Light, Motion and Magic

A French philosopher, said that “to exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly” (Henri Louis Bergeson.) I believe that is an accurate description of my business endeavors. Change, maturity, re-creation.

Clearly this is not an economy to manufacture and try to sell non-essential decorative merchandise, as I started out to do with Miri Market. Although I have not given up on that idea, I have definitely put those dreams on hold.

But Miri Market still exists, my legal business entity, with the ability to go on creating itself endlessly, as in the quote above. “Miri” means to be amazed, to marvel, to wonder at. It is from the language Esperanto, an international language based on words common to the chief European languages. For example, mira in Spanish means sight; intention; just look. Miracolo in Italian means miracles; wonder. And as a girl’s name (Latin, Slavic, Hindi) Miri means ‘wonderful’; ‘peace’; ‘prosperous’. Can you think of better connotations for a business name?

So it is to marvel and wonder at that my husband and I were presented with a business opportunity that - yes, even in these uncertain times - we decided to seize. David and I together will be working on a small service business. Our website, and this blog, is being reworked to reflect our new venture.

Miri Market coffee service - using state-of-the-art gourmet coffee machines, stocked with the finest coffee and backed by a committment to service and responsibility - makes barista-style coffee drinks available any time at your business for your employees and/or clients.

Our system grinds and brews each coffee drink in 30 seconds flat. At the push of a button a cup of delicious freshly ground and brewed specialty coffee is yours to savor. Miri Market coffee service allows your employees and/or clients to enjoy the flavor, cost and convenience benefits of coffee house drinks at a fraction of coffee house prices.

On the one hand, it seems crazy to jump into a new business when the bad economic news is piling up around us like dead leaves in the fall. Yet we made our decision quite quickly to do this. We’ve always wanted to work together, and this business seems to have the right requirements of each of our strengths and expertise. It is a simple business, a delicious business, that we can run to our standards of taste and responsibility.

Hazel Henderson is a futurist and economist, and the author of several books. In 2007 she started EthicalMarkets.tv for public television to showcase video of people and organizations around the world with socially responsible endeavors. She has said, “If we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic principles, we can greet the future and the transformation we are undergoing with the understanding that we do not know enough to be pessimistic.”

So I guess that in these uncertain times, David and I simply don’t know enough to be pessimistic. We’re going to give it a whirl!

Tags:business, change, Coffee Service, Hazel Henderson, Miri Market, start-up

Having gone to all three sessions of 2008 Summer Venture Camp put on by The Collaborative, I want to summarize the most important lessons that I took away from among all the information, expertise and advice given.

My business niche as a woman entrepreneur with Miri Market was not the primary target of most of the panel discussions, which seemed focused on med/tech start-up companies needing millions in venture capital. The Minneapolis/St. Paul area is especially strong in this industry, being home to Medtronic, St. Jude and Guidant, plus we have a world-class University that makes strong contributions in med/tech research. But the same things that make a strong candidate for getting venture capital makes a strong start-up company of any size, in any industry.

In the last venture camp session it was mentioned that you have to give people a message 9 times for it to stick. Much of what I focus on here are universal elements that were mentioned again and again - maybe not 9 times, but said by enough different people, enough times over the three sessions, that they “stuck” with me. The rest seems like just helpful good sense, to keep in mind as I build my company. So here they are:

1. Successful entrepreneurs need to be really FLEXIBLE. They also need to be completely dedicated; open to input; enthusiastic, but willing to learn; open to criticism; easy to work with; prepared.

2. Be sure to communicate to everyone - your employees, your board, your investors - IT’S ALL GOING TO CHANGE. You need to continually re-evaluate ideas, employee performance, compensation, priorities for spending - with the constant goal of making money and liquidity. Continually set up the expectation that things will be changing.

3. The saying, “Find a need, and fill it” is true. If you start with one idea in mind, and find that your customers are taking it in another direction or asking for some changes, go with it! Due diligence, market research, patent searches and understanding the competitive landscape can also help point you to the void that needs filling.

4. The main things to have down, which you must be able to communicate in a few, concise sentences, are:
-What’s your unique thing, your proprietary property/technology?
-How big is your market opportunity, your universe of buyers?
-What is the benefit customers receive from using your product? Will people pay for it?
-Management team. Management team. Management team.

5. When writing your business plan, make sure you have your above “story” together. Often a power point with supporting schedules will suffice, along with an excellent executive summary.

6. Hire people that are smarter than you. If you don’t have the knowledge and experience to get your company where it needs to be, find someone who does.

7. If you want to attract talent and have them work above and beyond for your success, give ownership as incentive - the earlier, the better. It’s difficult to lose key employees when you’re growing.

8. Don’t give up too much, too soon to your management team. Make sure they earn it, that no one is “dead weight,” then reward generously.

9. Be clear about the different components of your benefits package, and what long-term components reward as opposed to base pay.

10. If incentives are dependent on profit, put out the numbers so the employees know how they’re doing.

11. Consider that benefits have different value to different employees. Also think about the intangibles of your company that might help keep your employees. Create the right benefits and atmosphere for the employees you want to hire and keep.

12. Communicate, communicate, communicate - to employees, investors, public.

13. The right management team means having the right people at each stage. For example, having a bookkeeper –> having a comptroller –> having a CFO. Each time you add the right person, you’re adding value, even though the cash hit can be difficult at the time.

14. Constantly stay on top of cash flow. Check every day so you don’t have surprises.

15. Qualify your new customers. Set payment terms and credit limits. Follow up on slow payers. Offer discounts to get customers to pay more quickly. Offer credit card payment. Impose finance charges for late payments (and also use as leverage.) You can sometimes renegotiate terms with your manufacturers, suppliers. Convert sales as quickly as possible into cash in the bank.

16. Take the time to organize your board. Over time try to increase its sophistication to one that’s informed, and will take action when necessary.

Tags:2008 Summer Venture Camp, Business lessons, start-up, The Collaborative, Woman entrepreneur