Quote of the week is courtesy of Mr. Evolution himself

Charles Robert Darwin – British naturalist, explorer and scientist.
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

• As an avid The Office watcher (and I know the British version was probably better), this was a good read on the lessons we can learn from Andy Bernard’s struggles in management. 
• Google is buying companies at a crazy clip, so if you are looking to sell out, start there.
• Nice piece in the Times about the less-attractive side of entrepreneurship.  If you are looking at leaving the cubicle behind, read this first.
• Its December, which means year end is here (among other things), so if you want to avoid Uncle Sam in April, get your tax avoidance strategies in place now
• When getting ready to start up, here is what not to do.  
• A little love for Iowa’s start up culture.
• You can have all the drive and ambition in the world, but entrepreneurs also need these 4 things according to Glen Blickenstaff on Inc.com.  I tend to agree, especially in regards to making a difference.
• If you have thought about kicking off a pay-per-click strategy for your business, now is a great time as the big search firms are offering a ton of help and free trials to get you started.
• For those still trying to figure out how to integrate Twitter into your strategies, here are a few examples on how others are doing it
• Looking to go online with your business?  Might want to watch this for a few tips on how to draw customers.

• It’s often said, but not nearly often enough practiced that the best funding to get your business going is sales.  It’s always easier to head to the bank or your brother-in-law, but sales trump it all in my opinion.  Here is a pretty good primer on how to take a step back and look at your sales process to “Six Sigma It up” a little. 
• One thing that always amazing me when counseling with small business is their lack of process around collecting from customers.  If you have a business model where you can’t get cash up front or at time of service, you NEED to have things in place to keep the A/R under control.  Here is a great read on how to go about it.  Waiting it out and playing nice is not always the answer.  And when you’ve worked hard for the sale, the last thing you need is a deadbeat that doesn’t pay. 
• Jeff Haden over at Owner’s Manual always has good stuff to share.  Here he delves into the world of Linked In’s Groups service.  Most people end up with a profile and maybe do some reco’s and what not on there, but not enough of us utilize their Groups functionality, which is probably the most powerful piece of the whole site. 
• Again from Haden is a great piece for those in the customer service business, which is basically everybody but your brother-in-law the ditch digger. 
• With Deal Garden now in town, there are more and more options to participate in couponing websites.  The perception is that they can be a dangerous way to lose money fast.  Before you assume that, give this a read on ways to strategically do well on a group couponing site. 
• I should probably know who Neil Patel is, but I have no idea.  That said his list on lessons learned in business is right on the money.
• Good advice for those looking to keep their day job while also venturing out on a path with a start up business.  One of the better nuggets is to take a day or two off to work on it, and on those days, books as many meetings as you can.  No one wants to meet with you about your crazy start up at 7PM or AM for that matter.
• I love any list of suggested reading, this one is pretty complete.  At least I think it is, I haven’t really read any of them, but every list I see on this subject includes most of these.  I started Zen and Motorcyles sometime in July I think.  I’m about 60 pages in, so yeah, I need to turn the TV off.
• For those afraid of selling, but know they need to get it down, here are some ways around selling while still selling – I think that makes sense.  As a small business counselor I see a ton of people with the fear of selling thing going on, this is a good way to think about ways around that.
• I should have put this one higher up for the 2 of you who actually read this, but here are some awesome quotes on taking risk for those that might need to talk themselves into it

Finally, if you made to the bottom, we’ve got a little Mumford & Sons to get your weekend rolling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZzRd3q9pEM&ob=av3n

I’ve been on hiatus with the ol’ Link-O-Rama for a big chunk of the summer. Since I have gotten so many notes asking to revive it (thanks to the both of you) – I thought I better get back on the blogging bus.

• Some good quotes on leadership by a few folks who know it cold
• Nanovox looks to bring upper Midwest states together around nanotechnologies/jobs, nice to see some regional efforts going on – regardless of how small they are (get it?) My apologies for the bad pun.
• Who doesn’t love a few extra tips on entrepreneurial success – these are cheap and easy ones.
• Well done quick read on picking the right key words/search terms to build into your web or e-commerce strategy
• I was out in Detroit earlier this summer for a trip to Comerica (one of my life goals is to see all of the MLB parks – I’m up to 18). The stadium is amazing, but 2 blocks away it’s amazingly crappy. A lot of ink has been spent talking about renaissance initiatives in the Motor City. Here is another one.
• Most of the time I focus on tips and info for growing your business. Fact of life is that over half of all businesses fail in the first 5 years. What can you pull from the wreckage of a business failure? Two words – Entrepreneurial Acumen.
• Out of the gates but need a few ideas on how to grow your firm – here are a few ideas and here are a few more.
• Looking to start your business in Iowa, luckily its one of the happiest states in the nation. I have to admit, I would have never guessed most of the states that appeared here.
• A few tips for the non-technologically gifted on how to enhance your web presence.
• I’m a big advocate for developing an Advisory Board for your start up, here are a few reasons why and how to go about setting one up.

•    One of our former tenants, Cohesive, did a hilarious re-make on The Office in honor of their big move to Hudson – check it out
•    Ever wonder who the big timers on Twitter are – at least in the small business world – here you go
•    Seth Godin has a huge following, and for good reason.  With this one he takes a quick look at “FEAR” and its strong abilities to slow you down.  It’s a very quick read for those looking for a little motivation to jump in the deep end of the proverbial entrepreneurial pool.
•    I put this one up only for those who can’t think of a solid business idea themselves.  It’s mostly a play on trends – aging population, crappy economy – nothing too earth shattering, but a decent starter for those looking for a business idea to run with.
•    A quick 101 on QR codes for your business.  This is a great guide for a soup to nuts list of how to launch one at your start up.

•    Sean Eichenberger offers up his top 35 movie quotes on business.  It’s a little weak, but sometimes I think that is the point with these guys who want to get some comment traffic on their posts.  How you can have a list like this and leave out “Listen, here’s the thing. If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.”   (Rounders) is beyond me.
•    A little primer on why cash flow trumps profit for a start up.
•    I’m not a Thomas Friedman reader, but I know I should be.  He wrote a nice piece earlier this week in the Times, mostly covering Linked In founder Reid Garrett Hoffman’s new book.  But aside from the obvious book push, he offered up some great insight on how the job search game is changing, and for that matter so is keeping a job.
Finally the video of the week courtesy of Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffet – enjoy the weekend kids

This blog is a repost from MyEntre.Net, read the original post here.

This blog is a repost from MyEntre.Net, read the original post here.