When I first took up blogging, many people told me that I wouldn’t be at it for very long. They said that blogging was a fad that would quickly fade away. Well, it is not fading way so far according to Red Herring which says that one-sixth of the total U.S. population read web logs in the first quarter of 2005.

U.S. blog readership in the first quarter jumped 45 percent to 49.5 million people, or one-sixth of the total U.S. population….The increase means 30 percent of U.S. Internet users visited blog sites in the quarter, according to the comScore Media Metrix report.

This is raising the visibility of blogs for advertisers.
So what happens when something catches on in the technology world? Microsoft joins in, of course!!

Seeking to raise its profile in the increasingly influential world of bloggers, software giant Microsoft said Monday it has launched a preview version of its new community blogging service called MSN Filter that will focus on topics like music and fashion in addition to technology.

Given Madison Avenue and Microsoft are joining the blogging world, maybe my blogging days are numbered after all……

Business Tennessee released its annual Business Tennessee Fast50, ranking TAG (The Access Group) as one of the fastest-growing private companies in Tennessee. Charles Hagood, a co-founder of TAG, is an alumnus of our MBA program here at Belmont. (I ran a profile of TAG a few months ago).
The ACCESS Group works with a variety of Fortune 500 companies throughout North America and Asia in providing a variety of engineering, project management, plant relocation, facility startup and consulting services. TAG also provides A/E and design services to industry via TAG Design Services, LLC and recently began providing Healthcare related consulting services targeting cost reductions, quality improvement, and efficiency improvements through its new subsidiary, Healthcare Performance Partners, LLC.
TAG has been honored on multiple occasions as a Tennessean newspaper Future 50 company including 2003, Business of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce in 2001, as well as the 12th fastest growing small business in middle Tennessee by Business Nashville magazine in 2002.
“The 2005 Business Tennessee Fast50 surely reflects the diversity of industry that is so beneficial to our state,” said David A. Fox, editor of Business Tennessee magazine. “These companies are showing what entrepreneurial drive amid a good business climate can accomplish. Many of these businesses are destined to be Tennessee’s biggest employers and publicly traded corporations of tomorrow.”

COTC can be seen at View From a Height.

A debate has been going on for years in the academic world over the difference, if any, between small business and entrepreneurship. While much of this debate is rather esoteric, there is one instance where I draw a clear line between the two. It centers on private versus public ownership. An IPO is more than a financing strategy. It is a transforming event that will change a business forever (or at least until the company goes private again).
When a business, no matter how small, goes public with its stock it begins to become a different entity when compared to a classic entrepreneurial venture. Entrepreneurship and private ownership to me are critically intertwined. Once a business goes public, the founders become employed managers. Just ask any of the legions of entrepreneurs who went public, only to be fired from the company they founded. Granted, this can also happen to an entrepreneur before his company goes public if he gets venture capital money. But, it is even more common once the company becomes a “public good.”
So when I see lists like Fortune’s Top 100 small businesses, I see them as entrepreneurial successes that are no longer entrepreneurial in nature. They are really nascent big public companies.

We played golf today at Ko’olau, which is billed as the “World’s Most Challenging Golf Course.” While that may be a little hype, it is one of the toughest I have even played. Two lessons for entrepreneurs came to mind with our round.

Focus. Ko’olau is right next to the mountains. There is jungle along every fairway, and many sand bunkers in key places. Many holes have you hitting over jungle to get to the fairway. If I wasn’t careful I found myself thinking a shot or two ahead, or thinking about everything around me and not about what I needed to do to execute my shot.
But, I found that when I blocked out the beauty, the danger, the hazards, and just focused on each shot, I did alright. I hit some great shots that sailed over the jungle and landed where they should. Then I went to the ball and made my next shot.
Focus on one shot at a time. Don’t think ahead.
So, too, as entrepreneurs we need to learn to block out that which would distract us. We get excited by all the opportunities that we see out there and start thinking about what to do next. Many entrepreneurs jump too soon to the next deal before the current business they are just getting going is even stable.
Focus on one shot at a time. Don’t think ahead.
Set Realistic Goals and Stay Within Your Limits. My son Russ and I both went at this course with the understanding that we would likely score quite high. We set out to keep our scores in our normal range, and played our games to reach this goal. We did not try to shoot a very low score, as that was just not realistic on this course under the conditions we played in.
As entrepreneurs we need to set realistic goals. Don’t try to turn a nice business into something bigger than it is or bigger than it ever realistically can become. Understand what the business can give back to you and work hard to reach that goal.
I am not saying that we should never challenge ourselves and reach for a goal that may seem hard to achieve. However, we can try too hard.
In golf you should never try to swing too hard. If you do, you usually don’t hit it very well. If you swing smooth and easy the ball will almost always go farther and straighter. Do the same in your business. Know your limits and do the best within those limits. Over time, this will lead to more successes.
By the way, by setting a realistic goal today and playing within our limits, we both shot within our typical range of scores on this quite demanding golf course.

I will be blogging for most of this week from Honolulu where I am attending the Academy of Management Annual Meetings (and squeezing in a little golf with our son, as well).

This is the finishing hole of the Hawaiian Prince, which we played yesterday.
(Picture taken by Russ Cornwall).

Those of you who are regulars here have been keeping up with Jason Duncan, one of our recent graduates, who is blogging about the opening of his business. It is called Cafe Evoke and will be located out in Bozeman, Montana. If you haven’t been to his blog site in a while, you should check in over the next few days. He is at a critical point in his start-up.

A niche strategy is the most common type of entry strategy for start-ups that I see. Entrepreneur magazine reports on a study that found that niche businesses are growing at 20 – 25% a year.
In a niche strategy, the entrepreneur finds a small part of a market that is not being served or is significantly underserved. A niche strategy gives the entrepreneur a safer market with less competition and a more dependent market.
Generally, a nice strategy is a good way to enter the market for a new business. It usually takes fewer resources for the start-up, due to lower marketing costs and the ability to start on a smaller scale. Success rates tend to be higher for niche businesses since they have less direct competition. Without much competition, niche businesses can charge higher prices, which allows for quicker positive cash flow during start-up and better margins once profitable.
But, there are some cautions that an entrepreneur should be aware with a niche strategy:
– Entering a niche requires adaptability in your plan. Many entrepreneurs assume that since the niche is a relatively safe place, they can establish their business plan, execute it, and all will be good with the world. But, if you miss the mark on exactly what the niche wants, it doesn’t matter how safe the niche is, the customers will not automatically buy from you. You still have to offer what they want. No matter how much research you do ahead of time for your plan, you can still misjudge the market.
A case in point is one of the retail businesses our students started here at Belmont. Lauren started a small clothing store called Feedback. Her plan was to sell “retro” used clothing. Such stores had done quite well in other college locations. However once she opened, she quickly discovered that what was selling were the inexpensive “designer” clothing. This was not going to be the main focus of her store in her plan. Although she had a limited budget, she realized that she had to quickly transition her inventory and get the word out about her expanded offerings from up-and-coming and local designers. She had misjudged the needs and wants of her niche market, but was able to quickly adapt. Her business is now growing.
– Niches Change. Even if you get the market right in the beginning, niche markets (like any market) will change over time. Success in a niche requires that you adapt as your market changes. Too many entrepreneurs get stuck doing the same thing or offering the same product while their customers’ needs and wants evolve. Even though it is a niche, the market is not isolated and is subject to the same forces and trends that can impact any market.
– Niches Can Go Away. No market is forever. Niches are the type of market that can dry up, sometimes quite suddenly. Again, adaptation can offer some hope, but if the decline is too rapid many niche businesses will fail.
– Niches Can Grow. While significant growth in your market may not sound bad, it can attract more competitors. And if it grows large enough, it can attract some of the “big boys.” At some point your cozy little niche can feel quite crowded and really is no longer a niche. That requires that you adapt your business strategies to this more competitive market. Your pricing will be forced downward, while the cost of business may go up due to increased marketing costs, greater expectations from your customers, and higher labor costs due to more competition for your best staff. Your goal becomes keeping market share in the increasingly competitive market, as you will now need volume to assure profitability.
So is a niche a good place to enter the market? Absolutely. However, change is inevitable and even in a niche market an entrepreneur needs to be able to adapt to survive over the longer-term.