On Sleeping Better

I came across a blog that summarizes a recent survey from the American Institute of CPAs. It reports that 83% of small business owners worry most about adequate cash flow, a subject that frequently keeps them awake at night. Still, more than half don't use budgets or forecasts and 32% don't have metrics in place to track performance. The blogger concludes: "Surely you can do better. Take the time to determine key metrics for your business and make a pledge to keep on top of them next year. You'll sleep better."

It's not that I disagree with the call to action but the first thought that came to mind is why I find it hard to do what she says, especially after I spent an entire Sunday afternoon struggling with our forecast because I couldn't get the links and formulae to work in my spreadsheets. We put it off because it is lonely tedious work.

We are in private launch currently but actively seeking feedback on the service. It fundamentally is about taking lonely tedious work and making it more effective by engaging in a community-based service. Like the open source communities that were an inspiration of sorts, you can short-cut the planning and decision process by comparing yourselves to peers. So far we are getting great feedback but are looking for more.

As for the value proposition--we had adopted "make better informed business decisions faster" but I'd be willing to push for "sleep better!" Let us know what you think. And if you're interested in joining the private test community, please enter your contact info on the site and check the box for private launch.

Leaping Lily Pads

Last night I took a few moments to read from a book by one of my favorite writers of essays on spiritual journeys. It had been another long day of testing and bug-noting so I needed a mental break before trying to sleep.

I just happened to open to her notes about how her journey has been like stepping from one fragile lily pad to another, working to get her balance before moving to the next. It struck me how closely that metaphor fits launching a new company, especially one that is so directly for people; aspiring to touch them where they live out some of their fondest dreams and their darkest fears . . . the launching and building of their own companies.

We have been on that journey too and are not yet across the pond. I can see lots of wobbles and a few dunkings behind us. I don't regret any of it though. What better way to stay close to the very experience we want to make easier and more inspiring for the community we hope will ultimately join us?

For now, we are opening the service to the first test users. We are looking forward to feedback and new ideas. We hope to hear the beginnings of "lily pads" seeming somehow more stable or at least those who choose that route experiencing the support and inspiration of others on the same journey.

It was a dark and stormy night . . .

Okay, it's a slightly corny title but it does set the context for how the idea of a do-it-yourself benchmarking site got started.

We got the idea from our experience leading, and working with other people who lead, business ventures. We know what it is like to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat or with stomach churning, wondering whether a decision we just made is foolish or whether the budget or plan we are working on is based on flawed assumptions.

At times like that, it can be reassuring and even business-saving to find out what people facing similar situations are doing; things like what they spend for marketing and on what kind of marketing activities, how they use compensation plans to motivate salespeople, how much net positive cash they average each month.

The most common options today are either inconvenient (go to the library to hunt for industry averages data) or expensive (pay for published reports or hire a consulting firm to launch a custom survey). We decided to put the ability to benchmark as much as you need and when you need it into the hands of you, the people who need it most.

We're days away now from the private launch. If you haven't signed up, please do so. We're looking forward to feedback and suggestions to say nothing of testimonials from those who finally sleep through the night even though they are in the middle of making big decisions.

BarCamp Post-script

Fellow lumeno.us founder Carl and I were among hundreds of geeks and people who love hanging out with geeks at the third annual BarCamp in Palo Alto this past weekend.

We were there to share in the learning but also to find pilot users for lumeno.us which is mere weeks away from launching a private community. Many blogs have been written and photos shared at Flickr from the weekend. All pretty accurately describing a vibrant event and one we were truly pleased to have supported with a modest sponsorship.

I returned home from the event thinking how fantastic it is to be around people who are innovating like mad and pretty much out in front of every interesting tech-related idea. Great prospective users of lumeno.us I was thinking.

But this isn't about BarCamp. Its about the appointment I had Monday morning. I had requested a bid on replacing the gas furnace and adding air conditioning to my home. Larry and I met to review the options. I cracked a weak joke about how the amount of money I end up raising for the company will affect the choice. Larry asked what kind of company and I gave him a sort of elevator pitch.

He got it immediately. He wanted to know if heating contractors could use it and then launched into a description of the owner of his business. It was all about how the owner looks to networking with peers as his primary source of guidance on taking the business "to the next level" but that he needs a broader network if he's going to find people like him "who think outside the box."

That, in turn, made me think about the person who grabbed me immediately after we completed the demo at BarCamp. He was leading a team inside a well-established company but wants to figure out how to lead it as if he were at the helm of a small but vibrant company.

That's when it hit me again. Lumeno.us isn't a solution for small businesses in particular vertical markets. It is a place for people who are on the hook and at the helm. The community will be defined by the personality, aspirations, and spirit of the type of person who willingly places themselves on the hook and at the helm of ventures. There were people like that at BarCamp to be sure but we're going to encounter them in other industries and geographies as well.

I'm betting that they'll be drawn to the community and to each other because they have a deep belief that the best lessons come at you from people and places you least expect. The anticipation of that possibility and the satisfaction when it is realized makes the risk and occasional pain of leading a venture worth it all.

A small business owner with a plight

This is my third startup, my fourth if I count launching an incubator for seed stage companies.

I've been doing startups or mentoring entrepreneurs and small business owners for over ten years now. One of the biggest problems I encountered with my first startup seems to continue. I could get my hands on pages and pages of financial reports but the key numbers I needed to know in order to feel like I was making decent decisions didn't jump off the page.

Of course today the problem is aggravated by my aging eyes. The many rows and columns of numbers that show up in a typical financial report from a typical accounting package are even more of a blur than they were my first time out.

What I wanted then and want now is a few key numbers that literally leap off the page at me. My cash on hand is . . . (scary at the moment) and I have "n" months left before we go out of business. It would be great to see how my revenue growth or lack of growth is trending. Even greater to be able to compare some of my numbers to, say, the average of such a number from my peer community.

In a very real sense, the idea behind Lumeno.us springs from frustrations I and some of my favorite colleagues and clients have faced. We make too many decisions in a vacuum.

How we will fix that will become more apparent in the coming months. And you can bet I'll be the very first user of our service.