Back by Popular Demand: Free 2010 Work Week Calendar

This work week calender is based on the badge-sized calendars that my previous employer hands out every year.

Please note that this calendar is not ISO 8601 compliant; regardless, you’re more than welcome to modify and change the calendar as you see fit.

I have also included a candy bar style calendar based on David Seah’s Compact Calendar.

As always this calendar is completely free to download, modify, and use.

2010 Work Week Calendar Download

For 2010, I have provided an Excel version, an iWork Numbers version, and a PDF version. These calendars have been tested on Excel 2007 and iWork ‘09, and should be backward compatible with earlier versions of these programs.

• 2010 Work Week Calendar for Excel
• 2010 Work Week Calendar for iWork Numbers
• 2010 PDF Work Week Calendar

*Please be sure to contact me with any mistakes or issues I may need to correct.

Reader’s Shared Calendars

Previous work week calendars have been translated to other languages and country specific work weeks, so feel free to send me your updated calendar and I will be more than happy to add it to this post.

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

Written for The Closet Entrepreneur by Sam Carpenter…

Yes, I’ve read David Allen’s fine book Getting Things Done, maybe the most popular version of the concept of Business Process Management (BPM). There are lots of other management systems/philosophies too, most of them created by business consultants.

Good stuff, much of it, GTD, TQM and the like. But I have a bone to pick.

And before I begin this semi-rant, here’s something about me: I’m a small business owner, not a consultant. I’ve had Centratel, for twenty-five years and over the past ten years have been deeply buried in creating my own management methodology. GTD just recently came to my attention, so consider me a credentialed foreigner coming to town with some blank-slate observations. My credentials? In my work and personal life, I’ve found a simple, mechanical way to get everything that I need and want.

Until I changed my thinking ten years ago, my life was horrible. In the first fifteen nightmare years of my business, I was like the guy with the backwards hat, straining to see some distant object against the blinding sun: one hundred hour workweeks, poor health, no friends and no money. Then, literally, late one night I woke up. I stopped churning and grasping and whining and realized the solution to fixing my life was to, figuratively, simply reach up and turn the damn hat around.

Everything I needed to know was right there, metaphorically perched on the top of my head. Starting with that late night mini-enlightenment, repairing things — and getting what I wanted in the forms of free time, money, great relationships and personal health — was easy.

I didn’t fix things by adding complexity. I fixed things by eliminating complexity and thereby becoming tremendously efficient. First, I dug deep and got very specific about what I personally wanted in my business and my life. And second, I gained a better understanding of how the machinery of the world operates (really). Although my motivation to go in a new direction started with a new thought in my head, the execution came from a belief in my guts. There was nothing mystical about the new approach. It was dispassionately mechanical and absolutely believable.

No psychologists, life-coaches or consultants required.

GTD is the darling of Web 2.0 types, bloggers in particular. I understand and agree with many of the points the book makes for getting control of input and tasks through organizing and categorizing. However, the methodology circles above critical fundamentals: desired life style, basic wants and needs and the mechanics of how the world actually functions. Again, for emphasis: These fundamentals lie below any BPM over-lay methodology.

The thrust of GTD and the other BPM strategies is to gain control by becoming more efficient at handling input while keeping the customer’s best interests in mind, but most of the strategies demand hyper-control of details and these efforts are, in themselves, additional tasks.

After setting some solid, simple goals for our work and our lives, can we get unflagging control of input without adding yet another layer of protocol? Can we, instead, go deeper?

Try this “deeper” concept on for size: For the individual, freedom and wealth come from processing a large chunk of input elsewhere, not in personally repackaging it, overly categorizing it or learning how to juggle it.

Here’s my very simple methodology:

1. Decide and then document what you want and how you will get there (one written page will do it)
2. Decide and then document your fundamental guidelines for operating (two pages, maybe three)
3. Systemize things, with attending documentation (here’s the on-going documentation work, the “work the system” part).

Why documentation? So your instructions are made permanent for yourself and for the people who work for you. Verbal instructions are feathers in the wind.

So, to “get things done,” there is no requirement for massive procedural structure and/or for bringing in a consultant, and there is no need for heart-felt philosophic incantations to staff. And, if you’re on your own – a blogger perhaps – there is no need to stop wondering what to do next and where to go, or to become expert in a myriad of BPM strategies. To begin, here is all that’s needed: a mental mind-shift to recognize that your world is a collection of individual systems; It’s not a confused mass of sights, sounds and events. Once this profound mind-tweak occurs (and it happens in a flash of insight in a single moment of time), you will ruthlessly apply the simple rules of efficiency that you have been anemic in implementing in the past: doing it now, eliminating the unnecessary, automating, delegating, deleting and yes, the protocols David Allen put together so well in his book.

Here’s the crux: Once the shift occurs, you will know instinctively what to do in order to get control of the relentless bombardment of input. For the first time, you’ll really see the systems of your life and then you’ll naturally “work them” to produce exactly the results you want. Since your systems will handle the input to produce the results you want, efficiency will ensue and this means more time and money for you.

It starts with a shift in the head. The rest is simple mechanics

So, go deep to identify the fundamentals of what you really want and how the world works. Don’t get caught up in add-on layers of complexity, or buy into the idea you can’t sort things out yourself. Turn your hat around and really see how the systems of your world operate. Get to that place and the next steps will be obvious.

About the Author…

Sam Carpenter is author of Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working less, (publisher, Greenleaf Book Group), available in hardcover at Amazon and book stores, or by download in pdf or audio format at workthesystem.com. In June, Work the System won the award “Best Non-fiction of 2009” at the New York book festival.

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

Photo by Sam Carpenter

It’s obvious that things have slowed down on The Closet Entrepreneur and the reason is simple — I’m part of the organizing committee that is working on bringing TEDxPhoenix to the Phoenix-metro communities.

What is TEDxPhoenix?

If you’re not familiar with the TED Conference, it’s an annual event where the world’s brightest thinkers and doers come together to share amazing ideas worth spreading. Sounds interesting right… but wait there’s more!

TED is now enabling TED fanatics to organize their own local and independent TED-like events. TED provides free tools, promotion on their site, connections to other organizers, and a little piece of the TED brand in the form of the TEDx label. Organizers provide everything else including finding a venue, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers.

If You’re in the Phoenix-Metro Area…

I would love to have you join us for the event which is scheduled to take place on Friday, November 6th at the Mesa Arts Center — you can get your TEDxPhoenix tickets here. I would even encourage you to join us if you’re in the Tucson, Sedona, and Flagstaff areas as well.

The event is going to feature some of Arizona’s leading experts in the fields of education, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and science. In addition, you’ll be joined by like-minded individuals who are interested in leveraging ideas, education, design, and technology to help create a better future for the Valley and beyond.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, then please join us on the…

• TEDxPhoenix Facebook Page
• TEDxPhoenix Twitter Page
• TEDxPhoenix Blog

If You’re Not in the Phoenix-Metro Area…

The first thing I would recommend is checking out the TEDx event page to see if there’s a TEDx event going on in your neck of the woods. If there isn’t, then I would highly recommend hosting a TEDx event in your local community.

I’m not going to lie to you, but putting on a TEDx event with more than 100 attendees is a lot of work. Not only are you in charge of every event detail, but you’ll have to find some genuine TEDsters that have been to a TED Conference in the last 24 months to help organize the event, and that’s not always a possibility. Also, you will have to sign up, get permission, and adhere to the rules set forth by the TED organization.

My advice is to start small with an event less than 100 people. you still have to sign up and get permission to host the event, but all you need to do is find a large meeting room or classroom with a projector then add a few of your closest friends and you’re set. If enough interest is stirred up, then I would recommend thinking about organizing a bigger event.

Still Don’t See What the Big Deal is About TEDx?

It’s hard to explain what TEDx is if you’ve never seen a TEDTalk, so we’ve setup a TEDx in Plain English page on the TEDxPhoenix website that showcases some of our favorite TEDTalks and I highly recommend checking them out. I’ve embedded one of my favorite talks by Hans Rosling below, but there are a ton of great talks for you to choose from.

[Feed and email subscribers, please visit the blog post if the video does not show.]

In Conclusion…

In the end, TEDx is about inspiring, enlightening, and entertaining via ideas worth sharing — TEDx is also about creating a better future in your local community and beyond.

In addition to that, organizing an event is a tremendous way to learn how to create and organize a team, secure funding, and brand and market an event. Sound like something a budding entrepreneur may have to do at some point? … it should because it is.

Although I’m knee deep in TEDxPhoenix activities, I would still be happy to answer any questions you may have about the event. Also, I would love to know what your favorite TEDTalk is, so feel free to share it in the comments below if you have one!

Last but not least, I hope to see all the Phoenix locals who read this blog on the TEDxPhoenix Facebook page and at the event!

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

There are two things that send me over the edge when it comes to slideshow design, the first is generic circa 1995 slideshow templates and the second is unusable slide real estate. There’s nothing I can do to eliminate generic slideshow templates other than to tell you to avoid them like the plague, but there is definitely a lot you can do to combat wasted slide space.

Keep in mind that I’m not here to pick on companies or organizations who have opted to let their branding take precedence over practicality, but rather I’m here to tell you that you can brandify your slides without having to sacrifice slide space.

Ignite Phoenix Slideshow “Before”

During my tour as the Ignite Phoenix Slideshow Guru, one of my main goals was to give presenters more slide real estate to play around with while keeping the Ignite brand intact.

The standard Ignite slideshow template served its purpose, but adding full screen landscape or portrait images was problematic without cropping out large parts of the image (as shown below). Even worse, it left the slideshow creator wondering if they should ditch the theme altogether, or cram their content into the remaining free space.

Ignite Phoenix Slideshow “After”

After trying to figure out how to best accommodate the Ignite and O’Reilly logos, I came up with the following slide design.

The design isn’t perfect, but it does allow users to utilize more slideshow real estate versus the original design. There are still problems when featuring a large image in a portrait layout and the logo is definitely smaller than before, but a large projection screen usually takes care of the latter problem.

In addition, Keynote users can opt to allow objects on the slide to layer with the master slide, allowing the bottom Ignite bar to layer on top of an image and act as a watermark of sorts. The O’Reilly logo is also a text placeholder where presenters can add their Twitter handle if they so desire. Last but not least, the center section of the bar can be used as a place to add photo credit.

Unfortunately, PowerPoint doesn’t allow objects on the master slide to layer with objects on a regular slide, but crafty PowerPoint users can easily copy and paste the Ignite bar into their regular slides if layering is something they need.

Ignite Slideshow Template Downloads

The Ignite Slideshow Template files (found below) have been tested on the latest versions of Keynote and PowerPoint, but may require some tweaking on older versions of the aforementioned software. Also, the PowerPoint file was tested on Windows XP but may require some tweaking on Mac versions of PowerPoint due to the differences in the way PCs and Macs render fonts.

• Keynote Light and Dark Ignite Slideshow Template (Zip File)
• PowerPoint Light and Dark Ignite Slideshow Template (Zip File)

You’re more than welcome to download the templates and take them for a test drive, and I highly encourage you to adapt them to your own particular situation — feel free to send some link love my way as well if you’re feeling generous.

Speaking of link love, I would like to thank the following designers for allowing me to use their creations to construct this theme:

• A Little Motivation by Spargett (used for the dark background)
• Fine Aluminum via iStockphoto (used for the light background)

I’m hoping the slideshow templates serve as inspiration for your own themes, and feel free to share any other useful and inspirational slideshow themes in the comments below.

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

photo credit: jessi.bryan on Flickr

Post Scriptum: Organizers of local Ignite events can swap out the Ignite logo with their own custom logo. You can obtain the logo file from the O’Reilly Ignite-in-a-Box package that is sent to organizers who request it — the font used in the Ignite logo is called Insignia.

Hello everyone, it has been two and a half months of silence on this blog and it’s time to change that!

First I want to say thank you to my regular readers for their support, and for sticking around! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted and I truly appreciate your patience.

Second, I want to say hello and welcome to all the new visitors and subscribers! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the blog and strive to bring you even more fresh tips and tricks.

Keeping in Touch

In addition, I want to extend an invitation to follow me on Tumblr and Twitter:

• Click to Follow Me on Tumblr – Tumblr is a cross between Twitter and a blog, and I use it to regularly share interesting items I come across on the interwebs.
• Click to Follow Me on Twitter – I use Twitter to share my personal musings; it’s not really informative so I’ll let that serve as fair warning.

Featured on Lifehacker!

Lifehacker is an amazing site, so you can only imagine how excited I was to see the blog mentioned in their Use a Chain Sinnet to Tidy Cables and The Hidden Cable Workspace articles! In addition, the chain sinnet tutorial briefly made it to the popular list on reddit and delicious, and was picked up by some great blogs:

• IDEA*IDEA – I have no *idea what language this is in, but I received a lot of visits from the link love: 長～いコードをうまいことまとめたいときに使える小技
• Unclutterer – I never miss an article on Unclutterer and highly recommend following them: Control cable-clutter with a monkey braid
• Apartment Therapy Unplugged – Apartment Therapy is another site with some great organizing street cred: Keep Extra-Long Cords In Check with a Chain Sinnet
• Fabulously “Broke” …in the City – FB is authored by a girl who clawed her way out of $60,000 worth of debt in 18 months: Link Love

Other Mentions!

Okay, the HOW TO: Find a Job on Twitter article was written before my blogging hiatus, but Mashable is another site I really admire and am happy to be mentioned on.

Smashing Magazine is actually a design blog that I follow, so needless to say I was surprised to see the elevator pitch article mentioned in their The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer article.

Last but not least, the Outlaw Design Blog mentioned the declutter under your desk article in their How to Achieve the Ultimate Home Office Setup article and the link love was much appreciated.

Parting Thoughts…

I have a growing list of topics I plan to blog about so stay tuned—and it goes without saying that I’m always grateful for the mentions, reader comments, and visits to the blog so thank you again for everything!

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

photo credit: ShellyS on Flickr

Although I’ve written about my hometown of San Manuel and my home security fail in in the past, I don’t usually make it a habit to share uber personal stories on this blog. Of course, there’s always an exception to the rule.

Meet Rollie

Rollie was adopted on June 23rd, 2006. He was part Dachshund and part mangy mutt—actually he was supposedly part Cocker Spaniel but we’re skeptical about that. We’re also skeptical of his age which is supposed to be 11 (human) years old; but since he was adopted, there’s no way of knowing whether the vet’s estimate was correct.

Rollie Has Left the Building

Life has been extremely busy as of late with business and personal stuff—which explains the silence on the blog—but never in a million years would I have expected to be dealing with a deathly ill puppy.

On Wednesday evening we noticed that Rollie’s appetite was gone and and he was drooling—Rollie was a big fan of being lazy, napping, eating, pooping, licking, and scratching but he was much too civilized for drooling so we knew something was wrong.

On Thursday he went to the vet and was diagnosed with stomach problems. On Friday, he went to the vet again after he started having bouts of diarrhea and his urine was found to be red-orange in color. That same day, he was rushed to the Animal Hospital after his blood count was found to be at a critical level. On Saturday he recovered slightly, but was experiencing neurological issues and couldn’t find his balance. On Sunday just before Noon, his heart stopped and any attempts at resuscitation were stopped shortly thereafter.

We still don’t know what caused him to get so sick and decline so quickly; we had him checked regularly and he was always found to be in tip-top health for his age. We’re still waiting on lab results which were slowed due to the holiday weekend, but even that tidbit of information doesn’t sound too comforting at the moment.

We knew that he was getting old and that one day he would leave us, but seeing him slip from us so quickly has caught us completely off guard. I know that grieving is part of the process of losing a pet, but I never expected it to be this hard. I know it sounds cliche, but I still wait for him to come trotting out from his favorite napping spot and plop down next to me wherever I may be sitting.

In Closing…

I just want to say thank you if you’ve read this far. I wrote this blog post as a tribute to Rollie, and I just wanted him to know how special and important he was to me and all those who met him.

For those of you who have lost a pet, I’m so sorry for your loss. And for those of you who are thinking of owning a pet…

• Do your homework and become informed.
• Be sure you’re ready to take care of a pet; there’s plenty of sacrifice and work involved.
• Please consider adopting a pet from a rescue agency—many of these innocent animals were abandoned due to no fault of their own.

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

I usually don’t post things that I receive through email, but I really like this inspirational video that Siamak Taghaddos helped put together.

Mr. Taghaddos is setting out to inspire entrepreneurs to heal the economy and change the world, and his latest project is the awesome video you see above (please visit the blog if the video doesn’t appear in your feed or email).

Some Background…

Mr. Taghaddos is the CEO and co-founder of Grasshopper, a virtual phone service for freelancers and small businesses. Interestingly enough, Taghaddos is inspiring change within his own company as Grasshopper is the result of a re-branding of GotVMail; the company he initially co-founded in 2003.

Along with the re-branding comes the desire to help inspire entrepreneurs to heal the economy and change the world, which appears to be the rallying cry for many entrepreneurs these days.

For the Detail Freaks…

As you know by now, I’m a stickler for having all the details and here they are:

• The video was created by leading visual designer Ben White of the UK; visit Ben’s Vimeo page to see other videos he has put together.
• Carly Comando is the composer of the song used in the video, and is best known for composing the music for Noah Kalina’s “Everyday” video and the NBA’s “Where Amazing Happens” campaign.
• Last but not least, Sonja Jacob—founder of The Cultivated Word—wrote and produced the video. You can read Sonja’s thoughts on the project by visiting her blog.

For the Design Freaks…

Not only is the video inspirational, but I highly recommend taking note of the typography and visual design as inspiration for your own presentations.

Here are the design details just in case you were wondering:

• Software used: Adobe After Effects
• Fonts used: Swiss721BT and a custom handwritten font

In Conclusion…

I really hope you like the video, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

If you have ever struggled to swap business cards without coming across as a complete networking n00b, then this hack is for you!

I accidentally stumbled upon this hack at a conference; my pockets were full so I clipped my MOO MiniCard Holder to my lanyard.

Someone spotted the holder and asked what it was, so I flipped it open to reveal the MOO MiniCards inside; they got a kick out of it and asked if they could take a card—pretty slick don’t you think?

Why it Works…

The MOO MiniCards networking hack is pretty simple yet effective for two reasons:

• First, the holder is discreet yet unique enough to make someone take notice and hopefully wonder what it is.
• Second, the MOO MiniCards themselves are extremely unique; I have yet to see someone react negatively or indifferent towards them.

Obviously, not everyone asks about the holder, yet people still find amusement in seeing you reveal the unique cards that hide inside.

Also, there’s no substitute for old-fashioned networking and mingling—MOO MiniCards will help you make an impression but they won’t do all the work for you.

Designing Your Own…

Thankfully, MOO provides a myriad of ways to design your own MOO MiniCards; currently you can upload a custom design, you can select from a set of ready made designs, or you can import photos from Flickr and a slew of other social networking sites.

Personally, I went with a simple retro look based on Fruit Stripe gum; although I’ve seen some really neat designs like Jeff Moriarty’s MOO MiniCards.

The striped design was created in Adobe Illustrator, although you could easily do something like this using any image editing software like Photoshop—you could even try using PowerPoint or Keynote if your resources are limited.

Design Tips

If you’re a DIY kind of person, then here are some important things to note:

MOO provides a PhotoShop MiniCard Template for you to use. The template dimensions are 7.4cm by 3.2cm, but I would recommend creating your image 10 times larger at 74cm by 32cm and uploading the larger design.

The reasoning behind this is due to finding that a 74cm by 32cm generated image appeared sharper than the 7.4cm by 3.2cm image when reduced to the size of a MOO MiniCard and printed.

Of course, this is just a wacky theory of mine so feel free to tweak (or not tweak) your design’s dimensions.

Design Resources

It wouldn’t be The Closet Entrepreneur blog if I didn’t have some freebies to give, so here you go:

• MOO MiniCard PhotoShop CS Template – okay, maybe this isn’t truly a freebie since it’s provided by MOO.
• MOO MiniCard Adobe Illustrator CS3 Template – this is the standard MOO MiniCard template I created for Illustrator – that counts as a freebie right?
• Retro Fruit Stripe Gum Style Template – this is the actual MOO MiniCard design I created in Adobe Illustrator CS3—simply color in the stripes to your liking and replace my name with yours.

NOTE: The retro Fruit Stripe style template is being provided free under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Basically what that means is:

• You’re free to copy, distribute, and remix the template.
• If you do alter, transform, or build upon the template, then please distribute the resulting work under the same or similar Creative Commons license.
• You may not use the template for commercial purposes.
• Lastly, give me some props by attributing the template to ‘The Closet Entrepreneur’ and provide a link back to this blog post on your blog/site.

Design Ideas

There are hundreds of business card galleries out there, but here are some of the latest ones I’ve come across:

• Card Observer is a gallery of great business card designs.
• Dailypoetics’ Business Cards Set on Flickr is a must see.
• The MOO MiniCards Pool on Flickr has a variety of designs specific to MOO.
• The SXSW Business Card Collective has some unique designs that were created just for the event.
• You can find more examples via my delicious business card bookmark.

In Conclusion…

I’m a huge MOO MiniCard fan, although I wish MOO would let us create MiniCards using their 100% post-consumer chlorine-free recycled paper. Regardless, the MiniCards are printed on elemental chlorine free (ECF) paper sourced from sustainable forests so I’ll remain patient for now.

So have you had any success with a unique business card design, or do you have any networking hacks that you’ve employed successfully? If so, then feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

I’m about to admit a dark secret that I’ve kept for many years; I’ve used a computer mic to record phone conversations!

Before you erase me from your contacts, just know that the person being interviewed had full knowledge of what I was doing.

Now, if you’ve ever tried to record a phone conversation using a computer mic, you know that the sound quality can be horrible!

Thankfully, the geniuses at drop.io have provided a free and easy way to digitally record your phone conversations for free—keep on reading to see how…

Before You Begin…

The minimum requirements are:

• A cellphone or regular phone with 3-way calling
• A drop.io account, or drop as the cool kids call it

If you don’t have a drop.io account, simply head over to the site and create a drop by typing a name in the Drop name field and clicking the big drop it button.

In the next screen, you’ll have the option of adding an admin password and recovery email address—it’s not necessary but recommended.

‘Drop’ in on a Call

Once you’ve logged into your drop.io account, locate your voicemail number and the five digit extension—write this number down, you’ll need it.

Next, call your drop.io voicemail and 3-way or conference in your other line and begin your conversation.

The recording will stop as soon as you hang up, and your voicemail will be converted to an MP3 and stored in your drop—easy peasy wiretapeasy don’t you think?

FYI: It is illegal to record a phone call without the other party’s consent! Some states require only one party consent, while other states require all party’s consent—do the research and stay out of trouble.

Disclaimer a.k.a. Don’t Blame Me if Something Goes Wrong!

Drop.io is great, but here are some things to keep in mind:

• The free account comes with 100mb of storage, which translates to approximately 400 minutes (6 hrs & 40 min) of talk time. Kiss the whole message goodbye if you go over.
• There is no warning if you enter the wrong drop extension; the call will go on but your file won’t be saved.
• Drop.io doesn’t charge for calling their 646 number (NYC), but your phone company might. Check your plan if in doubt.

By the way, lengthy conversation will take a few minutes before showing up in your drop, so don’t freak out if you don’t see your recording after you hang up.

Tips for Success!

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of entering your drop.io voicemail number and extension every time, then add it to your address book/speed dial.

Simply perform a Google search for pause for an extension and include your phone in the search—I can already tell you that iPhone and BlackBerry users are in luck.

Another tip is to perform a trial run; give your friend a call and make sure everything works. Also, delete any unwanted files from your drop when you’re done.

Last but not least, drop.io gives you a number for conference calls. In theory, you can 3-way your drop.io voicemail and conference call.

According to drop.io’s support staff, a conference call can handle an unlimited amount of people but they have only tested it with 20 people so far.

In Conclusion…

I used drop.io’s voicemail service to record my interview with Rich Sloan and it worked just fine.

Yet before you leave a note in the comments that Service X and Service Y works better, keep in mind that this is a free service with 400 minutes of recording time.

Of course, you can also use drop.io’s voicemail service to:

• record a podcast
• record an interview, speech, or lecture
• get rid of the My Lil’ Reminder that everyone teases you about
• record a conversation with your girlfriend to prove that she really exists

I’m hoping you can put this info to good use; and as always, feel free to leave a comment with any questions, ideas, or advice!

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

I’ve given elevator pitch advice in the past, but I thought you might enjoy some tips from a seasoned entrepreneur who eats elevator pitches for breakfast!
 
I would like to introduce you to Rich Sloan; he is the cofounder of StartupNation and a lifelong entrepreneur who has raised over $70 million in Angel and early-stage venture capital investment for numerous consumer and tech companies.
 
Rich is currently seeking submissions for StartupNation’s 2009 Elevator Pitch Competition, and he wanted to share his insight on how to perfect your pitch.
 
Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

Why Should We Care About the Elevator Pitch Contest?

Rich: The StartupNation 2009 Elevator Pitch contest is an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to get their business opportunity in front of a panel of illustrious Venture Capitalists who collectively manage over $1 Billion in seed funding.

Currently, it’s very difficult to get access to these investors and StartupNation is using its power and relationships to the advantage of the contestants.

That’s Nice, but What if I’m Not Ready for Funding?

Rich: You should still submit a pitch! The contest is a perfect way to learn how to create a great elevator pitch; we want everyone who participates to emerge with a sharper and more effective elevator pitch.

Plus, this is no time to be part of the audience; it’s time to step up on the stage and throw your hat in the ring—you’re going to learn much more by being fully engaged than sitting on the sidelines.

What Do Most Entrepreneurs Get Wrong When It Comes to an Elevator Pitch?

Rich: First of all, they don’t create an elevator pitch. They assume that they’re ready for show time by creating a business plan or a 10-slide PowerPoint presentation. The reality is that you’re never going to get to the audience unless you’ve got that killer elevator pitch.

Second, most entrepreneurs overlook using credible information. I’ve been a venture capital investor for many years and have looked at thousands of deals, and credible information in my book consists of third-party data such as:

• Real-world tests of your business concept in practice
• Sales figures showing a path to profitability
• A Board of Directors who bring their own measure of credibility

Ideas are a dime a dozen, so the moment I hear people say “my product is selling” or “my service is live and here’s the data”, it puts them in a different league because my risk profile for this individual goes way down due to the third-party validation.

Last but not least, most entrepreneurs are not willing to brag about themselves. This is a time when you have to lead and you have to impress. For example, you need to be able to say…

• “I have 15 years of experience in this industry.”
• “I know everyone in this industry.”
• “I know everything about this industry.”
• “I have XYZ talents, capabilities, et cetera.”

If you can’t say that about yourself, then you need team members who can bring that to the table so you can brag about them—a credible Board of Directors can also bring that halo to your business opportunity.

What Makes an Elevator Pitch Special?

Rich: Passion needs to be in every single elevator pitch; that’s just universal—you have to be real and you can’t be superficial.

Remember, you’re talking to another individual so try to keep them engaged and focused on your message—you can achieve a likability through a variety of social skills including simple things like humor.

Also substance, smarts, and confidence are key—if you immediately demonstrate command and control of your business sector, then investors are more likely to want to affiliate with you.

I’ve learned as an investor that you have to surround yourself with entrepreneurial superstars; and even if I’m not the right person to drop a half-million dollars into their business, I’m still likely to introduce them to one of my venture capital or angel investor friends who might be more suited.

What Are the Contest Details?

Rich: Your pitch can be in video or audio form, and up to two minutes in length—of course one minute is always better than two. You must upload your file by March 20th, 2009 to be considered for the contest.

Once you’ve submitted your pitch, we’ll give you promotional links that can be placed in your e-mail, website, Facebook page, et cetera—the links will also allow your friends and contacts to place a vote for your pitch.

Our panel of venture capitalists will review the top 100 vote getters and pick five winners from the group. The winning five will then have the opportunity to present their business solution to the panel of venture capital investors.

In addition, each of the five winners will also receive a Toshiba Satellite Pro S300 laptop computer and a GoToMeeting Annual Plan with unlimited usage, free of charge. Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., and GoToMeeting are also sponsors of the Elevator pitch contest.

Any Startup Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs?

Rich: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, stop standing on the sidelines and get into the game! You can learn more rapidly and gain more traction by just getting started!

-Rich Sloan
Lifelong entrepreneur and StartupNation cofounder

Be sure to visit the StartupNation site for more information on the 2009 Elevator Pitch Competition. While you’re there, check out the submitted pitches and links for more information on creating a great elevator pitch.

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur