We end up with a laundry list of goals kept and goals missed, mistakes, and achievements.  We ponder, reflect.  How can I do better?  How can my business be better?  It’s crucial to have this back and forth on a regular basis.  It’s all too often left for New Year’s and quarterly (if that) meetings in a business context.  You might argue with me, spouting your disdain for “self-help” and being preachy and the like.  But seriously.  If you’re not constantly evaluating yourself and your business, you’re letting life live you.  If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re letting your organic opportunities, clients and the market steer.  I don’t know about you, but this isn’t my idea of freedom.   “Riding the waves” is one thing, crashing into the sand because you’re not taking control of your metaphorical surfboard is another, don’t you think?

And here’s where I want to get practical.  I’ve been around too many people, too many clients and too many colleagues that are surfing right along on life’s waves.  If you’re on a surfboard and you enjoy your life and/or your business, rock on dude. But if life and business isn’t exactly what you’d like it to be, maybe it’s time to trade in the surfboard for a ship and for you to step up and be a Captain.

How you become the Captain:

• You realize it may not always be as fun as surfing
• You realize it may sometimes be more fun than surfing, especially in the long run
• You realize when you’re a Captain, you have to inspire, mobilize and lead others
• You realize you can’t have the title of Captain and not steer the rudder
• You have to know how to navigate (there are tools, you know and something called a Captain’s gut
• You have to know when to turn around or jump ship (Titanic, anyone?)
• You have to turn on the engines (you can’t rely on the waves anymore, now you have to propel yourself
• You realize if the ship goes down it’s your fault (not life’s)
• If the ship goes down you’re a Captain and that doesn’t change. You find another ship

- @RobbyBerthume

It’s going to get more honest and hopefully more useful and interesting.  I stay jam-packed in terms of my schedule, but I’ve made it a goal to get out at least one meaningful post a week for our community of fans.

What is Eclyptix doing in the new year?  What are Sam and I doing in the new year?  To put it simply, our goals are lofty, but achievable.  We’re dedicated to growing Eclyptix to the next level, hiring 2-4 more staff members this year, getting at least 3 more retainers with clients we enjoy working with and expanding our mobile/smartphone experience and services.  Additionally, we’re excited about launching our re-designed website and identity in March.  We’ve worked extensively on re-branding ourselves across all of our collateral and are excited about showcasing our new identity and our updated portfolio!  Despite all of this, we’re staying lean and true – continuing our profitability and shunning investors or borrowed money.

In addition to Eclyptix’s growth we are launching our global digital directory at http:///www.digitaldirectory.co in the next week (an announcement will be made upon launch).  We’re incredibly excited about this intuitive, clean and editor-moderated global platform for tech jobs, job seekers, internships, investors, recruiters, freelancers/consultants, vendors, events, projects and gigs.  We love forward to launching new cities, partnering with credible editors and growing this business.  If you’re interested in becoming a city editor, please reach out to info@eclyptix.com.

We’re also partnering with entrepreneur and genuine amazing person Andy Koehn to build a revolutionary iPhone app that helps you discover, share and rate the best sushi, pizza and burgers wherever you’re at.  It’s called Suzabu and it’s coming soon!

We’ve currently got an exciting client roster – a start-up, web-based project management system for lawyers, a robust property social network for a client in London, England, a beverage social network we’ve invested in called ThinkingDrinker.com based in Dublin, Ireland, a newly re-designed WhereToGetEngaged.com (2009 Best of the Best by InStore Magazine) in March, an online consultant directory that is driven by resource publication, user interactive and game dynamics entitled GorillaDiamond.com, a revolutionary social site entitled MyLivePlace.com (details under wraps) and an ongoing relationship with Wise Brother Media.  Additionally, we have several large projects on the verge of commencing and are geared up for successful launches and awards in 2011.  We recently launched http://www.babyprofinder.com and http://www.urbanbonfire.com.

Moving on to Sam and I personally – Sam is currently doing classes in the evenings to become a volunteer LAPD in addition to his role as Managing Partner of Eclyptix.  This means our clients will need to pay their bills or else!  :) But seriously, Sam’s excited about giving back and I’m excited for his contribution to the local LA community (and his ability to protect me, lol).

What’s going on with me?  I recently finished consulting for an ad agency in Tampa, Florida over four months and learned a great deal more from the advertising world.  This, coupled with an extended consulting engagement for a software firm years back and running Eclyptix for ten years alongwith starting up side ventures and helping my clients has really shaped my experience, paradigm and vision for the future.

In my spare time, I am also writing a book entitled “Millennial Entrepreneur”.  More to come on this in the future (I’ll probably branch out a separate blog on my newly registered millennialentrepreneur.com).  I am also going to be writing and blogging more on globalization and offshoring and its effect on economies and, as ridiculous as it may sound to you, world peace.

Those of you that know me know that I also love to travel – I’ve been to 48 states and 11 countries in Europe (primarily the extent of my travels, though I’ve hit the mandatory Caribbean countries and Canada and Mexico) and I’ve recently booked tickets to live in Belgrade, Serbia for four months from March until July.  I will be rotating between Belgrade and Los Angeles, but will be working directly with many of our staff based in our office in Belgrade and I’m excited about working with them as well as further exploring Europe and perhaps Russia and/or Africa.  I have much confidence about the Eastern European Bloc and look forward to learning more culturally and economically about each country and what opportunities exist for my clients and I.

I think that’s a fairly lengthy update for now, I definitely have more to say given the silence over previous months.  I want to talk about what’s happened over the last year and get into more detail on plans for this year alongwith where I will be spending my team and where my team is allocating their resources.  After I feel you and I have caught up, we can move on to more interesting and topical discussions that have been on my heart and head recently.

Join us at Facebook.com/eclyptix and me personally at Facebook.com/berthume or LinkedIn.com/in/RobbyBerthume!  Until next time…. be well!

Blueprinting your Social Network

First, try to describe your concept in one sentence with a few keywords.  The thinking here is that you should be able to describe your web start-up in one succinct sentence so that you can then stick to this core concept when fleshing out the details of your site.  Remember that oftentimes the more narrow in focus and easy to understand your start-up is the more potential it has to go viral. Think Google.  People won’t talk about it if they don’t know what it is or why it would benefit them quickly enough.

As an example, I am currently working with team to launch our start-up “social directory” SurviveDivorce.com.  In thinking about the concept, I have narrowed the description to: “SurviveDivorce.com is a social directory connecting persons going through divorce with professionals, resources and other’s at different stages in the divorce process.”  Notice I have stayed away from any fluff words and only spoke about the core utility of the site.  Fluff can come later.  Also, there are important features left out of this sentence.  For instance, one of the features we’re incorporating into the site is a “stealth mode” for users to give them ultimate privacy while they use SurviveDivorce.com to the fullest.  This will be a differentiating feature, but people aren’t going to come to the site for privacy, they’re coming for utility.  Privacy is simply a way we can earn their trust and time and differentiate from less-conscious competitors. Privacy is a feature we’ll describe in our Blueprint.

Now that you’ve brainstormed and written your concept sentence, it’s time to flesh that out to a basic outline.  And I do mean basic.  Write down the main features you are initially envisioning for the site.  Use bullet points.   This feature-set is sure to change, so just get everything on paper at this point.  Now that you’re ideas are on paper, it’s time to make a list of your competitors.

The reason I suggest analyzing the competition as such an early stage is because the web is a pretty fast-paced and innovative environment.  Before you spend hours and hours planning your concept without regard to what’s on the market, take the time now to see what’s out there.  Create a spreadsheet and do some creative Googling.  Find as many competitive websites as possible, focusing on direct competitors.  Add the URLs to your spreadsheet along with a brief description on the site.  Note its design, features, community size, length of time in business, strategy, and pricing to start with.  The goal is to be able to easily compare competitors as well as use this information to determine who the major players are and how business is going for them.

It’s also key in my opinion and based on experience to not marry your idea before you date it for a while.  I see many entrepreneurs so in love and committed with their first idea that they are blind to reality.  You must think of the business planning phase as test driving a car or going on a date.   Your goal is to flesh out your idea, check the facts and then make an educated decision on how to proceed.  Don’t be afraid to abandon ship if you don’t like what you find or don’t feel as comfortable as you did before you realized Goliath was already present in the marketplace.

Next time we’ll talk about analyzing your target market, further fleshing out the website concept in the form of a blueprint and building financial projections.

“In 2000, when he was 14-years-old, Robby Berthume started building web sites for local businesspeople. When he turned 22, the LA Business Journal featured him in its “Twenty in Their 20s” report because his company was earning healthy profits on about seven figure sales by building web sites like WhereToGetEngaged

I invited Robby to Mixergy to talk about what he learned about building profitable sites.”

To follow the series, visit EngagingConversations.com and become a fan on Facebook!

To follow the series, visit EngagingConversations.com and become a fan on Facebook!

To follow the series, visit EngagingConversations.com and become a fan on Facebook!

To follow the series, visit EngagingConversations.com and become a fan on Facebook!

To follow the series, visit EngagingConversations.com and become a fan on Facebook!

To follow the series, visit EngagingConversations.com and become a fan on Facebook!