Had an interesting conversation with Jennifer, an acquaintance and fundraiser for a large non-profit. She really liked my approach to business strategy development and thought my project portfolio was interesting. She also had some really interesting isights into funding new ventures - go after young technology-based employees. Fascinating approach that she backed up with a story about an investment her son made in Silicon Valley that I had to write about. But first some history.
In the early days of coffee shops, that soon became teashops, a small cafe in a shipping district of London noticed they had a lot of ship's captains seeking insurance that drew a lot of insurance agents into the shop. Being a good marketer, the owner of the coffee shop began posting a list of ships, cargos, and captains, along with insurance needs on his wall. Business boomed and he noticed a need for a third party to negotiate the contracts and the waiters quickly became skilled brokers. Coffee and tea soon became a distraction to the real business, insurance brokerage. Today, when visiting Lloyd's of London, you still meet with a waiter and not a broker.
Back to our story, Jennifer described how young, unattached and over-paid developers would congregate at coffee shops in the valley where they invariably would discuss new ventures they were working on or heard of and, of course, the cash requirements to launch. The owners almost daily noticed tens of thousands of dollars being pooled for exciting ventures. Like Mr Lloyd nearly three hundred years earlier, the coffee shop owners began to invest and broker deals and opened two additional shops for that purpose. Jennifer's son invested in the second shop. The owners didn't need an investor for the third shop.
Lesson for entrepreneurs everywhere:
1. Move to Cali
2. Pitch young folks who know other young folks that can pool resources. These folks are capable of dropping a few bucks without sacrifice and tend to be more future focused than older folks. They'll invest in a deal that might take a decade to make them uber rich.
3. Young tech savvy investors can contribute to your business and are super connected marketers
Friday, November 21, 2014
Older Entrepreneurs in America
At 25, working as an oil industry paleontologist, I was offered a chance to invest in an oil well that a geology school buddy and wildcatter was drilling. It was only $7,000 for a potential 12 feet of pay and substantial returns. I looked over the science and invested immediately. A few days later, the well not only hit the 12 feet, but another 20 feet in addition. I was buying a house with that $7,000 investment! The next morning, unfortunately, my buddy called with the bad news. The well was tight, that is the oil couldn't be recovered and I lost my investment.
No big deal, I was young, earning cash, and had no dependents or heavy debts of any kind. I asked my buddy to let me know if another play came available. I had time to not only recover, but do it again.
Fast forward to August 28th, 2005 at age 45. After shuttering my paleontological consulting firm, due to an industry downturn, I had just literally shuttered my new tea and spice business, profitable after only 12 months in business, preparing to weather Hurricane Katrina. Twenty four hours later, I was ruined, like the city. What was I to do, aged 45. Did I have time to lose at this age.
Turns out I did. I reapplied my small business expertise, my consulting expertise and knowledge of species competition into a business strategy consulting firm that focused on competitive analysis. It wasn't easy. There was a bankruptcy and a MS degree in Technology Commercialization earned along the way. But, unlike in many other nations, I wasn't punished for failing and recovered. And I'm looking forward to my next endeavor that launches next Spring and promises to earn me a bundle - again.
Critical at any age, is understanding the entrepreneurial process to avoid wasting time and money. GJC Business Strategy Consulting is dedicated to helping you successfully navigate through your next venture - at any age.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Startups Need Collaborators Not Capital
Creating a business plan to raise capital is a great growth strategy for a new and expanding business. But it's nearly impossible for a startup. Its just too risky an investment for traditional cash investors. A much better strategy is a collaboration with a partner who could benefit from your business and will eliminate or greatly reduce your need for cash.
Artists, for example, have placed their work in cafes to eliminate the cost of a private gallery. The cafes get zero cost decorations. If it's a good collaboration, the art will coordinate with the cafes branding. And by splitting profits of sale of the artwork, both parties benefits both.
This same sort of collaboration can apply to any industry. In fact, a business strategy, especially for cash strapped startups, should include the potential for a collaborator in the planning phase. Take the milk substitute "Silk". A lawsuit filed by the milk industry because of the similar name ended with a collaboration that had the milk industry acting as distributors for "Silk". The agreement not only saved the manufacturers of "Silk" the cost of establishing a distribution infrastructure but also provided a large established network for the product. Everyone won.
Lesson here is to consider all channels in your business from manufacture to retail distribution. Do you see any opportunities for your business and another? Do you have a unique skill or product that can compliment another business? Can you increase THEIR bottom line while reducing your costs or increasing your profits? And, critically, considering this before launching can guide your business strategy, including pricing, identifying the market segment to target, and identifying managerial systems to develop. The end result for the startup is faster market entry, more efficient operations and enhanced profits without a large cash expenditure.
Artists, for example, have placed their work in cafes to eliminate the cost of a private gallery. The cafes get zero cost decorations. If it's a good collaboration, the art will coordinate with the cafes branding. And by splitting profits of sale of the artwork, both parties benefits both.
This same sort of collaboration can apply to any industry. In fact, a business strategy, especially for cash strapped startups, should include the potential for a collaborator in the planning phase. Take the milk substitute "Silk". A lawsuit filed by the milk industry because of the similar name ended with a collaboration that had the milk industry acting as distributors for "Silk". The agreement not only saved the manufacturers of "Silk" the cost of establishing a distribution infrastructure but also provided a large established network for the product. Everyone won.
Lesson here is to consider all channels in your business from manufacture to retail distribution. Do you see any opportunities for your business and another? Do you have a unique skill or product that can compliment another business? Can you increase THEIR bottom line while reducing your costs or increasing your profits? And, critically, considering this before launching can guide your business strategy, including pricing, identifying the market segment to target, and identifying managerial systems to develop. The end result for the startup is faster market entry, more efficient operations and enhanced profits without a large cash expenditure.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Competitor Analysis
1. A competitor is not only Brand X, but, as detailed by Michael Porter of harvard, also a force such as buyer power, supplier power, potential for a cheaper replacement for your product, or a host of obstacles a new business will face due to scale, customer perception and so many more. Every new venture should work through these forces with a trained business strategist using Porter's 5 Competitive Forces Analysis. A simple PESTLE (political, economic, societal, Technological, Legal and Economic) analysis can identify other forces that might work with or against you. You don't want to develop a product that society won't buy (bell bottom jeans), the government won't let you sell (Marijuana), or can't be built (Steve Jobs waited for technology to catch up with his ipad concept).
2. A competitor analysis helps to identify core competencies and how they stack up against the competitors. This is crucial in finding your unique selling point, positioning your product and in identifying where your business needs help.
3. Related to the above, a competitor analysis can help identify potential collaborators. You may be able to position your new product to complement an potential competitor's or provide them with a new market. The lawsuit against SILK by the Milk industry ended when SILK agreed to have Milk wholesalers provide and profit from distribution of SILLK products.
4. A competitor analysis helps narrow down customer segment identification to enhance marketing and pricing strategies. Your competitors might be selling a similar or even better product, but have failed to identify the actual buyer. Is it mom or the teen aged daughter? Knowing this can really provide a leg up on the competition.
5. Most important, all of this will allow a business to craft a totally aligned and connected business strategy that can compete and identify Key Performance indicators that allow for enhanced reactive business management strategies.
These are key components of a competitive business strategy. Be sure to utilize the services of a non-prejudiced business strategist. It's easy to gloss over deficiencies in our children and our businesses. GJC Consulting can provide these services as a brief overview that will provide the entrepreneur with what he or she needs to perform the analysis alone or create the analysis and strategy for you. Operators standing by....
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Assad and ISIS
Strategy is strategy, be it business or political. That said, I'd like some reader opinion on the situation in Syria.
The Situation:
So no one likes Assad. He's been accused of everything from supporting terrorism to terrorizing and even using poison gas on his own people. However, he's not a complete idiot and has curtailed some of his actions in the wake of international pressure. But the international community has been reticent to actually provide substantial support to these rebels.
Enter ISIS:
Thanks to western ambivalence and the power vacuum it has created, ISIS has seized much of Syrian rebel-held territory and is now poised, according to Turkey, to seize a key Kurdish town in Syria. Syrian forces are standing by idly.
Here's where I see Assad coming out on top. If he waits long enough, ISIS will defeat the rebels for him. At this point, the international community will be forced to help Assad seize back rebel-held territory from ISIS.
Imagine that, the US and its allies helping Assad recapture rebel territory. Question is, what strategy would be in the United States' best interest?
The Situation:
So no one likes Assad. He's been accused of everything from supporting terrorism to terrorizing and even using poison gas on his own people. However, he's not a complete idiot and has curtailed some of his actions in the wake of international pressure. But the international community has been reticent to actually provide substantial support to these rebels.
Enter ISIS:
Thanks to western ambivalence and the power vacuum it has created, ISIS has seized much of Syrian rebel-held territory and is now poised, according to Turkey, to seize a key Kurdish town in Syria. Syrian forces are standing by idly.
Here's where I see Assad coming out on top. If he waits long enough, ISIS will defeat the rebels for him. At this point, the international community will be forced to help Assad seize back rebel-held territory from ISIS.
Imagine that, the US and its allies helping Assad recapture rebel territory. Question is, what strategy would be in the United States' best interest?
Friday, October 3, 2014
How to use Steampunk in Your Startup
I've posted about steampunk before, that wonderful Victorian World Re-envisioned sub-culture that has slowly pervaded mainstream society. It's worth noting for any marketer in any startup. I just wanted to clarify things a bit after my first post on the subject.
I'm not suggesting any new venture replace their lithium batteries with steam-powered engines. Nor should they add levers to their smart phones - although that would be kinda cool. What I am suggesting is that you take notice of trends that guide buyer decisions. Sherlock, both modern Cumberbatch and Victorian clothed Downey, Jr. versions, speak to an interest in all things steampunkish. Then there's "The Knick" with Clive Owen and many more. The general public gets an warm fuzzy when it's wrapped in tweed or silk. So maybe your product design or at least its marketing should consider some form of trend conformity.
Here's where some clarification is needed. Steampunk speaks to an audience that is enthralled with details, richness, depth, men and women who want to see the opposite sex take a little more time and some more flair in dressing. I love my iphone, but part of that love is the ability to add old world warmth with steampunkish designed wallpaper. Likewise, I don't wear a bolo hat, but a vest with my suit was an up-sell I couldn't pass up. And the watch pocket in the vest inspired my wife to buy me a pocket watch, which I freakin love!
In marketing material, be aware of the deeper trend. Don't dress actors in Victorian period clothing, but do add the same richness and detail you might find in a Victorian photo. Add some updated steampunkish items as well. Think Willem Defoe and Gary Oldman in recent Prada adds.
There may be nothing Victorian at all in your product or marketing. When taking advantage of the steampunk trend, see it for what it is, a desire to enrich, embellish, and return to a more elegant sense of style and design. To re-envision the modern world with old world charms of politeness and flair, creating a better world that draws on the best of today and the past is steampunk. Capture that emotion in anyway possible. Just don't be bland and unimaginative. That is how steampunk can contribute to your marketing efforts.
Looking for some photo samples to add. Hit me!
Startups Need Strategy, Not Cash!
THE SITUATION
Client approaches business strategist, me, to raise funds for them. They assume they have the real deal and only need to have it put into a pretty document to get that funding. And that funding includes a full year’s salary, a well outfitted class A fully staffed office space. And they want all of this funded before a single dime is raised by the new venture.
THE REALITY
I don’t do that and no one will invest that plan. My job is to analyze and align the entire business. This includes aligning the founders’ skill sets with market realities, seeking collaborators, bootstrapping when possible and getting to market long before raising that first dime to prove the concept for the guys who will invest a dime, lots of dimes.
If properly aligned, most founders are amazed at how little cash they actually need to get started. My current new venture has trimmed its start up cost from $175K to $3,000 by awarding options, taking equity partners and using collaborators that are helping the product get to market quicker and smarter than ever dreamed. The product focus has changed dramatically along the way, the value has increased exponentially, and collaborators have starting coming to the business.
Another client, one I’ll never hear from again, I hope, asked me to help him raise $435K for a holistic all-natural-healing type new venture.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s a ton of money to be made in the hippy market. But this founder wanted me to raise funds for a company car, a fully equipped office with all new equipment and furniture, salaries for himself ($75K), two part-time hippies, marketing funds for TV advertising, and a well-known hippy healer working 1-2 days a week for $50K. All this without reliable revenue projections! He couldn’t even define his unique selling point.
I suggested he not hire anyone. Simply collaborate with that well-known professional healer, do his own part-time work, get class B or C office space on a short-term lease filled with used furniture, get a multifunction printer for $150, share marketing costs with the well-known guy, use temps when needed, and take the damned bus. I figure he could fund the whole operation with a credit card or maybe a weekend tag-sale. And I offered to help with all of this, but only if he could define the unique value if his service.
I haven’t heard back from him.
Another business and soon to be feature article here, asked for help developing a hub for entrepreneurs in the Hartford, CT area. The site would do everything from collecting details about entrepreneurs, service providers and investors along with validation for each, social components that were really unique, and it already had generated a great deal of interest from local heavy-weights through sheer founder determination and about 1,000 miles of month in sweat equity. His total start up cost was next to nothing. I volunteered to help at no charge because it would provide an avenue for finding new clients and because I liked the entrepreneurial skills the founder demonstrated. Talk about a collaboration!
Anyway, if you want to create something wonderful, something worthwhile, and you're willing to do whatever it takes to get there, even take the city bus for a few months - God forbid, call me to help. If you want quick cash for a company car, still call me. I want to give you a competitor’s number.
Client approaches business strategist, me, to raise funds for them. They assume they have the real deal and only need to have it put into a pretty document to get that funding. And that funding includes a full year’s salary, a well outfitted class A fully staffed office space. And they want all of this funded before a single dime is raised by the new venture.
THE REALITY
I don’t do that and no one will invest that plan. My job is to analyze and align the entire business. This includes aligning the founders’ skill sets with market realities, seeking collaborators, bootstrapping when possible and getting to market long before raising that first dime to prove the concept for the guys who will invest a dime, lots of dimes.
If properly aligned, most founders are amazed at how little cash they actually need to get started. My current new venture has trimmed its start up cost from $175K to $3,000 by awarding options, taking equity partners and using collaborators that are helping the product get to market quicker and smarter than ever dreamed. The product focus has changed dramatically along the way, the value has increased exponentially, and collaborators have starting coming to the business.
Another client, one I’ll never hear from again, I hope, asked me to help him raise $435K for a holistic all-natural-healing type new venture.
 |
| http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: An_Arch_Druid_in_His_Judicial_Habit.jpg |
I suggested he not hire anyone. Simply collaborate with that well-known professional healer, do his own part-time work, get class B or C office space on a short-term lease filled with used furniture, get a multifunction printer for $150, share marketing costs with the well-known guy, use temps when needed, and take the damned bus. I figure he could fund the whole operation with a credit card or maybe a weekend tag-sale. And I offered to help with all of this, but only if he could define the unique value if his service.
I haven’t heard back from him.
Another business and soon to be feature article here, asked for help developing a hub for entrepreneurs in the Hartford, CT area. The site would do everything from collecting details about entrepreneurs, service providers and investors along with validation for each, social components that were really unique, and it already had generated a great deal of interest from local heavy-weights through sheer founder determination and about 1,000 miles of month in sweat equity. His total start up cost was next to nothing. I volunteered to help at no charge because it would provide an avenue for finding new clients and because I liked the entrepreneurial skills the founder demonstrated. Talk about a collaboration!
Anyway, if you want to create something wonderful, something worthwhile, and you're willing to do whatever it takes to get there, even take the city bus for a few months - God forbid, call me to help. If you want quick cash for a company car, still call me. I want to give you a competitor’s number.
Startup Marketing and Video Campaigns
As a business strategist, I analyze the competitive landscape against the core competencies of my clients and develop business strategies based on this. This includes business model (how you do business), target markets (who you sell to), pricing and channel development (how the product moves from design through manufacture and into the customer's hands). One very critical and obvious channel is marketing to the customer.
Once you understand exactly who the customer is, age, sex, ethnicity location etc.. and I can help here, determining how to get to that customer is both art and science. Radio, television, print and web-based social campaigns are all still viable options, depending on the product.
Video is an option that should not be overlooked in nearly any market. Online video in particular is exploding. Unfortunately, and way too often, a client will be driven to pay for the prettiest video, the funniest video or one that hits a personal client emotion. Imagine a funny or sexy cancer-treatment advertisement. Some things should be serious.
All marketing campaigns should be targeted and aligned with the marketing goals of the organization, be it for profit or not. George Constance Business Strategy Consulting works with a number of partners to develop every aspect of a business venture. Through careful analysis and alignment, we reduce wasted cost and effort. And because we work with several partners, each with specific skills, we can develop your business timely and cost effectively. Something every startup needs.
If you're considering a marketing campaign, contact us to meet our marketing partners, videographers and web designers.
The Multimedia:
From our preferred marketing partner, Silent Partner Marketing. Contact us for an introduction.
Once you understand exactly who the customer is, age, sex, ethnicity location etc.. and I can help here, determining how to get to that customer is both art and science. Radio, television, print and web-based social campaigns are all still viable options, depending on the product.
Video is an option that should not be overlooked in nearly any market. Online video in particular is exploding. Unfortunately, and way too often, a client will be driven to pay for the prettiest video, the funniest video or one that hits a personal client emotion. Imagine a funny or sexy cancer-treatment advertisement. Some things should be serious.
All marketing campaigns should be targeted and aligned with the marketing goals of the organization, be it for profit or not. George Constance Business Strategy Consulting works with a number of partners to develop every aspect of a business venture. Through careful analysis and alignment, we reduce wasted cost and effort. And because we work with several partners, each with specific skills, we can develop your business timely and cost effectively. Something every startup needs.
If you're considering a marketing campaign, contact us to meet our marketing partners, videographers and web designers.
The Multimedia:
From our preferred marketing partner, Silent Partner Marketing. Contact us for an introduction.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Paying for Convenience
Keurig has a neat little product that raises the price of a cup and is bad for the environment with its little extra plastic cup step, not to mention the entire new industry to make, distribute and hopefully recycle the little buggers. Of course I'm talking about those little K-cup devises that produce a single cup of coffee or tea or whatever they pack into those suckers. They're selling like hell and Coca-Cola has taken a 10% stake in the company.
So why is this eco-unfriendly high priced product selling? 'Cause it's so damned easy to just plug in, press play, and walk away with a cup and no pot to clean. Is it that much easier to do than the usual method? Apparently, they're a hot item that's getting hotter than their product every day.
Lesson here, for pricing strategy folks, convenience trumps price when it's dished out in small increments. In the first world, anyway, even doubling the price of something that's considered an affordable luxury is not out of the question.
Oh, and the Keurig pot, the rice to play, is pretty pricey too. Think I'm gonna follow around some really sedentary folks to see what they do and need/want. Shouldn't be hard - they're sedentary - right?
Friday, June 6, 2014
Small Business Gets Black Eye from Obamacare
Greta Forbes article on the unexpected negative impact of Obamacare on small business that needs to be addressed asap.
Click through here to read full article of Forbes.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Baby, This Ain't Workin!
In business, friendships, political affiliations, and even marriages, sometimes walking away is the best thing for everyone involved. But so often we wait way too long before making that difficult decision. And we’re all guilty of it. Lord knows I am. It’s natural. The thought of walking away from something you’ve put so much effort into is admitting you’ve wasted those long hard hours. It’s admitting you’ve failed.
Sadly, for failed partnerships, the indicators of failure were probably there all along. But we, indebted as most are, simply resist. We make excuses to not walk. We work hard at fixing the unfixable. This is often because we lack an alternative. “This venture is all I have” mentality forces us to work ever harder at fixing the unfixable when we should have been working on the next big thing.
How do you fix this? First be honest with yourself. If it ain’t working, it ain’t working. Don’t think of it as a failure, think of the venture as a wrong turn that is standing in the way of truly profitable efforts. After all, you wouldn’t keep going in the wrong direction after discovering you’ve made a wrong turn, would you? No, you get off that wrong road and on the right one. And like in business, the longer you go down that wrong turn, the longer it will take to double back and get to your destination.
So, if you’re worried about losing face, forget about it. The longer you wait, the worse the face. If you’re concerned you have nothing else, you never will, until you get off that lame horse and start looking for new opportunities. And there are always new opportunities for those looking.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
The Need for Speed in Marketing and Branding
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| http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/c/c5/Jesse_Owens3.jpg |
When was the last time someone mentioned they were using Microsoft WORD to you? How about a mention of those cool new browser features? I’m guessing not since they were first introduced.
There’s a tremendous branding lesson here. Word of mouth moves like money through a politician’s hands. But once a product has entered mainstream or common use, we never speak of it.
If you’re an innovator, you’ve got those precious few days to capture conversation and get branded. Yeah I know, easily said, but hard to do. I don’t pretend to have the secret formula here. I only want to point out, as a business strategist, that a well conceived plan to target those very talkative and listened to tweeters and bloggers should be planned long before launch. You might even consider adding features to attract the more attractive talkers. Following this, launching the campaign should even precede the product launch. Get folks talking, anticipating and finally commenting.
It’s no coincidence that Apple lost a version of a soon to be released iphone or released disappointing battery-life test results before launch. They wanted talk started before launch. They were gathering the troops to get that rapid early marketing link. Sure this is Apple, but it also works for startups. If you can start the conversation, do it like yesterday.
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