List of entrepreneurial lessons

We have published a business-related article (one or two) written by http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/33927.html ">meebo CEO Seth Sternberg, Sternberg Sir, he hasn't updated his series of articles recently, but we still keep an eye on the topic. This time it's more like a list than an article, written by an unknown loser.

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You might say that we're tired of talking about it.

It's not a comforting thing, really, to have a failed entrepreneurial experience and its consequences, carrying debt, burning savings, and lost time forever, and we try to hold on to all the straws we can hold. Go home and stay with friends and family. Stay away from the industry for a while. Drink a lot of beer.

Some of us seem to insist on getting some benefit from this experience. Writing a "Lesson list" seems like a way to start venting ... But after a series of repeated revisions, a simple Google document has become a reasonable rule that we will do something different if time goes backwards.

Maybe it's our next declaration when we go back to war. Hopefully it won't validate the proverb, "those who don't do it themselves teach others to do it." ”

Anyway, let's leave this list of "Don't do" to those guys who are interested in starting a business. We cannot claim to have found all the answers, but hopefully we can help others not to repeat our mistakes.
1. Create the right product.

Make products for a specific group of people.

You should be able to say who your users and potential users are. They should have a specific problem or pain point. Before you do a bigger and better job, try to solve the problem, even if the bigger and better things are really tempting. If your product can achieve multiple goals, then extend it to the other after you've made sure that it's done.

Have a clear and lasting goal to continually refine it.

Ensure that all employees and team members share and understand this goal. Develop specific strategies and milestones around this goal. Plan ahead for the next 6 months.

Design is important.

It is also important to recognize that design is important. The final product's look and feel should be consistent with its design and should have the same standards as the code: reliability, Modularity, and each component should be designed to conform to the design objectives.

Make a good product.

Don't take too many shortcuts. Brute force algorithms should be used where appropriate. Promote modularity as much as possible. Keep in mind that the components of a product may have value independently.

Frequent iterations.

Not once a year. About once a week, or every two or three weeks. No matter what product or service you do: make it quick to join the update, accept the market test, and then add or remove it in the next release. User feedback indicators should be set up from the outset, all user feedback should be centralized tracking.

Do your homework.

No matter what product or service you do, it's likely that somewhere, some people are doing something similar. Do your research and see what others have done. Take its essence and change its dross. If your job is related to software, the computer Science article should be your friend. Doing your homework also ensures that your idea is not to repeat the old ideas that others have proven to fail.
2. Appropriate working conditions.

(major) working during normal working hours.

You can work overtime if you need to, but don't get yourself exhausted. If someone on your team is sick or tired, the quality of their work will be reduced. Without an ongoing timetable, it's easy to feel like you've been working for a day and actually just five or six hours. Your basic work should also be first-rate. 24 Hours of fatigue is no more effective than 8 hours of concentration.

There is an office.

This should not be someone's apartment. It's not supposed to be a bunch of sofas, despite the couch for a nap. It can be a café, though it's not ideal. It should have a good table and wifi--. If possible, have some whiteboard.

Have a budget.

Closely follow the financial situation. These numbers are reviewed periodically by all key team members. Everything should be written down, the cost of the company should be approved by all key members. The members who overspend should be blamed, and this behavior should be eliminated in the bud. Anyone and any transaction should be subject to scrutiny. Our cause, in the end, is largely related to money.

It is straightforward to handle personal transactions.

If the employee has a strained relationship, deal with it earlier, and resolve it thoroughly. "Diplomatic means" is not enough. The problem should be uncovered and the solution should be presented. Leaders should implement this concept.

Mutual urge.

Make a schedule for the work that needs to be done, including the due date. If you do not finish your work before the deadline, calmly and comprehensively discuss why this is the case, and solve the problem to ensure that the next time you can finish. When dealing with external release, make sure to set aside time on schedule; If you still miss the deadline, set aside more time next time. By the 34th iteration, the projected release time should always be accurate.
3. The quality of your company depends on its leadership.

Leaders need to execute decisions responsibly.

This far surpasses the display of a strong image. Leaders must be able to collect and integrate the wisdom of the entire group. Your CEO needs to know the product, but you don't need to be a chief engineer. Similarly, CEOs need to be able to draw on the strengths of other team leaders and respect their judgments about what they know. His absorption of the outside should be more than his own creation. In business decisions, your CEO should have the right to decide, but not a loose cannon. A team endorsement is not a prerequisite for a CEO to make a decision-but it is the nature of his responsibility to make a decision that can be supported by the entire team. In the end, the strength of a good CEO stems from his actions: transparent and reasoned, not from his personal charisma or intuition.

Leaders need to deal with the company's resources in an impeccable way.

The company's CFO and its team should have enough time to lay down other jobs to deal with all the deals and not leave a vague place. The company's financial position does not need to be like the financial 500, but its credit position and cash flow need to be as transparent as crystal, and its contract should be watertight. A good employee should be especially supported by the company's personal finances. Especially considering that the company is brand new, the CFO and his team want to make sure that the entire team understands the company's financial position through regular updates, preferably in a standardized format in writing. In addition, the paperwork and contracts should be concise, complete and accessible to employees whenever they are needed. The position of all persons in the company should be made clear by appropriate documents. Don't cut the investment in this.

Provide communication channels.

Each person on the team who should be speaking will have to make a comment on the company decision. Properly arranging meetings gives each team member the opportunity to comment on and listen to the company's decisions. Promote criticism and dialogue. Everyone should have the opportunity to communicate with leaders, and leaders should understand everyone's point of view and concern.

Use human resources wisely.

Let everyone do what they are good at. Also, don't let everyone waste time on administrative work. For example: Do not use all of the company's resources to seek investment and sell to investors; let one or two of people take the initiative and don't let it distract the entire team.
4. Successful products are good marketing.

Focus on branding and user experience from the outset.

Try your best to comb every byte that the user will experience, from the point of contact, to the purchase/download/registration, and not to let go of every user's error message. Is there anything unclear? Does the language conform to the company's image? Are the products and services in line with the company's brand? These can easily become the work of a team member.

Always greet your users.

Remind them of your existence. Remind them of how good your product or service is. Remind them how wonderful they are and how much the company appreciates their attention. The world is a noisy place, you have to shout out to be heard. Don't expect your product to speak for itself.

Establish a strong communication network.

Do not open a regular blog, mailing list or communication network, and then let it die slowly. User community Building is a huge business, so it is important to design every small step; people need to be assigned and committed to maintain communication. Having a social network that grows for one months and then suddenly stops, it's better to start without it. Communicate with the public in a responsible manner.

co-authored all external news.

Minimize the release of information, blogs, or corporate comments that are written entirely by someone alone. If you write a company blog, ask another team member to review it. Perhaps assign a good writer to the team to complete the task of transcribing and checking all materials before release. Team leaders should be able to speak for the company alone, but their comments should be based on shared goals shared by the team rather than as a way of single-handedly killing into new areas.

Use a language that is understandable to users (and potential users).

Do not use words that are impossible to pronounce or read in company or product names. Brands should accomplish two basic tasks: first, to some extent memorable, and second, to produce the right feeling at the first hearing, such as "professional", "highest level", "art".

Source: http://apple4.us/2009/12/......-lessons.html