The Workshop Day is Behind Us – Did You Miss Anything?

Thank you to all of those that attended my presentation yesterday, I hope everyone walked away with a little more information than they had before the workshop. There were a few presentations that I was not able to see because of the timing and I thought it would be a great idea to post all the decks or even something more if the presenter chooses.

One side note… I would like to apologize to anyone that went to my session thinking that I was going to hand 10,000 contacts. I wish it was that easy but as many things in business, there is some work involved in lead generation.

Please Click below for the Database Marketing Presentation:

This is what I did and I can do it for you…

For ease of use and viewing enjoyment, I turned my presentation into a movie and put some mood music behind it. If you don’t like mood music you can certainly turn off the volume, the big idea is the movie part. I have also attached a couple worksheets one of which helps define a company’s target audience and the other asks some thought provoking questions about current processes.

As I stated earlier, the point for me is to educate people on the power and effectiveness of using data to glean information, which feeds better decision-making. Click the picture below to open up pdf versions of the worksheets that you can print and fill out if interested.

Other Presenters…

If you would like to have your presentation turned into a video, let me know. I am planning to create a movie with a YouTube link that will go on either the ACS YouTube page or the ACS website. This way you can see what you might have missed and reference the information for future use. It would be nice to have a virtual classroom of workshop deck so let me know if you’d like me to post one for you.

Enjoy…

People Know When They Get Your Best – Parking Lot Chat

On Monday the show starts. There is a lot to prepare before the doors open so I need to get some things done and I am sure many others do as well. While getting them done I want you to think about this…

Whatever you do, do it the best you can

I have heard that a lot and as I put the last touches on my presentation and overall readiness for the ACS, this reminded me to do so… I was listening to Rush Snakes and Arrows Live and I love Passage to Bangkok as do many Rush enthusiasts. Well there are some great drum fill in that I have always said… wow Neil, nice. This unfortunately is not the case in this performance because Neil, come on, you did the absolute minimum to make the song sound great but, no dadada da da, da da daaaa on the cowbell, no fill ins, nothing, just straight accurate play.

The point is that people deserve your best so make sure to give it to them.

On that note, this is certainly the band giving it their best and then a lengthy drum solo where Peart more than redeems himself. (No Solo but feel free to look it up, I just couldn’t find a good quality version. It’s a great one though and Rowen loves it because the horns an Monkey playing a trombone in the synth horn part)

Click this for some fantastic bass work…

You Might not Know Sam Smith Yet – Another ACS Workshopper

 

I have the pleasure of knowing Sam Smith for some years now and he is a smart one for sure. The Angel Capital Summit is lucky to have another great professional teaching a workshop and the nice thing about Sam is that he is a professor. You know, a real one that is currently teaching at the University of Denver, University College. Sam has also taught a CU, St. Bonaventure University, and a couple others.

You can learn more about Sam and Black Dog Strategic at http://blackdogstrategic.wordpress.com. I am happy to have Sam on board after an opportunity popped up for him to be involved in this year’s ACS. I made a list of some important things to keep in mind about Sam and why you should listen to him…

• If you are reading this you must listen to me at least a little and I listen to Sam
• Sam and I have proven to make good things happen when working together
• Again, if you read what I write, you will certainly enjoy Sam’s writing… he is actually a professional writer

Here is a snippet of the workshop Sam is putting on and with any luck, I won’t be in a slot again both Chris Roberts and Sam. I am already missing Chris’s workshop and I had my Bluetooth all set up for the show.

A STRATEGIC Approach to Building a Winning Marketing Operation

 The array of marketing, research, promotion and communication technologies, programs and practices has exploded in recent years, as has our understanding of how audiences and markets can be evaluated and segmented. It’s always good to know as much as possible about those you’re attempting to reach, but not every business out there is fully equipped to understand or manage the complexity of the process, especially when each new day finds somebody else hyping the latest and greatest marketing fad.

Entrepreneurs who need clear answers and solutions can easily get lost in the noise, losing focus, wasting time and squandering precious resources on techniques that aren’t suited to their specific challenges.

 A successful entrepreneur’s marketing operation begins by strategically aligning with your business model. What do you need to know about the market? Who do you need to reach? What does your resource budget look like, short term and long term? At what stage of development is your business? How long do you have to get the enterprise profitable? What’s your exit strategy? What core competencies exist in your organization and does it make sense to in-house or outsource?

These are just a few of the questions that a strategic marketing program needs to address, and failure to do so can undercut your success in a number of significant ways.

 This workshop will walk you through the foundational process of tailoring a marketing program that serves your specific requirements.

Upstream/research functions to strategic development to downstream/promotional strategies and tactics – you’ll come away with a clearer idea of how to turn your vision into a reality in the marketplace.

You can learn more about Sam and Black Dog Strategic at http://blackdogstrategic.wordpress.com.

The ACS Workshop Schedule is HERE and Sam will be in one of the empty slots. Updates Coming Soon

The Big Event is Upon Us – Parking Lot Chat

I was checking my email in the parking lot and received a message from Kevin Johansen, who if you don’t know, he is the founder of the Angel Capital Summit and CEO of the Business Catapult. This guy has kept me busy and in exchange I have learned a lot, educated some, and have a huge opportunity to network, gain exposure and become a better entrepreneur.

I just got my ticket and it is an honor to have it and I am excited. I am teaching a workshop on finding your target audience and there are many others with expertise in various arenas. I would have to try really hard not to learn something with a group like this years’ 2010 Chairs, Coaches, Instructors, Executive Committee Members, and of course the Entrepreneur, Investors, and Advisors.

It would be great if you attended as well, if you have the time. I have discount for you, a website to register, and the promise of a great event. I even have Dr. Slammy Smith involved since his recent opportunity came up.

The code…

 ACSPART-4973 This code will cut the $119 (pretty inexpensive already) price to $99 

The workshops…

We have great workshops that span a number of subjects. I highly recommend the Database Marketing one that I am teaching and it is a good time so you can attend plenty of others too. I just looked at the schedule and it seems the latest is that I am at the same time as Chris Roberts. He puts on a good show; I have seen him in action.

Check out the schedule by clicking the picture below…

I hope to See You There!

Evidence Based Entrepreneurship – De Constructing the US 36 Corridor

There are a few cities on the list that have a great ratio of Accredited Investors to new businesses in the past 12 months, and a number of factors to these numbers. This is the first in a two-part post that will give readers an understanding of the space between Denver and Boulder and help layout who is in charge of what and a general lay of the land. 

Click the Picture to open a PDF with Live Links

I found this little video about FasTracks on the RTD website and it sure seems like a good idea for shuffling people to and from work, entertainment, and other various travel needs. There is a green element as well since we all know it is more eco-friendly to all pile into one vehicle than it is to drive separately like the fellows in Swingers.

All I am saying is that public transportation is in theory a good thing and many times in practice as well. The New York subway system is a beloved public transportation icon that everyone should experience at some point of their life. The Washington DC subway system is also pretty cool and the two experiences are night and day. Baltimore put in a Lightrail and some say it put elements of the city into the county creating bad juju.

We are in Colorado, a kinder gentler place than the east coast and public transportation is pretty cool out here. It has taken some time to catch up to other cities and in 2017 it looks like we should be where they were some time ago. Progress is progress though and I think the new guy in charge of the state is in it for the people and will hopefully keep Colorado the envy of the nation. That might be a little extreme but I think if you live here for a while, you know what I mean. If you have only lived in Colorado I urge you to try somewhere else to gain the appreciation that us transplants have for the state. 

A lot of Maps for A lot of Cities:

Broomfield – Getting Some Park and Rides and Bus Terminals

Lafayette – Too Far East from the Main Routes

Louisville – US 36 and MaCaslin will Get a Station

Bigger City and Smaller Town not Originally Included

Westminster – Westminster Center and Church Ranch Stations

Superior (really, that’s like calling your town “Better than You”) – Table Mesa Station



Stay Tuned…

There is more to come on these cities, I thought you might want to watch the videos and see the pictures first. You can draw whatever conclusions you’d like about starting businesses in this area and hopefully I have given you some research tools. It will be interesting to see how the RTD affects Economic Development in these areas. Boulder has always been a hot spot for technology in Colorado and the surrounding cities seem to be doing their part to help the state grow. The next post will include more in-depth information about these areas.

Thank you for the Interview – w3w3.com, Internet Talk Radio

I am honored that the Angel Capital Summit (ACS) gave me the opportunity to gain exposure through w3w3.com, Internet Talk Radio. If you know me you know it is hard to keep a conversation to 8 minutes. I did my best to do Kevin Johansen and the others involved with the ACS as well as the Business Catapult proud.

Database Marketing is basically utilizing information to best market to your prospects and retaining those that you already work with.  Starting small and building or creating a sophisticated giant is not the defining factors of a good Marketing Database, it is the data and its use that counts the most.

This interview is a glimpse of why it is important to collect and care for your data. Your data is much more valuable when it is clean, consistent, and analyzed, and even more powerful when enhanced.

Click the Picture for the Interview…

Visualize Your Problems – It is Great Advice

Kevin Johansen, the tallest entrepreneur you will ever meet, sent me this video this morning. The Angel Capital Summit is just around the corner and the Business Catapult is the engine behind the scenes. We are working hard to create the best summit yet and I am confident we will accomplish that goal. We are not only using more advanced tools, we are looking at the picture in a new way and when you do that you see things you might not have noticed before.

Speaking of Looking at Things a Whole New Way

 

Homage to Old School through Integration

I just bought this hat and it seems more like a tribute now that I have had it a few days. I like the look, even though it is a grandpa hat. When do you start wearing a grandpa hat because I don’t think it has to be when you have a grandchild? My brother used to wear a hat like this when he would pick me up from middle school in when my parents were out of town. He had a Ferris Bueller thing going on with the old man hat and rain coat, the only difference is the car was a Buick not a Ferrari. Oh yeah, he was also 15 maybe and we did not live on a farm so draw your own conclusion for the purpose of the hat.

The Hat…

Tomorrow I have an interview with Larry Nelson on www.w3w3.com internet Talk Radio. I am excited for the opportunity to get the word out about how I see Database Marketing and the importance of using data sources to create measurable information. The hat says it for me because it is traditional and a style that has lasted through time. When looking for a hat I focused on both form and function, warmth and my hair. I would like to be warm and keep from the dreaded snow hat hair, filled with static electricity and weird-looking matting.

• Use what works, the hat has been around for years and most old people know enough now to determine what works and what doesn’t. If an older person has a warm head wearing a hat like this they have probably overcome the snow hat issues through experience.
• Be innovative and keep evolving the things that work into the goals you want to accomplish. Data is useful for many reasons and is unfortunately easily set aside due to time constraints. Put the old hat on the new concepts and have them work together.

Listen and you decide. Remember, I like learning so comments are welcome!

Kevin Johansen set this interview up for me based on my involvement with the Angel Capital Summit. The Entrepreneurial community in Denver is large and I have found it a comfortable place to work. I enjoy challenges, puzzles, mind teasers, and good conversation and fortunately I am getting what I like. I want to know why ideas fail as much as why they succeed so I prefer an open line of communication. Everyone has ideas and thoughts on how to best do this or that and I get my joy from results. That means ideas are good and actions are better. Test and test after you perform a few easy to do steps to ensure you are testing on a quality playing field.

Evidence Based Entrepreneurship, De Constructing Colorado – Are You a Ram? Ft Collins

Fort Collins is a beautiful college town with everything an entrepreneur needs to be successful from what I see. A Big college with specialties, a plan, which is always important, and the Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative. It sure seems that they are trying and fortunately, their planning and number of investors is extremely helpful when growing an economy. Also, Fort Collins is engage in Economic Gardening, which is another reason they have a good chance of doing things that affect the Colorado Economy.

Some facts from our data:

• There are 247 Accredited Investors
• 26 New Businesses started in the last 12 months
• The ratio of Investors to New Business is 9.5, which seems like there is some investment opportunity. The state ration is 2.2 so the relative number of investors to new business looks good.

 

How big is Fort Collins? 

The first image is a map of Fort Collins and the second is the zip codes that are fully or partly within the city. There is a large area that the post office considers Fort Collins and some is actually Boettcher Farms Estates, which is the third image. This little area within the zip code is tiny in comparison to the total area so there is no major effect now. Who know what will become of the area in the long-term, I just know that there are listings to sell land and Boettcher is on maps as a place that is a point on a road when you zoom in.

Map of the city:

This map includes zip codes within Fort Collins and the city limits border is outlined in orange:

The map gives a very good representation of the size of some zip codes relative to the city and how the information the postal service used is general to the zip codes as opposed to the municipalities. The city is not very big and it includes Colorado State University so the population can changes and the age of the population can shift in different parts of the year based on class schedules.

Boettiger Farms Estates:

Universities seem to be for economic development and I figure why not bring in some expert research for that point:

A snippet of an article I found about this subject. The original research is from 31 years ago and the blog post is from 2008. Click on the text below to link to the article:

I really like this next one because it is exactly what it says it is, information about the impact of a college or university on economic development…

This site has a great deal of information and links to list of Universities with articles and posts about the impact of their presence in the area. You will see that many schools are present and it is a small sample the total number of schools. There are a lot of schools in Colorado and in the county as a whole, so there plenty of opportunity and theses two groups need to get together.

Does Geography Matter?

There is more than once answer to this question. What type of business are you starting, are you importing and exporting people and or parts for the manufacturing of the product. Are you providing a service and is there a good pool of possible clients? There are many, good ideas and there needs to be a reason to be located where you decide to put a stake in the ground. If studies show that families with new children are moving into the area at an alarming rate, 25 different inflatable play areas might open just down the street. It is important to know the market and research your possibilities when opening or investing in a business.

There is a lot of real estate around Fort Collins and it is important to do your research to find out who you deal with when opening a business. It appears that green technology and the overall theme of innovation is present in Fort Collins. Do some research, click on some of the pictures and articles above and see what you think.

 

 

 

Evidence Based Entrepreneurship, De Constructing Colorado – Golden, The Silver Bullet – Issue 2

 

First things first, Golden, Colorado is home to an american original that has been and continues to be a favorite of many.

With that being said, lets take a closer look at Golden, Colorado. I have included a few maps that show the boundaries of the city of Golden as well as the zip codes that are associated with Golden. This is important because if you plan to start a business within the boundaries of the city map,you will be dealing with the City of Golden. For the most part areas outside the city, inside Jefferson County and not within another city, you deal with the county. Remember this is Colorado so the landscape is beautiful and confusing. The second and third maps are the zip code boundaries of what the post office refers to as Golden. Everything will make less sense soon so don’t worry.

Golden has a vision and that is great when planning the economic future of a city.

When you hit their website it is not hard to find this:

The fact that they have the program tells you why it is worth looking at as a place to start a business. The odds are in the favor of the savvy business person when you live in a state ranked 4th in starting a new business and 4th in running a business. Sounds like easy into the market and easy when established, with the variable of IF factor, of course. A good business person in a bad area can make it work and the same is true for the flip side of that coin. That is of course IF you try to have a successful business because we all know that sustainability is the key and running a clean, lean, mean, efficient business is often a good way to survive.

The other reason I found important to Golden is their involvement in Economic Gardening. Take a look at my last post for some information about the Economic Gardening Program.

Golden has a 7.5 ratio of Accredited Investors to New Businesses in the past 12 Months

Good ratio when the state is at 2.2. Golden looks good, has a nice economic base with a successful brewery and a nice College with a good reputation. The only thing I found to be a little hard to nail down at first and just like all other areas, the post office is not the best place to rely on exact borders and city designations. The chart and maps  below show Golden, what is considered Golden for mailing purposes, populations, and business counts well as the numbers for the zip codes and what they are actually made up of as far as cities.

Clear as mud right? Take a look at the maps below for some clarification. There is a good amount of work involved in actually learning about an area and depending on your business, different areas will yield different experiences. A wise, very tall man once said (or maybe said 1,000 times) “There is no bad place to start a business”. The only time I disagree with that is when it is user error. It is bad to start somewhere without finding out more about the area. Just saying that you want to have a business in Denver doesn’t mean it is the best choice for the type of business, cost of operations, pool of talent and so on.

Enjoy some maps detailing Golden and what is called Golden

The Black Border Shows the City of Golden City Limits

If you are living here in Colorado, chances are you drive in the mountains and there sure is a lot of space with those big rock formations and trees and woods and so on. Some of the space is federal land and other is state land and other land is owned by cities. Just Northwest of Golden in the mountains is a tiny town named Baltimore. It is a ghost town and in my mind I see a ghost Ray Lewis. Check this out… Baltimore, Colorado

The map below represents zip code 80403, which is considered Golden. Look at how big and far that zip codes goes and compare the numbers on the chart above. There are more people in this zip code than in Golden and this is only one of the zip codes. See the chart below the map for a reality check on the actual cities included in 80403.

Zip Code 80403 - Very Big and 14% is actually the City of Golden

Below is 80401, which is the other zip code associated with Golden. There are actually two others, one dedicated to the government and one that is all P.O. Boxes. Remember that we will want to explore that P.O.Box thing in the future. As you can see below, this zip code is a lot larger than the city limits of Golden.

Zip Code 80401 - Population 38,580

That main road makes a great place for a storefront and a lot of charming businesses inside the city limits of Golden. Those zip codes are big though and obviously everything that the post office states is Golden is not really Golden now is it. Especially just about anything south of I-70. Well there are 4,723 businesses in that zip code according to a reputable data source and that zip code is made up of the following cities:

That is all so far about Golden and I am sure you will see more. The plan is to take away some guess-work, busy work, and come up with ideas that as an entrepreneur, might not be at the top of your mind. It is good to know what to do and just as good to know what not to do. There is a lot of real estate in Colorado and we want to be sure you are happy with where you plan to place your stake in the ground.

Next up, my neighborhood… Englewood, I mean Centennial, well I am not sure… I better pick it apart and then tell you.