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Tag Archives: entreprenuer

Propel Point Turns 1!

Posted on March 1, 2011 by in Dave Cole

They say that the first year is the toughest in small business, and on that note, I think both Jennifer and I would be inclined to agree. We’ve enjoyed some tremendous achievements, but we’ve certainly had our fair share of speedbumps and setbacks. As we look back on the past year, there’s a few things that come to mind that are worth sharing about our experience…

The Business Plan Lasted a Week

Propel Point turns 1Fortunately for us, our planning process involved a Saturday to come up with what we thought was the master solution to everything that would become Propel Point. In some respects, we were spot on at targeting the market, finding our niche opportunities, and meeting an unmet demand. However, when it came to any of the nitty-gritty tactical ideas we thought we’d be able to execute, the business plan lasted about 7 days.

When it comes to small business, you have to be willing to forgo the planning cycle for a doing cycle, and that lesson has been embedded in our brains. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the planning process isn’t valuable – it allows us to choose what ideas really are interesting or important, but from that point on the idea is to move quickly and take action.

The Development Process is Critical

Through the course of the past year, we’ve done a couple dozen major projects for some of the top speakers and seminar organizations in the country. We’re absolutely thrilled to have accomplished so much! (One of my projects is to rebuild the site to demo much more of our work – stay tuned)

It’s become really valuable for us to realize that the development process is critical. It’s one thing to say you’ll build something; it’s another to start building something – but where we’ve truly found an excellent rhythm is when we have a clear roadmap from start to finish and do our best to steer ourselves, our staff, and our clients along that path.

Fun, Friends, Family, and Propel Point

It also goes without saying that we’re extremely fortunate to have the support of the people that we do. For both Jennifer and myself, the support of our family and friends, clients and suppliers, partners and mentors has made a tremendous difference in our ability to persevere and achieve the success we’ve enjoyed. Year one was just the beginning.

You can expect to see dramatic changes from us in the coming year. We’ve spent some time to re-evaluate the most successful parts of our organization, and we’ve also taken a good hard look at the things that we shouldn’t be worried about or don’t need to bother with anymore. Just like with anything in life, step number one for success is to show up. You’ll never hit a home run on any of the pitches you don’t swing at.

Thanks for visiting Propel Point, and thanks for supporting us!

Review of The Intelligent Entrepreneur

Posted on December 28, 2010 by in Dave Cole

If there’s one thing that every young adult experiences frequently while growing up and living in California – it’s the journey up and down the state by car. Over the past holiday weekend, to visit with friends and family, I logged about 1,300 miles to trek up to Reno by way of San Francisco. But, I really enjoy the trip because (a) I’m used to it by now, and (b) it gives me ample time to rest my mind. In the service of the latter, I always try to find an audiobook or something to entertain me – and this trip was no exception. The day before I left, I bought The Intelligent Entrepreneur by Bill Murphy, Jr.

At it’s core, this was a great story about 3 entrepreneurs – the founders of Military.com / Affinity Labs, TheLadders.com, and bluemercury (a company that I wasn’t familiar with prior to hearing the book). While there’s no doubt that each of the founders had many advantages to starting their businesses, the reality was incredible to listen to. Finding funding, building great teams, meeting and defeating competition at every turn – the story really demonstrated how challenging the market can really be, even for well funded, well educated, and well connected individuals like these.

The book is told in a really unique format, switching from 3-story lines during even chapters to entrepreneurial lessons during odd chapters. In that sense, it felt very much like an audio presentation of a documentary – where the lessons to be learned were interspersed with a story arch of these 3 business creators. Perhaps the most valuable lesson was the one shared in the story of Marla Malcom Beck (shared by her mentor, John Ledecky): DROOM. Don’t run out of money! If there’s even just one gem of insight, that’ll do for the moment.

I can say with confidence, after reading (hearing?) the book in its entirety, there are many lessons contained within (both explicit and implicit) that will stick with me for quite a while. Perhaps most important is hearing that, as a small business starter – things get tough – but that simply means that you need to respond with hard work, quick thinking, and a keen eye on what’s important. If you’re looking for a very contemporary business book that takes you on a journey rather than simply telling you where your destination ought to be, I highly recommend The Intelligent Entrepreneur.