Sweat Equity & the Bee Sting

I staked out my spot in the shade at the skateboard park. Got out my book, biscuits and water bottle and prepared for a relaxing hour while the kids went completely berserk. It seemed like only 2 minutes later when all of a sudden there was that screaming that signifies pain, as compared [...]

Its the great ideas I want, not just the good ones!

Last week it was my parents something or other wedding anniversary (north of 45, south of 50).  I got my daughter to give her Grandmother a call to say “Happy Wedding Anniversary, thanks for making me possible”.  Anyway we, my daughter and I,  got into a discussion about who my family was.  How could my [...]

People in the Ecosystem

In recent years I have met with vast numbers of people that didn’t even come close to living up to how they represented themselves.  This has led to a desire for me (see how I’m avoiding angry words) to share some of my more bitter definitions of people in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.   [...]

Networking and Names

When I gave up the darts after 15 or so years as a smoker, it was really hard for me. I tried a whole lot of systems but they all failed. Then it occurred to me that the only thing the systems had in common were that they were systems, and hence I had something [...]

Expanding your Network

Last blog I talked about the best Business Development people I know being great networkers, so I thought I’d talk a bit more this week about expanding your network.
Despite Social Networking being all the rage :  LinkedIn, Twitter,  Facebook.  I am not very keen on connecting to people I haven’t met.  There is a concept [...]

Networking Numbers

I was thinking the other day about two guys I knew that were really good at generating new business.  Earlier in the day I had dismissed both of them with the comment – “they are only selling into their existing networks”.  but at my afternoon coffee, I wondered whether I had thrown the “baby out [...]

A modern parable for tough times

Most forecasters seem to agree that despite the fact we have sidestepped the worst of the global financial crisis, we still have tough times ahead. And in tough times, one of the things you need to do is be innovative and work your assets harder.   Note,  Competitors that don’t innovate [...]

Event Report – The Monetisation of Social Networks

From the Churchill Club Event of 11-Jun-09
So I had a panel answer a number of questions around monetising social networks, including:

Are there profitable social networks or “are we just hanging on till we get bought”
What are the winner and loser models
What are the KPI’s
Can you switch horses during the race?
What’s next?

The Panelists were:
Martin Hosking – [...]

Milestones or Millstones

Three  times in recent weeks I have been asked the question “Is LinkedIn useful”.  All three people had a service offering (lawyer, designer, facilitator) and were on LinkedIn but had less than 5 connections.  My response in all three cases was “Yes, but not until you have atleast 120 connections.  Reach that milestone then ask [...]

The Best Advice I have Received

Last week I wrote about the advice I would give myself if I could go back in time till when I was a fresh faced graduate.  I had a couple of other ideas as well, but on reflection I realised they weren’t actually mine.  They were great peices of advice that I had got from [...]