Some of you may already know this, but I am working on my Master’s Degree in Entertainment Business and I have been trying really hard to soak up all the knowledge that I can to make something of myself. While going through each of these classes I always find myself wanting to know more about a subject and digging a little bit deeper to find research on my own.
In my current class, we are discussing business plans and how to develop an effective strategy for your business. This makes me think of the social media entrepreneurs out there and what they have learned from their start-ups. I chose the obvious social media guru and creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and founder of Mashable, Pete Cashmore, to find out what they can teach new entrepreneurs from their experience.
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook
Even if you haven’t seen the movie ‘The Social Network’ you know who Zuckerberg is and what he has accomplished, but for the sake of being thorough I will give you some background information:
- CEO and Founder of social media network, Facebook
- Studied Computer Science at Harvard University
- Founded Facebook in February 2004
- Facebook has more than 800 million active users
- Facebook’s net worth as of January 2011 is $50 billion, (Venture Capital, 2011)
- Zuckerberg’s net worth as of September 2011 is $17.5 billion, (Forbes, 2011)
Cashmore is less publicly known, but his website, Mashable, is a well known news site and is growing quickly. Here are a few key points on his background:
- CEO and Founder of social media and digital news blog, Mashable
- Skipped out on college
- Founded Mashable in 2005
- Mashable has more than 50 million monthly pageviews & 17 million unique monthly visitors, (Mashable, 2011)
- Mashable’s “revenue is in the millions but that is as much as Cashmore will say about it,” (Reuters, 2011)
Now to the main question…
What can these two guys teach us to help develop our business plans?
Let me start by saying that even though your business may not be strictly social media or web based, you can still learn a thing or two from these tech saavy guys. They have both found ways to make themselves successful that would apply to anyone starting a new business.
Dream Big
Zuckerberg has obviously demonstrated how big he would like Facebook to be nowadays, but did he always dream for it to be this big?
Nick O'Neill points out that Zuckerberg has began exercises to help him develop ideas that can only be accomplish with unlimited resources. This helps him to take the company above and beyond, but the key is confidence. Without the confidence to believe in your ideas, they will not succeed.
Be the 'New Kid'
This tip goes in hand with dreaming big, but you should take advantage of being the 'new kid.' You can learn from the mistakes of other businesses, but Cashmore says to embrace your naivete in the industry. This will help you to develop something completely new and unthought of.
By being the 'new kid' you are able to invent yourself in whatever way you see fit. Take advantage of this and dive head first into the challenges ahead. This too will show investors that you are creative and willing to take risks to succeed.
Think Long Term
O'Neill says if there is anything that you can learn from Zuckerberg it is to stick with your long term plan. Investors want to know that you have a plan for the long term life of the business and that their money isn't being recklessly spent, so think long term.
Try to vision your business plan over a 5 to 10 year span. This doesn't need to be very specific since many adjustments will be made over the span of this time, but it will help you to identify your goals, reach them, and grow your business.
Just look at how big Facebook is now. A small idea with a long term goal of connecting people and now you have a social media conglomerate that won't be disappearing anytime in the near future...or ever.
Nick O'Neill points out that Zuckerberg has began exercises to help him develop ideas that can only be accomplish with unlimited resources. This helps him to take the company above and beyond, but the key is confidence. Without the confidence to believe in your ideas, they will not succeed.
Cashmore says, "A lot of people start out with an exciting thing and they want to take over the world, but really the people who do take over the world have a good plan of how to get there and the steps along the way."You have to think outside the box when developing your ideas for your business plan. Not only will this help you to accomplish your goals in the long run, but it will show investors that you are innovative and creative.
Be the 'New Kid'
This tip goes in hand with dreaming big, but you should take advantage of being the 'new kid.' You can learn from the mistakes of other businesses, but Cashmore says to embrace your naivete in the industry. This will help you to develop something completely new and unthought of.
By being the 'new kid' you are able to invent yourself in whatever way you see fit. Take advantage of this and dive head first into the challenges ahead. This too will show investors that you are creative and willing to take risks to succeed.
Think Long Term
O'Neill says if there is anything that you can learn from Zuckerberg it is to stick with your long term plan. Investors want to know that you have a plan for the long term life of the business and that their money isn't being recklessly spent, so think long term.
Try to vision your business plan over a 5 to 10 year span. This doesn't need to be very specific since many adjustments will be made over the span of this time, but it will help you to identify your goals, reach them, and grow your business.
Just look at how big Facebook is now. A small idea with a long term goal of connecting people and now you have a social media conglomerate that won't be disappearing anytime in the near future...or ever.
---
Sources:
https://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet
http://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/goldman-invests-in-facebook-at-50-billion-valuation/
http://www.allfacebook.com/what-every-entrepreneur-should-learn-from-mark-zuckerberg-2010-06
http://emarkzuckerberg.com/2011/05/what-entrepreneurs-can-discover-from-mark-zuckerberg/
http://emarkzuckerberg.com/2011/05/what-entrepreneurs-can-discover-from-mark-zuckerberg/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219592
http://mashable.com/about/
http://kaleazy.com/revenue-and-net-worth-of-the-20-most-popular-blogs/
http://blogs.reuters.com/small-business/2011/01/11/the-most-influential-ceos-under-30/
No comments:
Post a Comment