Innovation and Entrepreneurship
by Paul Mobley, MBA
From the category archives:
Small Businesses are tough to grow. Mainly because you need to hire people and they naturally do things differently than you. So in order to have everyone new do things the same way as the founder you need to define the process. This is a tough thing to sit down and do. Often it will [...]
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We’ll it’s official, we were not in a recession in the first quarter of 2008! GDP numbers released today show growth of 0.6%. That’s better than expected macro economic data. But what does it mean for you and you’re small business. First of all, microeconomics (i.e. your business) is much different than macroeconomics. I know [...]
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Food for thought: “Successful people form the habit of doing what failures don’t like to do. They like the results they get by doing what they don’t necessarily enjoy.” – Earl NightengaleÂ
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The most effective way to provide a catalyst for innovation in your organization is to clearly define the roles of everyone on the team and the overall objective of the project but allow the strategy or method to grow organically from the interaction of the team. This will force your team to find innovative solutions [...]
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When starting a business you need to confirm that you have the resources and commitment to complete the startup process and get it to sustainability. Often people who have the ability to do development build their product or service but forget that this is only 1/3 of the battle. You also need sales and solid [...]
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Some small businesses generate a majority of their sales from referrals. If that’s true for your business … how many touch points are there in your interactions with customers that result in planting seeds or asking for referrals? When talking with your prospects for the first time do you mention that you get a majority [...]
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The initial viewpoint during the “.com era” was that the internet was the solution. It was hyped as changing everything about business and connectivity. Would you agree that it is important to connect with your customers and prospects on their terms? What is best for them? The answer to that question will vary depending on [...]
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A blog is an excellent way to develop a connection with the community, expand your network, and gives potential clients gives some background into your thinking, values, and style. I think on of the greatest benefits is that it’s a way of staying present in the mind of your clients, prospects, and industry associates. Most [...]
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Five qualities to seek when hiring creative talent: Receptiveness to direction. Professionals should be able to respond to feedback and describe how it has resulted in an improvement in their work. Integrity. Ethics are important. As them how they have handled past moral dilemmas. Business sense. Business objectives and ROI are the ideal framework for [...]
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“In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.” – Cassiu Longinus
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In the post Music Business Startups we talked about some strategies for success in the music business. Even if you’re not in the music business we can learn some examples from the innovative techniques that are being used to fuel growth. One great example is Jill Sobule who had a hit a few years back [...]
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The fact is that it costs millions of dollars to sell millions of units. If an artist can go Platinum without a label it is very impressive but not necessary. Success as an independent artist can be very different than on a major label. If you’ve been successful in getting people to sample your music [...]
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In the article, How Local Firms Beat Multinationals Sean Silverthorne provides some interesting tips about improving the competitive advantages of small businesses. One important thing to always remember is that sometimes your weaknesses are actually strengths. Being small means that you can be more nimble and responsive to opportunities. Being concentrated in one market means [...]
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Recently I was asked, “If you were to create an entirely new business model, what would be your take on some of the basic components of structure, purpose, methodology, etc.?” Honestly, I hate this question because it is a fools errand. To be successful in your business or non-profit then you have focus on the [...]
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Did you know that there are approximately 650,000 non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the U.S. who have completed the 501(c)3 process and have annual revenues of $25,000 or less? It’s also estimated that there are 120 new non-profits created each day. Combine that with the established NPOs who have less than 500 employees/volunteers and you have [...]
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It is sad that marketing and brand development is often only viewed as an expense (something that lowers profit). The truth is that these types of efforts would be better viewed as an investment rather than an expense. “One of our major assets never appears on the balance sheet: the brand names under which we [...]
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Your budget or marketing channels don’t matter! The reason that large companies are successful is because they focused on their brand experience. The most common thing that people associate with this is a logo, website, or collateral materials…but is goes much deeper than that. The brand experience includes everything from how you answer the phone [...]
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On Feb. 6, Jake Swearingen wrote an article for BNET that was excellent. He made the case for increased marketing expenditures during market downturns and backed it up with research data from Penn State. The study titled, Turning Adversity Into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off?, finds that “firms entering a recession [...]
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Before just jumping into advertising…you need to determine the type of experience that you want your users to have. Some businesses should never have advertising…for others it is a means of funding the operating costs of a service. TV is a good example, ABC doesn’t charge users a fee to watch their shows…but everyone knows [...]
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The amount and frequency of turn away business is often a factor of your positioning. Most companies will do work for anyone within their field. For example, a marketing company that will work with any client on any project. Or a growing property management business that is hungry for new clients so they engage with [...]
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