Sometimes, You Need to Say “No” to New Business

When you’re building a business like Nine Lives Media Inc., it’s easy to say “yes” to every new project that comes along. Saying “yes” to a freelance business engagement means you can improve cash flow, fund new projects and pay your bills.

Now, for our challenge: When Amy Katz and I launched Nine Lives Media Inc., we made a conscious decision to build media assets — including databases and online brands like MSPmentor, The VAR Guy and Works With U.

During the first few months of 2008, we said “yes” to some freelance engagements that, in turn, helped us to fund our first three media sites. But now — as we plan for the second half of 2008 — we’re starting to politely say “no thank you” to some third-party projects that aren’t core to our business.

To our pleasant surprise, our own media brands have quickly gained traction. And like newborn kids, they’re demanding far more time and focus than we ever expected.

What a wonderful problem to have.

Announcing MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange

We’re pulling back the curtain on our next business initiative. This one involves a new, fresh approach to tired, traditional Webcasts. You can get a feel for our approach by attending MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange on June 12, a fast-moving, interactive event for managed service providers.

During our live events, you won’t suffer Death By PowerPoint. Instead, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with CEOs from the world’s leading managed service providers, as ranked by our MSPmentor 100 research. You’ll also ask your most pressing questions to MSP platform providers and business automation experts, including executives from Kaseya (on June 12) and Autotask CEO Bob Godgart (on June 25).

If you’re an IT consultant, integrator, VAR, solutions provider or developer focused on software as a service (SaaS), the MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange format is designed for you. And if you’re a Nine Lives Media Inc. partner, we invite you to attend and critique our event format as well.

Our team has built, managed and moderated more than 200 IT events since 2004. We know the market is ready for something different, interactive and engaging in the Webcast space. Join us June 12 to find out if we’ve hit the mark.

Can Media Companies Deliver Sustainable Innovation?

This was another busy and productive week at Nine Lives Media inc. While Amy Katz continued to build out several business relationships and sponsorships, I applied polish to our latest site launch (Works With U) and also moderated events in Minneapolis, New York and Boston.

During the event in New York, which focused on Business Analytics, a key theme emerged: How do you drive sustainable innovation in your company? I know: Everyone is abusing the “innovation” word these days. But I rather like the term “sustainable innovation.” It describes a company that continually reinvents its products and services — even before such moves are necessary.