Sheryl Sandberg on Scalability at Stanford

Help Wanted: People Issues in A Startup

In a small company, every person has a huge impact on overall company success. As a manager, people are your greatest asset. Here's an article a friend referred to me where Irv Grousbeck gives entrepreneurs advice on how to deal with personnel issues. I believe being direct with employees will earn their respect and trust.

With a Little Help from HBS

Startups can be pretty hectic. It's nice to have people and articles to look to for advice. Here are a few HBS articles I found useful.

• Recovering from the need to achieve. Basically, high achievers are addicted to achieving goals, but feel a sense of emptiness. To get over this "condition", follow the following steps: let go of the past; create a vision or specific goal with an agenda; seek support through mentors and a network; don't blink (or fall back on old behaviors); and take action that makes you vulnerable. Spend quality time with family and friends away from your phones.
• Business lessons from Bono. Take stock frequently to evaluate if you're making the best use of your people, authority, and resources.
• Top 10 legal mistakes entrepreneurs make.

Enjoy! There are tons of other resources out there. Stay tuned.

Let's be product managers

In Silicon Valley, working as a Product Manager for Google or another major consumer internet company is a right of passage into working in the consumer internet world. It's like spending 2 years in investment banking (or investment management in my case) at a major investment bank after undergrad before continuing in finance. Other common uses of the "X investment bank" on one's resume is to show that you can analyze something and use excel.

Well, not everyone can be a product manager for Google, or a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs. But, the good news is that there are resources out there to help you learn. I've had the Silicon Valley Product Managers Association recommended to me by a friend. You can find useful articles for new product managers and tips for current product managers to stay up to date. Still on the hunt for other resources, but here's a start.

The Local Gourmet

While brainstorming catchy names for an upcoming dinner event, the name, "Local Gourmet", stuck with me. I'm imaging friends asking, "Want to go to Local Gourmet?", as we walk towards a healthy, gourmet downtown lunch place / a homemade cookie company / a cafe / a cozy restaurant with seating set up around a table like the island in my family's kitchen. "Local Gourmet" is a brand that communicates good, homemade food and can apply to anything food related, from restaurants to cookbooks to online recipe blogs.

Arts$ and Craft$

On my way to work, I passed by a homeless teenager with the sign, "Penny for a Poem." It got me thinking. Many of us try to make money in our full time job. But, what if you could make money off of a talent in a side business? A side business that generated a decent amount of cash. If you're good at arts and crafts, you can follow advice from the Etsy founder.

Tips for Selling Crafts Online
By Vangie Beal
June 24, 2009

Online craft selling is a big business. Just ask Etsy founder Robert Kalin, who was quoted earlier this year as saying the Etsy marketplace sold $100 million worth of goods in 2008.

1000markets is one of five online craft markets that delivers good traffic rank and attracts shoppers. (Click for larger image).

Despite the popularity of using existing marketplaces, like eBay, Etsy, and other eBay alternatives, Dillehay recommended that crafters also invest in their own domain name and Web site, since the craft business online is largely connected to one’s own presence.

In addition to using your own Web site for branding, Dillehay said that you can also invest in opening a Web shop and link to it from your own domain.

In his e-book, Dillehay reminds sellers that there is no guarantee of a sale just by listing on popular selling platforms, but five online marketplaces he recommends that have a good traffic rank and attract shoppers looking for crafts and unusual items include; eBay, Etsy, Artfire , Silkfair and 1000markets.

Dillehay suggested that novice online craft sellers need to focus on the business aspect and also create a brand and product people will trust. Here are five tips for those who are thinking about launching their own craft shop online:

• When you offer a craft for sale online, you need to ensure you are listing the item with the best photo you possibly can. Crafts are unique and your photo has to show that. Also, be sure you spell-check your listings. You never ever want to list an item with errors in the descriptions.
• Be honest in your listing and don’t exaggerate. Always include exact size and weight measurements, and add color and materials information for your shoppers.
• When you sell online through Web shops and marketplaces it is extremely important to read their terms of service—and different sites will have different terms. There is nothing worse than wasting time creating listings only to have them removed because you didn’t abide by the terms of service.
• Create a story around your craft. This helps you give your work a story and bring it to life for shoppers. This will give customers a higher perceived value of your crafts.
• Always collect your customer’s contact information and build a customer list. Down the road you can encourage more sales from shoppers who have already bought your product and who are familiar with your name and branding.