You may have noticed a bit of a lull in posting on the BIG blog lately. It hasn’t been on purpose. We had a bit of a snafu with our WordPress install but things seem to be working again.
We’ll resume our normal posting shortly.
Thanks for hanging in there!
‘Chelle Parmele
How did I miss this? Years of not understanding how and why stock prices go up and down — I thought it was a scientific mystery. In small business and entrepreneurship, which is my focus, stock prices are more theoretical than real; and I didn’t have money to invest until very recently. And then Stanley Bing lays it out for me so that now it makes perfect sense.
There I was with a fancy MBA degree and years of experience, but every time I’ve ever thought I had it figured out, I was wrong. Thank God I never really had enough money to invest until I also had enough money to pay somebody else (thanks Scott) to invest for me.
I admit there were times, during my years consulting in business planning in the Silicon Valley, that I thought I could predict one company going up or down. Sometimes that was because they were clients. Unfortunately, my dad invested on my hunches several times, and lost money every time. And he did have money to lose.
So thanks, Stanley, now I finally get it.
Tim Berry
President and Founder
Palo Alto Software
If you’re looking for a little Friday distraction or are curious what it looks like inside a venture-funded startup, set aside a few hours and catch some episodes of Start-Up Junkies on Hulu.com.
Start-Up Junkies is very reminiscent of the 2001 movie Startup.com, also a fun technology start-up documentary about the first Internet boom of the late 90s.
Both Start-Up Junkies and Startup.com are interesting to watch, especially if you are a budding entrepreneur looking to raise a bunch of money and enter the sleep-deprived, fast-paced world of getting a technology company up and running quickly. They give you a good view into the stress involved, the personalties you will come across, and what it is like to be responsible for starting a company with someone else’s money. There are good lessons to be learned and plenty of “what not to do” moments.
Enjoy!
–Noah Parsons
COO
Palo Alto Software
Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog. Over 57 million Americans read blogs. There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day.
That’s a lot of conversation.
Does your business have a blog? More and more, people looking for information on your business are going online to see if you have a website. Having a blog is the easiest and fastest way to get new information about your business online and to your customer.
BlogWorld and New Media Expo, is taking place next month in Las Vegas and if you are a business owner, marketing, PR, or media professional who is interested in learning how to take advantage of the opportunities that blogging and new media represent to you and your clients, then you might want to check out the information on this conference.
Kimberly L. Coerr from Blog World Expo offered BusinessInGeneral.com a code to pass along to anyone who wanted to get a discount for 20% off any registration type at the Show. Visit the website blogworldexpo.com and use the code “BHLDKC” to receive the discount.
Take advantage of this quick - the registration window is closing soon!
‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software
Today we launched our long awaited new marketing planning software: Marketing Plan Pro powered by Duct Tape Marketing. We are so excited to make this product available to our customers, and to bring the expertise and sheer marketing genius of John Jantsch to our product line. While Marketing Plan Pro has been an award winning software for years and years, we now bring to the market a product that really captures the simplicity of marketing espoused by John and the Duct Tape Marketing system.
Now you really can get your marketing plan together in just 30 minutes. You can use our software and be guided through the process by John himself - just think of this product as John in a package! The great thing about combining our software with John’s methodology is that John has been able to put together a system that helps people:
1. Understand marketing
2. Apply it effectively and quickly to their business
3. Create a real action plan
4. Realistically follow the plan to grow their business
We are excited to put this product into the market, just as small business owners are looking to batten down the hatches in this tough economy. All businesses need to make sure that they are spending every penny wisely — and that they understand which marketing spends actually work. So if you find yourself looking at your revenue, and then comparing that to your expenses, and scratching your head and wondering where you SHOULD be spending money, and where you SHOULD be saving money, this is the product for you! Check it out and let us know what you think.
-Sabrina Parsons aka MommyCEO
Product release days are kind of like juggling a couple dozen china plates all at once. With the occasional addition of a feral cat thrown in for fun.
This will be the 6th or 7th product release I’ve been through with Palo Alto Software and each one is completely different from the last. Well, except for the juggling and ending the day with a brand new shiny product to show our customers and the rest of the world. That is always pretty much the same every time.
Leading up to every release is weeks and weeks of hard, exhausting work and one brilliant day of relief in getting a job done and done well. Followed immediately by starting all over again.
So let me pull back the curtain a bit and explain what goes through the usual release of a new or updated product at Palo Alto Software.
With a refresh of a product, as what we’ve done with Marketing Plan Pro, everything starts with a brainstorm meeting. Key members from Product Development, Customer Support and Documentation all get together and go over customer feedback, general updates, platform considerations and they decide what should be updated, and if any massive overhaul is required for the new program. Then all those “wouldn’t it be nice to have” ideas are given over to the Development team who comb through them and start coding the software. Fast forward a bit past all the hard work put into product development, quality assurance, editing and documentation, we get to a point where the rest of the company starts gearing up for the actual release date. Customer Care and Technical Support start to learn the ins and outs of the software, the new features, etc. The Web team starts mapping out what the new Web pages are going to look like. Marketing starts creating copy and figuring out just exactly how to position all the information. The PR department starts writing press releases, updating social networking profiles and starts writing blog posts like this one.
Then everyone holds their breath for that moment when the switch on the server is flipped and all the new content goes live.
It’s an exciting moment, usually met by a loud celebration quickly followed by a lot of naps.
It’s important, especially in the software world, to keep up with the movement of the industry. Computers, programs, platforms, computer language… it’s all constantly changing. Software produced a just few years ago is obsolete today. As a company we have to grow with the demand of the world and the technology, or poof! we go away.
Recently, Shuna Fish Lydon from the Eggbeater blog wrote about sustainability in the Restaurant business. She’s smart and talented, and never fails to make me see things from another viewpoint. In her article she concludes - “My industry is not sustainable. Restaurants are not sustainable. Not for the employees. Or most employers.”
We talk here a lot about planning and knowing your market. We want people to succeed at their business. We want people to grow their businesses. But there is a hard truth out there that not all businesses succeed. For whatever reason, they eventually close and something new replaces them.
It takes a lot of hard work to start a business. It takes guts to keep it going, especially in an industry you know has a very steep sustainability curve. But sometimes business isn’t about sustainability and longevity. It’s about making money, or creating a product or service that fills a [sometimes short-term] need in your community. It’s about doing your best and making it work for as long as possible. And celebrating that amazing achievement.
Having a plan and making sure you are smart with your money and marketing yourself right is going to give you a huge advantage over someone who didn’t bother with planning. It makes sense to think about what your goal is before you start the process.
Maybe, when it comes down to it, you’ll only go through one product release during the life of your business. So make the most of it.
Break a few of those china plates and make sure to watch out for the cat.
‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software
Good, solid, well-thought-through cash-flow planning just became all the more important. The New York Times reported in a 28 July 2008 article, Worried Banks Sharply Reduce Business Loans, how banks nationwide have clamped down on loans and lines of credit to businesses.
“Financial industry executives say tighter credit from major banks represents a swing back to a realistic assessment of risk, after years of handing out money with abandon,” says the NYT. This new aversion to lending to businesses is putting a damper on the expansion and growth of business and industry alike.
Here’s where realistic cash-flow planning proves its worth. With it, businesses can moderate their yearly goals, adjust their accounts receivable and payables, keep tighter inventory control (such as just-in-time ordering), and weather the current financial storm without having to borrow money.
With a history of well-documented planning, correct accounting, and plan vs. actual analysis, coupled with well-considered course adjustments, a business which does need to borrow can overcome the reticence of newly risk-averse banks.
Without realistic cash-flow planning, you can be a profitable, successful business and still be bankrupt.
Business Plan Pro, published by Palo Alto Software, is the tool for planning and managing your business’ cash-flow. Use it to sail the stormy waters of this tempestuous economy. And if your planning process shows you will need to borrow money, Business Plan Pro can produce the plan and report documents you need to successfully navigate the reefs and shoals of bank financing. Show them that this is a planned part of the voyage, not just a desperate cash-dash to any port in the storm.
Steve Lange
Senior Editor
Palo Alto Software
This takes less than one minute, just a quick summary of why the plan-as-you-go approach to business planning has come up, why it’s needed, etc. And hey, it’s only a minute, literally!
I did this short video for the book add-on site at planasyougo.com first, but it belongs on this blog too. It’s about why we need a new approach to business planning. Just in case you don’t get the video here, click here for the YouTube version.
Thanks,
Tim Berry
President and Founder
Palo Alto Software
Over the past 8.5 years that I have worked for Palo Alto Software in technical support, I have coached thousands of our customers on the importance of a business plan. Explaining how it can help create a road map for your business as well as assisting you with sustaining a positive cash flow, a basic of business planning.
Lately, I have been thinking of starting up a small home based business of my own. Something to do in my spare time for a little extra cash. Even after eight plus years of encouraging others to start one, I didn’t even think of creating a business plan.
I was making the same mistake that a lot of the people I have talked with over the years had been making. I was trying to rush to the finished product before I had even gotten started with some of the fundamentals. Things like- what my start-up costs really were or who I was going to purchase my raw materials from to get the best price. I didn’t even have a simple mission statement (Something that defines what my company wants to do). I was too busy worrying about things like turning my spare bedroom into a mini-warehouse and setting up my website. Things I would need to do, but not before I had a better idea if the idea was sustainable.
This isn’t really a plug for our software, Business Plan Pro (even though I will be using it), but rather a reminder.
Start by defining what your end goal is and put together a road map of how you plan to get there before you waste time and money going in endless circles.
Curt Barnes
Systems Administrator
Palo Alto Software
I regularly post on this blog about the importance of accurate spelling and correct grammar. It is an ongoing issue for everyone who works with the written word; in education, in any publishing media, in all facets of business, etc.
But don’t think for a minute that I’m preaching from some high seat of perfection. I regularly have my blog posts reviewed by the other two members of our Documentation Team, and they always find some egregious error. [Thanks Teri and Sara!]
It really is impossible for any of us to be correct all of the time. Even the pros make mistakes.
Philip Corbett, the deputy news editor for The New York Times has just begun a new blog, posting “After Deadline,” The Times’ weekly newsroom critique.
As Corbett explains, “The goal is not to chastise, but to point out recurring problems and suggest solutions. Since most writers encounter similar troubles, we think these observations might interest general readers, too.”
Stop by this blog, enjoy the critiques and comments, and improve your business writing.
My thanks to Andy Isaacson of our Palo Alto Software Web Team who sent me the link to this blog.
Steve Lange
Senior Editor
Palo Alto Software
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