Sometimes, It’s Not About The Price |  |
- Sometimes, It’s Not About The Price
- Dell Announces Innovators Credit Fund for Startups
- Learning About Net Profit And Cash Flow From A Sculptor
- 4 Blossoming Green Business Opportunities
| Sometimes, It’s Not About The Price Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT Sometimes, I think it's easier to throw money at a situation, than it is to dive in and change it.
Wouldn't it be great if a check on the table guaranteed:
But the truth is, your money buys you access to people that have to be managed on some level. There are other actions that can have a greater impact than your check. I mean money talks, but when it comes to getting what you want out of people, there is more to the conversation. As Joel Libava says in “What Do Today's Fast Food Junkies Like?:
Now, he's talking about what some fast food customers are willing to pay when they receive great customer service. But it's true for other aspects of your business as well. Sometimes, it's not about the price. It's about the way you think. Paying for AttentionIn “The Cost Of Free Publicity: How Much Is Too Little?” Yvonne DiVita brings up the idea of paying bloggers for their time (but not their opinion). Instead of asking them for free reviews of your content, she suggests that you compensate them for their time. This way the blogger has a reason to pay attention to your contest, book, product, etc. Yvonne sparked a heated debate, but regardless of your stance there are other ways to pay for attention. Paying for bloggers to support your product can also come in the form of affiliate sales. This allows companies to partner with bloggers to get the word out about your latest offer. The blogger promotes your product to their people (marketing for you), plus they get a percentage of the sale (incentive for them). To me it's like running a store and filling your shelves with other people's product. Everything that sales in your store benefits the creator of the original product, as well as the owner of the store. In order for this to work, however, without subjecting your audience to mess, the blogger has to be dogmatic about aligning himself with products that match his brand and products that do what they say they are going to do. He also has to be transparent with his readers (the readers need to know that you're an affiliate for that product — honesty and transparency goes a long way). As for the product creator she has to (gets to) establish something that delivers (and over-delivers). She also has to deliberately partner with bloggers that have similar or complementary branding. But what if you can't get your idea off the ground? Funding Your DreamIf you don't have a lot of money, but you do have the ability to change the way you think about your business, you can still find funding or feedback. In “Got A Big Idea? Crowdsourcing Websites Help Bring It To Market” Anita Campbell features two websites that can help you get your idea in motion. Whether it's a route you choose to take, it's certainly a reminder that there is more than one way to tackle a mountain. Whether you go over it, under it or blast right through it, it's not always about the price but it is ALWAYS about perception. Two other quick funding ideas:
Even the biggest obstacles hold some form of opportunity, depending on how you see it.
From Small Business Trends |
| Dell Announces Innovators Credit Fund for Startups Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:30 AM PDT Dell has launched an Innovators Credit Fund, a $100 million financing initiative that provides entrepreneurs with the financial and scalable technology resources to get to market and innovate. Through Dell Financial Services, eligible startups who have already been backed by angel investors or venture capitalists can get up to 10% of their funded amount, or up to $150,000, with accelerated, limited credit terms. Startups also get a dedicated Dell sales team, as well as ProSupport Services for any Dell business products they use.
Ingrid Vanderveldt, Dell’s Entrepreneur in Residence created the financial fund with the assistance of an Advisory Board. Vanderveldt serves as a spokesperson for Innovator’s Financing Fund. “After seeing the authentic commitment Dell is making to the success of entrepreneurs and small business owners worldwide, selfishly, I would love to see other Fortune 500's do the same. To realize that vision, it’s become a personal mission for me to see Dell be wildly successful in the investments they have been making for my peers and I when no one else was looking,” said Vanderveldt. Not Just Money; Technology ,Too In addition to the funding, Dell wants to help startups get end-to-end, scalable technology solutions quickly, as well as the expertise they need. “When companies are recently funded, one of their biggest expenditures outside of hiring tends to be money spent on IT infrastructure,” said Vanderveldt, “With the Dell Innovators Credit Fund Founders Club, Dell is eliminating the need for them to spend their equity capital on technology and instead helping startups to preserve this for other business needs. For most small businesses, their IT departments are filled with IT enthusiasts not IT experts. Dell aims to be the trusted IT advisor – or “CIO in a box.’” Here’s an example of how Dell aims to help. Dell customer Lauren Flanagan of Current Motor, used credit from Dell’s Innovator’s Financing Fund to create her company's web-enabled and all-electric super scooter, which freed up her resources to hire additional staff and take her company to market six months faster. Dell hopes to do the same for other companies. #FixYoungAmerica Woven In Additionally, Dell has partnered with The Young Entrepreneur Council for its #FixYoungAmerica campaign. All Dell customers will receive a copy of the #FixYoungAmerica book, which offers essays from entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders. “#FixYoungAmerica’s goal is to bring the best solutions to solve youth unemployment to light,” explained Scott Gerber, Founder of The Young Entrepreneur Council, “Promoting and supporting entrepreneurship on all levels will help us to rebuild America, and programs such as Dell Innovator’s Financing Fund are a step in the right direction.” Dell says it’s looking for “all promising technology-focused startups, regardless of industry,” for the Financing Fund. To find out more about how to apply, visit the Entrepreneur in Residence community site. Dell Entrepreneur in Residence Community Expands In addition to the Fund, the Dell Entrepreneur in Residence community is expanding. This website provides advice for a wide variety of entrepreneurs: those self-funded, seeking funding or already funded. The community offers videos and case studies from entrepreneurs, as well as advice from Dell and industry experts. This is another effort in a series by Dell to connect to startups. Other Dell efforts include its Women Powering Business platform and its newly launched Small Business Think Tank Tour. From Small Business Trends |
| Learning About Net Profit And Cash Flow From A Sculptor Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT What can a sculptor teach you about making net profit and cash flow? A lot.
The sculptor starts with a block of stone. But that doesn't automatically mean they will end up with a pleasing statue. The stone is nothing more than the raw material – the potential – for the sculptor to create the desired end result. To create the statue they want, the sculptor uses a variety of tools to remove only what is necessary – things that don't contribute to the end result they want. You are a sculptor too. A sculptor of net profit and cash flow. And your revenue is your "block of stone". It's your starting point. But simply having revenue (large or small) is no guarantee that you will end up with a beautiful result. Learning these three lessons, you can give yourself much better control over how you transform that block of revenue into net profit and cash flow that you will be proud of: Lesson 1 Start with a clear vision of what the end result should look like. The sculptor knows in advance what they want their finished sculpture to look like – what it should do when it is complete. In your business, you need to clearly define your dream lifestyle, and how much net profit and cash flow your business needs to create in order to serve that dream lifestyle. Only then will you truly know how big a block of revenue you need to start with. You can decide if you need to get a bigger block, and how much, and where, you need to carve away to create the net profit and cash flow you want. Avoiding this fundamental step is like the sculptor starting to chip away at the block of stone without a clear picture of the end result. They could chip away with all the positive intentions, all the optimism, and all the energy they can muster, and STILL wouldn't end up with the finished sculpture they really wanted. Lesson 2 Get familiar with the necessary tools and be able to use them effectively. Imagine our sculptor. . . if they only knew how to use one tool – a one inch chisel. They could have a crystal clear vision of their sculpture. But having just that single tool available would result in a sculpture that would, at best, be an approximation of what they envisioned. And producing that rough approximation would be so much more difficult, less fun, and require much more effort than it needed to. In your business, the tools you need to be familiar with and be able to use properly are things such as pricing plans, profitability analysis, product margin analysis, customer profitability mapping, breakeven analysis, and scenario planning. If you aren't familiar with these tools, don't worry. It's not your fault because there haven't been very many opportunities for small business owners to learn these things before. The good news is that, even if they sound creepy, they are easy to learn and apply once you are aware of your need to use them. Lesson 3 Control who has access to your studio. The sculptor would NOT allow anyone to walk into their studio and randomly chip away at their sculpture. They could have a clear vision of the finished sculpture, and could be an expert with the necessary tools and techniques needed. But if they allowed other people to randomly chip away at the sculpture, there would be no way they would end up with what they wanted. All the vision, effort, and knowledge would be wasted because they would end up with a worthless lump of stone. You need to control who is allowed to remove chunks of your "stone" (you revenue). Don't simply add expenses to your business on the assumption that “it will pay for itself.” That's like letting anyone into your studio to chip away at your sculpture. Do some analysis and decide if removing that piece from your revenue is necessary to accomplish your envisioned end result – the net profit and cash flow that will allow your business to serve your dream lifestyle. So art and business do intersect. You now have three lessons learned from a sculptor that you can start to apply in your business and create net profit and cash you can be proud of.
From Small Business Trends |
| 4 Blossoming Green Business Opportunities Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT It's gotten harder to stand out as an eco-friendly business. As more startups and established businesses aim to be "green," it's not such a differentiating factor anymore in certain industries. That said, there are still many types of environmentally sustainable businesses for which demand is growing.
Here's a look at four: Organic and Sustainably Produced Foods Consumers spend a lot of time eating, and far more are choosing organic and sustainably produced foods. U.S. sales of organic food and beverages grew from a $1 billion industry in 1990 to $29.2 billion in 2011, according to the Organic Trade Association. And it's not slowing down, with nearly 9.5% growth last year, according to OTA. There is no sign of that changing, as more consumers turn to healthier foods and demand grows among schools and other institutions. Business opportunities can be found in the agriculture, food production and restaurant industries. (Read more about necessary steps to starting an organic food business on the Small Business Administration's website.) Transportation Have an idea or technology to help people walk or take public transportation more or use less gasoline? Now may be the time to test-drive it. From businesses like Walk Score, which ranks neighborhoods on their walkability, to electric car makers and ride-sharing services, businesses that help consumers wean themselves off gasoline are getting more mileage these days. The World Economic Forum recently released a report about the great need for more sustainable transportation, despite the economic challenges. Many cities are seeking transportation alternatives as a way to reduce carbon emissions and be greener. Green Apps Smartphones allows consumers to easily access software – "apps" – that can help them in a variety of ways, including becoming eco-friendlier. Demand for such "green apps" will likely keep growing as more consumers buy smartphones and tablets and realize the benefits of using such programs. (The Department of Energy recently held a competition called Apps for Energy to find the best app that helped consumers assess their energy use and use less. Read about the winner, Leafully.) Share Economy As I previously wrote, there's an emerging "share economy." Instead of buying a new lawn equipment or cars or sports gear, people are increasingly looking to rent and borrow things, whether it is from other people or from businesses. Startups and established businesses can take advantage of this trend by creating web sites and apps that facilitate these transactions and make it easier for people to find willing lenders or borrowers. Any green business opportunities you're seeing right now?
From Small Business Trends |
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