Last in the series. After this in the workshop was a presentation about tech tools and social media by John Fleming, CEO of Outcome Labs, and then a grab-bag sort of wrap-up that we ended up doing over dinner later that night at Morada Bay. No slides there, just beer and yellowtail.
I think the most relevant messages I tried to get across during this section were as follows:
1 – Being a good portfolio manager is not the same as running a company that is good at portfolio management.
2 – The economics of running a spoke fund can be very compelling.
3 – The internet gives you an advantage over potential competitors – mutual fund companies, hedge funds and even brokers chasing the same clients. More specifically, you can acquire customers at a cost very near zero.
4 – Certain technological tools can also bump your productivity up quite a bit. That’s important because it allows you to keep your focus where it should be – on the fund.
Also – nothing focuses the mind more on the importance of cash flow than running a small business. To paraphrase Warren Buffett, being a small-businessman makes you a better investor, and vice versa.
Other notes on the below:
That Sales Funnel slide is one of the most important of the day. Simple concept, and probably a bit too clinical, but to have a systematic way to attract the right kind of people and have them become investors is crucial. The “10 Things to Expect” slide was basically a rehash of this blog post. And while I emphasize the online channel in discussing marketing here, it cannot replace good old fashioned gripping-and-grinning. That should be a given. It just doesn’t scale. The right mix, the right spend, timelines and everything else that goes into marketing is still very much a work in progress for me, too, so as usual, take any and all of this with as many grains of salt as you see fit.
And yeah, I would much rather not worry about marketing, ads, sales, branding, yadda yadda…but the head of my company absolutely should keep marketing a priority. And, well, that guy is me.
@PlanMaestro Roger that. Thx. Will add to the list. More ideas than cash lately. in reply to PlanMaestro 2 weeks ago
