When it comes to their growth strategy, most entrepreneurs have some variation on the same theme: produce a good or service, market it, and supply that good or service to as many people in as big of a geographical area as possible. It’s called organic growth, and it’s a great strategy–but it also has its limits. There is a point in the lifecycle of every business where the company has three choices for continued growth: build, borrow, or buy. A new book out Continue reading
Entrepreneurs: One with the Spirit of Change
There seems to be a growing trend. The number of entrepreneurs is increasing. People, whose life are in an upheaval, discover that their real passions become the fuel that drives their work. This work becomes their source of revenue. There are several reasons for this:
- Jobs, thought to be stable careers, are no longer jobs to be counted on for life. Continue reading
Collaboration in Small Business: Who Needs It?
Chances are the answer to the above question is easy: we all do. However, what exactly is the benefit of having a business collaborator? Many of us just don’t like other people getting involved in our own business. Too many people having a say in how a business is run can slow efficiency and even detract from business quality. This does not include any personal frustrations from working with people with whom we simply do not like. But small business collaboration brings advantages to the table that make it worth the trouble. That’s why it’s so important to choose your business collaborators carefully.
A business collaboration is a relationship two or more businesses have with one another that benefit all involved. Continue reading
The Best Sales Strategy: Fix the Customer’s Problem
Whenever you go into a sales meeting, you are on the spot. Your goal is to explain why your prospect should use your company’s product (or service). The best way to convince them is through demonstration.
Demonstrating what your product can do for them is a great sales strategy. However, it’s even better if you can demonstrate how your product will fix this customer’s current problem. What is the pain that the customer is experiencing?
Defining the Customer’s Problem
Your goal is to help your customer. Your product must fulfill a need. Hopefully, this need has previously gone unfulfilled. But what exactly is that need and how will your product help? Continue reading
Business Partners, Joint Ventures and the Win-Win-Win Strategy
Most people are very familiar with the idea of “win-win” in the development of joint ventures. This way of thinking has helped push old world business owners into thinking about the benefits of helping their business partners as well as themselves.
To strengthen business relationships, you need to focus on what would benefit both parties. The result creates more of a unified force. Asking yourself how you can help your business partner will truly make a huge difference in the long-term stability of your venture. A good way to start a relationship is to ask both parties for their Conditions of Success (COS). Then everyone knows what is expected at the end for joint success.
Looking for Your Next Business Partner
You’re a talented and innovative thinker planning to launch a ground-floor venture. Should you go it alone or bring in a business partner?
As we mentioned in our earlier blog, “Is it Too Much to Ask for the Perfect Business Partner?” a number of business pairings throughout the years have turned into great successes. Primarily because of the skills and traits each partner brought to the pair. However, a lot had to do with the actual relationship between the individuals involved.
Not Everyone Should Be Your Partner
This seems like an obvious statement. However, Continue reading
3 Questions to Develop Your Channels of Distribution Strategy
When developing a new product or service, one of the first things to consider is how to get it to the end-user. Deciding on what channels of distribution to use is a very important business decision that must be made correctly. Using the wrong channels of distribution costs you money and depletes the value of your product.
1) How does the end-user want to buy?
To answer this, you’ll need to understand your customers and your relationship to them. How does your customer prefer to buy this product? Will they need customization or regular service? Maybe your customer needs other products or services to be able to use your product. Continue reading
If You’re an Entrepreneur, Only the Strong Survive – If You Have a Business Plan
Some entrepreneurs may disagree with this assessment; however, according to a 2009 MSNBC.com article, “Economic cycles are Darwinian, picking off weak companies and leaving survivors stronger.”
The good news is that the survivors often benefit as their competitors disappear. Unless, that is, you haven’t planned ahead.
Comprehensive Business Plan Vital Continue reading
Joint Ventures Must Be Mutually Beneficial
It’s hard to imagine peanut butter’s success without jelly and vice versa. Without the unique qualities of both these elements, the PB&J would have its anonymity. Like this staple sandwich, so many businesses are also making successful names for themselves through their wise joint ventures with other companies.
Choosing just the right partner, however, is just as important as selecting that special someone in your personal life. If you don’t find a genuine, natural fit, it could be disastrous to both your companies.
So, how then do you make a joint venture beneficial to your company? Continue reading
Collaboration – Tips for Better Presentations
If you are like me, then you have been forced to suffer through your share of presentations given by uninspired, uninterested and disorganized people. “I can do better than that. Much better!” One might say. But one might also find that when the time comes to collaborate on one’s own presentation, that creating an experience of oratory (plus visuals!) that will wake up the back row is more difficult than it might initially seem.
That being said, as I have already said, going into a business presentation, people are not necessarily expecting anything amazing – so use that to your advantage by providing the audience with something amazing. And here are a few ways to do so. Continue reading
Corporate Collaboration Leads to Global Sustainability
The traditional business paradigm encouraged companies to secure their assets by remaining isolated from other corporations. While businesses still must protect their products and designs, there is a sentiment today that appreciates the benefits that the world gains when all business subscribe to collaboration to solve global issues.
The catalyst for this shift is the fact that business collaboration is necessary in a socially sustainable world (from Mashable Social Media). The advent of the virtual world and the social media storm that ensued has demonstrated the revolutionary power that exists when people work together.
Certainly, businesses must operate with a certain level of autonomy Continue reading
Land a Sale by Tracking Sales Leads
Your small business exists because it has a product or service to sell. However, you can’t have a sale if you don’t have a buyer. And you can’t have a buyer if you don’t successfully generate and track sales leads.
What Exactly is a Sales Lead?
In general, a sales lead is a potential customer who previously indicated an interest in your product or service. They are not a customer…yet. Your job (or that of your sales reps) is to sway that individual or business so that they become your customer.
Seems like an easy enough task. Continue reading
Your Best Power Partners May be Right Down the Street
I came across a blog the other day written several years ago by Al Lautenslager for Entrepreneur.com.
He tells a story of walking into the dry cleaners and finding a $5-off coupon for the pizza joint a few doors away. Deciding to enjoy some pizza, he walks to the pizza place to redeem the coupon and there on the counter he finds a $5-off coupon for the dry cleaner. This might be called reciprocal marketing or, as Al suggests, fusion marketing. Whatever you call it, it makes sense.
Finding a power partner – Continue reading
How Collaboration Can Save Your Small Business
A small business starting up faces a lot of challenges, and many of those challenges are due to limited resources. Small businesses have to find creative ways to establish themselves as legitimate competition for their often much larger competitors, and somehow reach enough customers to not only maintain itself, but to grow as well. It’s a daunting situation, and according to a recent working paper from Harvard summarizes that it is harder for those just starting to succeed. But those that do succeed show an interesting trend in ideas: a lot of the success comes from some form of collaboration, either in the form of funding or in the form of ideas passed on to beginning entrepreneurs from their former employers. But collaboration can go much deeper and be much more fulfilling than that.
Kimber Lanning’s “Roosevelt Row” in Phoenix, AZ is one inspirational example of how Continue reading
Is it Too Much to Ask for the Perfect Business Partner?
Think of all the famous and successful business pairings there are and have been in the world. People like Ben and Jerry of ice cream fame or Warner Bros. moguls Sam, Jack, Albert, and Harry. There’s Bill Hewlett and David Packard; Richard and Maurice McDonald; and Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak from Apple. So what makes a perfect business partner?
According to the Forbes article, “What to Look for in a Business Partner,” writer Melanie Lindner suggests five necessary traits to make a business partnership work. Continue reading
9 New Steps for Managing Strategic Alliances That Work
In a recent press release, Hallmark, the world’s leading greeting card brand, announced a strategic alliance with Shutterfly Inc., a leading Internet-based digital photo site. The goal is to have “exclusive Hallmark-designed customizable cards featured on Shutterfly’s new personalized greeting card site, Treat.com.”
According to Investopedia.com, a strategic alliance is… Continue reading
Joint Ventures Are for Businesses of All Sizes
Successful businesses around the world understand the power of creating joint ventures to grow their business. Developing relationships with other companies gives you the ability to grow your revenues and has been used by corporate giants and small business owners. The principle works as it is based on strategic alliances.
What Is A Joint Venture?
A joint venture is essentially partnering with other businesses to create a partnership. Continue reading
Three Tips to Keeping Sales Growth Strong
When you first opened your doors for business, you were probably excited about the opportunity ahead. You had researched the market, talked to advisors, investigated financing, and made your dream come true.
Now it’s time to keep sales growth strong by taking the next step (or two) toward small business survival. Continue reading
Why Use A Sales Strategy to Ensure Success
As many people know, it can be very difficult to grow revenue for their company. Do you have the right sales strategy in place? Maybe you don’t even have a written strategy. Are sales growing as expected? Maybe you should double check your sales strategy or put one in place to guarantee your company continues to have some growth.
The first reason you should check your strategy is to ensure your entire sales team and the whole company Continue reading
Entrepreneurs Under 30 Willing to Take Risks – Shake the World
For the under-30 crowd, a career isn’t about graduating college and working for a Fortune 500 company anymore. It’s about finding a passion, usually involving social, economic, or environmental issues.
In the May 2012 The Tennessean article, “Young entrepreneurs blaze their own trail,” writer Duane Marstellar suggests that more and more young adults are becoming entrepreneurs for economic and personal reasons. Marstellar cites:
Joblessness among 18- to 29-year-olds nationally Continue reading