Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Get Out Mama founder Mara Watts
In today’s episode, host and business coach Tom Ryan and co-host and co-producer Natalie Pyles continue their conversation with Mara, discussing everything from organizing startup events to the untapped power of stay-at-home moms for market research. Continue reading
What are the personality traits, core values and motivations that make for a great entrepreneur? It’s a tricky question to answer, because the best entrepreneurs come from wildly different backgrounds, started businesses for a wide variety of reasons, and often have deeply personal missions driving their work. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates couldn’t have been more different in terms of personality and their approaches to fostering the personal computer revolution, for instance, but both were clearly exceptional entrepreneurs.
To gain a better understanding of what makes a great entrepreneur, it might help to think about the topic from another perspective. Let’s put the role of the entrepreneur into a format most of us are familiar with. What would the job description for an exceptional entrepreneur say? Continue reading
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Get Out Mama founder Mara Watts
In today’s episode, co-producer and occasional co-host Natalie Pyles continues her interview with Mara, aided by host and business coach Tom Ryan. Continue reading
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Get Out Mama founder Mara Watts
In addition to running Get Out Mama, Mara is also the Program Manager for the Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneur In Residence program, working alongside Success In Business host Tom Ryan. To keep the conversation fresh on today’s episode, Tom hands over the show’s reins to co-producer and occasional co-host Natalie Pyles. Continue reading
We’ve all heard the stats about business failure. According to some fairly reliable sources, as many as 8 in 10 businesses will fail within the first 18 months. But that statistic doesn’t tell the whole story. Many of those businesses were doomed to fail long before they ever opened their doors. Why? Their founders had no idea how the business was actually going to make a profit.
In my last post, I stressed just how important the financials are when planning a new business. The better your understanding of your path-to-profitability, the easier it is to both communicate and implement that plan. Continue reading
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Every customer has a problem that needs solving. The better you understand that problem, the more likely it is that they will decide to spend their money on your solution. There’s no better way of demonstrating how well you understand their struggles, pains and frustrations than by telling them a story about another prospect with a similar problem, and how your products or services were able to make that problem disappear.
In this episode of the Success In Business Podcast, host Tom Ryan explains how the right kind storytelling can do more than simply open doors during the sales process. It can build trust, set expectations, and even help with the tricky business of qualifying prospects. As always, Tom is joined by co-host and producer Jason Pyles. Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I was talking with one of the first-time entrepreneurs I mentor as a Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneur In Residence. As we were working through the details of getting them ready to start their first funding round, they asked me a really great question.
“Tom, if you were starting a new business today, what is the first thing you would do?”
As I started to think about the answer, I found myself getting really excited. Even without having a specific business concept in mind, my mind was flooded with some great ideas for getting a new business off the ground. At the same time, the answer to their question was obvious, because every plan I could come up with was built on the same cornerstone: Getting the financials in order. Continue reading
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Once they’re through with the pleasantries and the basic questions that make up the start of an initial sales call, most sales reps make a huge mistake. Instead of telling a story compelling story about another client in the similar position, they dive right into talking about their company’s product or service. Instead of feeling like a conversation between two people, it starts to feel like a sales pitch.
In this episode, host and business coach Tom Ryan continues his exploration of storytelling as a sales technique. As always, Tom is joined by producer and co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading
Great business planning has a lot of moving parts. The more you can nail down things like your value proposition, your business model, and your go-to-market strategy, the easier it will be to you to be successful. There’s even that all-important detail of how your business will actually manage to turn a profit. The idea behind a business plan is to answer all of these questions in a single, relatively easy to read document.
But is a narrative business plan really the best option? To answer that question, it helps to understand the audience. Who will be reading this business plan? Will it just be investors and lenders, or is this something you’ll be showing to potential co-founders or high-value employees? What kind of document will give those people the information they need, and in the easiest-to-digest form?
Is a longform business plan really the best document to use in all cases, or are there better options available? Continue reading
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Your first conversation with a prospective client or customer can be a balancing act. During that initial discussion, you’re doing more than just gathering some basic details. You’re qualifying them, gauging how serious their interest is, and trying to determine how well their needs align with your products or services. At the same time, it’s absolutely vital to keep their attention.
There’s no better way to do that than to tell them a good story. As it turns out, you had another client in a very similar situation, and they came to you for help …
In this episode, host and business coach Tom Ryan begins his series on changing your sales results through effective storytelling techniques. As always, Tom is joined by producer and co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading