Category: thinking outside the box

MBWA: Master By Walking Around

In one my business school classes we had Mr. Leonard Lavin come speak to us about entrepreneurship.  Mr. Lavin is an American businessman, who founded the Alberto-Culver Company in 1955.  Alberto-Culver was a corporation with international sales whose principal business is manufacturing hair and skin beauty care products under such brands as Alberto VO5, Andrew Collinge, St. Ives (skin care products), TRESemme, FDS, Consort, and Nexxus.  Alberto-Culver was purchased by the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever on September 27, 2010 for US$3.7 billion.

When asked about his education Mr. Lavin said his business education came in the form of an MBWA, “master by walking around.”  This means that everyday Mr. Lavin is speaking with his employees of all levels and directly observing how things are run.  Words cannot express how important a ground-level understanding of the day-to-day operations.

Business shouldn’t be run from the boardroom using only preformance reports and metrics to steer its direction.  However, as companies grow, leadership finds it difficult find the time to do this crucial research.  In one episode of Undercover Boss, Gina Rivera, Founder and President of Phenix Salons INC., a franchise which offers independent salon and business professionals the opportunity to own and operate their own luxury salon suites, goes undercover to see if it will color her perception of how the company is running.  As this company is making that difficult transition from small to medium sized enterprise, Ms. Rivera realized she was losing ground-level knowledge of what her franchisees are experiencing.  A must watch!

Not enough time? Try telecommuting

Finding time to do everything on one’s list is difficult enough, let alone finding enough time to start a business. Studies show that the number one drainer of personal time is commuting to and from work.
Fortunately, the traditional 9 to 5 might be losing some footing according to an NPR article.

Now the trick is to get your boss to OK this work arrangement. One method that might be helpful is outlined in Tim Ferris’s book, the 4 Hour work week. Your mileage will vary but it might be worth a try

Just be careful they don’t saddle you with more work.

Startups aren’t just a youngster’s game

startups aren't just a younger's game

Another great article from Inc. about how startups aren’t just a younger’s game.

Turns out Colonel Sanders (he actually wasn’t a real colonel) founded KFC when he was 65. Not just in restaurants, tech (although favoring the young) has its share of “late-bloomers.” Craig Newmark founded CraigsList at 42.

The moral of the story is startups aren’t just a younger’s game. You’re only as old as you think you are.

See It is not “too late” to learn about how the average age of successful business founders is 42; so the 20 year old entrepreneur is a true rarity.

Launch and Grow Your Business

Contact us to get your startup running regardless of your age.

Crowdfunding could grant greater access to capital

crowdfundingescenseThe Securities Exchange Commission, the body that enforces federal securities laws and regulates the securities industry, the nation’s stock and options exchanges, among other functions have agreed to propose a rule that would allow the average-Joe to invest in startups.  The “Regulation Crowdfunding” proposal would allow a company to receive money directly from nonaccredited investors in exchange for equity-ownership of the company.  Without this law, smaller companies had limited options for raising money from investors (typically accredited investors, commercial banks and VCs).  Now they can raise money similar to that as if they were a public company.

There are conditions to crowdfunding:

1)  Companies can only raise up to $1 million per year from crowdfunding

2)  Investors can only invest upto 5% of their annual income.

3)  Investors must invest through crowdfunding portals like CircleUp.

Read the rest of the article on TechCrunch.

Branding

Would you buy tea from Nike?  Or shoes by McDonald’s?

Sure one might think Nike doesn’t have the facilities, operational know-how, etc. to make tea.  With the vast majority of its manufacturing overseas, Nike is more of a design and marketing firm than a shoe manufacturer, according to a Harvard Business Review article. 

Getting back on point, Nike can’t sell tea because of branding.

What is branding?

Branding is the personality of the company.  This “personality” helps determine what the company sells (it can be more than one or even a few things), where it sells them, how much they charge, how their ads look, etc.  In a previous post, I mentioned how Redbull had an event called the Flugtag and that it’d be difficult for Lipton to hold a similar event.  This is because an event where people dress up and launch a home-made contraption off of a pier does not fit Lipton’s brand image.

One brand that has crossed more product categories and demographics more than any other is Hello Kitty.  Beyond clothes and accessories, there are Hello Kitty branded motor scooters, toasters, airlines, and adult novelty toys (although this might not be an official Sanrio licensed product).  Yet another addition to the roster is Hello Kitty Beer.  Is there nothing this kitty can’t brand?!

RedBull Flugtag, marketing, and branding

Your Startup Guru case study - Redbull Flugtag

The RedBull Flugtag is an entertaining spectacle and a genius public relations event all designed with its branding in mind.

Last weekend I attended the RedBull Flugtag in Long Beach.  It was an entertaining spectacle with lots of energy and a massive audience.  The highlight of the event?  To watch little more than shoddily made objects fall into the harbor.

Would such an audience turnout for out for an event held by, say Lipton Tea?  Imagine the Lipton Flugtag.  Do you think hundreds of people would sign up to spend many hours to build something that will last for seconds in front of tens of thousands of people?  If Lipton sponsored such an event, do you think tens of thousands of people will even show up?

This is because the event (or more accurately) public relations event, is dependent on the brand image of the brand (i.e. RedBull) is maintaining (or pursuing if the brand is trying to reposition itself).  People associate RedBull with action, irreverence, fun.  Lipton?  Not quite as much.  However, Lipton has market awareness strengths they can flex that RedBull is ill-fitted for.

How you advertise, where you advertise, the contents of your advertisement is highly contingent on your brand image.

Pop quiz:  What is the difference between marketing and public relations?

How much startup capital is needed and where it comes from

How much startup capital is needed and where it comes from

$50,000? $100,000? Credit Unions? Commercial banks?

An enlightening survey of entrepreneurs shows how much startup capital was needed and where it came from. Well over half the companies started with less than $10k from personal savings, and only 13% received startup capital from banks.

Contact us to calculate how much startup capital you need for your business as well as help with business plans, pitch decks, and fundraising.

Time utilization for startups - Your Startup Guru Time is a finite resource

One of the top five reasons people say they cannot start their own business is lack of time.  I always, always, ALWAYS emphasize time efficiency to my clients.  For example, scheduling calls in advance, taking notes during meetings, making checklists, etc. all can help maximize time efficiency.  I cannot tell you how many times people have called to discuss business but do not have their materials in front of them…even worse, while driving.  Invariably they do not remember everything that was discussed and another meeting will be had.

In a startup, there are so many things to consider and juggle.  Rent, advertising, staffing, licenses, etc.  It becomes very easy to become overwhelmed in the thousands of tasks that need to be done which can cause us to lose sight of direction and lose creativity.  However, according to Economist Joseph Schumpeter business people would be better off if they did less and thought more.

All this “leaning in” is producing an epidemic of overwork, particularly in the United States. Americans now toil for eight-and-a-half hours a week more than they did in 1979. A survey last year by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that almost a third of working adults get six hours or less of sleep a night. Another survey last year by Good Technology, a provider of secure mobile systems for businesses, found that more than 80% of respondents continue to work after leaving the office, 69% cannot go to bed without checking their inbox and 38% routinely check their work e-mails at the dinner table.

Managers themselves could benefit. Those at the top are best employed thinking about strategy rather than operations—about whether the company is doing the right thing rather than whether it is sticking to its plans. When he was boss of General Electric, Jack Welch used to spend an hour a day in what he called “looking out of the window time”. When he was in charge of Microsoft Bill Gates used to take two “think weeks” a year when he would lock himself in an isolated cottage. Jim Collins, of “Good to Great” fame, advises all bosses to keep a “stop doing list”. Is there a meeting you can cancel? Or a dinner you can avoid?

Your time is valuable. Make sure you’re spending it wisely.

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