PROGRESS OF A STARTUP…. 7 …
Had a look round the enterprise center at Hull business school ..facility for office /incubator…main advantage of being there……in a university atmosphere ,with knowledge sharing and students to get feedback from. over 3,000 in the whole department!
Found a webmaster to build the Alpha version of TMI …asked him to code a program which can be developed as the ” secret sauce ” to add value to the website ..Investors love some innovation they can license !
We have designed the brochure to use in the HQ. of startup poor in Mian Channu…will put this online soon ..
Still writing up the report “Are the rich a waste of money ? ” This will be free when published in February 09.
Next problem to solve how to engage Asian students in UK . to use TMI. It’s vital to test any site before going public…. Have got a meeting with the University co-ordinator for Asian students ….hopefully this will be fruitful.
The busines is called ” startup poor ” because we are building a user platform which will offer ; free webspace ; free internet business education ; free news letter .to the literal poor ; but it is also suited to Western students .. as if they can start without loans/ credit ( the servicing of debt is a major reason for business failure ) they are in a much better position to succeed than those with high leveraged projects ..essentially much of the current failures is inability to service debts …
Let us hear about your startup ..do put your idea on TMI for testing
Humbird 22..december 2008 see you in 2009 take care
MORE IDEAS ON—- testmyidea.com
- CHINA INDIA STUDENT (Friday, 10 October 2008. inhouse2)
- WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR BANK (Friday, 03 October 2008. inhouse2)
- BANKING CRISIS (Wednesday, 01 October 2008. inhouse2)
- SCUBA DIVERS LEISURE WEAR (Wednesday, 24 September 2008. inhouse2)
- PAKISTAN EXPATS CLUB (Tuesday, 23 September 2008. inhouse2)
- SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING (Tuesday, 23 September 2008. inhouse2)
- REDUNDENT BANKERS FINANCIERS (Tuesday, 16 September 2008. inhouse2)
- SINGAPORE ENTREPRENEUR (Saturday, 06 September 2008. inhouse)
- DRAGONS DEN (Saturday, 06 September 2008. inhouse)
- JESUS CHRIST (Saturday, 06 September 2008. inhouse
Have a look at the many ideas being tested on TMI…then join to test YOUR IDEA.
It’s free and can give you a good idea if your concept is viable; at nil cost.
More details on” TMI” homepage under the 2 free starter (report )link.
start your startup now …humbird
LATEST IDEA ON TEST MY IDEA
- DIABETIC DOWNS SYNDROME (Saturday, 29 November 2008. inhouse2)
- GREEN Product (Thursday, 27 November 2008. daytontech08)
- STUDENT- JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES (Wednesday, 26 November 2008. inhouse2)
- GREEN BUSINESS (Thursday, 20 November 2008. inhouse2)
- BUSINESS (Thursday, 20 November 2008. inhouse2)
- GREEN BUSINESS WOMEN (Thursday, 20 November 2008. inhouse2)
- BUSINESS GUIDE (Wednesday, 19 November 2008. inhouse2)
- TESCO GREEN MARKETING (Wednesday, 05 November 2008. inhouse2)
- PAYPAL (Wednesday, 05 November 2008. inhouse2)
- Fossil Fuels and Alternatives (Thursday, 30 October 2008. daytontech08)
JOIN FREE AND TEST YOUR IDEA ………….. humbird
STARTUP -SUCCESS PHILOSOPHY
Much has been written about success and how to achieve it but it all boils down to certain principles which all startup owners understand or they arrive at by accident.
1..There must be a real desire to be successful, a passion which will enable the entrepreneur to keep on going even if it takes years to realise his/her dream. Many start a project with enthusiasm but give up at the first major problem ; a winner never quits , and a quiter never wins.
2.. Allied to the above is focus..a vision of the end result..this is what the deep desire attaches itself to until the dream is realised.
3..Vocation..there must be a real love of the idea and the implications of what its realisation will bring. eg; wealth ;satisfaction;help for others. The entrepreneur may take some time to” find himself ‘that is what he is best suited to .which always involves using his /hers unique skills aptitude.
4..Creative intelligence.. an individual may not be the brightest; may have few paper qualifications but can spot a business opportunity which others cannot..this is because he imagines how he can add value to the idea..by for example; offering the product to a different market; translating the business into a different language; presenting it cheaper or offering a superior service.
5.. Management; All great entrepreneurs knew or found out how to build a team to enable them to help them progress their idea ..even when they had little financial backing .;they used their creative intelligence to think of a way to get round problems. This ability is essentially knowing how to handle people , some have it instinctively others develope it from experience and study, but all have it.
6..Always willing to listen and learn, the true entrepreneur is always humble enough to learn from any one,if he/she thinks it will help progress the project , some time a chance meeting will give the knowledge to add considerable value to the business, perhaps taking it to the next level.
7..The desire to solve a problem or “pain”; the bigger the “pain” and the market the larger the reward for the solution . All very successful entrepreneurs have found a market to serve which appreciated the service / product and continued to buy it..some being life long loyal customers.
The pain TMI is trying to solve ,for example, is the “pain ” experienced by both entrepreneur and investor..the entrepreneur wants to find a way to know if his idea is viable as cheaply as possible. The investor is seeking good projects with proven potential, ie; some evidence of viability ;cash flow; customer list,etc without spending a lot of time sifting through business plans. ( see animation on testmyidea.com- under investor link. )
Have you any other principles you used in your startup ?
see you soon Humbird
regards Humbird
THE SMALL BUSINESS PERSONS GUIDE IN THE CREDIT CRUNCH ERA
We are the process of writing up a guide for the small business owner who is finding things very difficult in the post credit crunch era ……
The contents we propose are listed below……
CONTENTS …..
1..changing your mind.
2..finding your constraints.
3..removing your constraints.
4..building your customer base . the 80/20 rule .
5.. the digital divide…the I.M. guru’s .
6.. blog your way global .
7..outsourcing .
8.. team building . admin. creatives. techies .
9.. alliances .. leverage .
10..joint ventures .
11.. free workshops for profit .
12.. your business plan .
13.. products…. research & development .
14.. creative marketing strategies .
resource …..
business ideas ……..
If there is a section that especially interests you ..let us know and we will customise the version we send you .
THIS IS FOR THE FIRST 100 CUSTOMERS -ONLY. ORDER NOW …. This is a free service.
………………………………………..
If you wish to receive a free copy to down load..give us your business contact email… the report will be ready in late November..we will be giving you more information nearer the time….
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Our free report ” ARE THE RICH A WASTE OF MONEY ? ” Will be available start of November…
more about the other reports and our progress in Pakistan soon…
regards Humbird
Our
PROGRESS OF A STARTUP ——- SIX
Nearly finished writing up the report ; ” Are the rich a waste of money ? “ Whilst researching this i came across a book which Bill Gates was influenced by..” The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid “By C.K.Prahalad…Essentially it suggests ,as does my report, that the poor should be looked upon as a huge untapped customer base with immense potential for contributing their intellectual abilities and not seen as a burden.
However it is , i believe, making the same mistakes as the present administration of foriegn aid …it is suggesting a top down method of administration..it wont work well for long term development.
The another problem ;it suggests no means of the poor entering world markets at nil cost , no mechanism to enable the the poor to generate income themselves.
See my report for how this is possible…
We have now enough computers ready to ship to Mian Channu ..must get a final costing on this
We are progressing with the Alpha testing platform and hope to have this ready in November. The techie building it worked for Microsoft in USA. now runs a computer shop with special interest in networks.
Some of the ideas being tested are giving interesting results .eg “ Divers leisure wear “20 visits per day ( keep in mind TMI is not being promoted ) ” entrepreneur ” seems to be a key word used to find the type of startups we shall be helping…
Mohammad will be visting Pakistan soon to set up the office and survey the market for interest in the business services we shall be offering.
It is such a pity Pakistan gets a bad press..the majority are getting on with their lives and are very interested in enterprise education..we can see the potential for many Pakistani students using their creativity in the global market ..especially intellectual property..that is why we are building a “creatives ” Team in Mian Channu.
Things are coming together but never as quick as you would like..the next main work is to produce promotional literature..brochures;business cards;articles etc….we made the mistake of doing this too early before we had a clear idea of the final business model..dont make that mistake ..it costs you money and time !
Let us know how your startup is progressing…….take care humbird
BUSINESS IDEAS & CREATIVITY
Today i was talking to a young internet geek ( he was the manager ) in a cell phone shop about starting a business online , his reaction was ; ” I need an idea ! “
Most people tend to think of this as an unsurmountable barrier to starting .yet in reality it is the least thing to worry about.. for sources of ideas wait a moment……. After teaching creativity for over 30 years i believe that the problem is not ideas .but an idea which the individual feels comfortable with.
Here is the secret of most successful entrepreneurs..they often are not great at thinking up ideas.. but they do have the ability to choose one which fits there strengths ..that is , they know want they can do best,their base skills ..this could be :–organising ability;imaginative;warm personality;techie;writing skills;ability to speak a number of languages ; If you think you have no special skill ( you have but you have not found it yet ! ) there is one thing you can do which every” master “ Has the ability to find just one person who can organise a team of individuals to do what is required and you cannot…more on this in a future blog……..
You may well have been told you can be anything you want ( by well meaning educators or even your parents ) It is not true ! The only certain way to success is to realise your own potential; and thats using your unique you to the utmost.
Now regarding ideas ;” Google ” was not a new idea; but to build a search engine with great capacity and produce results faster then others was an innovation which arrived at the right time …Some ideas are just presented to a different market or are cheaper or better quality .
There are many ideas on TMI which are free to use ..if inhouse , email us and in most cases we will give you permission to adopt the idea ..that is it will be copyright to you , in effect you intellectual property..the more you progress the idea the firmer your claim on the idea.
In practice few are stolen as most entrepreneurs prefer to use their own ideas… related to their skills.
There is one thing which does stand out as a special strength which all the top guru’s seem to have ..tho’ few talk about it ! CREATIVITY..It’s the ability to think up alternatives. This explains way those who are very successful say do what i do ( at a price ) and you to will be successful..may be ; and maybe not!
Their success is often built on joining another .joint ventures…or alliances.. or building highly targeted lists of customers..they instruct you to do this and that but the strategies they use are generally not revealed ..For example ..form an alliance with another successful entrepreneur..thats the thing to do ..but how do you go about it in detail? Obviously it requires finding a good enough reason for the other party to agree .In other words you have to be CREATIVE use your imagination…
From the above you can understand one of the most sort after type of team menber is he or she who is a creative thinker..you may not have that skill so find one who does. The good news is they can often be found in the “drop out of college type” Or found in the last place a techie inclined entrepreneur would look; at your local art college !
Let us know if you would like more information on team selection ( ours should be complete for launch by October ) They will be writing up the free eco enterprise education program…be patient..
Do tell us about your startup ..failures and successes….
take care humbird
PROGRESS OF A STARTUP ———————– FIVE
Currently we are negotiating with a number of students from whom we will select some to run blogs and others input ideas.
A young married couple have just added ..” bushman survival knowledge” as an idea..It took 10 minutes to type in.. we may engage them to invent ideas and upload…
We have now over 30 computers to ship to Mian Channu….waitng to see if our application for funding to transport them is successful…
We are delighted to have formed an alliance with Lugewa Hakim ceo of ;” Uganda entrepreneurs foundation ” We will let you know when he has uploaded all his text and is ready to launch…
We are excited about this alliance because Uganda has been rated the top country in the world for entrepreneureal activity…With Hakim’s blog for the frst time Uganda will be able to globalise students digital products ..allowing any one in Uganda to start a business at nil cost ..with the back up of . The foundations advanced programs..as getting started is often the most difficult part, this should be a great help to engage many more students before they leave College University
Hurry up Hakim…………. with your launch !!
We have formed another alliance with a very well established and successful print and design businesst ;the owner has great ideas and does something about them ! See his ” Illuminated estate agents sign “ idea on www.testmyidea.com Whilst we can offer him an Asian market for his work,we receive high quality design at very competitive prices..and free delivery !
We are going to formulate a competition for our Chinese entrepreneurs..more on this as it could be global…..let us know your ideas about competitions ?
Do let us know how we can improve our site and what extras you wish us to add….comment below.
Take care Humbird
GREEN CLEAN CHINA
There has been concern about the quality of air in Beijing China ..especially by the athletes who will be attending the Olympic games in a few weeks time.. A recent report about the over 1,000 cars per day coming on to the cities roads, adding to the pollution , would not have been reassuring..
The authories have going to take measures to make it a clean air zone for the “big event .”
Keeping in mind the above and the disturbing fact that the ice fields on the Hilamlayan mountain range, which supply 2 billion people with water is melting at an accelerating rate ;anything that helps to mitigate this is welcome ;thats why a recent idea posted by Peter, a student entrepreneur,is interesting..by using minibaths the total amount of water needed for keeping clean is reduced..if this is encouraged and employed in millions of homes it will help conserve water at a time is becoming more and more valuable.
Well done Peter ! More green ideas wanted to keep China a clean green country.. more see below…
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I have just read Thomas L Friedman’s book ” The world is flat “….Is is excellent reading for entrepreneurs,and very useful for viewing what future trends will be ..especially the section on social entrepreneurs: although Friedman does not say so, he just touches upon it; there is a trend which could dominate the thinking of business schools ;universities and MBA graduates; and perhaps ALL entrepreneurs, that is that the problem of climate change.
Already more and more MBA’s are seeking work with companies who are ethical and green inclined ; whatever the reason is ,this trend is going to continue with the obvious result in a great need for” eco enterprise education.”.that is businesses which start with the idea of being carbon neutral .fair trade,and mainly designing for a fast growing “green” market . Startup-poor is formulating a “3E” program to meet the demand for entrepreneurs who can see the trend and act upon it.
There is another factor which will accelerate the green trend ,its becoming more and more profitable to do so..it only requires a few more weather induced disasters to wake up those who doubt realise they will be left behind by the “hero generation” .as Al Gore calls the green movements. There are also tipping points which could greatly affect the business communities..EG..bees are disappearing world wide at an alarming rate..no one really knows why. could be climate change ?.But if ALL the bees die every person on the planet will be affected..
The above comments helps our readers understand why we are keen to encourage green startups and why our HQ will have a research team formulating a program for all green entrepreneurs who join TMI…this will be free to the poor as there are four billion poor who if they demand carbon inducing products will add immensely to global warming..whereas if they start green they help become part of the solution and not add to the problem….
What do you think ? Do add your comments and your ideas
Take care Humbird
PROGRESS OF A STARTUP……………..four
Things never happen as quick as you would want them to;the mind can see things to do and work out how to do them but to actually apply the idea or knowledge can be very frustating……For budding entrepreneur the quality of patience is a great asset and thats patience with oneself and others who you deal with.
The general feeling can be ..I must do it now..or it’s it will be the end……..here is some advice which can help remove that idea. …..Some things will never get done and looking back you will be sure glad they did not. EG; You may be concerned about a faltering alliance ,and are concerned it will end, you feel you have to do all sorts of things to cement it but it fails….Two years later you have a new alliance that is working;the ceo is a great communicator, the other would have been a mistake.
We have just etablished an alliance with a charity in Uganda , we have a good feeling it will work well because our objectives are the same, as is our target market …lesson to learn? Seek to form partners with other businesses which match your core interests/passion…see Uganda entrepreneurs business foundation and www.startup-uganda.com …
The report on the startup-poor system will be complete and published July..you can request a copy sent you ….The white paper on the background ,including the reason for inventing the revolutionary way to help the poor..will be published in August..again if you want a copy request it….
The project in Mian Channu is progressing well with a number of computers ready to go and the work manuals for the office being formulated…
We have presented a prize to a Chinese entrepreneur for his new business idea ..more in another post.
….take care humbird
