Radio Free Enterprise

In this 3:11 video executives from Microsoft talk about how to raise capital to start or grow your business. Topics discussed include sweat equity, debt capital, friends and family money, angel investors, receivables factoring and venture capital, all as part of an ad for the Microsoft Small Business Server. A great example of Education-Based Marketing!

I don’t know what makes Ulysses S. Grant an authority on family businesses, but this short animated video manages to impart some very important advice in a humorous format. Check it out!

Many people reject the idea of Network Marketing (sometimes called Multi-Level Marketing) out of hand because they think it is some kind of “pyramid scheme.” In this 6:09 video, Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad) explains the benefits of Network Marketing as a business model.

I’ve conducted scores of interviews of prospective employees and have been aware for years that one should never ask a job candidate their age, marital or parental status, religious or political affiliation, etc.

But it turns out that there are a number of other questions that an employer should steer clear of in order to stay out of legal hot water. Check out this article by Jody Gilbert on TechRepublic to learn about ten questions you don’t want to ask.

Just came across this comprehensive list of terms used in private equity and venture capital transactions.

It covers everything from Accredited Investor to Weighted Average Antidilution.

This document is another excellent example of Education-Based Marketing from a site called VCExperts.com You can download the glossary as a Word or html document or refer to it online.

VCExperts.com makes their money by providing information, training and publications targeting people on every side of a private equity transaction. They claim to have over 50,000 users per month.

I can tell you from my own experience that being able to speak the language of private equity is critical for anyone “venturing” into the world of venture capital. You don’t want to find yourself across the table from a Type A investment banker or VC, not being able to track what they are saying. With that having been said, understanding their lexicon is only your first challenge!

Nonetheless, this glossary and VCExperts.com appear to be great resources for you to tap into.

Is there an aptitude test for entrepreneurs?

Many people have created tests which purport to tell you whether you have what it take to found and operate a successful small business. But I’m not sure how accurate they are.

My belief is that any human is capable of achieving practically anything, provided that they are sufficiently commited. As for necessary aptitudes, wow… I’m not sure a list that long is appropriate for a blog posting.

The Wall Street Journal’s StartUp Journal has a test that I took myself before sharing it with you. It measures your motivation relative to Achievement, Affiliation and Power. Fortunately, my primary motivation being Achievement aligns me with what the survey describes as “most entrepreneurial people.” Unfortunately, based upon my answers to their questions, I wasn’t terribly motivated by any of these factors.

My guess is that the way they phrased the questions didn’t really connect with me. I only “Strongly Agreed” with two statements and did not “Strongly Disagree” with any of them.

Take the test for yourself and see what you think. Then post a comment on your results.

Several weeks ago I posted a podcast on Radio Free Enterprise on the topic of Touch Marketing. The audio came from a teleseminar I had presented entitled: Touch Marketing for Real Estate.

Below is a 40-minute video of a presentation I made to a small group of successful entrepreneurs who belong to CEO Focus, led locally by DC-area business guru and consultant, Henri Schauffler. These people run businesses which generate between $2 million and $25 million in annual revenue. They get together monthly to share ideas and challenges, brainstorm and hear speakers like myself present on topics of interest.

It appeared as though those in attendance felt they got a great deal of valuable information from this presentation. I hope you will as well.

I reference a number of marketing resources in the video. Below are links to each:

Constant Contact email marketing service

SendOutCards online printing and mailing system for personalized postcards and greeting cards

AudioGenerator system for creating online “Audio Postcards”

I’ve never heard of Todd Brown before. Now that I have, I’m not sure that I’ll buy what he’s selling when he gets around to trying to sell it to me.

But there’s one thing that I know Todd Brown and I agree on: giving away free information is a great way to build your book of business. He and I both believe in and are practitioners of Education-Based Marketing.

Todd has put together a page full of nine free informational videos entitled Habits Of The Top Internet Marketers. I watched the first and second - and half of the third - before I decided I had had enough.

But that’s okay because a great maxim of Education-Based Marketing is that you want your audience to either turn up the volume or change the channel. I chose to do the latter for a number of reasons including the green-screen background effect he’s using, the tone, volume and tempo of his speaking voice, and because I didn’t find myself learning anything new or interesting.

Others will find great value in his message and turn up the volume to 11 by opting into his email list.

The primary point I want to drive home is that Todd is reaching a huge new audience of potential customers by casting his bread upon the waters in the form of potentially valuable information available for the asking. If you’ve watched or listened to any of my information on Education-Based Marketing, you’ll know that I believe he’s onto something.

Karl Marx hated capitalism - and capitalists.

One of his biggest gripes was the way he felt that the holders of capital exploited the holders of labor by selling the fruits of that labor for much more than they paid their workers. He referred to this as the “Surplus Value of Labor Theory” and postulated that this was the primary way that Robber Barons and successful industrialists like Henry Ford built their fortunes.

I can’t disagree with his analysis, but I do take issue with his perspective. The Surplus Value of Labor is the only reason why jobs are created. By combining plant, equipment, knowhow and marketing with labor, business owners are sometimes able to charge their customers more than the cost of all those inputs. Sometimes. This is what we call profit.

Other times they lose part or all of their capital - and their own labor investment - in the process. That is what we call risk.

The Surplus Value of Labor theory came to mind when I was giving a seminar on entrepreneurship to a group of prospective business owners last weekend. I used it to explain why businesses hire workers and to discuss my belief that one should always “measure twice and cut once” when it comes to hiring. Just like marriage, an employment relationship can be easy to enter into but difficult - and expensive - to get out of.

The important point is that leveraging the value of employees is only one way to build a fortune. Other inputs such as creative marketing, innovative products and services, great customer service, high-value partnerships and intellectual property can also create above-average profit levels. Which will work best for you depends upon the specifics of your industry, your firm, your target market and your competiton.

Stacey Griffin lost the psychiatric facility she had founded in New Orleans to the torrential rains and floods caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Ironically, she found a way to build a new business based around water. And she got a big hand in promoting it from Ellen DeGeneres.

Stacey decided that the best way to get her kids to drink more water was to package it the same way as sugary juice products - in a box. She founded Aqua2Go in her home town and sent samples with cover letters pleading for promotional help to 30 different talk shows.

The Ellen Show not only publicized Stacey and her product but also wrote and produced a humorous jingle that Ellen performed live from her stage. It now appears that Stacey will sell as many as 2.3 million boxes of water in her first year in business.

How’s that for guerilla marketing?