Every successful business
(1) creates or provides something of value that
(2) other people want or need
(3) at a price they’re willing to pay, in a way that
(4) satisfies the purchaser’s needs and expectations and
(5) provides the business sufficient revenue to make it worthwhile for the owners to continue operation.
That is an absolutely great definition – one that every startup needs to remember
As an entrepreneur, when you ask yourself how to grow your small business to the next level, you might at first think this is extremely difficult and get frustrated by the lack of possibilities. The reality is exactly the opposite – there are quite a few ways to do this and this article suggests a list of the kinds of things you can think about immediately. So let’s get started…
Here is a great list of free tools for the small business entrepreneur. The tools are for a variety of things entrepreneurs need all the time such as keeping track of finances, marketing tools, productivity and task management, social media and collaboration etc.
An extract from a web based article by Anita Campbell
Sooner or later, you will hear the word “brand”. So what exactly is branding and isn’t this something only large companies do? We know how multinationals like Coke, Pepsi, Nike and others spend large amounts of money to constantly remind us in innovative ways about their products. Does branding really matter for a an entrepreneurial start up or a small business…?
There are thousands of successful men and women who are where they are today because they once picked up a copy of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. When the last page of Think and Grow Rich is read, the hand that puts the book down on the table is a different hand. The man who then stands up and walks out into the world is a different, a changed man — the possessor of the unique knowledge that will enable him to turn dreams into reality, thoughts into things…
In order to develop and refine your value proposition, instead of agonizing over a first iteration for months, use the 3 P’s template that describes the kinds of questions to be addressed vis-vis your customers, your product/service and the market. This won’t remain static of course; the proposition has to be refined over time but at least you can get off to a good start.
Based on Ash Maurya’s Lean Canvas method of startup business models
The Lean Canvas is an adaptation from Osterwalds Business Model Canvas . There’s a clear delineation down the middle, on PRODUCT versus MARKET and here’s a brief description of each block and the order in which entrepreneurs need to think in order to put together a viable, practical business plan, on one page.
When you are writing a proposal to a client or presenting your offerings in front of a prospect, are you addressing the inevitable questions that customers ask -sometimes silent questions – as they read your proposal or listen to your pitch? If you are, you are doing what is called preemption, anticipating their concerns and possible objections and addressing them before these are voiced…
It is a given that before you start to market your startup and its products/services, you need to have a clear marketing strategy. You will need to spend some time to define the customer segment you are targeting, know the first – early adopter – clients you will go after, identify the problem you solve for them and describe how your solution is better than your competitors. The process that startups with a modest (or no) marketing budget generally need to follow is:
Based on an article by Susan Wojcicki, Google’s Senior Vice President of Advertising in 2011 and now the executive in-charge of YouTube, describing how Google stays innovative year after year.
The greatest innovations are the ones we take for granted, like light bulbs, refrigeration and penicillin. But in a world where the miraculous very quickly becomes common-place, how can a company, especially one as big as Google, maintain a spirit of innovation year after year? How does an organization keep moving forward without getting bogged down in the past? Nurturing a culture and spirit that allows for innovation is the key. Here are eight principles or pillars of innovation that Google uses to keep the innovation flame alight…
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