If so, you probably already know that a business plan would help you succeed – but do you know what else you need to “connect all the dots” so that you can REALLY get from Point A to Point B?

Watch this short video about Deviled Details to find out the other three major “must have” components that you will need to successfully implement YOUR vision for YOUR new venture.

I’m sure you’ve heard the proverb, “The devil is in the details.” I call it “The Deviled Details.” These Deviled Details are almost always what keeps folks closer to their Point A than their Point B.

One of the key issues mentioned by several of my clients was that they did not know what to do first. And those who knew what to do first did not necessarily know what to do next.

They reported being “stuck.”

They reported being unsure of how to implement all the various “details” required to fully implement everything that was required to start their company or their new project.

However, if you’ve never started a company that generated money in your pocket outside of selling stuff on eBay, then get ready for a long list of action items that will be required to get you from your current Point A to your desired Point B.

This long list of action items, business strategies and tactics are what I call “The Deviled Details” required to get you to your desired point B.

Are you considering the romance and seduction of angel investors or venture capital?

If so, your credibility will be significantly enhanced by completing The Deviled Details Action Planning Service. Prospective investors will be able to clearly see your game plan – and understand how well thought out your implementation steps are.

This can give you a huge competitive advantage over other, competing investment opportunities where those companies only have arm-waving generalizations in answer to the hard questions prospective investors can ask.

With The Deviled Details Action Planning Service, you will be prepared for virtually any question that prospective investors might ask. And, the great thing is: it isn’t just all for show.

You really will be much better prepared to get your new company to your desired Point B – the same Point B that you will be promising prospective investors – all because you were smart enough to see all the benefits of investing in The Deviled Details Action Planning Service.

Get Unstuck – And Get To Your Point B

That’s one of the goals of my Deviled Details Service: To give you the comprehensive Deviled Details to get you to your desired Point B as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Another one of my goals is to “Unstick The Stuck.”

I hope this video will help get you “unstuck” and back moving toward your goal of reaching your Point B.

While individually working with over 2,000 entrepreneurs and start up company CEOs, I’ve noticed that, in many cases, one or more of a particular half-dozen deadly dragons can often stop a company in its tracks.

Which ones are blocking your personal path for your start up company right now?

1. The Indecision Dragon – Closely related to the Overchoice Dragon, this brute keeps whispering “What if this and what if that…” which keeps you from making key decisions and making progress. Yogi Berra, the New York Yankee philosopher, said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” What are the top dozen genuine pivot points for your company right this minute? What do you need to know today to make a decision on each – and cross each one off the list as completed? What do you finally need to know to get past that fork in the road? Remember: No decision IS a decision – one that can affect all future decisions, choices, direction and timetables. Don’t lose by default.
2. The Perfection Dragon – This varmint keeps telling you to stop until absolutely everything is perfect. The trouble is few things in life are ever perfect. I have found that sloppy success is almost always far better for most companies than procrastinated perfection. What else do you need to know to be perfect enough for now – so you can take the next step? Is this another paralyzing fork for you?
3. The Dollar Dragon – This is one very lethal dragon that needs to be dealt with wisely. How much money does it REALLY take for success? How much money for proof of concept? How much capital do you need to keep you from running out of cash before positive cash flow? Where will the capital come from? How are you going to knowledgeably answer all of these questions about YOUR start up company? How much longer will it take for you to know the right answers so you can make progress? Do you have a dollar waiting on a dime?
4. The Expertise Dragon – We all have our own unique set of skills we’ve learned over the years. We all also have missing skill sets – stuff we’ve just never learned yet. What are the top dozen missing skill sets for you and your company, right here, right now? What are the gaps in management? What is on your Action List that requires more expertise than you or your team members have? What kind of expertise could you use to get you past this dragon and on down the road to success? Who can provide you this expertise? What are you going to do to strengthen your strengths and minimize or eliminate the weaknesses? Are you making critical decisions without the right expertise? If so, what are the short-term AND long-term risks and real costs of those potentially lethal bad strategic and tactical decisions?
5. The Time Dragon – It’s really too bad that there are only 30 hours in a day and 8 days in a week. Even if there really was that much time, most of us would still constantly run out of this continuously depleting commodity. Ever notice how this dragon, and life, keeps getting in the way of making progress with your new company? Does your business model and concept get more stale as more time passes without progress and competitors move forward with your ideas? What major and minor tasks on your Action List can you delegate so that you can buy more time for you to lead the charge and get farther done the path toward the success of your vision?
6. The Implementation Dragon – Do you really know all the puzzle pieces required for the complete big picture of your start up company? Do you know all the steps required for successful implementation of your vision? Do you have a comprehensive Action List of all the steps required to get you from where you are now to where you want to be in one year? Five years?

Or, are any or all of these dragons going to keep blocking your path – so that a year from now, five years from now, your vision, and you, will be in the same place where you are today?

Sometimes, it seems like ALL of these dragons are blocking your path to success for your vision – all at the same time. And, these are just six of the multitude of dragons that try to interfere with entrepreneurs just like you from starting their company and successfully implementing their vision.

Which ones are causing you the most grief today?

What other dragons, specific to you and your company, are also blocking your success?

It IS Lonely At The Top

Who do you turn to, as a start up or emerging company CEO or founder – for sound business advice, for a different perspective, for efficient brainstorming, for help with your dragon slaying? Who do you use as a mentor and trusted adviser, who can give you objective, one-on-one, confidential and experiential help with your own company?

For many CEOs and owners, it really IS lonely at the top.

I’ve successfully helped many hundreds of clients answer exactly these kinds of questions and slay these kinds of dragons.

I have found during my past 15 years of consulting with start up and emerging companies that many of the above half dozen dragons can be slayed with just a few hours of mentoring. Often, it just takes one or two insights and epiphanies to get my clients past those dragons and much farther down their path toward achieving their goals.

Get Help Now

The power of these quick insights is why I offer my clients my Start Up Company Mentoring Service at http://www.StartUpCompanyMentoring.com.

Are there other issues, problems or opportunities you would like to brainstorm about your company?

I invite you to check out the site for my services. There, you can usually sign up for as little as one hour of mentoring. Once you sign up, we can immediately schedule a teleconference to discuss your dragons and your goals.

Of course, we can’t solve every problem, and slay every dragon, in only an hour or two – but, together, we might be able to efficiently brainstorm some quick answers for you – and a genuinely implementable action plan – that will get you past these pesky dragons and get you closer to your vision of success.

Reserve your brainstorming and mentoring time now by visiting http://www.StartUpCompanyMentoring.com.
PS: Limited AvailabilityOne-on-one mentoring and dragon slaying is probably the most enjoyable part of Start Up Company University for me. I love the rapid fire brainstorming and efficient problem solving with my clients – and being able to provide so much pivotal help in such a short period of time.

However, my availability for one-on-one mentoring can be very limited due to my other client, corporate and personal commitments and time requirements. Hence, some of my mentoring options may be unavailable at any given time.

Please check http://www.StartUpCompanyMentoring.com for the current status and availability.

These two free downloads are very basic, and are not the business plan or PPM that are included and analyzed in detail in Funding Foreplay – but they will show you the fundamental components of what you need for two of the twelve total documents you are required for successfully raising investment capital from venture capital and angel investors. Each document is about 40 pages long and can be immediately downloaded.

For a much more comprehensive business plan and PPM, including samples of all dozen necessary documents you will need, check out Funding Foreplay at www.FundingForeplay.com.

If you need help with financial projections and your business plan or business planning, check out my services and prices at www.ChiefDragonSlayer.com.

If you need personal, one on one coaching and mentoring, please check out my services at www.StartUpCompanyMentoring.com for details and pricing.

Wishing you STELLAR success with YOUR start up,

Robert Lee Goodman

However…

There is finally one reality show that I not only watch – but one that I strongly recommend every entrepreneur and start up company CEO should watch religiously.

The show, Start-Up Junkies, on the MOJO Network really does show what it is like to run a new company.

Frank Lloyd Wright once said TV is chewing gum for the mind. He must have been talking about reality TV. However, Start-Up Junkies is a feast for anyone even thinking about starting a company.

Having started my own four dozen companies, I have been there, done that – and not only have the tee shirt – but also several suits of armor from all the battles with dragons that try to kill entrepreneurial ventures and start up companies. Besides all that experience with my own companies, during the past 14 years I’ve also served as a start up consultant to 2,000 entrepreneurs in three dozen countries on six of the seven continents. So, trust me when I say, I know what it is like to be a start-up junkie myself.

From the show’s web site, this is their executive summary:

• The Pitch: CEO/Entrepreneur/Start-up Junkie Ron Wiener believes that the world is ready for a revolutionary online postal mail service.
• The Goal: Secure millions in funding from investors and take Earth Class Mail from promising idea to profitable reality.
• The Problem: Nine out of ten start-ups fail.

Beyond the usual hype for any TV show, this is an excellent production that is very well directed. More importantly, the show genuinely conveys the juggling act required of almost every entrepreneur and start up CEO.If you are considering ever having your own business, watch the show…and see if YOU could stand the stress and multiplexing required.

The bad news about this reality show is that almost no one has even heard of the MOJO Network since it is only hi def – and a premium hi def channel at that.

The good news is that all seven episodes that have been broadcast to date since the show started in January are available for viewing at the MOJO website …so you can watch them all. Each show only lasts 22 minutes since there are no commercials.

So, what’s my experienced opinion of the company and the management team?

Ron Wiener is an excellent start up CEO. He has the combined skill sets and charisma to pull it off…and the fortitude to withstand stress levels non-entrepreneurs cannot imagine even exist. He is seasoned enough with his prior start up experience to know the right path and how to slay the dragons he needs to slay before they kill the company – although, sometimes, it is uncertain which way to swing the sword when so many dragons attack at once. He made a brilliant move by agreeing to the TV show – incredible exposure for his company and his fundraising for no cost – although doing this while doing a private placement must put him in the dark gray areas of securities law.

Ron has recruited a good management team but it looks like the company may be quickly outgrowing the capabilities of some of them (a very common problem for many of my start up clients.) Based on the company’s web site, Ron has a new CMO and a COO.

Regrettably, based on today’s view of the Earth Class Mail website, his prior Chief Marketing Officer, Natalee, who is featured in the show is no longer with the company. Natalee was exceptional – and as you watch the show, remind yourself that if you do start your own company, you need someone JUST like her.

In my opinion, the duo of Ron and Natalee could successfully start just about any company they wanted.

I am guessing that the taping of the program is about six months in the past. As of Episode 7, Natalee was still at the company. The MOJO website doesn’t say how many total episodes there will be – so a lot might change from the time you read this article and when I wrote it.

If you plan on starting a company – and especially if you plan on raising investor capital, consider watching all available episodes of Start-Up Company Junkies as mandatory homework.

Trust me when I say, there WILL be a pop quiz if you ever do start your own business.