I am a planner by nature. I love to plan, dream, build and explore in my mind before embarking on a new adventure. So where do you draw the line between the planning process and the doing process? We've all heard about the dangers of a lack of planning, but is there such a thing as planning too much?
I believe there is. How many great ideas and inventions never saw the light of day because they "weren't quite ready" or because the person behind the idea never crossed the line from planning to doing? Is the world a better place for not being exposed to half-planned ideas or is it worse off for being deprived of innovation? What wonderful plans are you making today and when will you transition from planning to doing?
Planning is important, but it isn't until the planning meets with action that it has any relevance. The world is changing at an amazing pace, so unless you are constantly adapting your plans to the evolving environment, those plans have an expiration date. Whether you are planning a vacation, a return to school, a career move, or an entrepreneurial endeavor, make certain you have a time table in mind for launching your plan. Without the goal of the launch in mind, your plan is just a dream.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
What is a 'Service'?
I just came across a definition of Service and I found it very interesting and I am sharing it here:
A 'service' is a means of delivering value to customer by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks.
Customers will pay for determined outcomes that they perceive have value for them, assuming no other risk than the price paid for the service.
Can your company provide a 'service' that adheres to this definition? If not, you might need to revisit your company's service catalogue.
Definition taken from ITIL V.3
Monday, January 19, 2009
Local Events - UGA Startups: Franchising; The Good, Bad and the Ugly
Here is another great resource for entrepreneurs in the Atlanta area. UGA Startups is a series of seminars and panels organized by the UGA Entrepreneurship Program:
"The Terry College of Business Entrepreneurship Program designed the series as an interactive, informal and safe program open to anyone with a serious interest in launching a business. No brokers, consultants or persons soliciting business are invited to attend and this helps attendees feel comfortable discussing fears and concerns about starting a business without pressure to become a client of the persons giving advice."
This is an event that I recommend to every aspiring or experienced entrepreneur. Franchasing is a very viable alternative to start your own business and has an impressive success rate. As anything, it has its pros and cons and there are concepts that are applicable to any type business.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
The Terry College of Business Executive Education Center
3475 Lenox Road
Second Floor, Lobby Level
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Monday, January 12, 2009
Entrepreneurship in Atlanta and Georgia
Some interesting facts about Entrepreneurship and Atlanta.
* Georgia was among the 10 states with highest entreprenurial activity in 2007: Idaho, the District of Columbia, Arizona, Tennessee, Louisiana, Wyoming, Vermont, Montana, Georgia and California.
* Among the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, the highest entrepreneurial activity rates were in Phoenix, Riverside-San Bernardino, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami.
* The age groups 35-44 and 45-54 experienced increases in entrepreneurial activity.
The Inc magazine features the fastest-growing private companies in the country.
Among the Inc 500 Georgia ranks as the third state with 31 companies, after California (78) and Texas (43).
It is good to be in Atlanta.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
January Meeting Moved to Sat Jan 17th, 2009
The January meeting of the Entrepreneurs Lounge was moved to Saturday January 17th.
Remember to keep working on your goals, post an entry in this blog, and start developing your Gang of 5 groups.
See you Saturday Jan 17th.
-AG
Entrepreneurial Fever
Entrepreneur, noun -- A person who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.
The Entrepreneur Lounge sounded like a great idea, however, on the Saturday morning of my first meeting I really did not want to drive the hour to get there. The problem is that entrepreneurial fever grips you and it does not let you go. Meeting like-minded individuals who share their ideas, dreams, plans, results, failures, and motivations for running their own enterprises is stimulating. The meeting was great. It was time well spent and as a goal setting exercise I want to supply my introductory post to this blog.
In my professional life, as a physician and consultant I have been a part of several businesses in the medical economy. These businesses have been a variety of medical practices or consulting services spread geographically from the Southeast to Southwest USA, functioning in both the private and the not-for-profit sector. I have been, at different times, an employee, partner, director, consultant, and founder-partner-owner all wrapped into one. These businesses have all created gainful employment for me and for others. Having a job is good; owning and operating a business that leverages more than just the entrepreneur’s subject matter skills is even better. This sort of business, once started, supplies a service and employment for many and is a dream of mine.
My medical training came first in my career, with business skills being learned on the job and finally followed by my UGA Terry MBA education. The tools of an MBA degree teach you how to structure a business for its continued success. The medical economy is big, sophisticated in the care delivered, yet in many settings remains remarkably primitive in its business systems. Improved services can be created and must be well thought out as life and death outcomes rely on these innovations. I have some ideas formulated into different stages of plans for some of the business needs in the medical economy.
Idea one. Create a service for online appointment scheduling so that patients can be one click away from their own physician. Yes, the technology exists today. The challenge is figuring out how to get everyone what he or she needs from this systemic improvement.
Idea two. Offer a litigation risk management service that both quantifies and avoids these business risks. In high-risk medical specialties such as Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics, Interventional radiology and Transplant Surgery medical liability suits are a common experience. Both sides of this litigation action are well served by plaintiff and defense attorneys. A need not met is an accurate assessment of the business outcomes for all of the parties to the lawsuit. This service would be valuable to plaintiffs, the physician defendants, their attorneys and the medical liability insurance carriers.
The Entrepreneur Lounge sounded like a great idea, however, on the Saturday morning of my first meeting I really did not want to drive the hour to get there. The problem is that entrepreneurial fever grips you and it does not let you go. Meeting like-minded individuals who share their ideas, dreams, plans, results, failures, and motivations for running their own enterprises is stimulating. The meeting was great. It was time well spent and as a goal setting exercise I want to supply my introductory post to this blog.
In my professional life, as a physician and consultant I have been a part of several businesses in the medical economy. These businesses have been a variety of medical practices or consulting services spread geographically from the Southeast to Southwest USA, functioning in both the private and the not-for-profit sector. I have been, at different times, an employee, partner, director, consultant, and founder-partner-owner all wrapped into one. These businesses have all created gainful employment for me and for others. Having a job is good; owning and operating a business that leverages more than just the entrepreneur’s subject matter skills is even better. This sort of business, once started, supplies a service and employment for many and is a dream of mine.
My medical training came first in my career, with business skills being learned on the job and finally followed by my UGA Terry MBA education. The tools of an MBA degree teach you how to structure a business for its continued success. The medical economy is big, sophisticated in the care delivered, yet in many settings remains remarkably primitive in its business systems. Improved services can be created and must be well thought out as life and death outcomes rely on these innovations. I have some ideas formulated into different stages of plans for some of the business needs in the medical economy.
Idea one. Create a service for online appointment scheduling so that patients can be one click away from their own physician. Yes, the technology exists today. The challenge is figuring out how to get everyone what he or she needs from this systemic improvement.
Idea two. Offer a litigation risk management service that both quantifies and avoids these business risks. In high-risk medical specialties such as Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics, Interventional radiology and Transplant Surgery medical liability suits are a common experience. Both sides of this litigation action are well served by plaintiff and defense attorneys. A need not met is an accurate assessment of the business outcomes for all of the parties to the lawsuit. This service would be valuable to plaintiffs, the physician defendants, their attorneys and the medical liability insurance carriers.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Local Events: MIT Enterprise Forum Atlanta
Those of you interested in resources for entrepreneurs related to Technology in the Atlanta area should take a look at the MIT Enterprise Forum Of Atlanta.
Here is their mission: "The MIT Enterprise Forum of Atlanta is a volunteer, non-profit organization whose mission is to provide educational programs and services that promote and strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship at the intersection of business and technology in the Southeast".
Anyone can become a member for a fee and have access events and resources. Their next event "Run it by the Pros" is on January 7th, with three panelists including Mark Grace whom we know through the 7515 Entrepreneurship class, that will evaluate two business plans of emerging companies.
Here is their mission: "The MIT Enterprise Forum of Atlanta is a volunteer, non-profit organization whose mission is to provide educational programs and services that promote and strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship at the intersection of business and technology in the Southeast".Anyone can become a member for a fee and have access events and resources. Their next event "Run it by the Pros" is on January 7th, with three panelists including Mark Grace whom we know through the 7515 Entrepreneurship class, that will evaluate two business plans of emerging companies.
- NatureCure-MD, is an all herbal pharmaceutical company whose mission is the creation of innovative natural products for the improvement of human health; and
- HydroCoal Technologies, develops and markets systems and process technologies that enable industrial customers to produce significantly cheaper, cleaner synthetic liquid and gaseous fuels from coal.
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