I love your “main goal” of helping clients to minimize their tax liability. Good on you. And what an excellent idea for a blog.

Cheers, Danielle

It’s great to be able to have conversations about this stuff. Being “solo” I find that so valuable – and interesting.

That’s fascinating about your experiences with Orkut. I guess that proves the “slap a high value on it and people value it highly” theory…

Cheers, Dani

Great Article – I knew it would be a hit. You’ve gotten quite a response too…

As for that Orkut community – I’ve been trying to get in for months now, but I can’t get any invites. It’s an amazing example of viral marketing – they make the invites so so valuable. It’s probably as tough as finding investors in Aust …

Thanks for dropping by. I love your blog – you’ve got some very tasty tidbits for entrepreneurs. And I love the “Unlimited” in the name

I’ve been hearing a lot about India lately and sounds like there’s some fascinating business activity taking place. And sounds like there’s some great opportunities for skilled service providers.

Your comment about having access to finance is really interesting. From what I understand we have the same problem in Australia – basically supply can’t keep up with demand. The number of cash-poor entrepreneurs outstrips the number of investors willing to invest, and the ones who are get hounded relentlessly. Many Aussie entrepreneurs are forced to look offshore for funding. I’m surprised about your comment actually because I’ve heard lately that there’s a lot of very cashed up people in India keen to invest in up and coming enterprises. Perhaps I have that wrong, but that’s what I’ve heard. Oftentimes it comes down to knowing how to access these sources.

Btw, I read the other day that Orkut has just surpassed MySpace as the fastet growing social network. That’s pretty astounding. I’m not familiar with Orkut, but I believe it’s massive in Brazil and India. Very interesting stuff.

Cheers, Danielle

I think you’re spot on re consultants/service providers often not understanding your business even though it’s their business to do so. Well said. And good on you for being on top of that. I was alarmed with how many of them thought they had a handle on my business concept in 10 minutes, and many of them asked very few questions.

You’re absolutely right about measuring results and that’s an area I really need to lift my game in.

From what I’ve learnt I recommend setting out with a specific list of expectations (measurable as you say), and set them high. In some instances these will need to be modified in the process – especially if it’s your first time on any given project. If you don’t set your expectations high, you’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell of getting a great result.

I’m so glad you enjoyed it Luc, thanks for the lovely compliment. And thank you very much for the write up on your blog. It’s always a great read with very practical info. And your sunny personality always shines through

Cheers, Dani

Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement. How lovely!

I discovered your blog recently and love the unique and thoughtful way you find to communicate your messages. Very much a “show me” rather than “tell me” style – your posts really carry impact. Not only are they powerful, they’re also very relevant.

You know, because I’m living it all right now, sometimes it’s really hard to decipher what info is going to be useful, so thanks very much for the feedback.

Kind regards, Danielle

I always find it hard to hire someone for something that is not quantifiable. I love to measure my results on whatever i do and i find that i steer myself away from people that promise the “moon and stars” whereas i like the realist approach.

Most consultants, service providers etc don’t understand your business even though its their business to do so. I personally have done SME work on projects to learn about the person’s business, meet with them and ask questions about their business but i’ve got to think this is a rare thing that most do not do… ah the days of building websites for other people.

In Short Dani i loved this article. I may even have to link back to it because its written so well.

Luc

And not only is this the “stuff” small business owners need to know, your writing style and personality make it a blast to read.

I mean, it’s hard to improve on the line below!

“getting business advice as a startup from someone who has never started a business is like getting Kama Sutra lessons from a nun.”

Thanks for offering up a great conversation and for including a link to my blog. Very encouraging to play a part in this posting!

Keep creating,
Mike