The Art of the Start by Kawasaki
Don’t you hate it when you were supposed to do one thing but the other thing you chose to do led to another thing, and one after another you found yourself not being able to finish the one thing you were supposed to do. Yeah, it happened just now and it’s already midnight.
An adviser recommended that I order and start using the Palo Alto’s Business Plan Pro software. I really didn’t see the point of purchasing a business plan software (besides the fact that it should save time and mistakes) when I can simply download one of the Microsoft Word templates that had the layout already set and ready to go.
I searched several sites to find the lowest academic price and also visited the paloalto.com academic site for their discount info. Used the online instant messenger with one of their sales staff and got the answers I needed. But instead of buying the academic version of the Business Plan Pro 2007, I opted for the retail version and got one on eBay. The reason? Academic version is identical to the retail version in function and features with one exception, “Academic Version” watermark on every printed page. The price difference between the academic version and the retail version were not substantial plus you get the books (and e-books) and much more sample business plans with the retail version. Made more economic sense and a better investment down the road.
So after working with one of the plans, I picked up one of the book titled, “The Art of the Start.”
The book was written by Guy Kawasaki, a successful entrepreneur and currently the “managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm for high-technology companies.” I skimped through the Table of Contents and the ‘Read Me First’ section to get an jist of the book. It seems to be a very good book with quality information for businessmen.
Curiosity got the best of me during this hour so I visited the author’s website, his blog page (including the cover page contest), and even the company’s webpage. I’ve bookmarked Garage.com because of the useful reference section.
I didn’t stop there. I linked out from Kawasaki’s blog to his colleague’s blog page and one thing led to another, the final page prior to this blog was LinkedIn.com. Unlike MySpace.com or Blogger.com where the site is for general purpose, LinkedIn has a niche. Best of all, it is ad-free at the moment and simple to use. LinkedIn.com is to career professionals as FaceBook.com is to college students.
The caffeine from the cup of tea is keeping me up so I’ll extend this entry. Have you heard of the website MeetUp.com? MeetUp is not an actual social networking website but an online tool where you search for local meetings that best interests you. There are features that let you socialize on that site too. It is simple to use and the whole procedure from registration to searching your interest group is effortless. I ended up finding three groups in LA County and OC. Check it out!