Write it Again

If you've ever been part of a startup of just about anything, you'll know that the end product is rarely what you set out to build. If you've read any of these blog posts, you'll know that Public Chalk is far from our original vision. The good news is that we really like what we've built. We like it a lot better than what we had started out to build. The problem is that now we are starting to shop our idea to potential investors, banks, and even friends who want to know what it is, exactly, that we built.

Just the other day, I sat down to "review" the business plan… that very same plan that hadn't been touched in about 6 months. I started updating the original plan and then realized how far we had evolved from our original plan. So, I scrapped the original plan and started a brand new plan.

Business planning aficionados will tell you that writing a business plan adds value in three major ways:

1. It serves as a document that you can share with anybody who wants to know what it is that your business does. This can be potential investors, family, friends, employees, and it can even get you and your partner(s) on the same page.
2. It serves as a place to lay out your financing requirements, potential revenues, future expenses, and just how you plan to make your business a raging success that will be able to support you and your employees while also paying back the bank and making the investors rich.
3. Finally, it serves as a learning exercise. This particular go-around was especially enlightening for me. While we had discussed most of the ideas I wrote, there were definitely some points of clarity that needed to be hashed out and a few new ideas that came to fruition just because they were obvious while I was writing. The best part about writing this document is that a large percentage of the functionality and features I discussed were based on actual software that has been built that we own that is actually working.

So, the business plan for Public Chalk has been written… again… or maybe for the first time. I hope my partners agree with the direction I think our company will head. If not, they can take a look at my optimistic financial projections - I know they'll agree with those.

Good luck updating/writing/keeping up to date your own business plan.

ETJ

Last Chance to Impress

This Wednesday, October 15, is the last chance for Barack Obama or John McCain to impress the American people as they face off in the final Presidential debate of the 2008 campaign.
The debate season has proven busy for us on Public Chalk. Many people have joined us to discuss the debate real-time as it was taking place and many who have joined us during the debate continued the conversation long after the debate has stopped.

Whether you are sick of hearing McCain talk about his war experience or you are tired of Obama talk about his middle class rescue plan, weigh in and share your opinions with everyone on Public Chalk.

If you are already a member, you can just log in from the login page. If you are new to Public Chalk, you can follow the Public Chalk Presidential Debate link (debate.publicchalk.com) to register and be taken right into the board where everyone is chalking about the debate.

The conversation from our existing members has been stimulating and some great opinions and insights were offered and we’d really like to hear what the rest of you out there have to say.
Talk to you on Wednesday!

ETJ

Ladies and Gentlemen… The President of The United States

In just a few more short (hopefully) weeks, that phrase will apply to a freshmen president. He’ll inherit the economy of not only the United States, but of the entire world. Just a month ago the economic outlook could have been described as bleak. Today the economy can most accurately be described as, “In a death spiral”. He’ll also inherit a national health care crisis and a continuing war in Iraq and escalating problems in Afghanistan. Then there is the energy crisis… high oil prices… do we go alternative or start drilling offshore? Oh, and, then there are the "lesser" issues like gay marriage, abortion, and restoring the ice shelf for the polar bears.

It is a tall order for any man or woman. On top of all the issues the new president will either be the first black man to run the country or the first man with a female vice president. They’ll also be moving into the white house immediately following the election instead of waiting until inauguration day.

Talk about all these issues! No, really, talk about them. This is probably the biggest election season for change since 1980. There are more young people involved in politics than ever. For the first time in 20 years there are more registered democrats than republicans and even the libertarian party has shown significant growth.

Over the past few weeks, we at Public Chalk have been inviting lots of people to join us on-line to offer your opinions and insights during the vice presidential and presidential debates. People have offered some great insights, some good resources, and some hysterically funny comments on the state of affairs.

Another thing that has happened is that we noticed that the conversation about the debate or politics or any of the issues mentioned above continues well beyond the debate. We’d love to hear what you have to say. Join us by following this link to Public Chalk. You’ll be asked to register. Once you do, you’ll be put into the crew that is talking about the presidential race. Don’t like that crew? Create a new one and invite your friends.

Oh, and, don’t forget to get out there and vote! Every one counts.

ETJ

To Build the Perfect Team, Software, and Startup Company

We’ve been working on Public Chalk for over a year now. Well, that is a bit strong – because we started out on a completely different path before we settled on what, exactly, we were building. Along the way, we made plenty of mistakes, learned a few things, and we’ve actually progressed!

If you want to join us tonight to talk during the Vice Presidential candidate debate, come to Public Chalk and register. You’ll be put right into the Biden vs Palin crew. You can also read what others have said even if you are a few days behind.

If you just want to read about what I promised in the title… read on…

1. Realize that there is no such thing as a perfect team. Somebody is going to be annoying – and if you can’t pick out the annoying team member, it is you.
2. Pay everyone lots of money. This may prove slightly problematic in a startup company. If it isn’t, good for you! If you are like the rest of us you’re going to have to get creative.
3. Realize your strengths and work in that direction. If you are not the sales guy, do not do sales. If you are not the techie guy, do not install the new servers. Of course, if you are working on a startup, learn the job and do it, otherwise, it won’t happen.
4. Write a great business plan and put together a great presentation to get everyone you work with super-excited about your idea. Then bury it in the drawer and forget about it because no one else is going to get as excited as you are and your idea will be unrecognizable within the first 2 weeks of development.
5. Roll out your software quickly and see what everyone thinks. Naturally, most people won’t be able to log in and you either over-thought every part of your application making it insanely complex even for the brightest people or you didn’t in which case no one will be interested.
6. Always listen to and respond to feedback from your primary investors. Okay, this one is probably a good thing to do 90% of the time. The other 10% just nod, ignore, and move on.
7. Recognize all your goals, repay your debts, make some money or raise some funds or help starving puppies or whatever your startup was supposed to do.
8. Have fun along the way. Repeat.

ETJ