Entrepreneur Central

Incentivize not Penalize

2009-05-19T21:35:00.003+03:00

About a year ago, I took a course in parenting that changed my life. Among the things in the course was how to focus on the positive, even if the positive event takes only a microsecond. Of course, I always thought as a positive person, of course I focus on the positive. Boy was I wrong!

So Aharon and Ezra are fighting again. What would I normally do - scream, rant, yell - jump up and down. Aharon and Netzach are sitting together quietly working on puzzle. What would I normally do - IGNORE. If they are quiet - why disturb them??

This apparently was not being positive. Being positive is clapping, screaming hurrah, yelling wonderful, when the children are being good, and more or less ignoring or simply stopping the bad behavior, say by sending them to their rooms for quiet time.

Now, let's examine why this works. Children crave attention. Any attention. If they get attention by being bad, even if its bad attention, then they continue to be bad. If they get attention when they are being good, then they continue to be good. Of course this is simplistic, because children by their nature tend to push the envelope, but the positivity (is that really a word?) creates such a pleasant atmosphere, that even pushing the envelope becomes less of an issue.

OK, so how am I going to turn this into the business world. Ever hear of Win/Win? Same concept. The only contracts that really work, and that foster good relationships between two parties in business are those where both parties feel like they are a winner. When you build a house, there is a usually a penalty if the builder does not finish in time. It rarely works. There is no incentive to finish on time, and the builder knows that 9 out of 10 times that purchaser will not take him to court if he's late by a month. Its just not worth his time. However, imagine, if it was the other way around. If the purchaser agreed to add $20,000 to the purchase price if the builder finished ahead of schedule....

Imagine, if instead of getting tickets for speeding, drivers would get tax breaks for driving safely. And instead of fines for smoking in public areas, smokers got free health insurance for quitting. Maybe I'm dreaming.

I'm currently negotiating a contract with a consultant. The negotiations have been pleasant (rather than the usual grueling and uncomfortable) because we both want to get to a place where we are both happy. Then its just a matter of finding the right formula to make it work.

Running on the Treadmill

2009-04-22T22:12:00.002+03:00

I used to have a diary. A number of times. I was all excited the first time - having just read Harriet the Spy, (don't remember the plot, but there was a diary in there). I asked for a 'pretty' notebook for my birthday, and started to write in it. From what I remember it was mostly about Kenny Danis, my 5th grade flame. Over the years, I attempted a number of times to keep a diary, but each time despite my initial enthusiasm I found I had nothing to write and no time to write. Too busy experiencing life I guess to write about it. The only time I was moderately successful was during a trip to the Parks of the American West, but that was more of a log of what I'd seen and impressions. I found it inane reading it years later and decided not to go into nature writing - EVER.

Of course a Blog is nothing more than a public diary of sorts. So once again, despite my initial enthusiasm, I find myself mostly without time, and occasionally without any profound thoughts - especially after having to relate the 6th serialization of the adventures of the pirate John Smith, who finds out he's a Jew and returns to Orthodoxy, and moves to Israel as related to my six year old. How much creativity could I have left to write a blog after such a story?

Never-the-less, I'm returning to the blog because my social networking guru husband tells me its important when I launch my company/production in location based services Google will know me.

Do I really want Google to know me??? Hold that thought - I'll try to use it for another post, 4 months from now when I write my next blog.

All this is of course completely of topic. This past month or two, I have felt like a hamster on a treadmill, mostly brainless, and running around a lot, but not getting too far. If you look closely, the treadmill actually moves forward every-so-slightly as the hamster runs - so there is some manner of progress.

I'm the chief cook and bottle washer in a location based services company, which remember from the last post, I can't tell you about because its a secret (sort of like Harriet's diary). I hired a programmer, who proceeded to program the prototype in J2ME. The only thing we learned from that effort was the difficulty in supporting multi-platform mobile devices going that route. Back to square one. So we outsourced the front end to a flash lite development house - who inform me that the product is done. When I complain its buggy (not as in baby carriage in some foreign UK English)the programmer explains to the idiot marketing CEO (me) that its a feature not a bug. That's one of those phrases that just make me want to C.I.L.L. (for those of you who used to watch S.N.L.) my programmer!

So we've got a beautiful interface now that doesn't completely work. And I watch the bank like a timer as the sand/money slowly or more accurately quickly disappears.

And I want to work in high-tech because....stress is good for me? What was wrong with that publishing job, where the biggest stress was when the author got pissy about the title of the book.

Well its back to the treadmill. If only I would lose weight from all this running.

Priorities

2009-01-11T22:55:00.000+02:00

When first approached by my mentor about an idea, I was deep in the passionate throes of another idea that I simply couldn't let go. The idea was to create a better place for my kids to live, a safer Internet, where there was no option for them to find the things I want to shield them from - yes, I as a parent do not want my children to see violence, sex, porn, and gambling. We also do not have a TV in the house, and control their viewing of videos, at the same time limiting both the use of the video and the use of the computer. Admittedly, its easier when they are young, but I figure its like seatbelts - if you get them used to a certain approach, that's what will be familiar to them.

In any event, I digress - I was in the throes. Its hard to fall in love with an idea, when you are still holding on to the one you have.

But it was an opportunity not to be missed (note to budding entrepreneurs - keep your eyes open for other ideas - sometimes your ideas are not the best out there), so as suggested, I went on an intensive research binge checking the idea from every angle. And by the end, I was in love.

Now I have a serious problem. I want to tell everyone about this idea, but I can't, because I don't want anyone to know about it. So I've re-arranged priorities to give my project as much bandwidth as I can so that we can get a product out in record time, and then start the evangelizing.

So, when I got a phone call from a friend the other day, complaining that her inlaws didn't think she was a good housekeeper (well, I've come to terms with that one a long time ago!) I was able to articulate what I've been feeling since my project has mushroomed into a passion. There was a time my life revolved around work, and only work. I had nothing else to fill the vacuum. Naturally, my house was always neat and clean - I was never home, and I had no one to dirty it between visits from the cleaner (who basically threw out last weeks leftovers, and mopped the floors). But priorities shift.

Yes, I've rearranged priorities (Tues lunch with friends is on hold till further notice), but some priorities can't be shifted any more, nor would I want them to be. My kids still get my full attention between 3:30 and 7:30, unless there is something absolutely urgent that needs seeing to. This means giving up my evenings to complete the days goals, but again thats shifting priorities. So, the house is not as neat as I would like, and the help I get in twice a week can't figure which pants belong to which child - but at least my two passions (kids and 'my little secret') get the majority of my attention. Yes, you should be passionate about your product, but don't forget - there is life out there too.

Things Change

2009-01-04T12:12:00.003+02:00

Its been a while since I've written, but I truly have good excuses...my brother got married, and I spent a month in muggy New Jersey, with the four kids with ABSOLUTELY nothing to do, except whinge (that's a great British word for complain) about the weather, how there's nothing to do and how I hate being away from home. Of course, the truth is that while I love my kids, I missed working. And I missed the money. Because as I tell all my would-be entrepreneurs, if you are not in it for the money - get yourself a hobby - not a company.

OK, so that accounts for August. September was a month of what's known in Israel as the CHAGIM. That means all the Jewish Holidays come on in September - or at least that's what it feels like. So again, all four kids were home for 20 out of the 30 days of the month.

But the real excuse is the new Start-UP. I've decided to take my own advice and get passionate about a business. Because that's what business (and family) is all about passion! I've never met a successful entrepreneur who wasn't passionate even to the point of ideological about their start-up.

So when a former boss offered me an idea, with funding, I jumped at the chance. And as I researched the market, the possibilities, I got more and more excited. And now, all I want to do is evangelize the product, only I can't. Because its a new idea, and I don't want anyone to know about it. I can only say that its in the GPS field and it will be a new paradigm for a particular industry.

There, I've added a post, and will try to keep more current going forward, so that when we finally launch, I will have a well ranked blog - a subject for another blog.

Know your customer

2008-07-28T14:12:00.005+03:00

Customers can be classed like children, and I'm loosely using the 'Baby Whisperer' classifications:

The Angel Customer - They are always happy, the communication between you is perfect, and they never complain. Occasionally, they might point out something that they don't like, but will do so perfectly politely so that you don't take offense, and will be ever so grateful when you set things right. Generally projects for the Angel Customer are the most cost efficient and are done in record breaking time because they know exactly what they want, and don't change their minds halfway through the project. Finally, and most importantly they sleep through the night by 4 weeks :). They are few and far between, but when they come along what a dream. My son Netzach was angel baby until he turned 2 (just 3 weeks ago!). Now he's turned into a Spirited Baby - see below.

The Textbook Customer - These are the customers they teach you about in business school (if you went to business school) - who go entirely by the book. If I am doing a business plan for a Textbook Customer, then they actually will send me the outline of a business plan recommended by Harvard. However, they are highly intelligent, and you point out to them that the one Yale recommends is slightly better, they will have no problem accepting the argument. Communication with these customers is usually also fine, as they work with you towards the best possible product. As with customers, textbook children are the ones you read about - they are supposed to feed every 3 hours, they love the bath, the sleep from 11:00 till 5:00 by 3 weeks and burb as soon as they finish eating, practically without a pat. This was and continues to be my son Ezra. So predictable most of time.

The Touchy Customer - These customers are highly sensitive and one has to walk on eggshells to avoid getting them upset. They will provide you with material for a business plan or marketing plan, and if you point out that the material is 5 years old and the market has changed substantially, they will tell you the market is exactly the same – even if we’re talking about cell phone technology. It is very hard to work with touchy customers because if the idea wasn’t theirs to begin with, its not a good one, and since we are trying to help our customers pick a direction that they haven’t thought of yet, or help them flesh out one they have thought of, its difficult to move ahead. Touchy customers are also much like dinosaurs in that they hate change. So getting them to change the way they do business, or move them in a specific direction is exceedingly difficult. My advice - charge extra when you encounter one of these. Special note to my customers - none of you are touchy, no really. And I never had a touchy kid.

The Spirited Customer - These customers are fun because they are highly creative, come up with hundreds of new ideas a minute and never sit still. They are customers on speed, hyperactive, often with ADD. They are also frustrating to work with as they change direction about 50 times in one project. They are also highly unpredictable, such that they will send you an email in the morning saying they hate the business plan, and in the afternoon saying they only have 2 small corrections - in other words prone to exaggeration. Their projects tend to run overtime and overbudget, but the final product will be awesome - generally speaking. My son Aharon and daughter, Sima are spirited but when they smile the whole world smiles with them.

The Grumpy Customer - This is the customer you should never be cursed with, and turn them away if you meet them. Cross the street, do anything to avoid them. Nothing is good enough, they agree to nothing, they expect everything, and they don't want to pay. Stay away - not worth any money.

Just say no

2008-07-24T13:32:00.006+03:00

My almost four year old, Aharon, has an issue with boundaries, from infancy. This naturally makes life with him interesting to say the least. A typical conversation will go like this:
"Aharon, please take off your clothes and get into the bath"
total silence
"Aharon, please take off your clothes and get into the bath"
total silence
I go looking for him - find him and repeat.
He says "NO"
Trying to mediate I say "OK, finish playing and then get into the bath"
"NO, I don wan"

If I force the issue by taking him by force - i.e. removing his clothes and sticking him in the bath, and then washing him down as the police would hose down the rioters, I would normally get a tantrum. Since the tantrums are even worse than the non-compliance, I admit to having let him get away with stuff that I would never tolerate in my other kids.

However, lately, in a fit of self-confident parenting, I dole out the tantrum producing discipline fully prepared to take on the tantrum in all its glory. When the tantrum begins, I say, repeatedly, like Chinese water torture, 'this crying is not acceptable to me, you are a good boy, and neither of us benefit from it. I will continue doing what I think is right, I am the Ima, you are a little boy, and you have to listen to me". Remarkably the tantrums have been, if not abating, at least not running their usual 45 minute course. We get the 10 minute version instead, which usually ends in a kiss and cuddle.

OK, so go tie that story to business.

Customers, like children need to be kept inline. (A special note to all my customers - please take this in the humor its meant - of course I don't think you are like children!) Its a fine line you have to walk between 'the customer is always right' which I really mostly believe to letting the customer simply treat you like a rag. I find that customers respect me more when I stand up occasionally either for what I have recommended or for unacceptable behavior.

For example, I recently had a customer that needed a business plan within 3 weeks. Very URGENT. We noted in our contract that our ability to provide the business plan within the imposed time limit was also tied to when we receive materials and comments from the customer. When after the 3 weeks the bp was not ready because they had delayed in getting us pretty much everything, we had a rude email to the effect that we should not expect payment...Since I knew these were going to be problematic clients, I had kept a log of every email/conversation we'd had, and was able to prove that in fact there was no way we could've complied with the 3 week deadline due to the client's deliquency. They immediately backed down, our relationship improved, they received the bp a week later and we have had more work from them since.

Ever have a customer repeatedly (as in more than twice) asks for something that was not in the original proposal and thus is in effect not being paid for. Its like my kids in a toy store, "I want this, and this and this". If I bought them everything they wanted, I would a. not have any money left over for food and b. not have room in my house. More importantly, they won't value the toys you do buy at very decent intervals.

The same with customers. If you continue to do things for free, they will stop respecting you, and when you finally do ask for payment, they won't understand why. Best to educate them from the start, in the form of your proposal to them, that they can expect to pay for any additional work, at such and such a rate. It will make them work more efficiently on the project and you will have to time to take on other clients.

My children - the little negotiators/manipulators

2008-07-15T09:21:00.006+03:00

I want to round out the picture and introduce you to my kids - Ezra Shlomo 5 1/2, Aharon Binyamin 3 1/2, Netzach Yisrael 2 and Sima Brach 2 months.

When I was in college, I thought it was easy compared to highschool - in highschool I left the house at 6:30 am, travelled an hour, studied from 8:00 am till 5:30 pm and returned home at 6:30. In college, I lived near campus, went to classes a couple of hours a day, and even got to work an hour money in my spare time. When I went to work, I thought it was even easier than college - after all I'm getting paid to do something that I like. And yes, there is a point to this digression. Raising kids is much harder than anything I've done to date. While changing professions - which I've done a number of times - comes with a learning curve, once you've mastered the jargon, business, market etc. you're done. With kids, the learning curve is refreshed with each new day, and with each new kid. Naturally I apply what I've learned from experience to this new challenge - which is essentially how to get people to do what you want them to do and make them feel that they've won - otherwise known as win/win.

Ezra was relatively easy until he started talking, and then he didn't stop. A typical conversation between us goes like this:
'Ima (mother in Hebrew) - I want to take my teddy to Gan (kindergarten)'
'No, Ezra, it will - get dirty, get lost, ...please leave it at home'
Now begins the negotiations
'But Ima, I want' (that's the usual whine)
Now I have to use all my business skills to make him feel like he's making the correct decision by leaving it at home.
'Ezra, do you want it to get dirty?' (throw the ball into the opponents court)
'Ima - that's why we have a washing machine' (darn - underestimated my opponent)
'Ezra, do you want it to get lost?'
'Ima, I PROMISE, it won't get lost' (oh oh, there's that promise - beware of the promise which isn't in the contract - it could get you into trouble)
Next move - try to understand why he wants to take it to Gan and arrive at a compromise. Usually, the straight forward approach works best:
'Ezra, why do you want to take Teddy to Gan'
'Elad doesn't believe I have a Teddy' (aha!)
'So Ezra, we'll take the Teddy in the car, you will show Elad that you have a Teddy and then I'll take it home? (has to be a question - otherwise he feels like its a command and will instinctively disagree)
'OK'.

Now imagine if this was a contract you were negotiating. Your partner was adament about one paragraph in the contract and you felt strongly about it as well. I've found that if you discuss with with your partner what exactly is troubling them, there is usually a way to reword it so that you both are satisfied.

More on Aharon in my next post - he's my toughest negotiator because at three his instinct to disgree is ingrained and even if we've negotiated a position, he'll reneg at the last minute.

The Passionate Entreprenuer

2008-07-06T13:07:00.003+03:00

I'm often asked "do I really need to believe in my product to sell it effectively". In general, I think the answer is yes unless you are an unbelievable salesperson, but as I entrepreneur the answer is yes, yes, yes. You absolutely MUST believe in your product with such passion that it comes through in your voice when you talk about it. At Cambridge University Press, I certainly believed in the product/service - namely that we produced an aesthetic, well edited book, that more importantly came from a Press that was good enough for Universities to effect a promotion. On the other points I wasn't too sure - was the marketing department good enough to sell the largest number of copies? Were we ever going to publish a paperback? etc. But I believed enough to be a convincing acquisitions editor with 45 new titles in my last year at the Press.

At Versaware, however, although I was not an owner, I took real ownership in the company and passionately believed in what we were doing. Versaware was one of the first companies to come up with the idea of a digital book, and a digital library. While there were a number of companies that came shortly on our heels, they focused mostly on novels while we were interested in Textbooks and Reference Books. We believed that digital books were most useful when searching for information, and what we brought to the table was twofold - giving the end user, namely the researcher, a way to more easily find information, and giving the content owner another way to monetize what they had already invested in. When I was interviewed by the N.Y Times (see article here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E2D81039F931A35750C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3) I was so excited (and not only because I was being interviewed by the NYTimes) that the reporter asked me sort of cynically "so you actually believe in this digital book revolution?" I still do! And whenever I think of the demise of Versaware, I become slightly teary eyed - because I really thought we could do something good for us and for the world.

Business and Marketing Plans for Hi-tech and Bio-tech: Everything I know I learned ...

2008-07-01T13:48:00.000+03:00

Business and Marketing Plans for Hi-tech and Bio-tech: Everything I know I learned ...

Everything I know I learned ...

2008-07-01T12:58:00.003+03:00

There were several off the cuff remarks that have influences my thinking over the course of my career. (And yes, I know, I haven't even gotten to the kiddie thing, but I'm still single in my history, so you entrepreneur moms, just wait. ) One biggie was when a former VP at Purina, and then a CEO at a major educational software company (don't want to name names) said "cat food, educational software - no difference. The key to sale is to gain as much shelf space as possible.'

At the time I was more in the production side than on the business side, but it what it also said to me that if a VP at a pet food company can also be a CEO at a education software company - something you think would be worlds apart - is that actually the only thing that is important is how quickly you can get up to scratch on any given industry.

After six years working my way up the salary path at Cambridge (my job remained the same, the title and money kept changing) I decided to make the BIG move - that is to move from my relatively comfortable life in New York City (albeit somewhat lonely despite my two roommates) to Israel. Why - well that's a story for another blog, perhaps some day. Maybe when my business is so successful that I'll have time write on several blogs at once...

I approached a couple of major academic presses in Israel armed with raving recommendations from my wonderful colleagues at Cambridge University Press (and I mean that!) and was told as follows:
-We don't really have use for your experience (HUH - I worked for the top academic press..)
-Your knowledge of computer based publishing is really way ahead of us (Ok - it was 1993, but still)
-We can pay you $500 a month (and I will eat how?)

So I went to work for Israel's foreign ministry. Now you might ask, as a famous biblical commentator Rashi often did, what is the connection between publishing and politics. None actually. I could make something elaborate up, but my point is that I didn't use any of my 'technical experience', I used my 'world experience'. I'll gloss over this period except to say that I went to my boss one day with an idea, and opened the conversation with 'I have an idea'. The immediate response was 'I pay you to work not to think'. So I quit.

And went to work for a multimedia company called SuperStudio. Now here I could really use my experience. Instead of producing a book, I produced multimedia. And learned about management and business timing. I had a team of 30 people working for me in graphics, writing, animations, videos and other great creative stuff. But when the programmers failed to make the product work in time for an important meeting, despite all the great multimedia I had put together, my resources were cut off on Thursday at midnight. Sunday morning (yes, in Israel we work on Sundays) I had nothing to do. And it was my fault because I had failed to understand that although the programmers did not directly report to me, it was my responsibility as the producer to ensure that the VP of R&D understood the importance of getting the product to this meeting. He and I had barely met till that moment.

Dressing for Success

2008-06-30T14:22:00.002+03:00

To continue my professional history, which is fun for me - a little walk down the lane - I was only 22 when I began my editorial duties at Cambridge University Press. Although officially I was only 'assistant editor' I had all the responsibilities of a full blown editor with about a quarter of the pay. Although at the time I thought it was exploitation, looking back I think how much I learned during that period. And the things I learned were not so much about publishing - as that's pretty straightforward once you get the forms down - but about maneuvering and getting people to do what you want.

A lot of it has to do with self-image, and the way you carry yourself. At 22, without too much money left over for shopping, my uniform was t-shirt and jeans. After all, that was my college uniform, and the uniform of the editorial assistants - read glorified secretaries - from whose ranks I had risen. My good friend Beatrice, wisely pointed out that if I dressed just a spot more upscale (she only wore Anne Taylor suits - but that's an exception in publishing too), I would get more respect. Taking her advice, I banished jeans from my wardrobe and went so far as to wear suits when meeting with the professor/authors. And what do you know - the professors stopped confusing me for their graduate students and I got a raise.

Its an interesting phenomenon in Israel that dressing down is considered entrepreneurial. I have taken quite a few (especially young male) entrepreneurs to VC's here and those wearing jeans, a t-shirt, sporting a closely shaven head, and very often an earring, were most interesting to the VC's. Its that self-image thing again. They are projecting an 'I don't care what you think' attitude which the VC's seem to read as oh, this person must be special.

Today I'm faced with another image thing. I cover most of my hair for religious purposes since I'm married, and only wear skirts. This labels me 'religious' amongst the secular Israelis of which most of the high-tech world is made. While in theory, they are not 'anti'-religious, it made for uncomfortable comments and had this tendency to steer conversation away from the focus. I started wearing a wig. The comments stopped - I was no longer 'different'.

Marketing Myself

2008-06-25T13:27:00.002+03:00

The first thing you have to know as an entrepreneur, start-up, business person and mother/family owner is how to sell yourself. You are the most important part of any business or home venture. Everyone from the delivery person to the VP at the Venture Capital company from whom you want 20 million dollars has to first be charmed, impressed, blown away by YOU. So lets start with who am I, so we get a bit of a relationship going.

My name is Julie Waldman. I grew in suburbia US (Highland Park, NJ) living the Great Gatsby dream of a big green lawn and comfortable middle class private house. I studied Literature at Barnard College (Columbia University) because I could - meaning I was second generation immigrant, and could allow myself not to rush around trying to earn a living because my parents had done that for me. As it turns out, it was the most invaluable thing I could've done as it prepared me for a life of articulation - or making people understand what I was trying to tell them. The biggest problem entrepreneurs often face is getting the elevator pitch - what are you trying to tell me in 1 sentence. I was once given an assignment in writing 101 - tell the story of Cinderella in outline form in less than 50 words. It was instructive.

Of course what does a 'priviliged' girl from suburbia do with a degree in English from a good University - go work for a publisher. Because at a base salary of $12,000 A YEAR, even in 1988, you can barely eat, especially in New York City without some help. I went to work for Random House college division and almost immediately was fired, thanks to the aquisition of the college division by McGraw Hill. As an interesting footnote, I was to work very closely with the President of the college division of McGraw Hill later on, but we'll get to that, probably in another post.

I took my severance, plus a generous new library from my boss who felt bad about the whole story, and went to work for Cambridge University Press, the Ivy League of the academic publishers. It was there that I first learned about self-promotion. The author wants someone who will take care of him/her and while the Press is of course very important, the editor comes in a very close second. I had one very moving letter from another saying he was switching publishers because I had left Cambridge.