Business: Old School vs. New School

As we all know everything has changed since the financial collapse of 2008, but how exactly have businesses changed?  I'm going to break it down to its simplest form in this "old school vs. new school" post.   Alright, here we go! (seasonally appropriate colors are a coincidence)

Old school: Profits above everything else.  New school: Triple-bottom line (Economic, Environment, Social).

Old school: Keep business units separate. New school: Integrate cross-functional teams.

Old school: Large capital investments (infrastructure, people, resources, assets, etc.). New school: Bootstrap.

Old school: Pleasing shareholders is the be-all-end-all. New school: Equally pleasing shareholders and stakeholders.

Old school: Very few industry players. New school: Ultra-competitive across industry.

Old school: Focus on short-term goals and gains. New school: Focus on long-term sustainability.

Old school: Put all eggs in one basket. New school: Have multiple baskets.

Old school: Productivity measured by how long/how many hours worked. New school: Productivity measured by how much you get done.

Old school: When facing declining profits -- cut, cut, cut, no matter what (mostly employees). New school: Do what you can to keep the team in place.

Old school: Vertical hierarchical structure. New school: Horizontal organizational structure.

Old school: Money flows up to executives at the expense of employees. New school: Money still flows up, but in a more balanced way.

Old school: High barriers of entry. New school: Low barriers of entry.

Old school: Control of consumer behavior. New school: Consumers have the power.

Old school: Cold calls. New School: Social Media.

Old school: Huge slow moving entities. New school: Lean and agile.

Old school: Mimic successful traditional business models. New school: Disrupt.

Old school: Move slowly when making business decisions. New school: Adjust and implement on the fly.

Old school: Managers and Execs have all the power. New school: employee empowerment.

Old school: Traditional Advertisements (TV, Print, Billboards, etc.). New school: Social Media, Blogs, Online videos, Mobile, Podcasts, etc.

Old school: Power/Control economy (control every aspect of business). New school: Sharing economy.

Old school: Heavy investment in human capital. New school: Automate.

Old school: Cubicles. New school: Open.

Old school: Work harder. New school: Work smarter.

There are definitely more differences between businesses of today vs those of 10, 20, 40 years ago; however, these are the main ones I could think of off the top.  Obviously, each should be defined further but that can be done by researching the internet, going to a top business school, or hiring a consultant.  I do understand that few things in business still remain: bring in more than you spend, bottom line, good/great leaders, innovation, customer service -- to name a few.

If you have any others that I have missed, feel free to list in the comments section.  I'm curious to hear what others think.

Until next time.

ModernManTellsAll

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Entrepreneur: Be Disruptive

It has been well documented that it is easier now more than ever to start a business.  I hope you get as excited as I do when I read that sentence.  The ease of starting a business now is due to the evolution of technology, its efficiency and effectiveness, increased reach, and affordability.  Think about all the apps and websites out there that offer business management tools and creative interfaces that are user-friendly and very affordable, sometimes even FREE.  Moreover, the quality of these services and products are getting closer and closer to what a professional accountant or graphic designer would charge premium dollars to execute.  So what does that mean? Start a business NOW!? Well not exactly, as the barriers of entry fall, the more competitors enter the market, the lower the profit margins become, the more a company has to innovate and disrupt.

Disruption and innovation have always been essential for new companies entering an established market place with many competitors and industry leaders.  The only difference now is that everyone and anyone can start a business and enter a market place; no matter the location, access to capital, or industry experience.  However, just because it is easy to start a business does not mean you should, or  for that matter, if you do it will be successful, make you rich, etc.  I believe it is the opposite.  Yes it's easier, and you can start and run a global business from the comfort of your own home, but that just means there are more people doing it and most likely failing at it.

When you enter an established market place it is more important, now more than ever, to come in and make a splash, shake things up, and make a name for yourself as quickly as possible.  Disruption is, in my opinion, the most important attribute any SMB or Start-up should posses.  By definition disruption is a disturbance or problems that interrupt an event, activity, or process.  Therefore, as an entrepreneur that has an idea or wants to launch a business, the first things you should ask yourself is, how can I disturb and/or interrupt the existing market place.  How can I get my product/service out into the market place with the least amount of resources (capital, people, infrastructure, etc.)?  Without a disruptive plan starting and launching a business can be difficult, far more difficult than with a plan to disrupt the market.  Think about it, you want to start a car/ride sharing business but plan on replicating the existing taxi and limo service business models.  What do you think your chances are in capturing even a fraction of a percent of market share?  I'd say slim to none.  These services have been in existence for 50 plus years, and are entrenched in every major city with strong unions and political leverage.

So what do you do?  You disrupt the market, interrupt the normal way of doing business.  You innovate.  You change the way things are done.  You let the competition know you are for real.  You capture as much market share as you can, and quickly!  Look at what Uber and Lyft are doing.  They are now approaching the market leaders in this space, with the taxi and limo unions doing everything they can to stop them, or at least slow them down.  They leveraged technology to disrupt an inefficient, archaic business model, which is happening across many long established industries: Music, Entertainment, Razors, Higher Education, Business Management Services, Financial, Automotive, etc.  Disruption is happening everywhere and it is only going to continue.  It is essentially the new economy where entrepreneurs, SMBs, and Multi-Nationals are in a race to see who can shake up the market place, drive revenues, and become/remain market leaders.

With that said, should you start a business?  I can't say for sure as that is up to you.  However, if you do, make sure you have a disruptive plan in place from the jump.  Do not start a business thinking you'll be able to compete using traditional methods, business models, and techniques.  Go in and disrupt the market place, shake things up, challenge the norm, innovate, and be unique!

As always, I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts on this topic.

If you are in need of any business and/or marketing consultation, feel free to shoot me a brief introduction note at: modernbizstraetgy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModernManTellsAll

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Business: You don't know my Industry

The misconception business owners have when dealing with consultants is the fact that they believe since said consultant does not work in their industry they cannot help them fix the problems that exist.  This may have been true ten, twenty, thirty, fifty years ago, however, in today's world, where everything/everyone is connected, information is easily accessible, the industry and competition can be researched and analyzed effectively and quickly; not having worked in an industry is irrelevant.  Furthermore, business is business and competition is competition, as long as thorough research has been conducted a consultant, or a competent consultant for that matter, should be able to identify the primary issues a company is having within two or three weeks, and design and implement a strategy a few weeks thereafter.  To be honest, in my experience the major issues that the majority of SMBs/Start-ups that I meet with and consult for are very similar with minor variances according to the industry.  For the most part the issues stem from fundamental business practices and processes: Lack of organization, lack of clearly defined goals (leadership), lack of data tracking, and lack of communication.

As you can see, these common issues have absolutely nothing to do with a particular industry or business.  The problem with a SMB or start-up that is experiencing growth, which is a great thing, is their resources get drained and everyone is consumed in the day-to-day and forget about or failed to implement the fundamental foundation of any successful business; and by the time a consultant is needed, problems have compounded to a point where a company can become essentially paralyzed.  That said, a professional, well-trained business consultant could easily rectify these issues rather quickly.  As long as the company leaders are in agreement, upfront and honest with the issues, and are willing to commit to a well-defined plan/strategy, things can turn around and the proper processes can be in place.  Just don't use the excuse of you do not know the industry, as that is of no use to anyone.

In my experience companies that are able to implement basic business processes prior to launch or within the initial launch phase are the most successful and are able to accelerate growth rather quickly.  I know the fun/glamorous part of running a SMB or start-up is working on something you are passionate about and with a team of people who share that passion; however, that high will only last so long before the company hits a road block (e.g. runs out of money).  As much as we all love to be in the trenches and creating something new and of value, without capital investments the product/service will not make it to market, or if it does the lifespan will be limited.

My advice to anyone in this position is to take the time to design and implement fundamental business processes prior to launch -- even before hiring.  At least have an outline of what processes are ideal for your company, and then hire someone to design and implement them.  Don't make the mistake of having the mindset of we'll fix it later, as it may be too late or you won't have the capital to allocate towards professional consultation.  There are many ways a consultant can benefit your SMB or start-up no matter what phase your company is in, all you have to do is find the right one and trust that they have the background and skill-set to get the job done!

As always, I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts on this topic.

If you are in need of any business and/or marketing consultation, feel free to shoot me a brief introduction note at: modernbizstraetgy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModernManTellsAll

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Business/Marketing/Lifestyle: Take risks...

I know, I know. This is contrary to what your (and my) mom taught you and probably tells you to this day, but I'm going to tell you -- take RISKS! Take risks in business, in marketing, in life, and everywhere in-between. I'm not saying do something completely stupid, and let's say, jump off a sheer cliff with out a parachute or safety apparatus, or drive 100mph down the 101. I'm saying take (calculated) risks, get out of your comfort zone, grow, learn, meet people, and do it while you can. Do it before getting out of bed to fast or walking to the bathroom unassisted becomes a risk. I am being a bit humorous here, but it's true, life moves fast and if you ask your grandparents, or parents for that matter, what they regret the most, more often than not it's the things they didn't do. So, the moral of this (blog) story is to take risks, assess the situation, do a thorough analysis -- is it worth it? What are the benefits? What are the costs and potential consequences? What is the likelihood of coming out on top? Whatever you do, don't become complacent -- keep moving forward, innovate, disrupt, become a better person, more informed, more educated -- be the best at what you do, and who you are.

Take risks in Business:

It is a known fact that we are now operating in a global economy -- competition is fierce, buyer behavior has changed, large corporations no longer have a dominant grip on the market, technology is affordable and accessible to all, I can go on and on. So how does a company (maybe yours) standout and capture a profitable share of the market? By taking risks! No longer is the "old way" of doing business a viable option. Businesses must step out of their comfort zone and become innovators and disruptors. Innovation does not have to be some radical, technological advancement, nor does it have to come with a significant amount of capital investments. It can be as simple as offering a product/service in a better more efficient way than the competition; or it can be a minor incremental innovation to an existing product/service. It can also be a change in company culture or something as simple as hiring an individual that does not necessarily have the same background as everyone else -- diversification. Taking risks in business should always be calculated and well thought out through thorough market research and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. A few companies that either are or have taken significant risks are: Tesla, Virgin, Zappos, Apple (Steve Jobs era), and Netflix; all of which have or are changing the way we think and interact in our day-to-day lives. The two major things that they all have in common are great leaders that believe in what they are doing and have entrenched a culture that curates this behavior. After all, consumers really have no idea what they want.

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." ~ Henry Ford

Take risks in Marketing:

I have written about how to standout amongst the marketing clutter in the past, however, having just read the Fast Company article "This Company's Brilliantly Sassy Branding Strategy Makes Yours Look Sad And Boring" by Elizabeth Segran, I was inspired to write about the importance of taking risks, particularly in/with Marketing. The article goes into the branding strategy of a privately owned small business called, Manhattan Mini Storage (MMS), and how their messaging is pushing boundaries to the point where it can sometimes be seen as offensive to certain demographics. It is really a great read, and aspiring to a marketing guru such as myself.

The majority of brands (small and large) are afraid to take a chance and go with out of the box messaging to attract attention and capture market share. In reality, this strategy is ideal in today's super saturated and hyper digital world, where we (the consumer) are exposed to 1000s of messages/posts a day! So you offend some people that are not in your target demographic -- no big deal, as your target will appreciate your honesty and more often than not, will become even more loyal to your brand. After all, even the bad press will attract others in your target market that otherwise may not be aware of your product/service, like myself as I have never heard of MMS. This is especially true in today's polarized world. Take a stand for what you believe in and let people know what your brand is about, be honest, push some boundaries, shake things up, and most importantly, OWN IT.

Those of us in California know all about the Carl's Jr. commercials. They pretty much said, screw it, everyone else is pushing towards the health conscious movement, with conservative, family oriented content -- not Carl's Jr. They are going right for the 18 - 30 year old male demographic, with no shame -- head down and charging. Is it working? Can't say for sure, however, I would bet if it is working, it is solely due to the fact that they have committed to it and are owning it.

Take risks in Life:

The same principals for taking risks in business and marketing can be applied to life. Let's face it life is short! If you feel as if you need a change and are contemplating your decision, evaluate the positives and negatives, and if they weigh out -- do it! Yes, it can be overwhelming or scary at first, leaving your friends and family behind, etc. However, if you don't take that risk and go all in, chances are you'll regret it. If you don't believe me, ask your elders, I guarantee they will say go for it! There are countless articles out there, blogs, etc., that speak on this so I'm not going to elaborate further, but it is a fact. Risks in life can be anything as simple as going after the girl you want, telling someone how you really feel, getting a new pair of glasses, meeting new people, trying a new food to more risky: a career change (not an easy decision, believe me), furthering your education (best thing I've done), moving out of your hometown (not that bad), skydiving (on the agenda), starting your own business (stay tuned), having kids (maybe), etc. Bottom line is, when you make the decision to take the risk, go for it, jump in with both feet and give it all you got -- things have a way of working out as long as you commit to it. I'm not sure who says this (I could look it up but...), "You get out of life what you put into it."

As always, I'd love to hear your comments on this topic, so please leave comments if you desire.

PS - If you are in need of any Business and Marketing consultation for your small to mid-sized business/start-up feel free to shoot me an email at: modernbizstrategy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModerManTellsAll

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Entrepreneur: Launching a Business

Having been a part of numerous startups over my career in various industries, and having known and knowing close friends, family members, and business associates that have made the leap and taken the risk of starting their own businesses, I wanted to share a few things that I feel are very important to get right from the jump.

1) Write a business plan

This is a BIG one, yet is rarely executed properly, if it's even done at all. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners feel they have a great idea for a new product/service, feel they can take an existing product/service and do it better than what is currently on the market, or have an incremental innovation to an existing product/service that will enhance the consumer experience and fulfill a need. In fact, these reasons are why most businesses and startups are launched, however, 3 out of 4 will fail! That is an extraordinary high percentage. Yes, some will fail due to lack of capital funding and others will fail by burning through capital far too quickly, and some will fail from lack of leadership, direction, and vision. Regardless of the reason, a lack of a well thought out business plan is more often than not at the root of the problem.

Writing a business plan forces the business owner to carefully analyze why they are starting a business, who their competitors are, what is the market for the product or service, economic climate, etc., prior to investing all that time and money, which is needed to get a business off the ground. Many people I have met with, and worked for actually, will for-go writing a business plan all together, claiming they have it all in their heads; they are purely reacting to scenarios day-to-day. Writing a business plan is a proactive approach as it will help streamline your thoughts, make adjustments prior to launch, enable a clear vision for the business, enable you to seek and procure investors, heck, it may even force you to re-evaluate your decision to start a company all together.

I would suggest consulting with someone who is well-versed in writing a business plan(s) and/or launching startups, even if it may be seen as a costly expense as it will no doubt save you money in the long run and moving forward. If you do not know anyone to consult with, or if you find it to be too costly there are many websites that offer business plan templates for a limited one-time fee, some may even be found online for free. However, I would be cautious of anything that is free as many times in life you get what you pay for.

2) Determine your target market(s) and position your brand accordingly

This one is all too common as well. You have a great product/service that is ready for market, perfect let's start making some money! Right?? Well, of course one wants to make money, but who exactly are you selling to? A small business or startup (typically) does not have the resources to just get a company off the ground and start selling to anyone and everyone that is ready (or not) to buy. Furthermore, marketing can be an expensive business unit, particularly without a clear target market(s), as much will be wasted (time and money) while you're testing to see who is going to be a viable customer for your business. Determining your target market(s) should be done prior to launch, again a proactive approach, not a reactive one.

Once your target market(s) have been identified, it is extremely important to position your brand accordingly. What do I mean by this? Well, let's say you have targeted the high-end, high-quality coffee consumer market - essentially competing with Starbucks. This would not be an easy task, even with a well-thought out business plan and preparation; however, it could be done with a focused strategy. Therefore, when you position your brand on the high-end, high-quality market, all of your branding and marketing should be targeted as such. You want to go full-bore and start capturing market share in that space immediately. Far too often I have seen companies without a defined target market and brand positioning waste valuable resources at a fast-clip by trying to serve any and all markets, even to a market that would never pay $2 for a cup of "drip" coffee or $5+ on an "Orange Mocha Frappuccino" (couldn't resist the Zoolander reference).

3) Start tracking financial (costs, expenses, revenues) and sales data immediately

Many new (and sometimes experienced) entrepreneurs and small business owners fail to do this as they just jump right in and start producing and selling their product/service. I am all for initiative and motivation as that is what is going to enable your company to survive and thrive, however, prior to launching I'd recommend putting the data tracking applications in place. This can be accomplished through the use of Excel, Quickbooks, Quicken, or any other new app/software that is out there in the market place (there are a lot of them). Again, this may seem like an obvious implementation, but you'd be surprised how many business fail to have this in place, or have started it but stopped for whatever reason, too busy, lack of spreadsheet knowledge, I'll do it later, etc.

The problem with failing to track financial and sales data is that as it accumulates and business operations pick up (hopefully), the harder it is to go back and input the data. Furthermore, having all your data tracked will enable you to compare data from previous days/weeks/months, forecast sales, procure more capital in the future, find partners and investors, identify issues, etc. In today's technological world financial tracking and data storage is highly accessible and in many cases fairly user-friendly. Once again, I'd recommend consulting with a professional on this matter, at least initially to setup the templates.

Obviously there are many other factors that go into launching a business, many of which have been posted in other posts on LinkedIn. However, I feel these 3 are major factors to consider prior to launching a business and in the long run save you a lot of time, money, and headaches moving forward.

As always, I'd love to hear your comments on this topic, so please leave comments if you desire.

PS - If you are in need of any Business and Marketing consultation for your small to mid-sized business/start-up feel free to shoot me an email at: modernbizstrategy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModernManTellsAll

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Marketing: 3 most common digital marketing mistakes

The 3 most common digital marketing mistakes...

Ah yes, it's that time again.  With digital marketing becoming more of a necessity than a "fad," I thought I'd share my opinion/observations on the three most common mistakes I see across the digital landscape and with clients and associates.

1) Duplicate and redundant content across all channels

I have this listed as number one for two reasons: For one, it is probably the most common.  And two, it drives me nuts to see this.  Think about it, with 3rd party apps like Hootsuite, SpreadSocial, and SocialOomph scheduling and coordinating posts is super easy, and sometimes too easy as a social media manager or operations manager can schedule multiple tweets for the week and assign the same posts across all channels (not recommended).  This makes sense right??  Spread our message to as many people as we can across all channels efficiently...that's the name of the game.  Well, no, not really.  All of the social media channels have a different communication and interaction method, and many times, a completely different demographic.   Therefore, duplicating the same message across all social channels could in fact be hindering your brand instead of growing it.  Many social media users are extremely educated and versed in the proper communication and interaction methods/techniques and can quickly tell what your company is doing, and many times turn them off all together.  It actually portrays laziness as well, almost as if you don't want to take the time and don't really care about your product/service.  So take the time to properly communicate, promote, and engage across all social channels.  If you're limited on time and resources then narrow your channels down to one or two.

2) Poor grammar 

Poor grammar, the ultimate brand killer.  If there's one thing we've learned over the last few years, it's the fact that one or two mistakes on social media can absolutely damage your brand, and it can be very hard to bring back the loyalty.  I'm not going to tell you what you should or should not post as far as graphic content (American Airlines), politics, religion, etc. as that is obvious.  What I do want to address is the use of poor grammar.  I get that you only have a certain amount of characters to get your message across; however that should not mean you have to sacrifice proper grammar.  Yes, it forces you to be far more creative with your writing, which is a good thing; All the more reason to find a qualified digital marketing expert to communicate this message properly.  I understand that mistakes are made from time to time, as many of us get so busy and our attention is not fully focused on our social media posts; heck, I'm sure you can find a few grammar mistakes on this blog (I am not perfect).  However, when these mistakes are constantly happening you will discredit your brand and portray a lack of professionalism and commitment to stand behind your product/service.

3) Buying followers and likes

OK, I get it you want more followers.  This actually used to be a lot more common two or so years ago, however, I still see this happening with some smaller companies that I meet with, they have 1000s of followers on Facebook and/or Twitter, and my first reaction is, WOW, that's great!  Then I'll ask questions such as: How are your sales from these channels? How much is your website traffic increasing monthly? What is your ROI?  Once I get the answer, which is most common, none or very little.  My next step is to analyze the social media channels and see how engaged their followers are; are there a lot of likes and shares, comments, etc.  Typically the answer is no.  If you have a few thousand followers and you're posting content regularly, you should, by default have some interactions happening.  That is if your followers are a part of your target demographic and actually invested in your message: your brand and your product/service.  If they are not, then those thousands of followers mind as well be one.  That said, not all is lost as the reality is, if you have that many followers it is that much easier to find and engage, new, real, potential customers and attract them to your social media pages organically.

So there you have it, the 3 most common digital marketing mistakes I have come across over the last few years.  The best advice I can give is to pay attention to what you are posting, what you're followers are saying, and where your content is being distributed.

As always, I'd love to hear your comments on this topic, so please leave comments if you desire.

PS - If you are in need of any Business and Marketing consultation for your small to mid-sized business/start-up feel free to shoot me an email at: modernbizstrategy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModernManTellsAll

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