Startups need time for soul searching

Like many business students, I was taught to first plan, then execute, then measure. It looked amazingly simple in that marketing or strategy textbook that weighed a ton in your bag. This basic model applies to many areas and philosophies of business, whether it be TQM, business planning, change management, or Kotler's 4Ps. But, after having worked with some startups, I can tell you that things aren't so linear in real life.

Startups often rely on the passion that their founders overflow with. And, indeed, many a great company has been built on it. But that passion is rarely refined at startup stage. In many cases, companies go through a trial-and-error process to find their true place in the world. One only has to look at some big brands that shifted their initial positioning to see that it's not a bad thing. There's Facebook, which confined itself to Harvard in the beginning. There's IBM who, after making it big in the hardware business, is now a software company. There's also Marlboro, which started as a women's cigarette. Not every startup will do a radical repositioning later on, but it's likely that most will have to refine their business offerings to adjust to the unforeseen.

This has several implications for startups:

1. Plan as much as you need to, but don't overdo it. Extreme granularity won't be much use when you realize you need to adjust at the strategy level.
2. Incorporate business plan reviews and employee/customer research into your plan for the first years. Listen to the market, then adjust.
3. Make sure you have enough fuel for the startup process. A lot of businesses close because of a lack of working capital, and it'll happen sooner if you don't factor in time for the soul-searching stage. For some, it'll be months before operations turns in a profit. For some, it could be years.
4. Capitalize on your founder's intuition, but move towards making that intuition explicit as time passes. You can extract models and business processes from intuition if you take a step back (i.e. stop and think about what you're doing) regularly. Don't drown in the dailies; contemplate, ruminate.

Is your startup in soul-searching mode? I hope that you make progress in clarifying your company's mission in the world. Feel free to comment about your experiences.

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Think Big, Love Big

Last Saturday, my mom was watching Bo Sanchez preach on TV. I was fixing up my room at that time. Fortunately, my door was open, because I heard Bro. Bo say these words in his bold, distinct voice:

Big thinking either comes from a big ego or big love.

I'm not exactly the Catholic-charismatic type, but I've always liked the way Bo Sanchez makes me examine my own life. He made me think very hard when I heard him say this line. I've just started a business and soon, I'm starting my own family. Both start from small seeds and grow big in time. But the question remains: why am I doing this? Is it because I just trust myself too much, or do I really have a desire to serve?

On the surface, big is big, but what motivates that big-ness spells the difference for a person's soul. Pride and love are opposite poles. Pride will frantically create a big beast that I could claim as my own creature, while love will push me to give myself in a big way. Either mode will make me look like a woman driven to succeed. But what is it that drives me?

I have to think big because I love big. Or, maybe I should say that I have to love big so that I'll think big.

Get rid of that 'small-town' outlook. Enlarge your heart till it becomes universal, 'catholic'. 

Don't flutter about like a hen, when you can soar to the heights of an eagle.

- St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, pt. 7

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My new company

My company, Magnetic North Enterprises, is now almost five months old. I'm quite happy with the way it's gone. Not entirely smooth sailing—my business registration started last year with getting swindled by a few thousand Pesos—but OPEX is already breaking even at this point. And I'm not even doing business development yet. That's much better than I had hoped.

When people ask me what my business is all about, I get more blank stares than I usually do. And believe me, I'm a person who receives more blank stares than most people, even in ordinary conversation. What I have in mind for my business is rather hard to explain because it's new. I can't say it's a laundromat, or a home massage service, or a call center. The most succinct way of putting it is that it offers marketing communications services to ordinary people and organizations. That still gets blank stares, and understandably so. It's too abstract for most people to imagine because no one really does that yet—at least not in the way that I envision.

The best way to explain is to demonstrate. I'm currently incubating the components that will comprise the business model, and when they're ready for prime time, I'll have no need to explain. But in the meantime, here are a few lines that will give you the rationale for my business.

• You know how web design companies make expensive, complicated, and hard-to-maintain websites for small businesses and individuals? I make professional websites at low prices. You'll also be able to maintain this simple website yourself, so you won't need to pay me monthly retainer fees. And what? No hosting fees? Yup, no exorbitant monthly hosting fees.
• You know how (expensive) ad agencies do great branding strategies and communication companies for their clients? Small businesses could never afford these ad agencies. But you'd be able to afford my branding and communications services. I do brand strategy, graphic identity (logo, business cards, etc.), websites, social media and other communications services at an affordable price.
• You made flyers for your community activity by designing it in Paint, printing it using your inkjet printer, then photocopying it on colored paper. They don't look nice. But you think to yourself, it's ok, I don't have a big budget anyway. What?!? There's a way to make professional-looking communications without breaking the bank. I'll tell you how.
• You have a personal blog where you'd like the world to be influenced by your opinions. But no one reads your blog except your mom, your sister, and your best friend. I have the solution for that.
• You have expertise which you'd like to share with other people, and possibly make money out of. But you don't know how. I know! Let me help you.

I know I may have left you hanging off a cliff right there. Unfortunately, mother hen is still warming up her little chicks, so we can't disturb her just yet. When the eggs are about to hatch, I'll let you know. Stay tuned.

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