q Using Technology to Start a Successful Business in (Spite of) a Depression | The Bottom Violation

Apr

12

Using Technology to Start a Successful Business in (Spite of) a Depression

image of an entrepreneur avoiding a maze with a bridgeDid you know that some of the most powerful entrepreneurial ideas in the lexicon of human knowledge arose from the ashes of economic catastrophe? It’s true. And the reason is a lot simpler than you think: when times get tough, unemployment increases. So what do people do? They become entrepreneurs.

If you’re thinking about starting a business — or even keeping one afloat in this economy — don’t be discouraged by the climate. If anything, find inspiration in the fact that — no matter what happens — things will turn around eventually. Of course, eventually could be a long time, so you should prepare for an extended winter — especially considering the reckless irresponsibility with which our leaders are handling our currency and our banking industry. But once it’s over, the new generation of industrialists will come from small-business thinkers who knew how to stay lean and efficient when times were tough.

Times have changed. Believe it or not, the Internet is still in its infancy, and I promise you it’s not going away. If you don’t own a computer, or if you don’t know how to navigate the World Wide Web, it goes with out saying that you’re already at a serious disadvantage. Of course, if you’re reading this, that probably means you have at least a modicum of computer skills. Still, computing and networking have defined the last fifteen years of business, and yet, what we’ve seen so far will be nothing compared to the next 20 years.

I’ve prepared a list of useful tips any entrepreneurial spirit should keep in the forefront of his brain as he weathers this economic crisis.

  1. If you don’t know web design and web development, you better find someone who does. Do you know the difference between (X)HTML and CSS? Would you be able to interface with a database using PHP? Can you create an image, logo, or animated presentation using Adobe CS4? If not, you need to partner with someone who can.

    I don’t need to tell you this, but the internet is the place people go first to find what they need, and it has been that way for some time. If you aren’t presenting yourself in the cleanest, easiest-to-read, friendliest, and eye-grabbing way, then you’re going to lose. Period. It’s the new frontier, and you need to be at its cusp.


  2. SEO, SEO, SEO. It stands for “search engine optimization,” and that’s exactly what it is — an entire industry whose purpose is to make sure that you, your name, your business, your product, your service, and your reputation are available to as many eyes as possible on the internet. It’s not an exact science, but it’s not wizardry either. And above everything else, it’s not easy.


    SEO specialists spend years trying to understand the intricate complexities of search engine do’s and don’t’s, and if you truly optimize your presence on the internet, you can drive traffic like nothing you can possibly imagine. But it takes patience, dedication, and consistency. If you think you know enough to do your own SEO, you’re probably just about 180 degrees wrong. Look into it, and once you understand just exactly how much you don’t understand, then find someone who does. It’s critical.


  3. Social networking, social networking, social networking. If you think Twitter is a dirty word, and you think Facebook is something a woman carries her makeup in, you are in a lot of trouble. Social networking is the way people connect with each other now. It used to be that if you wanted to find someone, you did a Google search and crossed your fingers. Today, that’s no longer true. You want to find someone? Go to Facebook. With all the updating, connecting, chatting, and gossiping going on in social networking venues, you better understand that you need to be in the fray, promoting yourself. There’s no way around it. You’ll also need to familiarize yourself with LinkedIn and several other social/business networking sites.


  4. Blog, blog, blog, blog… BLOG! Are you talented? Do you consider yourself an expert? Do people come to you to solve their problems? Of course they do! And for all these reasons, you are in business! Now go write about it.


    Do you know how much it costs to create a blog? Zero. That’s how much. You can use blogger, Drupal, Joomla, or my favorite — WordPress. Or, you can use any of the innumerable alternatives out there. Be creative, and tell the world how much you know about your specialty. And keep telling them… over, and over, and over again. Eventually, search engines will recognize your expertise too (especially if you correctly employ SEO), and they will help you find business.

    Remember, an article stays on the Internet forever (at least theoretically). So if you’re writing about yoga techniques today that will still be germane ten years from now, well, then your article could be performing the passive task of marketing for you indefinitely. What could be better than that? And as your reputation grows, so will your audience — and that’s when things go viral. So crack those knuckles, get in front of your keyboard, and write. And don’t stop until you’re rich.


  5. TIE IT TOGETHER! As you get older, you’re going to accumulate more knowledge. You’ll learn different skills that transcend the original scope of your business, and you need to tie these skills together.


    I’m going to use myself as an example: when I began my career, I was a financial analyst. I’m great with numbers and math. But after I started my hedge fund, I found myself developing deep technological skills — including web development, SEO, web design, spreadsheet expertise, networking, database management, and programming of every imaginable sort. The next thing I knew, I was as good in these fields as I ever was as a financial analyst, and yet for years, I didn’t market those skills at all! Likewise, I became expert at marketing, writing, and presentation, and yet I did nothing about it.

    Eventually, however, I wrote a book and used my skills in all of these areas to find as much success as I possibly could — on all fronts. Today, I’ve brought it all together through blogs, web sites, marketing campaigns, and SEO. I know technology, so I write a technology blog at MyTechTool.com, and this helps my web-development, design, and SEO business (DesignOriginate.com). Likewise, I have leveraged my financial and economic knowledge into the content-driven site at BottomViolation.com.

    Finally, I have combined my book’s site — DisciplineNovel.com with my personal site — PacoAhlgren.com. And, of course, there’s Facebook and Twitter, which get updates every single day, no matter where the content comes from. The end result? It’s hard to visit one of my sites without having access to all the rest of them.

    One caveat: from an SEO perspective, it’s okay to create loose links between your various enterprises, but make sure those enterprises stand alone. Use tools like “nofollow” tags to ensure that search engines see each entity as unique and stand-alone.


  6. Understand business. Okay, okay… this doesn’t have much to do with emerging technology, but it may be more important than anything else.


    So you’re a great chef! Isn’t that fabulous! You can prepare the meanest steak tartare east of Boise. Man, we are all just so impressed! But what do you know about A/R, A/P, credit terms, cost of carry, and inventory management? Nothing? Wonderful! Your business is statistically nearly guaranteed to fail!

    It doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do; the overwhelming majority of small business in this country fail because proprietors focus too exclusively on their talents, and not enough on the business of their business – much to the detriment of their cash flow. Enroll in some community college courses. Learn the basics of business and accounting. Believe me, you’ll thank me later.


  7. Speaking of education. Do you know what the biggest search engine on earth is? Of course you do. It’s Google. But do you know what the second-biggest search engine is? It’s YouTube.

     

    Are you surprised? I was too, until I realized that YouTube is the ultimate online learning resource. Ever.

    I know — I just told you to enroll at a community college, and you are certainly welcome to do that. But why on earth would you spend $150 on a textbook — along with whatever tuition costs — when you can find anything and everything you could ever possibly want to know about accounting, cash flow management, taxes, employment costs, insurance, software, (or anything else) on YouTube? For free! Try it. You’ll be absolutely blown away at how much you can learn in such a short time.

    And the best part? There’s not some stupid sorority girl in the back row saying, “Do we have to know this for the test?”


Paco Ahlgren solves business problems. He is a financial analyst, economist, author, web-developer, designer, and SEO specialist in Austin, Texas. If that’s not enough, he’s also a single father (that’s the job he likes best).

If you’d like to contact him about how he can help you make your business run better, you can contact him at paco@designoriginate.com. Or you can visit his design | development site at www.DesignOriginate.com. Find out more about his book Discipline at www.DisciplineBook.com.



                        

 

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Disclosures: Paco is long TBT, UCO, and gold. He also holds U.S. dollars by necessity, pending the advent of private gold-backed currencies.

You can buy his novel Discipline wherever books are sold.

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5 Comments so far

  1. ArkansasAngie on April 13, 2010 11:20 am

    Could not agree more. I've been running around NW Arkansas talking applied entrepreneurship. If you think Washington is going to create one self-sustaining job in your home town I'll sell you you choice of bridges.
    Go local people.

  2. Anonymous on April 14, 2010 1:06 am

    Great blog post!

    I love the "enterpriser" philosophy!

    I don't share the author's economic doom philosophy (at least for the short and medium term).

    But, the most important thing is, there is opportunity in every economic circumstance: boom, hyperinflation or depression.

    To take advantage of it, the content of this posting is a good place to start.

  3. El Professor on April 27, 2010 9:12 pm

    Starting any new enterprise within this next decade be non-topics unless it is an viable energy enterprise that will replace the energy equivalent density of oil. Everyone reading this post will evidently have to acknowledge the decline of petro-man. There are no cornucopian fixes to our coming global dilemma. Global Peak oil (peak production rate) is coming within the next few years. Pay attention people!!

    The DOD (Joint Operations Environment report , the DOE, and the UK government are currently monitoring the situation. These last two months (March April 2010) are water shed moments. If you don't know what the hell I am talking about, this link below will rock your little "NOT IN MY BACKYARD" "Tea baggin", "what's in it for me" mentality.
    http://www.energybulletin.net/52509

    Now is not the time to continue throwing stones.. We should have been paying attention to this a long time ago (like 1970 when the US peaked in oil production…. predicted by Geologist M. King Hubbert of Shell Oil.

    Let us cycle back to the "we generation" instead of the "me generation". It is only way we are going to survive the coming decade. Listen to the DATA. Ignore the information contained in the above link at your own peril.

  4. @jbeinstein on May 6, 2010 3:26 am

    Paco,

    Great Post!

    Just the kick in the butt needed for those who really aren't sure of where they stand.

    I use Lynda.com to help build my skill set in a number of technologies. While you can't beat the free model of Youtube, I think that Lynda's low cost is well worth it.

    I was recently in Austin a couple weeks ago. What a great town, I've definitely gotta make a trip back. I only had a full day there, hopefully for SXSW next year!

  5. Tanblekning on May 22, 2010 5:00 am

    Well like they say, when you've hit bottom there's nowhere else you can go but up. Hence many great ideas have been thought of when people were at this stage in their lives. Very nice write up by the way.
    My recent post Tandblekning Hemma

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