Boot Strappers Delight

Why am I smiling on a Monday Morning? (HINT: it has nothing to do with the Phils)

posted November 3, 2008 by David Speers  |  Comments (0)

Despite the euphoria of the past week, not even the first official Monday of the Phillies reign as World Champions was enough to cancel out the weekly weekend withdraw. No, it would take something just as exciting but a little more personal to chase away a chronic case of the Mondays. Something like this note from our friend John Valentine over at Philly startup Tapinko :

“I just wanted to follow up and thank you for the awesome press you gave us. Within a couple days of the Phillypreneurs TapInko post, we received some unsolicited phone calls from investors on both coasts interested in feeling us out for potential investments. The blog has amazing breadth in readership! TapInko is still going strong as we continue down the LORE, BFTP, and angel funding paths.”

We obviously can’t take credit for any of Tapinko’s success but it does a blogger good to know that our little passion could be apart of helping others pursue their’s, so much good that the smile that’s stretched across this face might last long enough to make a dent in next week’s inevitable Monday too. Here’s to continue success in Tapinko.

david Dave Speers is an online marketing consultant and start-up junky that has worked with a wide variety of Philadelphia businesses. Dave spends most his time annoying really smart people at Indy Hall co-working collaborative.
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The City’s on Fire with Passionate Pride or ‘Why I Have Blogger Remorse’

posted October 31, 2008 by David Speers  |  Comments (2)

You might have noticed a dip in the frequency of posts here on Phillypreneurs recently, but between late night games, delayed games and this stuff I’m sure you can appreciate the temporary slow down. Maybe it’s only something a blogger can appreciate but I really feel guilty. There’s this nagging voice in the back of my head whispering ‘You Need to Post’ as I’m partying in the streets. Do you know how annoying that is? To appease the voices in my head I present to you a peace offering. My friend Joe put together this song to celebrate the best thing to happen to Philly since Stallone turned the Art Museum steps into The Center for Tourist Humiliation, and you my Phillypreneur family get to hear it first:

(just click on song title 1 to listen)

So while you’re strolling down broad and soaking in this historic day that you’ll be telling your grand kids about I hope this little ditty will provide your sound track.

Thanks to Voice Over expert Joe Conklin for infecting my brain with this infectious song.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ENRICO @ the700Level.com LET’S GO PHILS

david Dave Speers is an online marketing consultant and start-up junky that has worked with a wide variety of Philadelphia businesses. Dave spends most his time annoying really smart people at Indy Hall co-working collaborative.
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A unique Press Release from Philly’s famous Green Developers.

posted September 18, 2008 by David Speers  |  Comments (0)

If you didn’t have the pleasure of meeting the 100k House guys at the first Ignite Philly than you probably wouldn’t expect this coming. The authors of the very popular blog that chronicles the exploits of building a Green and Modern home in downtown Philadelphia just released a very ‘non-traditional’ press release about their latest and greatest project:

Worth Noting:
With a staggering number of Press Releases being drafted and sent across the world every day, it’s becoming harder and harder to get attention with the traditional method of releasing a statement in text. Making big announcements through the CEO/President/CMO/Chief with video on the internet is a much better way of standing out, especially if you add a dash of humor like Chad and Nick did for Postgreen while doing a lot to humanize your brand/company (if that’s what you want to do).

Good stuff Nick and Chad! Let us know how effective the Video Press Release was and how the sale goes.

david Dave Speers is an online marketing consultant and start-up junky that has worked with a wide variety of Philadelphia businesses. Dave spends most his time annoying really smart people at Indy Hall co-working collaborative.
Posted in Boot Strappers Delight, Entrepeneur Resources, Meet and Greet  |  Comments (0)

Philly: The Incredible Shrinking City?

posted July 11, 2008 by B. Frank  |  Comments (0)

Continuing a long-running downward trend, Philadelphia lost more residents between 2000 and 2007 than any U.S. city except hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

Population in the city decreased from 1,517,550 to 1,449,634 in the seven years, a loss of nearly 68,000 people, according to Greg Harper, a demographer for the bureau.

That drop of 4.5 percent represents the largest percentage loss in population of a top-25 U.S. city between 2000 and 2007, figures show.

Philadelphia’s population peaked at 2,071,605 in 1950, and has dwindled ever since. The city’s current population is the lowest since the start of the 20th century, when the number of residents increased from 1.3 million in 1900 to 1.6 million in 1920, figures show.” - courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer

You know what a Phillypreneur thinks during times like these? That’s right, CHEAP PROPERTY! Now is the time to grab up as much property as possible before this half century depopulation trend completely turns (with economic and environmental incentives driving people back into the city, it’s already starting!). Get a piece of the action now before it’s too late.

b-frank Entrepreneur, Statesman, diplomat, educator, inventor, author, printer, philosopher, scientist, shopkeeper, musician, economist, public servant and American hero.
Posted in Boot Strappers Delight, Philadelphia  |  Comments (0)

Phillypreneur lessons from Ben: No Capital is No Excuse

posted July 8, 2008 by David Speers  |  Comments (1)

ben franklin money

The following is an excerpt from Bizcovering’s inspiring article on Six Excuses That Must be Discarded to Become a Millionaire.

Here’s my favorite example from Excuse #3: I Have No Capital

Another poor man who captured the world’s imagination was Benjamin Franklin, American statesman, writer and inventor. He was the youngest child in the brood of 16. Though his parents owned a candle shop in Boston, Massachusetts, the mean income could not support comfortably with the whole family. Young Benjamin did not think much of food and what to eat because he had been told not to do so, he hardly eat delicious food. His older siblings had large appetite and would jam the table even before Ben could occupy his chair. When he realized that his father could no longer afford to send him to school, he decided to work in his brother’s printing shop. Much of his earnings went to books. He adored poetry and short stories. Amidst poverty, young Ben dreamed big things; he practiced writing, though he did not know the very basic of that profession. Then his brother started beating him cruelly, this prompted Ben to run away, with little bucks left in his pocket, he stole down to Boston harbor and went to New York City. Ben had nothing except clean t-shirt and the pants he wore. In New York, he was not accepted for any work, so he went to Philadelphia, because he had no money to pay for the transportation, he endured the long miles walking the rocky roads and sleeping at the fields at night, by the time he reached Philadelphia he was tired, dirty and hungry.

Benjamin accepted odd jobs and work day and night until he earned enough money to support his schooling. Later in his colorful journey, he founded his own printing shop, invented the first gas stove, published stories and became America’s most celebrated statesman.(trivia: When Benjamin owned a company, he noticed a young man, 14 years his junior, who was prone to failures despite his aggressiveness in work, though this young man armed with undisputed talent, intellect and strengths, he was easily intimidated and discouraged with slightest mistakes. Benjamin decided to train this man and making his own struggles in life as example, he taught him how to conquer odds, the result was remarkable, this man became an asset of the company which later on made him a successful professional, he later on quit his job and joined politics, but the great lesson Benjamin Franklin taught him never fade in his mind and he used it as his springboard as he soared high in his career. That young man was none other than James Madison, who became the fourth US President. It’s amazing to know that his great teacher in life was a poor stow away boy from Boston who once endured walking a rocky road, tired and dirty just to reach his dreams.

david Dave Speers is an online marketing consultant and start-up junky that has worked with a wide variety of Philadelphia businesses. Dave spends most his time annoying really smart people at Indy Hall co-working collaborative.
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How to choose the right Phone System for your Start Up

posted June 3, 2008 by Jesse Middleton  |  Comments (6)

You’ve got the name, the site, the idea and the people to support your great cause but something is missing… Aha! A telephone system – or even a telephone number would be good. That’s when the big decision has to be made. The obvious and expensive solution is to buy a PBX (Personal Branch Exchange). What’s a PBX you ask. We’ll, according to Wikipedia:

“A Private Branch eXchange (PBX) is a telephone exchange that serves a particular business or office, as opposed to one that a common carrier or telephone company operates for many businesses or for the general public.

A PBX locally control all in one communication center that controls your phone’s Auto attendant, Auto dialing, Automatic call distributon, Automatic ring back, Call accounting, Call forwarding on busy or absence, Call park, Call pick-up, Call transfer, Call waiting, Conference call, Custom greetings, Customised Abbreviated dialing (Speed Dialing), Busy Override, Direct Inward Dialing, Direct Inward System Access (DISA) (the ability to access internal features from an outside telephone line), Do not disturb (DND), Interactive voice response, Music on hold, Night service, Shared message boxes (where a department can have a shared voicemail box), Voice mail, Voice message broadcasting, Voice paging (PA system) and Welcome Messaging.”


A second option would be to simply let everyone use a cell phone, creating total chaos when it comes time to go over the phone bills.

Or you could simply outsource your phone system with a Virtual PBX (VPBX). I happen to love this third option as it’s very inexpensive to setup (usually free) and with all of the hype with VoIP, global oneness and clear call quality these solutions can definitely fill the void that you may need.

The Virtual PBX solution:
There are many great products available today: RingCentral (this is the one I currently use as my company “phone system”), VirtualPBX and OneBox just to name a few. Each one has its own pros and cons. Some charge greater per minute charges while others allow extra features such as calls being made from the desktop or a SIP compatible phone. While evaluating the product to figure out which one will fit into your new organization, keep these not so obvious but essential VPBX capabilities in mind…

1) Porting numbers in –Some providers let you port outside numbers into their system. This is great because many times by the time you’re looking at going to a virtual PBX system, you’ve already given out a million business cards, kissed a hundred thousand babies and told your mother and father about your new business’s phone number. Number porting is becoming more and more common in the US. There are a few hiccups in the current system but many times you can keep the number from somewhere else and bring it to your new provider.

2) Porting numbers out – The second thing to keep in mind is the ability to port a number away from the virtual PBX provider. When youdo finally get to the point that you have a hundred employees, a giant yacht in the Caribbean, you may want to move to a full-fledged PBX system. When you do this, you’ll need to be able to take that great 800-MY-COMPANY-HERE number with you.

3) Conferencing, faxing and more – Sometimes simply having a phone number isn’t good enough. Most providers offer great extra services. E-faxing, audio, and video conferencing are just a few of the things that can make not only your company sparkle but also can save you money in the long run. With a good, all-in-one conferencing pack built into your virtual PBX you can have fluid company and client meetings all from the comfort of the system that you came to know and love.

4) SIP or VoIP telephone support – Most of the virtual PBXs out there are setup to take in calls, play an auto-attendant, allow the caller to choose who they want and then they forward the call off to a cellphone, land line or VoIP line that you may already have (think call forwarding on steroids). A few of the providers offer their own “digital line” service. This means that you don’t have to be double billed for the minutes that you use. Instead of the call going to a third-party phone, it could go straight to your laptop or a SIP capable cordless phone.

For every problem your company faces there will be a host of products that solve the issue in a slightly different way, and choosing a phone system is no different. The most important thing to remember is to make sure that you aren’t shooting yourself in the foot by getting into a product that can’t scale with you.

jesse-middleton Jesse Middleton is a network security professional, blogger and pain in the ass “I’ll tell you what you can and can’t do on your machine” type of guy.
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