Saturday, July 30, 2011

What I think of Rupert Murdoch






Is this man an immoral-s.o.b? Is this man a mad man? I say he’s a man using his God giving talent. He was not born perfect. He likely has an average IQ. Fortune has favored him because of his bravery through good and bad tactics. Who am I to judge?

This might be my rant due to my current emotional dismay or due to news of another unfortunate disaster in a third world country. Either way - Do I dislike Mr. Murdoch? No. Do I admire Mr. Murdoch? Yes.

Why would I admire a man whose sense of news is sensationalism because this is a man many entrepreneurs, to some extent, look up to. A tough childhood, poor school-grades, disrespected, underdog, near bankruptcy, tenacity, hardworking, and who persevered. How can you not admire a person who fought for what he wanted in life? He found a need in the market and filled it. An individual who once disliked Americans’ wild capitalism, racism, politics around the age of 16, Mr. Murdoch is now clearly the opposite of his youth. Who after graduation in 1948, with no direction in life, launched his first magazine “If Revived“, and he’s now know to own thousands of papers and media companies.


He has an unquenchable healthy passion for gambling, newspapers, and expanding his empire. As an entrepreneur, you take the good and learn from the bad.

Taking jobs at the London Daily Express, and papers before going at it on his own, he taught himself a lot. It’s been said many times, “fortune favors the brave” because pursuing risk-for-reward is not for everyone. If it were the world financial economy would have faced a meltdown every quarter. This is a man who was pursuing, conquering the world like Bill Gates did with Windows.

What ever tactics he applied towards is objective will be considered dirty. Politicians, Bankers, Marketers, Salespeople, Parents, Judges, and Officers play dirty tricks or what I call “Grey Tactics”, even cell phone carriers. At what cost that’s a question for Mr. Murdoch and others to answer.


“Monopoly is a terrible thing – till you have it.” Rupert Murdoch
Friday, July 29, 2011

I Declare September “Know Your Neighbors Month”



There’s a lot of anger, frustration and pain in America, Norway and most parts of the world. It’s likely the same anger that’s in me as well and has ignited this letter. Hate to be negative but I fear there’s more to come. This is my personal way to draw attention to the way we treat each other and hope we do something about it soon. How does this relate to my usual blogs? Well in some ways it’s essential to sales, marketing or business. This is not a liberal or conservative ideology outburst but a possible discussion as to how we treat each other and hopefully encourage people to reach out to their diverse neighbors.

There are those who will be pushed to the limit due to life and perhaps due to mistreatment acts of others. And most likely has accumulated to a point of no return. I think society and government have an opportunity to encourage individuals to truly get to know their neighbors. I’m not sure what I would have to do to make September “Know Your Neighbors Month” but I’m willing to try.

It’s unfortunate what happened in Norway, and East Africa. What’s sad is that a Somali mother lives in a world where she has to abandon her children because there are too weak to make it to a refugee camp due to famine.

And there are does in moderate conundrum who then turn around to exploit whomever is not in such a privilege position, all for nothing but a new iPad, cottage, sports cars, or power. Or the never ending stories of: Chinese workers who committed suicide because they were overworked and stressed, victims of financial schemes, the kid who sold his kidney for an iPhone or stories of new born girls mutilate because they are girls.

So tell your friends to help make September “Know Your Neighbors Month” and place the Know Your Neighbor logo on your blog, facebook page, linkedin, twitter.
Thursday, July 28, 2011

If Everyone was An Imitator would We Have Leaders?

I recently came across an article on Inc.com site that encourages entrepreneurs and businesses to imitate competitors’ ideas as a way to innovate. Also know as, “Follow the Leader”. According to Lauri Flaquer, a business consultant, “After all, why blaze your own trail when someone else has cleared a perfectly good one for you.”

I disagree with this message that it is better to wait for a leader to establish a market for an idea before entering it because:
1. If someone doesn’t lead nothing will ever improve
2. The first mover has the opportunity to define and solidify their position and command a hefty profit margin and transition to other businesses once it becomes crowded (IBM, GE, Virgin Galaxy)
3. The first mover can establish a disciplined culture of continuous self-reflection, self-improvement, self-cannibalization, self-exploring.
4. The first mover can use tactics to deter or eliminate competition. This option should be weighed carefully.
5. If you don’t do it, someone else will


The article stated some good points about being a follower rather than a leader when it comes to innovation.

Such as:
• Refining is easier (when you base your business on an existing model you can focus on what works and what doesn’t work.)
• Benchmark your progress (you know what works so you just apply it and compare results)
• Better Resource Management (when you are first you have to spend a lot to educate people, when you are second your focus is to make it better.)
• Learn from mistakes (so you don’t make the same)
• Learn strategies (figure out what strategies works for them and copy)
• Get funded (if the first mover proves it works, second, third movers can easily get funded)

All simply mean there are advantages and disadvantages to being first mover or a follower. This is the advice that Inc.com should have posted.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Quick Tips

Quick Life Tips
• A time to be aggressive and a time to be passive
• A time to be together and a time to be alone
• A time to fight and a time to love
• A time to cry and a time to laugh
• A time to confront and a time to withdraw
• A time to speak and a time to be silent
• A time to hurry and a time to wait


Quick Sales Tips

• Identify the decision makers
• Follow up
• Prepare objections and close
• Dig for problems don’t expect customers to tell you
• Don’t assume customers will seek your help when it’s needed
• Stop knocking on all doors just the right ones will do
• Not everyone is worth a proposal
• Don’t be too friendly, too quickly
• Establish trust and creditability
• Maintain positive attitude
• Be an effective listener and communicator
• Ask questions to clarify
• Don’t be afraid of silence
• Understand personality types

Don’t Build a Better Mouse Trap Build a Better Business Model

I’ve always wondered why some businesses thrive and some don’t. I think a lot of it begins not with a business plan but with a better developed business model. Business plans for very young companies is the most useless doc to write. All you need is a fine tuned quick well thought out business model.

I and some associates have put together a tool that will help small business owners sharpen their effectiveness and efficiency by simply creating a better business model. This guide is exclusively to Founders Under 40 members, B. J. Mannyst clients and prospects.

Check it out and Get it Free Today.
How to Bake a Better Business Model ebook.

Plus check out, How to Bake a Better Business Success ebook
Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Importance of Strategic Planning

I’ve been asked by small business owners and potential entrepreneurs why strategic planning is important. I always tell them it’s no different from life. Tomorrow is going to be different from the past, there are likely some similarities such as how wars are fought with US drone plane which minimizes US casualties, having a plan does helps your business thrive continuously. There are times when things don’t go well. Like CanWest, Inc which over extended itself with debt only to be hit with an economical recession, and Shaw Media bought some of its assets. Or like MySpace going from a $500 Million company to a $35 Million because Mr. Murdoch was distracted.

It’s a rapidly changing world out there and even the best plans can become useless quickly. With technology resources relatively inexpensive and accessible by anybody, your barrister could take your idea and execute it on a part time basis. There are industries where the entry is expensive.

Working with marketing, sales, and business minded individuals to assist with marketing plans helps get everyone and everything moving in the most progressive direction. The very process of creating it and putting it in writing helps to clarify and prepare you for managing the future growth of your business.

I take great pleasure working with diverse individuals bouncing ideas or helping them fine tuning a business idea or initiative. I never claim to know it all. I usually take on a partner-team member role and result is essential.

Having a strategic marketing plan helps you anticipate and plan for change so you are not as likely to be caught off guard. Small businesses don’t need a 50 page plan, just a couple of simple clear 2 – 7 page plan.
Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Importance of Branding

 


*if you have some real business issue, contact me anytime and I could see if I can help. Or join Founders Under 40™ Group or GreatestFounders

 

I was recently approached by a prospect that had done everything possible to acquire clients for her wellness and fitness business, only to see money go down the drain. 

 

She advertised in papers, used google advertising, public speaking, and etc . The prospect had no logo, image, message, not so great site. 

 

So I offered to help by explaining the importance of branding and to help her develop the right brand strategy. 

 

A brand is like a single woman trying to find and attract Mr. Right. She has to decide what she should look like, dress like, what she should stand for, who she wants to attract, personality or physical traits to emphasize. 

Branding should always begin from the bottom up never the other way around. Understand the market, needs, desires, decision making process, what it takes to be remembered, customer impressions, values, experience, and benefit. 

 

The position of your brand can either be or combination of: 

• Trust / Performance 

• Identity / Personality 

• Development / Growth 

• Dream / Fantasy 

 

You can even develop sub brands based on the above or play with other ways to position your brand. .  . Marketing & Sales requires a serious appreciation of art and science. If there were strategic templates that any small business owner could buy and apply then everyone would likely be running a mediocre brand. 

 

Brand gives meaning and defines the dimensions of a service. Brand building or success is a combination of so many factors and can take a year or even more. 

But here are quick tips: Needs a compelling story, win hearts and minds, be where your targets are, and never stop monitoring.

 

If you need more resources, you could search this blog or contact us. 

Saturday, July 16, 2011

It’s a Great Time to Be an Underdog in a Crab Bucket.

Is your brand, company, or product a little bit at the bottom of a crab bucket? You’re basically a crab trying desperately to climb out the bucket. I’ve got some good news. It’s a great time to be an underdog.

The biggest crab has to do business in this tough competitive-economy just like everyone else so use your status to challenge the biggest crab. Sure technology has made it easier but you need to win your customers, suppliers, family, friends support to help you challenge market leaders. MCI did it to AT&T. Rogers did it to Bell. To be honest, if I had any product like Microsoft Windows, I would not be encouraging any little crab like Google, Linux, Apple, and others. Maybe that’s what happened in this years NHL championship between Boston & Vancouver. Below are some tips to help you crawl out the bucket.

Some Tips:

• Create a product that the big crab cannot compete with
• Do not be an exact identical
• Get your team and support group to take on the bully
• Create marketing tactics that your competitor cannot duplicate
• Be bold but be aware of your audience
• Establish a personality
• Work with business service providers that know your company
• Be on the look out for new needs and new ways to fill them
• Help customers save money
• Find out what people want and give it to them
Monday, July 11, 2011

Find Peoples Real needs not your Perceived Need

"The mistake a lot of us make is to look at the folks at the (bottom) and assume that they must need the same types of services we need," Rangan says. "Everybody needs food. We need education, and so do the poor. We need banks, so they must need banks. But that's the wrong way of approaching it. The ecosystem in which they live is very different from ours. They're on weekly or even daily wages, and their family circumstances are different. So we've really got to dig in and figure out what their real needs are and their pain points."

Moreover, more than half of South Africa's population had no access to a bank account. This was largely because half of the population lived below the poverty line, and banks, understandably, were not eager to serve a moneyless customer base.

A company introduces a mobile phone bank only to realize that people in those situations were looking for easy money transfer and not a bank.

I’ve often come across entrepreneurs who want to start a business but the only info available to back their evidence of a market need for their service is themselves. Basically if I need it then this particular person most need it is the wrong mentality to have. You need to understand how your target perceives the product, how they use it, why they will pay for it, and what benefits they like.
Sunday, July 10, 2011

IPO Crazy Now. Dead End Later?

“CNBC reported yesterday that LivingSocial was in talks with banks for an IPO, without naming them.” “LivingSocial, led by co-founder Tim O’Shaughnessy, raised $400 million in April, valuing the company at $3.5 billion, two people said at the time. The company will generate $1 billion in revenue in 2011, they said.”

WOW, another internet company hoping to issue a $1 Billion IPO. I know I’ve seen this before. Oh yeah, the boom and bust of dot-com companies in year 2000. That was great time where anyone with an idea and no sales or profit could be worth $1 Billion. These IPO are great for the short term because most investors are buying just thin-air potential speculation. It’s like me telling people Justin Bieber is the next Michael Jackson when Justin hasn’t even had any consistency in album sales.

I think with time most of these businesses like GroupOn, LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, are going to end up like MySpace, Yahoo, AOL and unrelated, maybe Windows OS because :

• People gravitate to anything new and better
• People might be using certain sites like LivingSocial due to financial problems (US economy)
• People think it’s overcrowded
• It’s no longer cool.
• They’ve reached their peek
• The Founders have no larger than life Vision

I think what I would advice any business mind or IT mind is to build “The Matrix”. Yes the matrix system from the movie “Matrix”. A system that life is fully immersed in a world and people can’t live without.
Saturday, July 9, 2011

Founders Under™ Group Reaching a Milestone & Engaging Founders Around The World

When I first started this group, I never thought it could grow to such size and interaction, more than 500 members, reaching from east to west. Thanks to the continuous support of the fun members, linkedin for the tools and our marketing partners like BJ Mannyst. 

It’s early to say what the future holds for this group. For now, it will serve and listen. If members have ideas or suggestions to reach myself or Founders Under 40 (FU40 Group). http://fu40group.bjmannyst.com

 

 

Thank You

P.S. As of 2020...35000+  .   For those who want extra support and value pay for added value.

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