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/Entrepreneur: Do NOT cut corners

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned in my life is: Do not cut corners in anything you do that is of value to you, whether it is in business, relationships, or personal.  I can remember going through college (undergrad) and just coasting along -- essentially "cutting corners" -- not giving it 100% and thinking once I graduate things will just fall into place.  Yeah, well that is not how life works nor should it.  The same goes for business.  Let's say you want to start your own business or work for a company that is: A) just starting out or B) has been around for a while but is struggling to maintain a profit.  What do they all have in common (typically),  limited access to money, resources, and human capital, right?  So what is the typical answer to this issue?  Free work!  Free software! Free whatever!

In the modern, digital world we have these expectations that things should be free -- everything from information to education, tech-platforms, and applications.  In some instances this is true and many free pieces of information, technology and applications can be beneficial and useful when operating a business, and should be leveraged.  Some products/services that come to mind are: Wix.com, Google Docs/Drive, Skype, Zenefits, Social Media Channels (Hootsuite, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.),  Blogs, Dropbox -- there are many more either free or affordable platforms and software one can use to enhance their business operation and market penetration.  Someone can even take FREE classes online at MIT, Stanford, and Yale if they were feeling ambitious -- doesn't mean you'll get a degree from said school or even finish the class.  These are all good, positive and productive ways to cut costs and improve efficiency at the same time; however, there are areas where "cutting corners" in business can be a detriment, completely destroy what you sought out to build, and make all the hard work and time you've invested up to that point a waste.  Many of these examples of cutting corners have been commonplace over the last 30 or 40 years, but are no longer viable for various reasons.

The first of which is free employment or un-paid internships.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for the internship position and believe there can be value created for both the intern and the company as long as it is the right fit.  The right fit would be an intern that is passionate about the industry, wants to learn, grow, and contribute; work hard with the intention to further their career, build a valuable skill-set that cannot be learned in a classroom; and understands the outcome prior to starting (e.g. college credits, 3 month trial period, possible employment when internship is fulfilled, pay or no pay, etc.).  The company must be honest from the jump of their intentions, the duties expected to be performed, challenge critical thinking skills of the intern -- not just have them get coffee or take out the trash; communicate clearly its intentions, the duration, and the possible outcomes.  Nothing is worse than a company that offers an internship to a high-performing individual that is expecting to work for 3 months and then either be brought on full/part time (paid) or after the 3 months move on with a great learning experience and professional references.  I have a theory I like to promote to businesses that act unethically and manipulate free work to benefit themselves, and that is: If you cannot afford to pay someone what they are worth, or close to it, to perform their duties at a high-level (after discussed duration of internship is up) then you'll have to find someone else whom may or may not be as efficient and productive as the last, thus potentially wasting more time and money.  Or you'll have to perform the duties yourself, chances are you won't have the time nor the technological knowledge.  Or you can try to automate some of the tasks (costs more upfront).  If none of the above are feasible, it may be time to reevaluate your business model and ask yourself, why your company is failing to move forward and increase revenues and market share.  As the old saying goes, "It takes money to make money."

The second example of cutting corners in business that will most certainly end up costing you more in the long-run would be to not invest in your product/service offered.  In today's global market place, consumers are extremely informed, transparency is on the up-swing, competition is fierce, and everyone has a voice (social media).  What does this mean for businesses? Well, it means an inadequate products/services will not last nor will it be profitable, particularly when starting/launching a new product/service.  We all know about the endless recalls from major car manufactures from Toyota to GM, which can be viewed as cutting corners in the manufacturing costs; however, while it is still damaging to their brands, they have the longevity, capital, and loyalty to overcome something as catastrophic as recalling millions of cars.  This is not something a new start-up or SMB can sustain, as a matter of fact, the product/service should be your primary focus when building your business model, as it is the major factor that will separate you from your competitors and enable sustainable growth.   We've all seen, owned, or worked at a company where their mentality is to invest as little as possible into their product in order to maximize the salaries at the top.  Well, that may work in the short-term, however, in the long-term they are setting their businesses up to fail, and they most likely do within a few years, without an attempt to correct the quality of their product/service.  Bottom line, invest in quality, you will not be disappointed.

Another tried and true example of cutting corners in business that will most certainly end in demise at some point is to under pay your employees and/or not offer perks to supplement lack of salary.  As I have written in the past, the most valuable asset to a company, particularly a start-up or SMB is its team.   In a highly competitive work environment, competition for top-level talent is fierce and the ability of a company to attract and retain such talent is mandatory in order to remain competitive and innovative across all industries.  The age of technology has changed the way business gets done: increasing productivity and efficiency.  Let's face it; a highly efficient and competent individual can essentially perform the duties of 5 or more people from 10 or 20 years ago.  So how does a business owner retain and attract a high-level individual -- through either a high salary, perks, flexibility, equity, or a combination of.   When business owners fail to address/offer any of the aforementioned, they will experience a high turnover rate, inefficiencies in the the day-to-day operations, lack of motivated employees, the inability to attract and retain top performers, and the list goes on and on; all of which end up costing the company heavily in the long-term.  A truly sustainable and viable business should have no problem attracting and retaining the best talent possible, which is relevant to each company's specific needs.  Just to give a quick example: Let's say you have a new tech start-up and you are looking for a top programmer for your new app, the question you should be asking yourself is what can I offer to lure him/her away from Apple or Google?  I know I can't offer a salary anywhere close to Google or Apple, but maybe I can offer equity and flexibility?  Money is not the be all end all when it comes to job satisfaction, at least not to the extreme as in the '80s -- thinking "Wall Street".

Cutting corners may sound like a good idea in the short-term; however, the long-term outcomes are typically not positive and prove to be quite costly.  As a start-up entrepreneur or small to mid-sized business owner, it is important to understand your business, your competition, the macro/micro environment, and your long-term growth strategy.  The goal of your business should not be to make money, but to create value in the market place, provide superb customer service, and build the best team possible -- making money will come as a result.  It can even be wise to ask yourself, instead of where can I cut costs; what areas can I improve to make the business run more efficiently?  The old school way is to find areas to cut, the new school way is how to maximize efficiency and productivity.  Thanks technology!

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: Just because you use Google AdWords, Facebook, etc...

I've lost count of the amount of times I've heard companies and clients say: "We've used Google AdWords and/or Facebook and Twitter advertising in the past and it doesn't work."  Or they'll say: "Yes we are currently (or working with a third-party) utilizing Google AdWords, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., in our marketing/advertising campaigns, but if anything changes we'll be in contact."  Well, that's great!  You should be using one or more of these platforms, paid and/or organic, in some way or another, otherwise you are potentially missing out on a lucrative revenue stream, and at the very least, increasing brand awareness and loyalty.  However, just because you are or have used AdWords, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., does not mean you are maximizing their potential, in all reality chances are you are not.  Let's face it, these companies are for-profit and prefer the uneducated and misguided to use their services as it pads their bottom lines.  Think about it, if your ad does not appear on the first page Google or if your Facebook ads are not reaching your target market(s) you are essentially throwing your hard earned money at companies that are, or are close to being worth billions of dollars.  They actually count on the majority of users to blindly throw money at advertisements -- even if a company is allocating as little as $10/day, and there are 100s of 1000s doing so, the profits can be astronomical.  I'll spare you the math, however, if you multiply (10 x 1000 x 100 x the amount of days), you'll get the point.  Great business model to emulate if you can, btw!

The same is true for companies that are using a 3rd party vendor for months and/or years without seeing even a minimal increase in their ROI.  Granted after months/years, most companies will get the point and drop said vendor, but after how much capital has been lost?  Coupled with the fact that many of these 3rd party vendors, definitely not all as there are a lot of great ones, are out to get your money as well -- hitting or getting close to their numbers as the contract end-date nears.  And believe me, they are banking on the fact that the company is not versed in PPC campaigns and the various platforms.  Some companies have invested so much in their marketing/advertising campaigns, trusting the 3rd party vendor as being experts, only to go out of business.  Small to mid-sized businesses simply do not have the resources to sustain an unsuccessful marketing campaign -- in fact they rely on each calculated investment to provide incremental benefits at least in the short-term.  So what do you do?

For starters, companies must realize that these platforms, although logical and necessary, are extremely complex, with many variables and KPIs.  And often times work off one another, hence the integrated marketing campaign.   Secondly, as stated above, there are literally millions of companies, some of which are your competition, using these marketing/advertising platforms daily!  Obviously, their budgets will vary from dollars a day to 1,000s of dollars a day, but budget doesn't necessarily declare a winner.  Kind of intimidating, don't you think?  No wonder why so many companies will tell you AdWords, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., do not work, or they are a waste of money.  Or worse, they have live campaigns running with high impressions and low click-throughs and conversions -- low to no ROI, etc.  

When companies tell me these platforms do not work, my first reaction is, are/were you using it correctly?  To use a sports analogy: If I gave someone a baseball bat and told them to step-up to the batters box and take a few swings at a major league pitcher, chances are they are going to tell me it doesn't work. Well, I'd argue there's a lot of professionals that hit off these pitchers every single day with that same bat -- some better than others.  The same rules apply for your SEM campaign, just because everyone has access to the same tools doesn't mean everyone can hit it out of the park.

The moral of the story is: Just because you use Google AdWords, Facebook Advertising, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc., doesn't mean you are using it properly and effectively.  And it most certainly doesn't mean it doesn't work!  As a matter of fact it does, and many company's are taking full advantage of it.  And, no, you do not need to have an enormous marketing budget, all you need is a trained professional that understands the dance between analytics and messaging, and how the entire campaign works as one, not individually.

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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Lifestyle: Manage your time...

This is an open letter to all the horrible time managers out there...please take the initiative and manage your time, because it affects all of us!

All right, this is going to brief but hopefully informative and reflective. How many of you out there have been victims of a horrible time manager, or are one? (show of hands) I see about half of the crowd has raised their hands (hahaha).

I get it, we all have a lot going on in today's hyper fast, ultra digital world. We have our physical life and well-being to attend to and our virtual life, which is slowly creeping up on the physical, but not there yet. So we may be late to a meeting, date, friends birthday, wedding, etc., but why?

If the reason is: There was a horrible accident. I got lost. I was on the phone with my mom (who lives in another state/country). I ran out of gas, not a good one but acceptable (unless it happens more than once), etc. You get the picture. There are some legitimate excuses, however, for the most part being late is a product of poor time management.

I know it may sound "parental" in a way, at least my mom says this all the time; "You should leave early enough to prepare for traffic and/or accidents," especially when leaving for an interview, important work meeting, pretty much anything business related as social situations are allowed some leeway by default.

What I have come to realize as my life has gotten busier and busier, and as I've grown into a responsible man (thanks mom), is the fact that my time is valuable as is everyone's. If the meeting is at noon be there at noon (at least) or even better get there 10-15 minutes early. If you say let's meet at 3pm and you can't get there at 3pm, let everyone else know, preferably at least 30 minutes or an hour before. After all, everyone is busy, whether they are busy being productive that is another story.

"Better three hours too soon, than one minute too late." ~ William Shakespeare

Technology is supposed to make our lives that much easier, not harder. There are tons of apps out there that can help you manage your time and tasks, set reminders, set alarms, workout timers, monitor traffic conditions, estimated time of travel, etc. All there to make you more efficient and productive. Let's not forget the countless ways to communicate: text, social media, email, a PHONE call, so let's try and use it people.

Side note: The new iPhone comes out today and iOS 8, both of which have applications to help with time management.

Salutations,

Nicholas

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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Entrepreneur: Most valuable asset

Being an Entrepreneur or a small business owner is not for everyone, nor is it an easy thing to do.  If you ask 100 people what they would like to do with their lives, as far as who to work for/with (if they had a choice), over 75% would say for themselves.  Well, as we all know the majority of people do not become entrepreneurs or small business owners, although the numbers are higher than they've ever been due to economic reasons and the advancements of technology, which have made it easier and more affordable than ever to start and grow a business (if you have a well-defined plan and understand how business works).  According to Forbes, nearly 13% of American adults are involved in startups in 2012 (record high), and nearly 400 million entrepreneurs world-wide (54 countries).  These numbers are great news for the future of the global economy, not to mention the fact that entrepreneurs are ranked as some of the happiest people on the earth.  Do keep in mind that there is a difference between a small business owner and an entrepreneur, just because you work for yourself does not mean you are an entrepreneur.  That is another topic for a separate blog post.

So with that in mind, let's continue on to the topic of this blog post, "Most Valuable Asset".  What I'm saying here is: What is the most valuable asset to an entrepreneur or a small business owner, other than the obvious, capital, of course.  First, let's breakdown a typical scenario that virtually every entrepreneur or small business owner is in, or has been in at one point in time.  Typically a small business or entrepreneurial startup has access to limited resources, including people.  Most of the day-to-day operational duties would be/are handled by the owner or owner(s), with very little time to do anything else.  An entrepreneur or small business owner will work 6/7 days a week and any where from 12 to 18 hours a day.  Some of you just made a face as if your stomach just dropped, yes, this is true and necessary for the business to thrive and grow into a mature entity.  However, no need to feel sorry for these risk takers, as the long hours are typically well worth it for the sole reason that entrepreneurs usually love what they do and would rather be doing nothing else but running their business.

Now that we have a general overview of what it's like to be an entrepreneur/small business owner, what is their most valuable asset (other than capital)?  As stated above, an entrepreneurial enterprise typically will have limited access to resources, particularly people/employees, which brings me to the point I am trying to make, people are your most valuable asset.  And it's not just people in general, it's high quality people; people that understand what it's like to run a small business or startup - "go-getters" as they say.  It's not like a corporate gig where you work in one department and have one or two basic job duties and you work 9 to 5.  No, a typical employee at a startup will easily have five or more duties on a day-to-day basis.  Much of the time these duties will range from low-level intern/entry level type work, data entry, coffee, research, answer phones, etc.; to executing business / marketing plans, financial forecasting, business development, operations management, ordering supplies, traveling, etc., on top of working 12 - 16 hour days.  Sound fun?  Well, if so I'd recommend finding a startup or starting your own business.

My point here is this, not just anyone can fill these positions.  As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you are only as strong as your support (team) staff, whether it be 1 or 2 people or 5 or 6, you need high quality, motivated, intelligent, tech-savvy, diverse, individuals.  People that can multitask and add valuable input everyday, all day.  People that can think outside of the box and create new operational processes or marketing techniques and implement them on the fly.  This is your most valuable asset (people), so you better make sure they are appreciated and taken care of - even before your own needs are met, because once you lose a good one it is extremely hard to replace them - not to mention the loss in productivity, capital, and potential revenue over time.

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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