So you want to launch a business...

More about simple

I don't really think you are realizing that what I meant to say was probably not what you thought I had previously been intending with regard to what you had possibly expected to hear and therefore was not being presented in a form that was permitting full communication between and among whomsoever may have been party to the misunderstanding originally in the first place.

Have you ever seen a sentence like that?  More to the point, have you ever written a sentence like that?  Golly, I hope not.  But if you have, it's not too late to save yourself.

A murky Message is no Message at all.  Or worse, it can turn out to be negative.

Here's one first-rate writing blog - Mr. Clarity, real name, Joe Roy.  There are countless others lurking on the web, of course.  Copyblogger is aimed at online work, but is loaded with great stuff.  66 Proven Copywriting Tips are available at Headlines from Floyd.

I feel certain that your mother told you this: if you want to be a good person, hang out with good people.  That also applies to communication.  Dwell among compelling writers and persuasive speakers.  Give yourself a chance to become more compelling and persuasive.

Simple is not easy.

"Too many entrepreneurs correctly envision a great business opportunity, but can't clearly communicate the value of their proposition. In fact, simplicity is one of the most complex challenges you will face in selling your business plan."

                                                                                                    Marty Zwilling

When I spotted Marty's assertion I was reminded of an earlier post - on simplicity.  It's actually worth repeating.  Here it is.

When I was in college I occasionally played chess with my roommate.  Now this guy was/is a wizard - Phi Beta Kappa as an Economics major, Harvard Law School, president of a billion dollar company.  You get the idea - one smart dude.

If I tried to compete with him on a full board, I would lose every time, and badly.  Chess is a complex game, and he could quite simply deal effectively with more data at one time.  BUT... I found that if I traded him pieces until there were only a few left on each side, I could WIN, at least some of the time.

I had found a way to make the game simpler, to increase my chances of success against a powerful adversary. 

The ability to reduce your strategy to its essence lowers your risk.  It permits you to understand very clearly (in most cases) what is required and what will result.  It also enables you to make things understandable to your employees, your allies, your clients, and your investors. 

In describing your prospective business, this amounts to communicating four things, clearly and concisely.

• What will you do? 
• For whom will you do it?
• Why do they need it?
• Why will they pick you?

Make no mistake, however.  A simple strategy is generally a good idea; but simple does not mean unsophisticated.  Remember Thoreau's apology to his friend: "Please excuse me for having written such a long letter, but I did not have time to write a short one."

And a simple strategy does not automatically make success come easily.  Even though I managed to give myself a fighting chance to win at chess, I didn't always win.

This has been said and written many times by many people, but I'll give credit to someone who said it in my presence just two weeks ago.  "Never confuse simple with easy."  Brian Engleman, SRI International

Finding your Magic

What's your Unique Selling Proposition?

Why should your Market choose you to address its particular compelling end-user need?  What is the Magic in your response that sets you apart from other options?

Sonia Simone proposes a 15-minute exercise to clarify your USP (unique selling proposition).  She advises bloggers, but the principles apply equally to a start-up business, too.  Here's an excerpt that I like.

The Metaphor USP

Sometimes you can find an overarching metaphor that will snap everything into place.

For example, Duct Tape Marketing offers something you can find in lots of places—marketing advice for small businesses.

But that “duct tape” metaphor tells you a lot. It tells you the approach is practical, effective, and not terribly fancy. It probably skews slightly toward men, but not exclusively. It can be used in lots of different ways. And it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

No one’s ever going to confuse Duct Tape Marketing with a site called Green Planet Marketing or Mama Bear Marketing. Each creates its own USP just by using a metaphor to define the market, the approach, and the angle.

Call it USP.  Call it Magic.  But, by all means, make it powerful! 

Remember, Magic is an unfair competitive advantage.  Get some!

Dignity is highly over-rated.

A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.
                                                                                                     Dwight D. Eisenhower

Our mothers tell us this.  Our teachers tell us this.  Great writers and philosophers tell us this.  There must be something to it.

Keep your ego in check.  And never lose your sense of humor – regarding yourself.

Dignity is, in fact, highly over-rated.  And its evil twin, pompous self-importance, may be the kiss of death.

Your product or service probably isn't round wheels, sliced bread, or pockets on shirts.  And today, even pockets on shirts are falling out of style.  Newly-understood fractal geometry makes it clear that wheels apparently never were really round - what with all those Hausdorf dimensions and Hilbert curves.  Sliced bread could be on the way out, too.

And, what's more, you are probably not the world's foremost authority.  That title definitely belongs to Irwin Corey.

So keep things light.  It even increases life expectancy.

According to Canada.com, "A good belly laugh has the same physical benefits as a mini-workout. About 100 to 200 laughs are equivalent to 10 minutes of jogging or rowing because this boosts blood flow by at least 20% and reduces the risk of developing heart disease. Abdominal and diaphragm muscles get some toning at the same time. Hearty laughter also reduces stress hormones and boosts the body's natural defence [sic - Canadian spelling] cells and antibodies that help fight infections."