Hi all,

I thought that I would just write a short post about the most important things that I learned at the seminar on building small to medium sized enterprises.

As I mentioned in class, having enough discipline to do your due diligence before even entering into a venture was a major theme of the day.  This may cost you up to $20,000, but it is a lot cheaper than jumping into a venture that could cost you much much more unnecessarily.  I'm the first to admit that this type of detailed research is boring, but it could save you a lot in the end.  And also don't forget that scrapping the idea is always an option.  Don't continue on with a project just due to the sunk costs.  At the very least you will walk away with a lot of information about what you shouldn't be doing and what to avoid in the future and you will have likely learned many other valuable lessons along the way.  Plus once you get into a system of collecting information about new ventures it will probably get much easier to analyze their potential for success and it will also probably get easier to pass on certain opportunities.  

Another major point was to make sure that your life purpose and your business purpose are complementary.  Norm Brodsky also stressed this in the radio interview that I posted about a week ago. 

The term project management came up a lot.  I believe that project management courses are offered through SFU.  Of course we don't all want to be managers, but it might be nice to have a few of the fundamental skills.  

Look at gross margin, not revenues.   Also stressed by Norm Brodsky.

Strengths Finder 2.0 is a book that was recommended.

Making Technology Happen by Denzil Doyle was also recommended. Making Technology Happen describes in detail the techniques used to identify and exploit technology and how to build and manage a technology-intensive company around that technology. It covers such activities as ‘go-to market’ strategy development, general management, investment analysis, organizational development, and competitive market analysis - all from the perspective of a technology-intensive enterprise. It is used by governments and technology transfer professionals across North America, as well as by entrepreneurs and business executives. More information on this book can be found here: http://www.doyletechcorp.com

They are hosting a second seminar on Raising Serious Early-Stage Capital on November 6th at Harbour center.  If anyone is interested in going, I would highly recommend it.  It was a really practical seminar and you will have the opportunity to network with seasoned entrepreneurs and angel investors. More info can be found here: http://www.sfu.ca/uilo/seminars.html

Celeste