Entrepreneurial Marketing and Blogging Angst

This is a shout out to all those techies who consider themselves well-informed, leaders in their sector but alas, have never blogged… and therefore worry that they are being marginalized.

There are so many good reasons to blog: vetting fresh ideas in a diverse arena, motivating others and generating a following, showing passion and differentiating yourself as a thought leader.

But are there good reasons not to blog?

The Pioneer Program Marks Successes

Have you checked in with the Pioneer Program recently? The new year has marked lots of change and maturity in the program. In response to lots of demand post Venture Forth, the Pioneer Program has grown into a “dojo” for entrepreneurship where entrepreneurs come to practice entrepreneurship with each other and with Tech Ranch Partners.

Get Your Start-Up Out of Starbucks

There’s a recent article that several people have forwarded to me given that it rings true to what I am talking about around the Tech Ranch Austin all of the time… Called Getting your start-up out of Starbucks, James Reinhart has a point that he’s pre

Introducing the Pecan Commons

Rancher Spotlight: Barry Beverly of Innovate Wireless

Around the Tech Ranch Campfires, we like to pop a bottle of vino and swap tales of the entrepreneurial trail. This often involves legends of resilient entrepreneurs on epic business drives through recession and boom. Some of these stories focus on success and revenue, and others focus on lessons learned. Each tale is valuable in its own way.

Hobbypreneurs

I recently wrote an Entrepreneur Evangelist post on WorkingPoint called Canines, Trains and Really Great Parties. The post was a response to an article by Daniel Kehrer of Business.com about the new trends of hobbyists-turned-entrepreneurs, and their increasingly noteworthy impact on the small business space.

In reading the original article, the notion specifically reminded me of three friends who have been on this same hobby-turned-entrepreneur journey, in some cases for several years before they even realized it.

Entrepreneurship 101: Learning to Love Selling

There is nothing harder for a non-salesperson than building a sales pipeline. In Bagging the Elephant I highlight a post about a recent event in NYC, in which entrepreneurs discussed how to build strong enough relationships with larger businesses in order to be taken seriously enough to close deals with them.

This is part of a much broader issue, though, and it's one that is a constant struggle for most small businesses: how do we keep new sales coming in the door, when that's not our background?

Yigdigs - Do It Yourself Real Estate Tools

Jonas sits down with Andy Salo, founder and CEO of Yigdigs (http://www.yigdigs.com). Yigdigs is a Real Estate For Sale by Owner webservice. Andy discusses his journey from executive to entrepreneur.

Tis the Season for Entrepreneurs

In Deck the Halls with Pink Slips I discuss the November round of layoffs at several big companies, including RealNetworks, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Time Warner / AOL, Sprint Nextel, Electronic Arts and Pfizer. Of course, part of what brought these to my attention is that a dear friend of mine got caught in the pre-holidays cut-backs that also took place at Adobe.

Even worse, however, was the fact that my friend loved working at Adobe. It was the first time she'd worked for a large company, so some of the perks that big company people take for granted -- training, resources, perks, etc. -- were all relatively new to her, and she was taking advantage of as many of them as possible.

The Entrepreneur Evangelist

I have recently started writing a blog series as part of my work with online small business management client, WorkingPoint.

Aside from the fact that I think WorkingPoint has the best solution for small businesses, the reason I really like this series is because WorkingPoint is really making a strong statement about being a true advocate for small businesses.