Make a list, check it twice: can you check off all the items on our list? If not, fine-tune your business skills with these insider tips from entrepreneurial guru Guy Kawasaki

Entrepreneur, Feb, 2005 by Guy Kawasaki

* Do you acknowledge your competition? "We have no competition" means you're either serving an unattractive market or you're clueless--and neither is conducive to raising money. A complete and insightful analysis of your competition builds credibility. The best way to present a competitive analysis is with a three-column chart listing your competitor's name, what you can do that it can't, and what it can do that you can't.

The Art of Partnering

* How will the partnership affect your spreadsheet? As a rule of thumb, if a partnership doesn't enable you to increase sales or decrease costs, you shouldn't do it.

* Is your partnership a win-win deal? Are both parties truly going to benefit, or did you pull a fast one? Because if you did, rest assured that the partnership won't last.

* Is there an "out" clause in the deal? At the beginning of a partnership, you hope that it will last forever. Forever is a long time, and if the terms of the partnership are too ironclad, claustrophobia will develop. Include an easily exercisable out clause to prevent this condition. It will help everyone relax and focus on making the partnership work.

The Art of Branding

* Have you created a contagious product or service? The foundation of all great brands is a great reality. Think cool, effective, distinctive, disruptive, emotive, deep, indulgent and supported. This is a long list, but the point is that branding is easy when you sell something great. Branding is hard when you sell crap.

* Can a mere mortar get your product up and running right out of the box? The best and cheapest form of branding is word-of-mouth. To achieve this, customers must be able to use your product or service without reading a manual--much less having a Ph.D. in applied physics. Think of setting the clock on a VCR, and make sure what you sell is easier to do.

* Are you taking care of your evangelists? Customers who spread the word for you are called evangelists. Their compensation is the satisfaction of making the world a better place. Embrace evangelists with inside information, gifts and seminars because they will carry the battle forward for you.

* Can your employees "talk the walk"? Let's assume you have a meaningful product or service, and that you are "walking the talk." Don't assume your employees can talk the walk. Ensure that they can tell your story as well as you can, because a brand is built one conversation at a time.

The Art of Rainmaking

* Are you "letting a hundred flowers blossom"? This is stolen from Mao Zedong, but it's not clear that he walked the ideology. Startups often see that people who were unintended customers use their products and services in unintended ways. Embrace this--don't freak out. These flowers are lighthouses that illuminate the markets where you can achieve success. Flow with the go.

* Are you going after agnostics instead of atheists? Selling to big, well-known firms supposedly yields eye-opening numbers and credibility. However, big companies seldom believe in the products and services of startups. Spend some time on atheists, but focus on believers and agnostics instead.