Business

See this at: paulgraham.com| Added on 10/18/06

October 2006 In the Q & A period after a recent talk, someone asked what made startups fail. After standing there gaping for a few seconds I realized this was kind of a trick question. It's equivalent to asking how to make a startup succeed—if you... See more

October 2006 In the Q & A period after a recent talk, someone asked what made startups fail. After standing there gaping for a few seconds I realized this was kind of a trick question. It's equivalent to asking how to make a startup succeed—if you avoid every cause of failure, you succeed—and that's too big a question to answer on the fly. Afterwards I realized it could be helpful to look at the problem from this direction. If you have a list of all the things you shouldn't do, you can turn that into a recipe for succeeding just by negating. And this form of list may be more useful in practice. It's easier to catch yourself doing something you shouldn't than always to remember to do something you should. [1] In a sense there's just one mistake that kills startups: not making something users want. If you make something users want, you'll probably be fine, whatever else you do or don't do. And if you don't make something users want, then you're dead, whatever else you do or don't do. So... See less

See this at: rondam.blogspot.com| Added on 10/02/06

Since I've started my new career as a venture capitalist I have become keenly aware of some of the classic mistakes that geeks make when trying to raise money for a new business. Instead of writing the same comments over and over again I thought I'd... See more

Since I've started my new career as a venture capitalist I have become keenly aware of some of the classic mistakes that geeks make when trying to raise money for a new business. Instead of writing the same comments over and over again I thought I'd try to summarize some of the mistakes that people -- especially smart people -- make when they decide to try to turn their bright ideas into money. Here then is my top-ten list of geek business myths: Myth #1: A brilliant idea will make you rich. Reality: A brilliant idea is neither necessary nor sufficient for a successful business, although all else being equal it can't hurt. Microsoft is probably the canonical example of a successful business, and it has never had a single brilliant idea in its entire history. (To the contrary, Microsoft has achieved success largely by seeking out and destroying other people's brilliant ideas.) Google was based on a couple of brilliant ideas (Page rank, text-only ads, massive parallel implementation on... See less

See this at: microsoft.com| Added on 09/19/06

Sure, some expenses, like meals and entertainment, may be only partially deductible. Other expenses may have to be written off, or "depreciated," over a period of years. But the basic fundamental concept — revenues justifying expenses — is still... See more

Sure, some expenses, like meals and entertainment, may be only partially deductible. Other expenses may have to be written off, or "depreciated," over a period of years. But the basic fundamental concept — revenues justifying expenses — is still pretty easy to understand and explain. But what about those expenses you rack up before your business even opens its doors? There is good news here, and it has nothing to do with saving money on car insurance. Once you open your business and start generating revenues, you can write off many of those initial startup costs at tax time. But there is bad news too. The rules for taking advantage of these deductions are not as straightforward as they are for your business's ongoing expenses. Here are six steps to getting deductions for your pre-opening business costs. See less

See this at: startupnation.com| Added on 09/19/06

* Take an upfront deduction if you qualify - OK, so you've tracked all your business startup costs before opening shop. Now comes the good part: You can write off up to $5,000 in business startup costs and another $5,000 in organizational expenses in... See more

* Take an upfront deduction if you qualify - OK, so you've tracked all your business startup costs before opening shop. Now comes the good part: You can write off up to $5,000 in business startup costs and another $5,000 in organizational expenses in the year that you start a business. (Note: These deductions are reduced if you have more than $50,000 of either type of expense.) Once you've written off that first $5,000, you can still get a tax benefit from other expenses. However, those startup costs will have to be written off, or amortized, over 15 years. Sound like a long time to have to wait to get the full benefit of a startup deduction? It is. But for most small startups, these rules are an improvement over what was in place before the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. Until then, all startup and organizational costs could be deducted over 60 months - but none could be simply written off. The smallest startups, which typically have fewer than $5,000 in total business startup... See less

See this at: businessweek.com| Added on 09/19/06

Consultant June Walker tells the self-employed to be cannier about deductions For many self-employed people, the line between work and personal life isn't always clear. Tax and financial consultant June Walker, author of Self-Employed Tax Solutions... See more

Consultant June Walker tells the self-employed to be cannier about deductions For many self-employed people, the line between work and personal life isn't always clear. Tax and financial consultant June Walker, author of Self-Employed Tax Solutions (Globe Pequot, $17.95), argues the confusion often causes people to cheat themselves out of legitimate deductions. BusinessWeek personal finance writer Suzanne Woolley quizzed Walker, who has 25 years of experience and works out of her home in Santa Fe, N.M., about ways to make self-employment less taxing. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow. (Note: This is an extended, online-only version of the interview that appears in the Feb. 14, 2005 issue of BusinessWeek.) Q: Why do the self-employed write off too little? A: They often cheat themselves by considering an expense personal when it's really a business expense. In the corporate world, it's clear who is a business associate, and who isn't. For the self-employed, that line is very... See less

See this at: profitadvisors.com| Added on 06/06/06

February 15, 1997 Our character is a composite of our habits. Changing habits is hard, but can be done by tremendous commitment. A (good) habit can be defined as the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. Change is a cycle of being and seeing... See more

February 15, 1997 Our character is a composite of our habits. Changing habits is hard, but can be done by tremendous commitment. A (good) habit can be defined as the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. Change is a cycle of being and seeing (visualization). Our objective is to move progressively on a maturity continuum from dependence to independence to interdependence. Although independence is the current paradigm of our society, we can accomplish much more by cooperation and specialization. However, we must achieve independence before we can choose interdependence. Habits 1, 2 and 3 (Be Proactive, Begin With The End In Mind, Put First Things First) deal with self mastery. They are the "private victories" required for character growth. Private victories precede public victories. Habits 4, 5 and 6 are the more personality-oriented "public victories" of Teamwork, Cooperation and Communication. Habit 7 is the habit of Renewal, creating an upward spiral of growth. Effectiveness... See less

See this at: blueoceanstrategy.co...| Added on 06/06/06

Companies have long engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They have fought for competitive advantage, battled over market share, and struggled for differentiation. Yet in today’s overcrowded industries,... See more

Companies have long engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They have fought for competitive advantage, battled over market share, and struggled for differentiation. Yet in today’s overcrowded industries, competing head-on results in nothing but a bloody “red ocean” of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool. In a book that challenges everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne contend that while most companies compete within such red oceans, this strategy is increasingly unlikely to create profitable growth in the future. Based on a study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than a hundred years and thirty industries, Kim and Mauborgne argue that tomorrow’s leading companies will succeed not by battling competitors, but by creating “blue oceans” of uncontested market space ripe for growth . Such strategic moves—termed “value innovation”—create powerful leaps in value for both... See less

See this at: code-interactive.com| Added on 05/26/06

If you are a consumer, or a marketer, or a CEO of a company looking for branding, you should be interested in logos. Logos are the centerpiece of a company’s brand image and can tell you a lot about the company. The quality of a logo can tell the... See more

If you are a consumer, or a marketer, or a CEO of a company looking for branding, you should be interested in logos. Logos are the centerpiece of a company’s brand image and can tell you a lot about the company. The quality of a logo can tell the consumer how much their image (and customer opinion) means to that company. The effectiveness of a logo can help sell whatever product or service that the company offers. Also, the beauty of a logo is something that the company can be proud of and identify with. See less

Highlights: In fact, a design intern at Nike named Caroline Davidson came up with the idea in 1971 for $35.

See this at: cinematography.net| Added on 05/25/06

Published : 26th December 2005 I like to start by thinking how BIG (as in the area of the Fresnel or silk or soft box) needs to be for the look I want-- then how big an area I need to cover-- then what wattage fixture I need to accomplish that.... See more

Published : 26th December 2005 I like to start by thinking how BIG (as in the area of the Fresnel or silk or soft box) needs to be for the look I want-- then how big an area I need to cover-- then what wattage fixture I need to accomplish that. Steven Bradford Film HD Program Chair Collins College Tempe Arizona See less

See this at: hdforindies.com| Added on 05/25/06

This article discusses the difference in quality between what various video cameras and camcorders actually shoot versus the quality of what gets recorded to tape. A detailed explanation is given of what happens to the video image after it leaves the... See more

This article discusses the difference in quality between what various video cameras and camcorders actually shoot versus the quality of what gets recorded to tape. A detailed explanation is given of what happens to the video image after it leaves the camera sensor and before it gets written to tape...and how it gets substantially changed. Concepts of RGB vs YUV, 4:4:4 vs 4:2:2, and interframe vs intraframe compression are explained and discussed with lots of explanatory links. See less

Highlights: The $3500 Sony due in the US in November, has the same NLE interoperability issues but worse (since it hasn't shipped yet, and existing HDV solutions will have to be modified to work with the new size & framerate), but from what I can tell so far, it looks really nice.

See this at: business-marketing.c...| Added on 04/04/06

For any business to be successful, it must be started and operated with a clear understanding of its customers, its internal strengths, its competitive environment, and a vision of how it will evolve to compete in the future. A business also needs... See more

For any business to be successful, it must be started and operated with a clear understanding of its customers, its internal strengths, its competitive environment, and a vision of how it will evolve to compete in the future. A business also needs money to start, to operate, and to grow. By expending the effort to develop a comprehensive business plan, you will have a powerful tool. Your business plan is the roadmap for your company. It clearly states where you are, how you got there, and how you plan to proceed. This module steps you through the process of developing a comprehensive business plan. Although businesses may vary with regard to the products or services they offer, there are specific elements that a potential investor will look for in any business plan. Therefore, every well thought-out business plan includes a description of products and services, a competitive analysis, a marketing plan, a management plan, and a financial plan. Your business plan will provide you--and... See less