How to Build a Successful Drupal Business - It's not about the code!
Submitted by volacci on June 30, 2009 - 07:23
Your session in a few words:
How to Build a Successful Drupal Business - It's not about the code!
Track:
Business development and strategy
Session Type:
Lecture
Level of expertise:
Beginner
Language:
English Most businesses grow to the founders ability to keep all the balls in the air. This session will discuss how to take your Drupal business to the next level. There are 5 key things that every successful business must have: Processes, Recruiting, Sales, Finances, and Synergy. This non-technical session is designed primarily for entrepreneurs, owners & managers.
We'll cover the following things:
+Designing and building a positive company culture.
+Recruiting the right team. Getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats!
+Creating and executing processes that free your team's creativity.
+How to position your business brand in the Drupal community.
+Sales and marketing made easy(er).
+Planning for profit - it's not about hourly vs. project billing!
If you're a Drupal business owners who wants more out of work and life then this is the session you do not want to miss. You'll walk away challenged to make core changes in the way you do business that will take your company from surviving to thriving - even in a down economy.
Competition and game theory
Yes, all businesses must have processes, recruiting, sales, finances and 'synergy' - the first four are hard to dispute however I interpret the use of 'synergy' as vague and open to interpretation as much as it could be broad and address relationships between the other characteristics as well as internal / external synergies and so on...
Bottom line for most startups must be cashflow [finances].
For any business the process of getting paid is one of the most important functions and success a key metric (i.e. how to sell a Drupal project and the options to consider - [finances/sales])
How to generate recurring revenue streams (what else besides maintenance can you offer? [finances/sales])
While I acknowledge the 'planning for profit' segment of the talk perhaps more could be said on 'strategic' planning i.e. how a Drupal business owner can look to synthesize a strategy that helps them win market share, protect it, collaborate with community/partners/competitors/suppliers/clients and so on - could the talk benefit from a more holistic perspective as well?
Understanding what is competition and how to interact in a competitive Drupal ecosystem would be something I hope attendees could also take away from this talk, my reference to game theory is in relation to benefiting from the thinking of Nalebuff and Brandenburger (http://www.strategy-business.com/press/16635507/17483).
As an addition to this talk I'd like to suggest discussion of "added-value in the context of a Drupal business owner" and where that value can be leveraged.
More viewpoints
I think it would be great to hear from a couple of development shops as well. No knock on Volacci, but an SEO company is very different from a development shop, and given the fact that most people at the conference will be developers, I think it would be good to speak to this as well.
I also agree with a lot of what the previous commenter said...