especially true if your startup is a B2B business. Existing businesses rarely gamble on the new kid no matter how low the quote is. There’s simply too much at stake for everyone from the purchasing agent on up to the CEO.
This can also be a factor in B2C businesses. Ask yourself if you would trust a lawyer, doctor, or accountant fresh out of school. Chances are high that you wouldn’t. Nobody wants to be a test guinea pig for a stranger learning on the job.
How do entrepreneurs, deal-makers, and startups get past this credibility obstacle? They fake it till they make. Basically, they puff up the business to make it appear larger and more established than it maybe in reality. If you know what to look for you will see that everyone does it to varying degrees. The most successful entrepreneurs are experts at this game. Continue reading
