Tim Vasko - CEO + Founder of the Connected Market Space

I was recently in New York during the famous NYC Marathon. The city was packed with runners from all over the world.  What struck me was that many of them didn't look like they could walk to the end of the block, much less run a marathon!  Yet, there they were, ready for a grueling 26 mile race.

In the elevator of my hotel, I overheard two runners talking after the race.  There was a sense of relief and euphoria in the lobby of our hotel; so much so that I was energized as a mere casual observer of all of these people.  The conversation was about the second place women’s finisher, a woman who came in just 40 seconds behind the winner.  Consider how tiny a 40 second lead is after a 26 mile race.  Wherever they finished personally, these two runners were ecstatic. They were just happy to have finished the race. One runner who was a bit rotund, and didn't look at all like a marathon runner said to the other sleek gentleman, "I kept thinking after the 10 mile mark about my friend who told me 'pain is temporary, losing is forever".

This situation is such a far cry from 30 years ago when Katherine Switzer snuck into the Boston Marathon in 1967 registered as K. Switzer.  During the race, an official tried to pull her from the pack as women weren't allowed to run marathons, they were thought too fragile!  Whoever made that rule had clearly never met my wife (or my four daughters, two sisters, Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton or [fill in the blank yourself]).  Times were different then, but what hasn’t changed is people - women (and sometimes men) are determined. If someone wants something badly enough they can do it – they can push through 26 miles, or gain a mere 40 seconds to win a race.

Business today is a lot like running. Entrepreneurs are pushing harder than ever to succeed, and there are more people than ever going it alone.  It doesn’t take an MBA or a fat bank account to start a business -most are started with nothing but pure determination.

However, unlike running, where the situation is the same for everyone, much of today's technology was designed for existing operating companies, not ones just starting out.  I received an email the other day from a friend that said, "well I tried Salesforce CRM, it was disappointing and hard to use, not even as good as Goldmine.  I'm going to try Sugar CRM." This friend is just like the thousands of would be runners who never made it to the NYC marathon.   They run and run, imagining that they could run a marathon, but never commit fully to the effort it takes to be a real participant.   When running a race or a business, choosing a goal and seeing it clearly, finishing something and sticking with it - that is what makes up a real participant, an entrepreneur and a winner.

The one thing about every runner in the NYC Marathon whether they were 40 seconds away from first place, stuck in the middle of the pack, or just happy they finished, is that they all had a gold medal performance that day. Everyone had done their personal best and shown up.   Everyone had achieved something that differentiated them from the rest of the world of runners - a dream to run in one of the biggest, toughest competitions in the world.

When I think about entrepreneurs, business owners, small and medium sized businesses and talk to our customers and users, I see the same type of determination those runners have.  They don't just run down the same old roads, they connect to a cause that they have chosen - and run toward that with a passion.  Every one of the companies in the Connected Market Space is unique and a driving force.  They are overcoming the limitations of disconnected ideas and technology, and connecting with their market.  Some will be at the front of the pack, some will be the pack, some will be happy to have completed the race.  All are unique because they do their personal best and their customers love them and connect to them for that reason.  No matter what size their business is - they are connected.

My friend is one of the millions looking for a CRM solution that will never work for his business.  He will struggle, not understanding that he doesn't need a sales force – he just needs to get connected to his core business - his core mission and dream.  Those two runners made it across the finish line because they understood something that many people never get - it's about the steps, the pace and the commitment to train.  Success isn’t about the fancy running clothes, watching videos or going to clinics about running technique… Each and every one of those participants did one thing the same: they ran, they put in the endless effort and they had a goal.  That makes them different and unique from most of the rest of the world, and runners in the world.

In business, what you do differently and what you’re willing to commit to drives your success.  It's not about dressing up in new features (like new running garb) as the software firms would have you buy.  It's about getting into the market, with social networks, with connections; it's about getting on the road and running.

Think of the Connected Market Space in your home town, your market of customers.  It’s like the road you run down to train for whatever you goal is, be it just good health or a marathon in the future.  We built 1to1Real so you can run down that road with confidence and with us behind you as support.  1to1Real works like your personal trainer; we help you so you can become the best in your Connected Market.  If you have a goal in mind, and you’re running toward it, on the right path, with the right commitment you will succeed.

Most of the time I've spent has been in dealing with these pressing questions from non-technical entrepreneurs and CEOs.  While business owners recognize the possibilities and need for technology today for their businesses, at some point, they just get frustrated with technology, and rightly so.  It's complicated, it often takes more time and expense than was ever expected and trying to use it can be daunting.

During a ten year hiatus from being a university professor, I've pulled together teams of developers, web designers and engineers - from whom I've learned a bit about what they knew, and a LOT about what they don't know.  Each of these Top 10 Tech Frustrations, all of which I've had myself have pushed me closer to find an answer, and to fund a "real" platform for entrepreneurs and business owners.  Entrepreneurs want to use technology to run their business, not only because it's smart, because it's the only way to survive and thrive as a business today.  So, after eight versions and lots of my own frustrations and expense, the 1to1Real platform and related families of cloud based solutions like 1to1Pharmacy, 1to1MD and 1to1IPM (Investment Portfolio Management) was born.

There are two types of entrepreneurs and business owners when it comes to technology.  First, there are those who want to run their business and use technology to become more profitable, more productive, get more customers and keep those they already have.  Secondly, are the people who get starry eyed about the possibility of technology and start down the "in-house, I can and will develop it myself, so I can sell it to the world" type.   The first type is realistic and they will eventually succeed.  The second, the “would-be technology developers" type usually spends tens of thousands (although I've seen a few spend well into the millions) and almost always fail.  Once again, "why?" seems an appropriate question.

Each of these Top 10 Frustrations is actually a complex software development, real world challenge that comes along with inventing software.  To some of these frustrations there are scientific answers and to others, only trial and error will give you the answer you need for your business.

For small and medium sized businesses the cost of failure is high, and likelihood that a home grown solution will yield success is low. It usually looks like this when we've gone in to a company: A pharmacy/ investment manager/ real estate company (choose a core business) finds a "programmer" who can build a database (the truth is anyone can build a database today).  The ideas flow, the system is laid out; the dream has begun.  The problem is tools like relational databases, web sites and code can look and function fine; but only to a point.  When the system gets a lot of users, data, needs for more functions, the code that was typically generated through these tools becomes what the software industry calls "spaghetti" - it gets all tangled up.  Why? Because there is a lot of it, all trying to do pieces and parts of something and then the programmer (business) asks it to do another thing. I've seen this happen time and again, because when it comes down to it, the business developing the solution is not a software engineering firm.

It has taken us a decade to invent, make errors, make changes and to find out how to avoid this technology tangle at any level of load.  When you see success in technology you give it a name:  Microsoft Outlook, Windows, Apple iPod/iTunes/iPhone, Google, Facebook...  When you consider the billions of transactions and processes each has to handle, you appreciate the sophistication.

So how can a pharmacy build a set of transactions that will integrate within a 1.5 trillion dollar health care system, in-house?  They can't, but I've seen them try! We worked on the Alberta Health Care system, at the time a $350 million project in the province.  We had a small role to come in and help "make it work" - because after $350mm spent, there was an 85% failure rate. We devised a solution that was called "elegant" by the lead engineers.  Why were we able to see the solution when they weren't?  We've never had big budgets to work with! We work with small businesses who had limited budgets and even more limited time, so we've learned to get from point A to Z as fast and as efficiently as possible.

All of these hold-ups and technology frustrations that cost money, time and drive business owners crazy are going to keep getting worse because technology and its use is getting more complex, not less.

So, for the businesses that want to use technology to be more efficient, and more profitable, we offer the Connected Market Coach program in conjunction with our 1to1Real solutions to get them from A to Z faster and more efficiently. The Connected Market Coach is a solution for entrepreneurs and business owners who love their business and want to do more of what they do best.  For those who wish to face their challenges by "figuring it out" and building it in-house, I wish you well.  It is a long road.  From Harvard to Wharton to MIT, studies show a 70% - 90% failure rate - "the road ahead" has already been paved with tough lessons learned.

Our Connected Market Coach program is by qualification only for one simple reason: priority of your business objectives is the most important success factor.  If you'd like to visit us and discuss your goals and how you can use The Connected Market Space to automate, connect and transform your business - visit us at the Connected Market Coach and complete the application.

Here's to overcoming frustrations and the shortest path to connections for success.

Tim