The Joy Killers - A business murder Mystery.

Many folks in business today have never had to deal with inflation. In the US and Europe, the last time high inflation was rampant was back in the 1970s. The world today is very different from 1970s and no one is predicting we will see the same levels of inflation we saw back then, but prices will be rising faster than we have been used. The most recent inflation prints have done little to reduce...

Apple's market share is bigger than BMW's or Mercedes's or Porsche's in the automotive market. What's wrong with being BMW or Mercedes? Steve Jobs If you’re looking to start or expand your business, you need to have a firm understanding of how to enter and grow within your chosen market. This requires you to take what you’ve learned during your market analysis to develop a market penetration strat...

We are not willing to compromise our values in order to increase our market share. Pavel Durov Is your target market large enough to support your ambitions for your company? This is an important metric that you, and your potential investors, need to understand to be able to assess your chances of success. I have read articles that say the market size needs to be in the billions. Yes, if you want t...

‘Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!’ The Red Queen – Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll Published 1865 Every entrepreneur starting out has visions of her/his baby growing into a successful business. They may not be dreaming of becoming a unicorn, maybe $1 Million turnov...

The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change. Bill Clinton. No one would dispute that Covid 19 has changed to the world of business in every part of the world. The rules have changed – the way business is conducted is different – the rule of adapt or die has been ruthlessly enforced The need to be agile, transformational, adaptive which ever word you use will contin...

A penny saved is a penny earned – Benjamin Franklin Ensure you know your burn rate and track it frequently – I would suggest a monthly at a minimum This means a monthly cash flow statement Set up controls to ensure spending commitments are properly authorized Consider the use of credit cards – giving you the ability to check spending online at any time Insist on receipts Avoid petty cash Structure...

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.” Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield (1850) Written by Charles Dickens ​ JIM SCHLECKSER the CEO of Inc. magazine’s CEO Project wrote in a 2017 article that when asked by a budding entrepreneur for three pieces of advice...

There is never a time in a company's history when cost control can be relegated to the back burner, but for a startup company, keeping costs low is a vital necessity. Felix Dennis English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer and philanthropist. The day you run out of money is the day your business closes. Time to break even will likely take longer than you thought There is always the unexpected...

Episode 24 – On thin ice? Ten signs that your start up maybe beginning to fail. Based on a Forbes Inc article by Geoge Deeb published May 2021 Lost Focus on Primary Goal For some startups, their focus can divert to unimportant factors than the primary goal at hand. A successful startup learns to prioritize its efforts and stay religiously focused on that end goal. Poor or Slow Execution There are...

“Cut smart, Cut with a plan, and Cut with help” Jason Goldberg - Fab If the viability of your start up is in question its time to take action. Do not wait, the earlier the treatment the easier the cure Staff costs are a major cost and there is a temptation to cut drastically. Cut Fast Cut Deep is often quoted, Reflecting on the failure of his start up Fab’s Jason Goldberg regretted imposing massiv...

Episode 22 Employee turnover costs you money. – Retention is the key “We cannot stop employees leaving unless we have a plan to them stay”. Hiring replacement employees is expensive. Recruitment costs Lost productivity Reduced institutional knowledge Stress on remaining employees Onboarding and training costs Loss of morale It’s expensive Built In reports the average costs to replace an employee i...

Episode 21 Start up hiring is different. Here is why you need a hiring plan. Recruiting talent is no different than any other challenge a start-up faces. It’s all about selling.” – Vivek Wadhwa Staff expenses are likely to a major cost to your P&L. In labor intensive industries they can be as high as 70% of your total costs. The term labor intensive conjures up a vision of old-fashioned manual...

1. Value-Based Pricing Strategy A value-based pricing strategy is when companies price their products or services based the price that the customer is willing to pay for a product. How you establish what a customer is willing to pay can be challenging and is a reason why many companies shy away from value-based pricing and revert to cost plus pricing. If how much money you can save your customer c...

Skimming Pricing Strategy A skimming pricing strategy is when companies charge the highest possible price for a new product to early adopters of new technology and then lower the price over time to attract later adopters and a product cost decrease due to efficiencies and economy of scale. I can recall when digital watches were first introduced in the early 1970’s their prices were the equivalent...

In this episode we get more tactical we will look at some of the many pricing strategies that are available to you and help you understand which strategies are appropriate for your business. You will likely use a combination of strategies to maximize your profitability Competition-Based Pricing Strategy Competition-based pricing is also known as competitive pricing or competitor-based pricing. Thi...

Episode 17. The fundamentals of pricing strategy, what you need to know for market success Pricing Strategy is a model or method used to establish the best price for a product or service. It helps you choose prices to maximize your objectives, while considering consumer and market demand. Getting pricing right is not easy, price too high and you will not generate many sales, price too low and you...

Episode 16 – Research shows that stage presence is the leading predictor of success when pitching to investors. Improve your stage presence with these 6 tips ​ Research published in the September/October edition of Harvard Business Review found that stage presence was the leading predictor of success in gaining funding from investors. Sadly 75% of people suffer from Glossophobia or the fear of pub...

Episode 14 Production costs too high? Find the best way to reduce your costs. ​ Cost is usually a balance between good, fast and cheap. You can have two of the three but not all of them. If you find that your variable costs are more than your customer is willing to pay but you still believe in your idea what options are open to you? Continue regardless in the belief that at some point sales volume...

Episode 15 – Launching a B2C business? Why you should be thinking about your customer loyalty programs now. ​ Why should I be thinking about a customer loyalty program even before I launch my business. I am not ready to give discounts and I don’t even have any customers yet. This is an understandable reaction. Many companies have loyalty programs. Why? Do they like giving away money? Loyalty progr...

Episode 14 Production costs too high? Find the best way to reduce your costs. ​ Cost is usually a balance between good, fast and cheap. You can have two of the three but not all of them. If you find that your variable costs are more than your customer is willing to pay but you still believe in your idea what options are open to you? Continue regardless in the belief that at some point sales volume...

Whatever type of business you are in you will have production costs. Whether you are manufacturing a physical item, providing a service, or selling software Until you understand your cost of production you cannot be sure your business will be profitable. 

Episode 36 Scenarios, Sanity Checks and Sources of Funds. How to get the most out of your financial plan. The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry Robert Burns Your plan is finalized, as you have used a financial planning software the numbers should tick and tie. You are ready to present to potential investors who will be blown away by your financial skills. Maybe not so fast. The plan ca...

Why you will win and make money! ​ You are eliminating unknowns Following the steps, we discussed last week you have confirmed that there is a demand for your product. It may not have been your original concept, but it is a product or service that people will buy You now have a good understanding of your competitors and weaknesses and what you can do better than them You are showing the tenacity n...

Find your perfect market penetration strategy? Speed of penetration Unless you are lucky enough to have a product or service that goes viral faster market growth costs more money Penetration pricing High customer acquisition costs Capacity build Loss of prestige Go with a big bang? Or fly under the radar? Use your minimum viable product to test concepts What if you must grow fast – Product offerin...

How to outcompete your competitors What are your core competencies? The concept of core competency was developed by Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad in 1990 and discussed in their book “Competing for the future”. A core competence is something that your business has or can do strategically well. Understand your competitors’ sales and marketing strategies Talk to their customers to learn of any gaps i...