Good morning class (or afternoon), last week we made it through chapters 1-5 in our study of The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. I'd like to try to finish up the last 6 in the three days here before Thanksgiving! Bare with me here as we hurry on through. I'm going to really focus r min on the asepcts of business I have had experience with.
Chapter 6 begins with The Art of Recruiting which I am going to defer to Guy's blog for further reading and resources on the subject.
Chapter 7, The Art of Raising Capital, begins with this quote: "At a presentation I gave recently, the audience's questions were all along the same lines: 'How do I get in touch with venture capitalists', 'What percentage of equity do I have to give them?' No one asked me how to build a business! -Author Rock
This chapter covers the process of raising captial from outside sources, including "any of the three F's: friends, fools, and family." I am also going to refer to Guy's blog on this subject of raising captial.
Chapter 8 covers The Art of Partnering..of which I am going to skip right to then end and focus on the minichapter within the chapter: The Art of Schmoozing.
The Art of Schmoozing (or What can I do for you?)
Guy breaks it down like this:
"The process of building social connections is called schmoozing. If you're reticent about schmoozing- because you are shy or you consider it offensive or manipulative- you shouldn't be. In his book, The Frog and the Prince, Darcy Rezac defines networking (which is schmoozing) as "discovering what you can do for someone else." Upon this foundation, here's how to get more people to know you:
-Get Out: Schmoozing is a contact sport.
-Ask Good Questions, and then Shut Up: Good Schmoozers aren't good talkers; they are good listeners.
-Follow Up: Follow up within 24 hours of meeting someone... So few people ever follow up that the ones who do are clearly special and worth knowing.
Guy also has more on schmoozing here on his blog.
I love meeting and connecting people. I am always looking for new opportunities to help others, create something, partner in something, etc. It's how I got my catch phrase ("I do people"). I have included several books I recommend for schmoozing or networking. Maybe I'll take a week and talk about connecting with and building relationships with people. Relationships are invaluable in all aspects of life, not just in business!
Tomorrow we'll go over The Art of Branding and Wednesday we'll cover The Art of Rainmaking, and hopefully Kimber will treat us to some of her knowledge on the subjects- since these are really more her area of expertise!
For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog