Everyone talks about creating an environment that encourages innovation, change, openness, new ideas, etc. In many cases this enthusiasm for innovation, however, ignores a number of powerful practices:
“If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!
Another is,
“We have always done it this way.“
We at Startup Connection believe in trying simple ideas and approaches that work to foster innovation: [Read more…]
I am constantly running into well intentioned and informed clients who ignore this simple advice:
“You can’t handle the truth.” – Jack Nicholson in a Few Good Men
This is especially true when clients are trying to identify target markets. Here is a perfect example,
I had a client who wanted to market a very complex and localized program to all 50 states. He was more worried about not serving potential customers than the minimal potential, high risks, high expenses, low efficiency, and probability of mistakes in the 20 states that made up only 10 % of the population. [Read more…]
There are lots of great tools, rules, and accountants to help businesses complete and analyze profits, sales, and costs. Unfortunately, this is an area where clients frequently throw out the baby with the bath water. They often fail to use Gross Margin Analysis. Most business people understand the basic rules surrounding Gross Margin. They just don’t execute them.
Gross profit calculations are best made by item, by category, by customer and many other variables, each of which may be critical to your success.
Gross profit—or “Gross Margin” is simply calculated by the following equation:
Gross Profit = (Sales – Costs) / Sales [Read more…]
In reviewing Internet Retailers, “2014 Top 500 Guide” there is tons of stuff that just keeps popping out that affects one’s marketing practices and potential. As important as we think the potential of the Internet is for business, we are actually underestimating its worth.
Below are just a few examples illustrating the Internet’s potential:
How come when I hear grandparents describe their grandchildren or parents post pictures of their kids on Facebook, the pride and descriptions are off the charts? For instance, a child’s first steps are frequently described or photographed as if it were ballet or a sports performance. When I read or listen to business plans, mission statements, or introductions to startup businesses, however, they frequently sound alike and do almost nothing to make the entrepreneur sound special. For example, what makes a business sound special when they use some of the following phrases: fair prices, well-constructed, trendy, top quality, and excellent customer service?
These are not much more than basic requirements to be in business. In contrast, below are two quotes that illustrate real pride: [Read more…]
Being a successful business entrepreneur requires being able to maintain a healthy balance between passion and reality – between the emotional reasons why you’re in business and the realities of carrying out the day-to-day tasks in getting the business off the ground and keeping it afloat. To put the odds of success more in your favor, it helps to think like a journalist who is trained early on to use the five “w”s and a “how framework”.
Who, what, where, when, why, and how.
Delving into these questions and answering them will help comprise the strategic underpinnings of your business and guide execution and operations. [Read more…]