Using search engine optimization for generating new customers

Driving new customers to a company by the internet requires a three-pronged approach of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) and affiliates. Of the three approaches, SEO can be the most cost effective means of generating a sustainable long-term flow of new customers for any business.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the art of creating content on the internet that, when indexed by search engines, will show up at or near the top of the results page for a given search keyword or phrase. To show up near the top of a results page the content needs to be rich in relevant keywords, readable by search engine robots and referred to by links from external websites.

Using escrow services – insurance for intellectual property transactions

Software, Web Services, Data Services and Fabless Semiconductor ventures are all examples of attractive opportunities for entrepreneurs. They all have low capital requirements for launching because the primary asset is IP or Intellectual Property. True, there is often someone’s personal savings, angel funds or perhaps even VC money needed to launch a company, but for startup companies producing IP it’s largely the human capital of dedicated and smart entrepreneurs that is the largest input factor.

Once your product is ready for market, the challenge of selling even the best IP can often be more difficult than creating it in the first place, particularly if your target customer is a medium to large enterprise. The sales cycle for enterprise B2B software or to get a fabless semiconductor design embedded in a larger SOC or System On a Chip, can be at least six months and often more than one year. Even after your product passes all the technical due diligence, it turns out that one of the main reasons a sale falls through is that it’s difficult for a startup company to convince the decision maker of a large enterprise that your company is viable enough to warrant a strategic relationship.

Put yourself in the shoes of the large enterprise decision maker and consider a report published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Monthly Labor Review in May of 2005 which concluded that over 60% of all Information companies fail within their first four years. Will he or she be serving the best interests of the enterprise’s shareholders and board by taking on the risk of doing business with your company? If the decision maker’s job is ultimately on the line, then even if your company’s product is outstanding, they would be statistically right to pass on your deal more than 60% of the time. So, is there something you can do mitigate the risk of doing business with your firm? The answer is yes.

Hiring Contractors - Part 1

Independent Contractors or Independent Consultants are people who do work for your company who are not employees, corporations or LLCs. Hiring independent contractors is attractive to startups because it allows them to quickly bring on talent without the headache of setting up payroll and benefits. Independent contractors also make it easy to bring people onboard for as long or as little as needed without worrying about employment laws that apply to hiring and discharging of regular employees. Without the added expense of benefits, matching FICA payments, and perhaps even office space and equipment, independent contractors can offer real savings and cash flow benefits to a startup organization.

But there are some legal pitfalls to hiring independent contractors that most startups (and many established companies for that matter) don’t understand. This post is the first of a three part series that helps to explain some of those potential pitfalls, so that you can make an informed decision before hiring an independent contractor.

Justifying your pay – An imperative for the COO and every employee

If your manager was faced with a force reduction decision, would he or she be able quantify your contribution and justify your position? In other words, does a cost-benefit analysis of your job result in a net positive? Even if it does, have you made the data necessary to prove it readily available?

In a period of high unemployment, outsourcing, cost-cutting and general economic uncertainty every employee needs to be keenly aware of their value to their organization. They should also be able to easily point to solid data that proves their worth. The ability to do this well, could make the difference between you being someone who is indispensable or someone holding a pink slip. If you are not your own best advocate, you should be.

Should a COO set up HR in-house or subcontract to a PEO?

Human resources encompasses a broad array of business functions. There is the obvious sourcing, hiring and firing of employees. However, retaining employees, training employees, managing benefits, setting compensation policy, overseeing contractors, new hire orientation, managing corporate culture and a host of other functions also fall into the domain or share a dotted line to the HR function.

One of the first questions a startup venture needs to address – at least as soon as the founders hire their first employee or contractor - is who will be responsible for the HR function. Getting this right is critical to the success of a venture, as it is the first five to ten people in an organization that will establish the company’s culture for years to come.

Setting a vision for your startup company

Setting a clear vision for an organization is perhaps the most important task for a CEO. Sharing and instilling the vision throughout the organization is perhaps the most important task for a COO. A clear vision that is understood by everyone in the organization and continually reinforced by the leaders will provide an intangible force that seems to be driving the company.

Every CEO should rely on a COO to help their company grow

There is a big difference between being a CEO and a COO. I know, because I’ve been both.

At my first startup company I didn’t have a COO and, while the company was a success, it wasn’t until I learned to let go of certain tasks that the company flourished. Entrepreneurs, almost by definition have a vision of how things should be and how their company should be run, but first time entrepreneurs, myself included, often spend too much time on internal details which can be crippling to a startup venture.

Setting priorities is an essential skill for a COO

My first job out of college was a corporate engineering position with a $3B multinational aluminum and chemical corporation.^*  My branch of engineering was highly specialized so, as a 22 year old, I was able to pick and chose which of several dozen multi-million dollar projects I wanted to work on at any of the company's manufacturing facilities worldwide.  My list of projects was a mile long with some involving serious health and safety concerns of employees.  Every project required reconciling the production and financial needs of plant managers with the demands of corporate execs to maintain control over disparate operations.  For a foot loose young man with an unlimited travel budget, I needed to balance my responsibilities with a desire to see the world.

You see, if you’re 22 years old and can choose between working in a can factory supplying a major European brewery with access to all the beer you can drink for free, or standing next to an 1,100 degree extrusion furnace on a 107 degree July day in the panhandle of Texas which would you choose?

Well… not so fast.