Get a Process for Documenting Your Split Tests

Josh Baker wrote a detailed post on how he documents the processes and results of split testing with a spreadsheet. He wrote out every step he takes for documenting his split tests. To give those visual readers a better idea of what documenting a split test looks like, I created this mind map for you and with his permission I’m sharing this for you to create better processes in documenting the results of your split testing. Download the Documenting A/B Testing in Excel Mindmap as a PDF

There’s plenty of talk of what’s going on with the economy and what it means to the employed, the unemployed, the students and to business owners. One of the best things I’ve heard about starting a business is to do it when everyone else thinks it’s a bad time to start. When most big businesses are scaling back and revamping how they make money is the best time to come to market providing a specific value to a defined market as a new business.

At LeWeb 08 Morten Lund talked about how an economy in a recession is the best time to start a business. It’s because in the life of an entrepreneur its always a make or break time. Every new business has to start with a basic focus on bringing in revenue, all else is secondary.

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Often, I reward and encourage success so single-mindedly that I don’t always see and embrace the lessons in business that only come from my failures.
Those failures are the business lessons that I hold closest to my heart to shape my actions in helping build small businesses today.

When I came across this presentation by Taylor Davidson of Unstructured Ventures I had to share it.

What’s your biggest lesson you could only have learned from failure?

I’ve seen a lot of news on the role of technology on business growth or that technology is starting to fail as the centerpiece of a business. I came across a post at ChaosPlay called technology should not drive business and had to pause at this:

At some level, I always knew technology is just a tool for a solution but not a solution. But I never really put that into practice. I guess thats why so many of my previous ventures failed cause every time I learn about something new, i want to go out and build a business around it.

What a common problem small businesses face! Many are so focused on the how part of the equation they are not paying attention to the who is the market and what are they asking for.

This common problem is one of knowing what role you’re playing in your business– even when it’s just you. As a business owner, your responsibilities are different than when you are the technician. The technician is the person who does the actual hands on work. This is a common pitfall of new businesses that are built around the technology.

From the eMyth website, here are the descriptions of how the technician works in the present moment getting it done role and the entrepreneur works at the big picture level.

• The entrepreneur’s work is strategic in nature, and involves focusing on the future and developing a vision of where s/he can take their business. This vision is specific in terms of what the company will do to serve the wants and needs of the owner.
• The manager’s work is both strategic and tactical. The manager’s focus is on the present and achieving results through others. The manager is the pragmatist, planner, and organizer who turns the vision into action.
• The technician is directed by the manager, and follows the guiding structure of the company’s systems to get the work done. The technician’s focus is on the present and performing the hands-on work of the business.

While its a seemingly easier road to building a business around your strengths in the present moment, either as a developer in ChaosPlay’s case or as a local plumber, the path to successfully building a business does not end with the work performed. The big picture must be defined and all the roles beyond the technician must be accounted for.
Here are three questions to ask yourself or your start up team to avoid this scenario:

Can I easily explain the company’s big picture?

Am I a part of the market I want to serve or do I have a deep, close relationship with the market?

In balancing my businesses resources, do I spend all my time IN the business, never any left to work ON the business?

If you wait to be great before you get out there, you’ll never move. Get out there when the edges are rough and keep on improving it while your out in your market. Let your market shape what you give them. Use technology to get the feedback and reiterate what your market demands from your products.

Tech breaks borders: location, location, location doesn’t mean the same thing anymore.

Email, blogs, video conferencing, wikis, and skype are some of the tools that are breaking down walls. What tech helps make happen is build interactions that foster trust and value. The key is to building relationships with your market and within your company. You don’t have to be in the middle of the hottest town to grow your business or start up. You have to provide value to your market, and they don’t care where you are while you do it.

Starting with little cash means focused better business discipline and good spending habits.

You have to choose options with better value. Limitations are your best friend to finding creative solutions to problems your business will face. Technology has made many improvements on how to get better value for your business dollars.

You do not have to be the next Google-sized business. Seriously.

Do you really need to be the next 450 billion dollar business? Heck no. Consider being the next level up from where you are today. That’s got a much higher chance of success and it’s completely within your reality. Let technology help your business move forward, not have you follow a business idea that has a gigantic chance of failure.

You don’t need a huge budget to get your business in front of your market.

Technology makes it cheap to do so and lets your message be the focus of the interaction. How much does it cost to be on YouTube versus to be on a 30 second TV spot? How much does it cost running an ad in print versus writing a blog post on your company website? How much does it cost hosting a live event versus a doing a video or teleconference?

In the early days of your new business, don’t focus on finding money. Focus on solving customers problems and getting feedback.

You might think you need lots of capital to start your new business. But what you really need is to get immersed in your customer’s world and identify their problems. Present solutions to those problems and ask them what they think of your results. At the start of your business, no amount of money will help more than being in sync with your market’s needs. It’s the ultimate litmus test: do you provide answers your market is looking for? Is it a business idea only on paper: in a business plan or through market research? Have you had real experiences with providing value to make a genuine decision on the likelihood of success?

Don’t write a business plan. Write a blog, post when you want.

Ah!! The MBA woman is saying screw the bplan. Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Why is that? First off, who’s reading this plan? Investors? Banks? Your Future Partners and Employees? Do you really think someone wants to wade through 50 pages of a future potential with 5 year projections of million dollar revenue. Not really.
On the other hand, what do you think people interested in your business vision want? Bite sized chunks of value that they can get. Think ‘Thousand Songs In Your Pocket’ as the way to describe the iPod. That phrase was enough to get people to buy it.

Do small sampling size value with a blog post or a short video that you can continually trickle out to your market and get immediate and visible feedback from the people you want to serve. Not the imagined people your research tells you about. No business starting out ever has all things figured out. Be real with your market and tell them that you’re working with everything you’ve got to make their lives better. That’s what a business should be writing for. A business plan should be a living and breathing plan that changes. Make your company blog into the channel that shows your market and your peers what your business stands for. That kind of writing is what creates paying customers who will finance your business, not borrowed money from someone who is looking to turn a profit on your work.

When it comes to leading your business and serving your market, are you more like a thermostat or a thermometer?

Are You Noticing the Temperature or Setting It?

Seth talks about the difference between a thermostat and a thermometer. It was a great analogy that got my wheels spinning as I thought of someone who was kicking it up in her market. When I think of the many companies and business owners I’ve been around that are reactive to what market conditions are saying. There are others setting the temperature in those same markets.

The difference between the reactive leaders and the proactive leaders is easy to spot in the current economic conditions. Business leaders are coming forward with the ways to make it through the downturn, to make it through and grow. Meanwhile their status quo peers are not sure how to make a difference in their market they just now its not turning in their favor. What to do?

In the real estate market, many realtors are struggling to succeed in the real estate market. But that’s not the only story playing out for realtors.

In Portland Oregon there is a realtor who is listening to her market and she’s changing the temperature. Kirsten Kaufman knows that cyclists and people interested in being greener have different needs than an average home buyer. They are a growing segment of home buyers in Portland and Kaufman is pedaling on their level by combining  home tours with cycling.

Check out her Tour de Homes on YouTube

She’s not making everyone happy by offering a sweat inducing tour but she is speaking directly to the needs and wants of home buyers who are looking for a different kind of commute and having a home that meets their lifestyle.

Your small business doesn’t have to show the neighborhood on bike, but your business can change the temperature in your market.

How will your business make a difference no matter what the market looks like?

I’m not big on the title of the video clip: How to be internet famous. What I am into is the advice that Scoble gave out here.

He listed out some great advice that while answers the question how to be famous also relates to core questions and issues that every small business and start up faces.

Passion and Starring on Your Own Stage

You have to be passionate about what you’re doing and you have to be serving a unique audience. Scoble gave the example of Gary Vaynerchuck, who came in with his passion for wine and used internet tools to build visibility and grow his business. Before  winelibrary.tv  there was no person online working their passion for wine.  Don’t try and copy what he does instead you should step into your own space that motivates and pushes you.

This also reminds me of something I’ve read on Jack Welch’s management style for GE. He had said that he wanted to be number one in a market and if he couldn’t be the best, he’d cut that business center off. There’s no room to be number two in someone elses show. Don’t try and be the same guy that’s doing well. There’s no chance for copy cats to succeed. The tools that the internet gives small business owners are meant to support greatness — your business’ unique strengths. Create your own stage and limelight.

Reward and Respect Your Loyal Clients

Scoble then mentions to always keep in mind the 15 readers. As a small business, that metaphor can extend out to your best and most loyal customers who bring you in new business. They are the people who read your work, who sign up early for new services and the people who talk up your company to their friends. They are not the majority of your clients. Instead these handful are the motivation to keep trucking through hard times. Reward and respect their sense of belonging to you and your mission.

Bring on the Avalanche. It’s Your Snowflake.

Lastly, this has to be my favorite thing Scoble said.

All avalanches start with one snowflake.

This idea has so much merit. An avalanche of success, an avalanche of business growth both start out as one snowflake. Build up your momentum, put more content out there and be more accessible to your market. The interactions and engagement you have with your market are the winds of force. Your brand, your content and your business values are the snowflakes.

How to be internet famous from Andrew Warner on Vimeo.

I’ll end this post with a question about your snowflake, I mean, small business.

Are you building an avalanche?

You might be dressing up for a pirate on Halloween or love Captain Sparrow but we’re still around today and we’re actually the complete opposite. Grimy and Bloodthirsty, Yes. Adorable and Romantic, No.

Buried Treasure #1

Build your own presence to match what you want your market to know about your business today.

Not here for the just the booty, but for the money!

It’s just so hard to get out there as a pirate. I mean, we’ll attack ships with tons of food on board and what are we going to do with that, open a market stand. Nah, just give use all the money on board so we can upgrade our weapons!

Buried Treasure #2

Build value for your market, give them what they are asking for. Let them want to give you money (and booty) in exchange.

We Pirates Are Here to Stop Piracy!  We Shall Call Ourselves Marines

There’s nothing like an official sounding name to convince the gullible that we’re looking out for their best interests. Sure, we’ll stop illegal trafficking in exchange for taking over the benefits of said illegal trafficking.

Buried Treasure #3

If you’re a small business, stop acting like your some big fish. If you’re head captain and sentry, be real about it. Your customers will embrace your honestly. Be real about who you are and what you bring to the table.

We’ll be looking for prey on waters with fuzzy government and no laws

When there’s no clear direction or laws around, who’s going to stop us? We make the rules to serve our purposes and destroy everyone and everything that comes in our way.

Buried Treasure #4

If there’s no leader in your market, you can establish and be the dominant authority. Instead of pirate ships and guns, you can use web presence and social media to put yourself at the forefront of your market.

We’re fond of the bait and switch maneuver to sneak attack your ship

You might think you’re navigating through some hard times, but what we’re doing is waiting for the right time to distract you and get inside your ship when you’re not looking.

Buried Treasure #5

It’s in times of struggle, in times of distress that your market can use your help most. Be that critical help that lets your clients do more with less. If their budget’s been cut say “Hey! We can still make your goals happen! Here’s what we’re going to do instead.”

A big Arr Matey to Dave McLure and the holiday as the inspiration for this post!

Solutions Stars Video has some great video clips about the value of being online. Guy Kawasaki adds that any business who’d like clients in more than a 5 mile radius from your store should have a blog. Or at least a site.

Web Presence Can Tip the Balance of Market Access to Progressive Companies

Having a web presence can show what you’re about to your market is the great flattener of reaching out to your ideal market. No longer is it large companies that have the resources to stand out and grab the attention of their market but small companies can speak equally as loud and draw in customers from their market by showing what they stand for and what they are passionate about.

Here’s our general strategy. Lets just be real and authentic and show customers our personality.

We tell our employees: use your best judgement and be yourself. –Tony Hsieh

Maybe your small business should just have a blog, maybe as a business owner you should be on Twitter. Really, there’s no way to tell if that’s the right web presence for you but the barrier to entry has been demolished by these kinds of web tools. The bigger question is if resources are not limiting you from showing what you’re really about to your market by having a web presence, what excuse will you let yourself believe?