Seinfeld on Startups: Bubble Boy

What Seinfeld blog could be complete without a go-round with The Bubble Boy? We know very little about said Bubble Boy – other than his name was Donald and he likes Trivial Pursuit (Its Moops, not Moors!!)  But we do know this – he lived in a bubble. Watch Clip

Can you already see where I am going here?  So often, I think entrepreneurs think their business operates in a bubble – metaphorically speaking of course.  They do what they’ve done, the way they do it, the way they are always going to do it (Channeling Kramer) and they assume that the market will always respond the way it always has.

Now they may not admit to thinking this way, but their actions tell you differently.  They continue to offer the same products and services, market in the same ways, sell to the same audience, use the same messaging, etc., etc., etc.  Unfortunately, change is inevitable, regardless if you want to be a part of society or not (just ask Polaroid or Kodak).  Innovation, competition, the economic environment, and other forces are pushing and pulling on your business – making it tough to be successful with the “head in the sand” approach to managing your business.

Many businesses have some sort of approach to continuous improvement of their business model – but very few put in the real time required to work ON their business, not just in it.  There is good reason for it:  change is scary, we tend to avoid scary stuff, doing what we’ve done before is easy, and easy is fun.

My challenge to you is to find a mentor or trusted advisor, seek outside opinions of your business and how to improve it, ask your customers for feedback, be open to criticism and ideas, constantly monitor your competition – both near and far, and of course – read this blog.

Dan Beenken is Director of the UNI Small Business Development Center