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Why I choose happy meals!

Hello boys and girls,

As I see my shares diving, the real estate market following, I just wonder
Is my startup a good investment?

Hmmm.
Seed capital… is often provided by angel investors, and VC show their lack of enthusiasm in the market.

I don’t really crave for money, but investment can mean faster expansion. People you can give orders to, markets you can invade with mass marketing.

On the other hand, you have bootstrapping. Starting from nothing and achieve profitability. Then having a cash cow spreading money and wealth on you and your friends (yeah, those friends you still bring along with you to help you keep it real).

Most of the people say better have a small piece of a big pie, than a tiny pie.
Lots of people say, keep control of your company, don’t let strangers play with your baby.

Maybe one day, I’ll be a VC (Venture Capitalist). I’ll just go see entrepreneurs begging for money, and tell them why their project sucks.

And when I’ll see someone coming with a start-up named Tadaa!, I’ll just tell him that name bears no credibility. I’ll keep talking about the startup I was into, and keep saying how hard it is to make a start-up and finally envy all those people that finally make it.

I wish I was a jedi.

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My wallet is puking business cards

That’s what made me realize that Moo cards were not great a format. Well it’s half a business card.

You might have seen those business cards, and you might have purchased them like I did.

All the arguments were there:
-It’s different
-It’s cheaper
-It’s aimed for sustainable development.

But it gets easily lost. I
It’s less serious.
People think you’re handing them some gum.
People don’t know where to put it.
They think you’re weird.

You can’t play poker with it.

Moo cards… good experience at the beginning, good value for money, but poor long term effect.

I think I’ll make some Tadaa drinks and hand them away as business cards.

Cheers!

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Boy meets world

Yup. It’s a big world.

You meet all kind of people.
Once you begin to try to make your start-up, you’re labeled as “entrepreneur”.

I like this.

It does not work that much during parties, but I feel I add value.
But the label goes further. Now that I’m actually labeled as a Marketing profile for entrepreneurship, I have more and more people coming to ask for advice.

Heck with it, my thoughts might be worth a few pennies, (or close to none)… but some people really need to hear the obvious even if they know it.

More interestingly, I met some people I really wanted to work with.
We said that one day, we’ll create something together.

Business is really a matter of human beings.

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V1. Take-off unavoidable.

It comes to a certain point, when an aircraft takes off, wthat your aircraft talks to you.
Yes aircraft can talk.

At a certain speed and given a certain runway length, the brakes won’t handle it if you try to stop. Therefore the only thing you can do is TAKE-OFF!

A clear distinct metallic voice resonates in the cockpit, “vee one”.
Two words that mean that now, it’s either crash into the buildings or get the flight going.

Before I did not have a place I could call My workplace . (The ones in my previous jobs weren’t really mine.)

Yesterday, Jose helped me get everything into the rooms and get everything up and running. Whatever you do, it really helps having friends with you.
They just help you cuz it’s normal. You just wish you could do more to thank them.

Today, as I arrived at work… I knew something had changed.

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Administrative paperwork

With such a title, I guess very few of you guys actually reached the body of the post.
If you did, thanks.

Being an entrepreneur, I had the vague idea that administrative work would take some time.
I never thought it would be that much.

Signing stuff, faxing papers, sorting files, sending e-mails. I think that’s because it’s still the beginning…
Even in the past did not find time to fill my own tax forms.

Now, looks like I still have time to do what i actually want to do, but I just don’t feel attracted to do it.

So I procrastinate, every now and then.
I just wait until the final deadline. To find out a way to make everything work.

Can’t wait till I get enough cash to have someone deal with all that for me.

I guess I’ll have to wait a few months, then I’ll outsource that completely.

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Online social networks are relationship happy meals

Wow. I like that title. I love myself.

Every time I make a connection or a friend on Linkedin, I feel a bit better.
I feel like I made another step towards that Big Big world and the Unknown is sort of shrinking.

I feel more human. I feel like I have friends.
Will you be my facebook friend? Click here.

Sometimes, you look at those people with 500 friends, and you wonder why your life sucks so much. See my post on online loneliness.

And you look at all those people who had fun, show their holiday pictures, the nice people they hang out with, and the comments they have on their walls, like “Oh boy, were you wasted yesterday!”

Last week, I needed to get new connections.
I tried some bulk friending.
Not very high return.
But recommendation yielded some good results. Warm calling worked so much better better.

After infiltrating the web, it was hard to “seal” the relationships.
Real life, did that perfectly.

So as a conclusion:
- find the right people within social networks.
- approach them via recommendation
- get the relationship going with real life presence.

Example:
You are in a club.
- Your friend tells you he found the prettiest girl next to the bar.
- You go talk to her with your “I am awesome” T-shirt
- You steal her wallet and start the conversation.

This is what you would want to do to have girls literally chasing you.
Guaranteed.

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My most popular posts. Lazy blogging.

Ok, here’s my crunch of Marketing millionaire so far…

My quest to being a marketing millionaire
Telling what the paths to millionaire are, and why I’ve chosen this one.

How to pretend you are busy at work
Title says all.

The MacDuck inpiration
Learn about my role model. Oncle Picsou or Scrooge McDuck.

How to crash into parties
I give some tricks in this post on how to look cool in parties where you know nobody.
Had some good feedbacks on the this one.

How to survive in Koh-Lanta
I just like this one because it is very cynical. I just explain a few tricks on how to get rid of other Koh Lanta contestants.

Why audit and consulting firms use a ponzi scheme
Get the new young guys do the job for you.

Online loneliness
Ex girlfriends on facebook, keep or get rid.
Facebook is a subject I like to talk about. It’s mostly because I discovered social networking with facebook.

Oh by the way… don’t forget to suscribe to this blog. You can get news from me from your news aggregator or directly in your inbox.

Just be lazy.

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Domain names. Freedom. At last.

As most of you may know, in spring 2009 something HUGE is happening.
You want to be there.
You want to see that happen.
I’d like to see the guy who asked me $50000 for Tadaa.com

There is a big change in the world of domain names.

Now the extensions will not be limited to those standard extensions like .com or .net.
Now you can have anything you want! If proposed.

I guess I’ll have to be fast for vinh.ly (is ly a common word?)
I guess there will be a rush of the likes we haven’t seen for a long time.

First come first served? Bidding process?
Can I buy Coca.cola? (is cola a common word?)

Is it going to change for SEOs? Will porn.porn be a good domain for search?
I would not want to be Sedo which specializes in domain name sales and negotiation.

The prices of domains must have dropped so much… and we’ll soon have company names that will be pronounced. (Zobzee, Jaxtr, etc)

To lock a brand and the related domain names will be a big work though.
That’s huge, and everyone should be on the starting blocks.

I am.

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Linkedin, read between the lines

When you use Linkedin, you just think that achiving success is easy.
Yes, everyone is a top class CEO, a consultant who changed the world or someone who sold aircraft as if those were bread (french expression).

Avoid overpitching

If your product is that good, would you spend so much time pitching it? Do you have time to deal with all those useless queries, because you’re so busy dealing with the hottest start-ups right now?
Leave openings, give advice to people on how to contact you (because too many people do, of course) and tell them they better be good.

That makes people want to work with you anyway. Play hard to get.

Make a difference

After browsing hundreds of profiles, you go directly to the interesting points, and a little bit of humor or personal touch, does the trick.
You’re different. Just build a relationship.
People bet on people, not resumes.

Look at wordings

What does “achieve success” mean? Is there something measurable like 35% revenue increase? Do you feel that the profile you’re seeing is too perfect? Dig. Look at people who had the same job, and what they put forward.
Then you have a better idea of what is NOT said.

Everything is just a hint

Why is there a year missing?
Why is one job extensively described and another one isn’t?
Overall consistency matters most.

Go for it

Don’t be shy. Just try to get close to people that will add value to you. Monitor the questions and answers. There is a lot going on on Linkedin, and you don’t want to miss the party.

Good use of Linkedin, guys. Don’t forget me when you become a millionaire.

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Practicing poker makes you a better business person

That’s right! Poker rules!

I have been playing a bit lately, with some success, but not huge amounts at stake.
I feel every time I play I learn a bit more about myself.

Yes, poker is not that luck game it used to be portrayed as. The most common variant of poker, which is No-limit Texas Hold’em requires to calculate the odds, to read your opponents and to stay cool under pressure.

People always think that good poker players bluff all the time.
If they did, they would be dead meat.
The businessweek article I just read, shows really good commonalities between poker and business.

What you should keep in mind
.
-Have a clear vision of the value of your hand. The potential gain estimation is crucial and you should assess what your opponents have with your limited information.
-Negotiate. And try to get the most with your hand, whatever it is.
-Know when to fold. That’s the best lesson I learnt. It’s very hard to do that, when you know you have a chance to win. Just stay clear-headed. Always go back to the odds of winning and what you can assess about the other players.
-Listen to the other players and get every information you can. Make them speak.

Business-wise, it’s a bit different. As it is said in the article, you still want a win-win situation. You are not thinking about just that deal, you’re thinking about the next time you’ll meet, or the reputation you’ll have.

But still:
poker gives you the habit to deal with high stakes, staying cool under pressure, to maximize your revenue. Business is also about that.

Professional poker players think about their activity about a business. They set their limits, they monitor their profitability, and they have a long-term strategy.

Poker is all about odds and skills. If you play well, it pays in the long run.
I hope business works the same way.

If Poker worked the same way as Business did, the players would team up to get the others out of the table, and share the profits. That’s what partnering is about. Remember that in terms of network, you still have the haves and the have not’s.

The luck and skills be with you.

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