The Follow-Through: Sticking With Your Ideas

"We don't have any pens because we're afraid they're going to leak on our shirts."

One of the highlights of watching Parks and Recreation this season is the plot involving character Tom Haverford's startup company Entertainment 720. What does Entertainment 720 do? According to Tom, "it's a multimedia, entertainment production conglomerate." And that's about as deep as it goes. More importantly, as Tom is eager to point out, the company's lavish high-tech headquarters boasts a pool table, a ping-pong table, an in-house DJ and an entourage of NBA stars and supermodels milling about. "Ever thought of scaling it back a bit and investing in your client base?" one of the NBA players asks. Tom, ever the uber-confident twit, laughs it off... as did, I'm sure, many entrepreneurs and business insiders watching the program. The plotline is of course a sharp satire of sexy, high-tech startups -Facebook, Twitter and their kin - but more directly its poking fun at the less successful business ventures that look fun on paper but fail to endure in the market. Consider the dotcom crash of the early 2000s; many of those companies entered the ring with enough bravado and investor capital but faltered spectacularly when it came time to pay dues and actually put up some profit.

Entertainment 720 represents the empty idea; the plan that seemed full proof during the brainstorming session but faltered on account of poor decisions, lackluster effort and/or weak results. And as every entrepreneur knows, a business needs tangible results. But how can business owners, especially first time entrepreneurs, avoid the pratfalls of a poorly managed business? Let's look at Tom's mistakes and come up with better alternatives:

1. Deliver a concise product

Entertainment 720 offers everything and anything under the sun. From flashy music videos to club promotion to merchandising, there's nothing the company won't fit under the media/entertainment banner. The joke is nobody, not even the staff, know what exactly the company is about. Don't make this mistake. Your idea, what will eventually become the product you sell, should ideally be explained in one sentence. What does your company sell and to whom? Even if your business sells a variety of products, there should be an over-arching theme or audience it's targeting. Low-priced clothing? Children's beachwear? Japanese comics? Get specific.

2. Focus on your clients

The NBA player was right; Part of Tom's folly is he invested ridiculous amounts of time and money on his and the company's image rather than a product that would be useful to his customers. How can you ensure clients will come back to your business? How do you build client loyalty? That gets to the heart of business. You need a product or service distinguishable enough from the competition that clients will go out of their way to buy. It has to be something they want and need. Research your targeted client base and build a strong product.

3. Develop a sustainable business model

Facing bankruptcy, Tom ponders why his strategy didn't last: "They say you gotta spend money to make money. I don't know what went wrong: we spent all our money!" Entertainment 720 failed because it didn't produce a long-term strategy that would yield steady profit and generate a strong client base. A sustainable business model requires a detailed budget plan and clearly-defined goals. Dedication and perseverance are also needed to make sure that model is followed and developed over time.

In the latest episode, Tom starts to consider many of these lessons. Dismayed over the negative direction of his business, he personally creates a complimentary promotional video for former boss Leslie Knope who is running for the mayor's office. The video is beautiful and it brings Leslie to tears. In this scene, we see the real value of Tom's skills. He can certainly produce great content and in the end he may yet learn, like many entrepreneurs do, that dedicated planning and hard work are the ultimate ingredients to a great, long-lasting business.