Kill Your Business Model Before It Kills You - Ron Ashkenas. By Ron Ashkenas | 1:01 PM October 2, 2012 About a year ago the U.S. Postal Service ran an ad campaign warning about the dangers of email and proposed paper-mail as a safer and more reliable alternative. When I saw this ad, I thought that I had accidentally switched to a comedy station. But it wasn’t a joke. This was a serious (and misguided) attempt by the U.S. Postal Service to stay in business. Fast forward to last week, when Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe revealed the mail agency will default on its second payment of $5 billion to the US Treasury. This vignette raises a key leadership question: Why do leaders wait too long to modify or abandon their business models? On the other hand, some firms seem to tackle business model changes head on even before anyone else realizes there’s an issue. Of course, none of these shifts are easy. First is to remember that no business model lasts forever. Nobody wants to be in the position of the U.S.
STRUCTURE. Podcast Episode: Conscious Business: We Need Leadership Not Just Heroic Leaders (Social Responsibility, Institutional Innovation and Missions that Matter. How does business need to change to meet the growing complexity of the modern, global world? And what does development have to do with it? This week we continue our conversation with the author of Spiral Dynamics, Dr. Don Beck, and discuss the emergence of a more complex way of doing business. Topics we discussed included: issues of distributed leadership, the monitoring of vital signs, the significance of complimentary teams, and the growing importance of mutual trust and respect in business.
Don also discusses his relationship to Ken Wilber and his organization, the Integral Institute, as a way to highlight the difference between having high ideals (and wanting to grow) and the ability to actualize those ideals in a business environment. This is part 2 of two-part series. Resources: Podcast Episode: Conscious Business: Spiral Dynamics: A Theory about Making Theories (Social Responsibility, Institutional Innovation and Missions that Matter.
Don Beck joins us to discuss a revolutionary model of human and cultural development called Spiral Dynamics. Originally developed by Professor Claire Graves, Spiral Dynamics is a theory that intends to make sense of the way that people respond and grow in the face of life conditions. Don Beck has been applying this model to a multitude of arenas, especially in business and culture. His most recent work in Israel, with Palestinian leaders, to help alleviate the conflict between the two groups is a perfect example of the way that Spiral Dynamics is being applied. Also of interest is his work with companies like Southwest Airlines and Wholefoods. This is part 1 of two-part series. Resources: - Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change by Don Beck & Christopher Cowan - Spiral Dynamics Integral - Global Values Network - Whole Foods - Southwest Airlines.
Cooperative entrepreneurship… the Chinese Gung Ho strategy. Skinnier. So many things that would have been money losers then can be profitable today. When you run your own concert, selling tickets online and renting the theatre out yourself, you might be able to keep 85 cents of every dollar your audience spends on a ticket. In the system we grew up with, by the time the box office, Ticketmaster, the stagehands, the promoters and everyone else takes a cut, you might end up with literally nothing. Or consider a hardcover book that costs $20. By the time the bookstore keeps half, the publisher keeps a share for the risk she takes, and don't forget shipping and returns... there might only be $2 left for the author.
With an ebook, the author might keep as much as $14 a copy... More if he hosts the store and sells it as a PDF. A hairdresser with direct relationships with customers can give up the storefront location and make more money by charging less and cutting the hair in her home. How to Start a Small Business in Five Steps | Business Plan. Advantages Vs. Disadvantages of Forms of Private Business Ownership. The Safest Small Business Startup Strategies Are Virtual, Guerrilla, and Flexible. Our continually struggling economy, at least on ground-level, is sending aspiring entrepreneurs mixed messages. On one hand, there’s enormous incentive to stake your claim at a time when competition is low and human resources are high.On the other hand, the still-unknowable future state of our national and global economies is enough to intimidate even the most ardent of entrepreneurs. While we often can’t make up our minds as to whether to invest our capital into budding businesses or stow it away in StorageMart lockers for fear of an economic Armageddon, there are ways to make your enterprising dreams come true while minimizing the risk of these uncertain times: Virtualization The lingering frailty of the real estate market means that at any moment another crisis could lead to rising rent as mortgages skyrocket.
For start-ups renting office space, this could devastate the budget for monthly expenses. Guerrilla Marketing Flexibility Want to be our next guest author? How to set your rate | Start My Consulting Business. EmailShare 8EmailShare You’ve seen a zillion articles that agonize over complicated hourly consulting rate calculations written by people who charge middle-of-the-road prices (the same people who are either afraid to or don’t know how to compete at the top of their market).
If you’re ready for something better, read on. If you want to charge mediocre rates, look elsewhere. If you choose to keep reading, you’ll find out: how I’ve raised my hourly rate nearly 100% over the past 7 years consulting (my current standard hourly rate is $195), how I commonly earn effective hourly rates between $300 – $1,000+, why I actually DON’T recommend charging hourly, andhow to set an hourly rate (if you decide to charge hourly anyway).
For those of you who like short posts, I’m going to apologize in advance for this long rant. When you become a consultant, there are a bunch of ways to determine your hourly consulting rate: So how do I figure out how much to charge already?! You can charge more within a niche. The Rise and Fall of the Independent Developer. I’m old enough to remember a time before the Internet. I know what it’s like to develop software both with and without a worldwide network. Little has changed with the process of software development since the 1980′s. Of course there have been improvements in our tools and techniques, but the basic act of creating software products is much the same. What has changed dramatically in the past 30 years is how we distribute our creations.
In the days where software was distributed on magnetic media, such as reels of tape, cassettes, or floppy disks, it cost a lot of money to get the product to a customer. As a result, large companies and software publishers were the only ones with the financial resources to get these applications into a retail channel. There were very few independent software developers; and those who did exist were very small operations. Then along came the Internet and everything changed. I remember a conversation with my good friend Cabel Sasser a few years ago. Three Ways to Find an Edge in a Crowded Market.
Whether you're a pioneer or a latecomer in a competitive industry, here are strategies to stay ahead of the pack. It may appear that certain industries are so packed with competition these days that it's hardly worth jumping in. But don't let a crowded market deter you. Savvy small-business owners are still gaining a competitive edge in industries where you wouldn't think one existed anymore. Consider these tips gleaned from the experience of successful entrepreneurs who found ways to make their businesses stand out in a crowd. 1. Yaniv Bensadon, founder and CEO of FixYa.com Photo courtesy of Roijoy Photography Take FixYa.com, which launched in 2005 and was among the first question-and-answer web sites.
"I figured the best person to help a person with a BlackBerry is another BlackBerry user," says founder and chief executive Yaniv Bensadon, 41, noting that it was an alternative to dealing with "a call center halfway around the world. " Related: Guy Kawasaki on How to Enchant Customers 2. 3. Can You Build Your Business Alone Or In A Vacuum? | Get Your Business to Work! Eastern USA Executive Round-table Peer Groups Forming Now Business has been tough over the last few years. But the economy is finally at the bottom of the decline. Many of you have restructured and retooled. Some have made extensive changes and redrafted your business plans. And some of your competitors have closed their companies. My expectation is that it can’t get any worse and now is the time to start regrouping and getting back into business in a bigger way. You Can’t Do It Alone! I am personally inviting you to join us!
This is designed for business owners like YOU! Join us at the first meeting in Atlanta – September 29 & 30th, 2011. If you are tired of running your company alone, join us! Every business owner or principal can benefit from a personal board of advisers that meets on a regular basis. The first meeting will be held in Atlanta and then rotate between member’s locations. SPECIAL OFFERJoin before July 15th, 2011 and receive a 10% discount on you first year’s dues.
11 Startups That Found Success By Changing Direction. Nicholas Thomas is the Director of Business Development at Docudesk Corporation and is passionate about user experience, design, and innovation. You can follow him on Twitter @nicholaswthomas and read his blog at NicholasWayneThomas.com. Although some discount “The Pivot” as an overused buzzword, for a startup, pivoting can mean the difference between becoming the next success story and joining the deadpool.
The principles behind the pivot apply to any industry. With lean resources, fickle users and quickly changing markets, startups have the most to gain from pivoting, and the most to lose from missed opportunities. The reasons for changing course are often varied, and there are many factors to take into consideration when making the decision. There may be some valid criticism in the over-usage of the term. Fortunately for today's startups, pre-existing companies provide examples of successful adaptation. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Liquidphoto. How to Start Your Content Strategy: The Discovery Phase. What is a Business Model. Find Out How Your Company Will Make Money in 4 Steps Both new and established companies are frequently asking themselves the question “what is a business model?” As the term has been tossed around ad nauseam since the boom of ecommerce.
The answer is essentially quite simple. It’s a document that answers the question “how do we make money in this business?” Developing business model is more than a business model template. It is a plan that is written out so that your organization will be able to implement it in order to generate revenue and profits. It is, at its most basic level, the “how” of your business. Though it didn’t become a buzzword until the internet business models became an important part of profit generation, a business model is actually a very old concept. Any successful business venture begins with one, so it’s very important to know what is a business model and how you can create a sound one that will guide your company to profit. Step 1: The Customer Value Proposition.
Which Type Of Business Entity Is Right For You? : Managing. It’s important for entrepreneurs to select the right kind of business entity. Whether they need to protect their personal assets or raise money, selecting the right type in the beginning will help them prepare for the future. Of course, there are pros and cons for each type. 1. Sole proprietor A sole proprietorship is when a single person and the business are one in the same. There are no partners, and the life of the business ends with the sole proprietor or when they decide to shut it down. For example, if little Donny wants to start an ice cream stand, he can do so as a sole proprietor.
Pros Easy to start: Once Donny decides to open up his ice cream stand, he can just go out and buy the materials he needs and start selling. Cons No personal liability protection: Sole proprietors put their personal assets at risk. 2. A corporation is a separate and distinct entity from its owners. Liability protection: Shareholders enjoy protection of their personal assets. 3.
OPEN Cardmember Dan X. Are you a scientist? Scientists make predictions, and predicting the future is far more valuable than explaining the past. Ask a physicist what will happen if you fire a projectile like this in that direction, and she'll know. Ask a chemist what happens if you mix x and y, and you'll get the right answer. Even quantum mechanics mechanics can give you probabilities that work out in the long run. Analysts who come up with plausible explanations for what just happened don't help us as much, because it's not always easy to turn those explanations into useful action. Take the layout of Craigslist. Just about any competent online designer would have predicted that it would fail. Too clunky, undesigned, too many links, not slick or trustworthy... After the fact, it's so easy to say, "of course it worked... " and then make up a reason for whatever it is that just succeeded. The practice, then, is to start making predictions. I predict you'll learn two things:
What’s your startup DNA: Automizer, Social Transformer, Integrator or Challenger? Can you predict which startup companies will succeed? It’s a mystifying question for sure, but one that the Startup Genome Project is trying to answer. The project just released a 50-page analysis (based on surveys of more than 650 Internet startups) with the goal of “cracking the innovation code of Silicon Valley and spreading it to the rest of the world.” Co-authored by faculty members from Stanford University and University of California-Berkeley, the report lays out 14 indicators of startup success.
Is this the Internet startup equivalent of the Human Genome Project? It may not be that groundbreaking, but the authors believe that if they can identify successful traits in startup companies — “turning entrepreneurship into a science” — then the pace of innovation could actually accelerate. The authors write: Once we started analysing the data it was staggering to see how clearly were able to find the patterns that described why Internet startups succeed and fail. 1. All Games Are About Death [Fundamentals.
Death from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series of graphic novels. A common whipping boy theme in the media regarding games is that they are violent. Why must they always involve killing, ask the exasperated. Why can’t games be nice? Games certainly can be nice, but take a step back from the visceral element of the violence question and what they’re really asking is: Why must games be based around death? The reason is that death produces focus and causes change. It may be as visceral as a bloody spatter, as ordinary as a rotting crop or as abstract as a penalty shootout, but death is everywhere in games. The Focus of Death Death, according to the Buddha Gautama, is the only true certainty in life.
The understanding that you might die lenses your focus and brings you into the present. Fail to shoot an enemy and you will die. So a significant part of why we get into the zone when playing a game is that life has become clearer. Death as Karma So what about failure? Do Not Fear Death. Stop Telling Us Your Investment Story [Marketing Stories. Before You Can Multiply You Must First Learn To Divide : Money.