So you want to be an Entrepreneur Blog » Basic skills http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog How to decide if starting a business is really for you Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:39:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Make sure your business plan gets read – build a “killer” exec summary http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/make-sure-your-business-plan-gets-read-build-a-killer-exec-summary/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/make-sure-your-business-plan-gets-read-build-a-killer-exec-summary/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:10:14 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/make-sure-your-business-plan-gets-read-build-a-killer-exec-summary/ Like most people I hate writing business plans, I want to get on with the business at hand rather than keep writing and re-writing lots of words about what I plan to do!

This must also be true for…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/make-sure-your-business-plan-gets-read-build-a-killer-exec-summary/feed/ 0 How to write a winning elevator pitch http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/how-to-write-a-winning-elevator-pitch/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/how-to-write-a-winning-elevator-pitch/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:59:00 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/how-to-write-a-winning-elevator-pitch/ Writing a good and punchy “elevator pitch” is way harder than most people think. Plus I find that I really need to teach this skill a lot with my Stanford and UC Berkeley MBA’s to help them both with…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/how-to-write-a-winning-elevator-pitch/feed/ 3 Public speaking…the key things to know http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/public-speakingthe-key-things-to-know/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/public-speakingthe-key-things-to-know/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:28:10 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/public-speakingthe-key-things-to-know/ If you are making any form of presentation you will benefit from these quick tips.

Get the content and flow right:

First, make the presentation flow correctly – as most presentations are trying to convince someone of something, I…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/public-speakingthe-key-things-to-know/feed/ 0 Tech startup guides…in summary http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/tech-startup-guidesin-summary/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/tech-startup-guidesin-summary/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:35:01 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/tech-startup-guidesin-summary/ Writing about “how-to” startup could take 1000s page or just a few. In the last 20+ years of doing this I have learned a lot, mostly through my own dumb mistakes and I would say that again if you…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/tech-startup-guidesin-summary/feed/ 0 Learn from the guru on presentations…it’s harder than you think to build a compelling pitch http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/learn-from-the-guru-on-presentationsits-harder-than-you-think-to-build-a-compelling-pitch/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/learn-from-the-guru-on-presentationsits-harder-than-you-think-to-build-a-compelling-pitch/#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:38:58 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/learn-from-the-guru-on-presentationsits-harder-than-you-think-to-build-a-compelling-pitch/ Again and again I find myself telling my MBA students about how to present.

They tend to get everything wrong, every time, no matter how many times I tell them or ask them to learn.

Why? Well it’s probably…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/learn-from-the-guru-on-presentationsits-harder-than-you-think-to-build-a-compelling-pitch/feed/ 1 Even more advice on presenting to investors…preparation is key http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/even-more-advice-on-presenting-to-investorspreparation-is-key/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/even-more-advice-on-presenting-to-investorspreparation-is-key/#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:55:34 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/even-more-advice-on-presenting-to-investorspreparation-is-key/ You must know what they say about the 5 P’s, preparation prevents “piss poor” performance!

THE PREPARATION PROCESS:

Identify the 3-5 key points you want the audience to remember. These will inevitably be the key points of the investment…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/even-more-advice-on-presenting-to-investorspreparation-is-key/feed/ 1 How To Create A Unique Selling Proposition http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/how-to-create-a-unique-selling-proposition/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/how-to-create-a-unique-selling-proposition/#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:40:11 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/how-to-create-a-unique-selling-proposition/ This is a superb piece by Jay Abraham on creating your USP.

I really like his many books and reference materials and suggest you take a look at them if you are in sales or marketing.

This is a…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/how-to-create-a-unique-selling-proposition/feed/ 1 Always, always, always get references when hiring… http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/always-always-always-get-references-when-hiring/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/always-always-always-get-references-when-hiring/#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:33:59 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/always-always-always-get-references-when-hiring/ How to get references

Always get references as a way to Exclude candidates and get them very early.

Always check: 2 bosses, 2 Peers, 2 Staff, 2 Customers and other colleagues/VCs etc.

Also, try to get other non-provided names…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/always-always-always-get-references-when-hiring/feed/ 0 Double check that "intuition" when hiring…it could save you a big mistake http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/double-check-that-intuition-when-hiringit-could-save-you-a-big-mistake/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/double-check-that-intuition-when-hiringit-could-save-you-a-big-mistake/#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:31:13 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/double-check-that-intuition-when-hiringit-could-save-you-a-big-mistake/ These are useful notes I took from a book on HR (Sorry can’t remember its name now):

The problem:

A) Perfect on paper — intuition says no

B) CV& background not right — intuition says yes

These are…

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]]> http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/double-check-that-intuition-when-hiringit-could-save-you-a-big-mistake/feed/ 0 CXO Leadership Forum – A great way to learn and connect http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/cxo-leadership-forum-a-great-way-to-learn-and-connect/ http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/cxo-leadership-forum-a-great-way-to-learn-and-connect/#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:51:57 +0000 Jon Gillespie-Brown http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/cxo-leadership-forum-a-great-way-to-learn-and-connect/ I often get asked by friends and mentees in their ventures or working on a startup idea where they can learn more about all the various things CxO’s have to know and also where they can mix with similar…

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