The “Weekly Wrap Up” post is published every Friday and highlights the concluding weeks activities and events through text, images and video. I hope you enjoy and encourage you to subscribe via RSS and/or Email.
I reference the importance of networking on a weekly basis on my blog. In addition to promoting its value I readily practice extending my own network.
I recently covered a new startup gaining momentum, CollegeOnly: a social networking site strictly limited to currently enrolled students. Its Founder, Josh Weinstein, was an acquaintance of mine during one summer in the Berkshires. While attending Camp Mah-Kee-Nac we were both hockey enthusiasts. I played forward, and Josh was a goalie – naturally I put a few pucks past him!
Regardless of our competitive past, Josh and I reconnected after I reviewed CollegeOnly on my blog. We spent some time catching up at his office near Union Square on Wednesday morning. While we covered topics from the latest geo-location trend to upcoming features on CollegeOnly, our discussion on Business Plans was especially interesting.
Josh had mentioned the progression of his past entrepreneurial ventures, and how they morphed together – resulting in CollegeOnly. Surprisingly enough, this process did not involve the continuous update of a businesses plan. Similar to my experience, Josh expressed his frustration of feeling constrained to the guidelines of a business plan.
Business Plans are typically written prior to laying the foundation for a new venture. They act as a great tool to gather one’s thoughts, organize market research and set clear goals. Commonly referred to as a “living document”, it is expected to be updated continuously over the growth and transformation of an endeavor.
However, business plans do not take into account the inherent need to adapt a strategy as the business evolves. The time consuming task of updating a business plan is a substantial undertaking. Instead, Josh refers back to “5 Points to Live By.”
Sound familiar? A simple list can remind us of who we are, what we are trying to accomplish and how we might achieve these goals – a code of ethics. It is a very similar to one of my recommendations from last week’s Weekly Wrap Up and a post on eBranding Me, “Routines See Results.”
What are your five standards? Whether for a personal brand or entrepreneurial venture…