Sales Magic is Bogus: Understanding the 80/20 Rule & Trigger Points (Part 2)
January 18th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
In their profession, top sellers obsess over one critical rule: What is the 20% I do which makes 80% of the difference in the acquisition and retention of my customer?
This is not rocket science folks- just simple mathematics.
However, it does require a highly skilled salesperson to recognize the 20% which does in fact make 80% of the difference. So then, how do you recognize this 20% sooner rather then later? Well, to be truthful, it can be complicated in certain industries, but overall it boils down to a few things:
Time – The longer you spend understanding your customer, both in person and through your own independent research, the more successful you will be in every stage of the sales process.
Energy – It is contagious. If you’re high energy, your customer will be as well. High energy = high engagement, high engagement = more likely sale. High energy can easily tip the odds of a sale in your favor
Persistence – On average, it takes 5 “no’s” to get a “yes.” Don’t simply take the first “no” as the customers only answer in the sales process and leave (as 99% of sales people do). Instead, expect and embrace the “no,” because the sooner you get all 5 out of the way, the sooner you’re going to make the sale.
Enthusiasm – Believe in yourself, your product and the process by which you make the sale. If you don’t, you’re mediocre at best at the sales profession.
Leveraging each of the above points to learn about your target consumer is a crucial first step in understanding their purchasing triggers in both short and long-term contexts.
Next, take what you’ve learned from your customer (constructive feedback) and immerse yourself in their purchasing mentality. Devote a considerable amount of time and energy toward understanding every one of their tastes/habits/likes/dislikes. This is not meant to be an overnight exercise- the more time you spend reflecting, the easier it will be for you to identify with your customer.
Once a salesperson understands their target consumers purchasing mentality, they can then begin the process of honing their presentation into a few concise, actionable and repeatable steps. Over time, this makes all the difference in the world between selling just the industry average and selling in excess of 200% more then the next closest sales representative.
——Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The Advice Most Important to Entrepreneurs in this Economy
The Advice Most Important to Entrepreneurs in this Economy
January 18th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
When I look back over the advice given by entrepreneurs featured on NewsonWomen.com in 2009, it becomes clear what entrepreneurs think is important. The number one topic mentioned again and again by entrepreneurs on how to be successful is “people” – who you work with makes the difference.
The second most popular piece of advice mentioned is finding your “niche” and capitalizing on the opportunities it presents. Coming in third for advice on the road to success is the “customer”, and treating your customers well so they become loyal. This is an unscientific study, but interesting nonetheless.
I was not surprised to find very little mention of financing or advice on how to fund a business in my review, even in this year of economic hardship. Entrepreneurs are by nature creative and innovative, and most aren’t trained in the area of finance. It’s well known women receive only a small share of the venture capital dollars available, so what choices do women entrepreneurs have? I guess it comes down to banking or bootstrapping (using your own money, growing internally and maintaining control of your company).
What do entrepreneurs know of finance and of bankers? When they seek financing, are they focused on the banker’s needs as well as their own? As a banker, I came from a traditional background well versed in the five C’s of credit:
Collateral
Character (the entrepreneur’s)
Cash flow (capacity to repay)
Capital (the money invested by the owner)
Conditions (economic environment, money use etc.)
Today’s financial mess is in a large part due to many bankers forgetting these simple rules. Bankers should be somewhat risk-averse, a far cry from the entrepreneurial personality. But these personalities don’t necessarily need to collide. They need to understand each other. Entrepreneurs need to understand the value of the five C’s of bankers. And bankers need to learn the five C’s of entrepreneurs – courage (to take the right risk), control (of their company and their destiny), commitment (to their dream and to growth), compassion (to their people and to their customers), and collaboration (among all). If this happens, 2010 could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
—-
About the Bloggger:
Alice Krause, former Deputy Credit Executive of Chase Bank’s retail businesses, is Founder of the award winning www.newsonwomen,com, the daily news site that focuses on women’s achievements. News on Women reports on what women are doing in business, education, science and technology, philanthropy and the arts.
January 18th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
When I look back over the advice given by entrepreneurs featured on NewsonWomen.com in 2009, it becomes clear what entrepreneurs think is important. The number one topic mentioned again and again by entrepreneurs on how to be successful is “people” – who you work with makes the difference.
The second most popular piece of advice mentioned is finding your “niche” and capitalizing on the opportunities it presents. Coming in third for advice on the road to success is the “customer”, and treating your customers well so they become loyal. This is an unscientific study, but interesting nonetheless.
I was not surprised to find very little mention of financing or advice on how to fund a business in my review, even in this year of economic hardship. Entrepreneurs are by nature creative and innovative, and most aren’t trained in the area of finance. It’s well known women receive only a small share of the venture capital dollars available, so what choices do women entrepreneurs have? I guess it comes down to banking or bootstrapping (using your own money, growing internally and maintaining control of your company).
What do entrepreneurs know of finance and of bankers? When they seek financing, are they focused on the banker’s needs as well as their own? As a banker, I came from a traditional background well versed in the five C’s of credit:
Collateral
Character (the entrepreneur’s)
Cash flow (capacity to repay)
Capital (the money invested by the owner)
Conditions (economic environment, money use etc.)
Today’s financial mess is in a large part due to many bankers forgetting these simple rules. Bankers should be somewhat risk-averse, a far cry from the entrepreneurial personality. But these personalities don’t necessarily need to collide. They need to understand each other. Entrepreneurs need to understand the value of the five C’s of bankers. And bankers need to learn the five C’s of entrepreneurs – courage (to take the right risk), control (of their company and their destiny), commitment (to their dream and to growth), compassion (to their people and to their customers), and collaboration (among all). If this happens, 2010 could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
—-
About the Bloggger:
Alice Krause, former Deputy Credit Executive of Chase Bank’s retail businesses, is Founder of the award winning www.newsonwomen,com, the daily news site that focuses on women’s achievements. News on Women reports on what women are doing in business, education, science and technology, philanthropy and the arts.
AOL Interview: An Entrepreneurial Lesson
AOL Interview: An Entrepreneurial Lesson
January 20th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Recently AOL’s Daleela Farina interviewed NYEW founder Gary Whitehill on a myraid of subjects, including: his journey as a serial entrepreneur, thoughts on inspirational leadership, the vision of NYEW and plans for The Relentless Foundation in 2010.
The article can be found here.
——
Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
January 20th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Recently AOL’s Daleela Farina interviewed NYEW founder Gary Whitehill on a myraid of subjects, including: his journey as a serial entrepreneur, thoughts on inspirational leadership, the vision of NYEW and plans for The Relentless Foundation in 2010.
The article can be found here.
——
Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
Becoming an Entrepreneur: Things to Consider
Becoming an Entrepreneur: Things to Consider
January 22nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
This past October I had a conversation with a member of the United States House of Representatives about health care reform. During our conversation, the Congressman made an interesting comment to me about entrepreneurship; he said that the biggest concern with health care costs now are that they prohibit people from becoming entrepreneurs.
When deciding whether or not to pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity, you are forced to choose between a job with a steady salary and health benefits or starting your own company with no salary and out-of-pocket healthcare fees that can cost you thousands of dollars each year.
The lack of salary is not as prohibitive for entrepreneurs as people build up their own cushion prior to leaving their 9-5 job knowing they will not have a salary while starting their business. But losing all of the various benefits that come along with a full time position at an established company can be a hindrance to budding new entrepreneurs as they loose these benefits, including the group rate costs of health insurance and a reduced cost for health insurance as some of the employees costs are picked up by the employer.
Different people will have different opinions on the health insurance dilemma for entrepreneurs. Insurance brokers will try and sell you a plan for your company stressing that it is a tax deduction, while others will tell you that you don’t need insurance right away since you can always go to a clinic or to just buy the cheapest insurance you can find in case of emergencies. But at the end of the day, this is just one of the decisions that people need to consider before starting their own company.
Some others include:
Do I need to quit my job – Can I continue working at my 9-5 job while working on my company at nights and on weekends so I can maintain a salary and benefits or do I have to give it all up and focus 100% on my new idea?
Should I try and raise capital right away – Do I need money in the company to cover benefits and expenses or should I keep as many shares as I can to myself and live on a shoestring budget until I am making a profits or ready for partners?
Should I rent an office – Do you need a place to work every day and pay rent or can you work from home until the company gets going?
Should I incorporate – Often people are very quick to incorporate so they can say that they have their own company. With LegalZoom and MyCorporation, it is so easy to do, but people often don’t understand what they are doing or the long-term effects of their decision now. The type of corporation you choose now may not be the best in the future should you need to bring on investors.
At the end of the day, entrepreneurs need to realize that while they have an idea that they believe in, starting your own company is much more than just an idea. When starting your own company, many decisions will affect not only your cash flow but your personal life dramatically. You will essentially be married to your idea and your business and you must devote all of your efforts to it. Entrepreneurs need to make sure that if the business fails, it is a result of the business and not because issues in their personal life caused them to shut it down. Being able to say that you gave it your best shot is all anyone can ever ask for.
—–
About the Blogger:
Aron Schoenfeld, is the co-founder of DreamArtists Studios (www.dreamartists.com), a boutique music production company specializing in music for television, commercials and film. Aron also serves on the Board of Advisors for New York Entrepreneur Week and the Bergen Newspaper Group. For more information about Aron, please visit his website at www.aronschoenfeld.com
January 22nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
This past October I had a conversation with a member of the United States House of Representatives about health care reform. During our conversation, the Congressman made an interesting comment to me about entrepreneurship; he said that the biggest concern with health care costs now are that they prohibit people from becoming entrepreneurs.
When deciding whether or not to pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity, you are forced to choose between a job with a steady salary and health benefits or starting your own company with no salary and out-of-pocket healthcare fees that can cost you thousands of dollars each year.
The lack of salary is not as prohibitive for entrepreneurs as people build up their own cushion prior to leaving their 9-5 job knowing they will not have a salary while starting their business. But losing all of the various benefits that come along with a full time position at an established company can be a hindrance to budding new entrepreneurs as they loose these benefits, including the group rate costs of health insurance and a reduced cost for health insurance as some of the employees costs are picked up by the employer.
Different people will have different opinions on the health insurance dilemma for entrepreneurs. Insurance brokers will try and sell you a plan for your company stressing that it is a tax deduction, while others will tell you that you don’t need insurance right away since you can always go to a clinic or to just buy the cheapest insurance you can find in case of emergencies. But at the end of the day, this is just one of the decisions that people need to consider before starting their own company.
Some others include:
Do I need to quit my job – Can I continue working at my 9-5 job while working on my company at nights and on weekends so I can maintain a salary and benefits or do I have to give it all up and focus 100% on my new idea?
Should I try and raise capital right away – Do I need money in the company to cover benefits and expenses or should I keep as many shares as I can to myself and live on a shoestring budget until I am making a profits or ready for partners?
Should I rent an office – Do you need a place to work every day and pay rent or can you work from home until the company gets going?
Should I incorporate – Often people are very quick to incorporate so they can say that they have their own company. With LegalZoom and MyCorporation, it is so easy to do, but people often don’t understand what they are doing or the long-term effects of their decision now. The type of corporation you choose now may not be the best in the future should you need to bring on investors.
At the end of the day, entrepreneurs need to realize that while they have an idea that they believe in, starting your own company is much more than just an idea. When starting your own company, many decisions will affect not only your cash flow but your personal life dramatically. You will essentially be married to your idea and your business and you must devote all of your efforts to it. Entrepreneurs need to make sure that if the business fails, it is a result of the business and not because issues in their personal life caused them to shut it down. Being able to say that you gave it your best shot is all anyone can ever ask for.
—–
About the Blogger:
Aron Schoenfeld, is the co-founder of DreamArtists Studios (www.dreamartists.com), a boutique music production company specializing in music for television, commercials and film. Aron also serves on the Board of Advisors for New York Entrepreneur Week and the Bergen Newspaper Group. For more information about Aron, please visit his website at www.aronschoenfeld.com
The State of Fashion for the Emerging Luxury Entrepreneur
The State of Fashion for the Emerging Luxury Entrepreneur
January 24th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
The luxury fashion market has been in the headlines of every major city for over a year now. Stocks are down; prices are lower than ever, marketing teams are being called in. Branding is strategically evaluated bit by bit, over the worlds leaders like LVMH, Gucci Group and Hermes.
“The reality is people love luxury, they love brands, they love shopping…what has changed is their understanding,” Steve Sadove, Chairman and Chief Executive of Saks, said during a panel discussing the state of the luxury segment at the National Retail Federation’s annual convention.
With all research going back to the idea that it is customer service and unique additions is what will keep the big brands alive. Customization has become key – everywhere from Hermes with their engravers hitting the stores to scribe personal perfume bottles, to Prada’s made-to-order stores. Even Chanel and Dolce and Gabanna are literally “asking” clients what they want.
But it is even a more interesting situation when looking at the entrepreneur.
If consumers are shelling out large dollar amounts only for the labels they know and rely on because of longevity and branding practices… what happens to the luxury entrepreneur?
I am of the opinion that partnerships are the best way to go right now.
Take for instance Furio Apparel. Both originally students of Rhode Island School of Design Catherine Furio and Parker Manis, have a business plan that exceeds the general “We want to make pretty clothing”.
Their vision links with short film makers, jewelry design, and industrial design allowing them to “incubate” young talent as well, while their collection and business grows. They invest in their own community of artists. Spring 2010 even brought on artisans from The Crochet Guild of America, who gave the brand pieces to insert within the garments.
This gives a young business a greater success rate by allowing them to explore other areas of the design business, essentially making the risk of investment less, because with every dress could come a coffee table or a short documentary.
If the fashion industry is all about “the new” it is important that the business world embraces newness as it were and rewards those who have thought outside of the box to be able to do it different and better than others. “The consumer directs, the customer requests but the brand decides.” Jeff Fardell , CEO of Mexx.
Those should be words to live by for an emerging luxury entrepreneur.
—–
About the Blogger: Lynn Furge is the Creative Director of Nolcha: Fashion Business Services; a leading operator of educational, event outlets, and business-to-business services devoted to fashion entrepreneurs and related retail businesses. The Nolcha platform includes Nolcha.com, an online fashion portal delivering business education and services; Nolcha Fashion Week: New York, currently held during New York fashion week providing key exposure to press, buyers, and industry figures for emerging and independent fashion designers from all over the world to break into the New York fashion market, in both apparel and accessories; events during London Fashion Week with key partners and Independent Retail Week in New York and Chicago, an initiative to drive business and increase revenue for small fashion retail brands.
January 24th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
The luxury fashion market has been in the headlines of every major city for over a year now. Stocks are down; prices are lower than ever, marketing teams are being called in. Branding is strategically evaluated bit by bit, over the worlds leaders like LVMH, Gucci Group and Hermes.
“The reality is people love luxury, they love brands, they love shopping…what has changed is their understanding,” Steve Sadove, Chairman and Chief Executive of Saks, said during a panel discussing the state of the luxury segment at the National Retail Federation’s annual convention.
With all research going back to the idea that it is customer service and unique additions is what will keep the big brands alive. Customization has become key – everywhere from Hermes with their engravers hitting the stores to scribe personal perfume bottles, to Prada’s made-to-order stores. Even Chanel and Dolce and Gabanna are literally “asking” clients what they want.
But it is even a more interesting situation when looking at the entrepreneur.
If consumers are shelling out large dollar amounts only for the labels they know and rely on because of longevity and branding practices… what happens to the luxury entrepreneur?
I am of the opinion that partnerships are the best way to go right now.
Take for instance Furio Apparel. Both originally students of Rhode Island School of Design Catherine Furio and Parker Manis, have a business plan that exceeds the general “We want to make pretty clothing”.
Their vision links with short film makers, jewelry design, and industrial design allowing them to “incubate” young talent as well, while their collection and business grows. They invest in their own community of artists. Spring 2010 even brought on artisans from The Crochet Guild of America, who gave the brand pieces to insert within the garments.
This gives a young business a greater success rate by allowing them to explore other areas of the design business, essentially making the risk of investment less, because with every dress could come a coffee table or a short documentary.
If the fashion industry is all about “the new” it is important that the business world embraces newness as it were and rewards those who have thought outside of the box to be able to do it different and better than others. “The consumer directs, the customer requests but the brand decides.” Jeff Fardell , CEO of Mexx.
Those should be words to live by for an emerging luxury entrepreneur.
—–
About the Blogger: Lynn Furge is the Creative Director of Nolcha: Fashion Business Services; a leading operator of educational, event outlets, and business-to-business services devoted to fashion entrepreneurs and related retail businesses. The Nolcha platform includes Nolcha.com, an online fashion portal delivering business education and services; Nolcha Fashion Week: New York, currently held during New York fashion week providing key exposure to press, buyers, and industry figures for emerging and independent fashion designers from all over the world to break into the New York fashion market, in both apparel and accessories; events during London Fashion Week with key partners and Independent Retail Week in New York and Chicago, an initiative to drive business and increase revenue for small fashion retail brands.
Quickly Connect With NYC’s Thriving Startup Community
Quickly Connect With NYC’s Thriving Startup Community
January 26th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
Groups/Events:
Garysguide.org
NY Tech Meetup
NextNY
New York Entrepreneur Week
Girls in Tech New York
Bootup IO
Ultra Light Startups
Hackers and Founders
Brooklyn+30
Augmented Reality New York
Endeavor
Hatchery
Startup One Stop
Founders Institute New York
Entrepreneurs Roundtable
New York PHP
MIT Enterprise Forum of NY
Web2NewYork
iBreakfast
Mobile Monday New York
Young Women Social Entrepreneurs
Lean Startup Meetup New York
Early-stage VCs:
NYC SeedStart from NYCSeed
Union Square Ventures
Genacast
First Round Capital
Polaris Venture Partners
Spark Capital
Contour Ventures
Betaworks
Metamorphic Ventures
Founders Collective
NYC Investment Fund
DreamIt Ventures
SoftBank Capital
RRE Ventures
DFJ Gotham
Greenhill SAVP
General Catalyst
Angels/Angel Groups:
New York Angels
Keiretsu Forum New York
Esther Dyson
Scott Kurnit
Office Space for Small Companies / Co-working:
Hive at 55
DogPatch Labs
New Work City
Rose Tech Ventures
Sunshine suites
Tech Space
Common Spaces
NYU/Poly Incubator
Services:
Freelancers Union
——
About the Blogger: Murat Aktihanoglu is the founder/CEO of Centrl, a location based social network.He is also the organizer of Entrepreneurs Roundtable events in NYC and the co-author of the upcoming LBS/Mobile book from Manning.
January 26th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
Groups/Events:
Garysguide.org
NY Tech Meetup
NextNY
New York Entrepreneur Week
Girls in Tech New York
Bootup IO
Ultra Light Startups
Hackers and Founders
Brooklyn+30
Augmented Reality New York
Endeavor
Hatchery
Startup One Stop
Founders Institute New York
Entrepreneurs Roundtable
New York PHP
MIT Enterprise Forum of NY
Web2NewYork
iBreakfast
Mobile Monday New York
Young Women Social Entrepreneurs
Lean Startup Meetup New York
Early-stage VCs:
NYC SeedStart from NYCSeed
Union Square Ventures
Genacast
First Round Capital
Polaris Venture Partners
Spark Capital
Contour Ventures
Betaworks
Metamorphic Ventures
Founders Collective
NYC Investment Fund
DreamIt Ventures
SoftBank Capital
RRE Ventures
DFJ Gotham
Greenhill SAVP
General Catalyst
Angels/Angel Groups:
New York Angels
Keiretsu Forum New York
Esther Dyson
Scott Kurnit
Office Space for Small Companies / Co-working:
Hive at 55
DogPatch Labs
New Work City
Rose Tech Ventures
Sunshine suites
Tech Space
Common Spaces
NYU/Poly Incubator
Services:
Freelancers Union
——
About the Blogger: Murat Aktihanoglu is the founder/CEO of Centrl, a location based social network.He is also the organizer of Entrepreneurs Roundtable events in NYC and the co-author of the upcoming LBS/Mobile book from Manning.
Stop Chasing Shiny Things: 5 Key Questions to Keep You on Track
Stop Chasing Shiny Things: 5 Key Questions to Keep You on Track
January 31st, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
All too often as entrepreneurs, there are a million and one ideas swimming around your head. You see trends in the marketplace that with the right mix of marketing, execution, technology, and effort could mean big success. But all too often, that million dollar idea quickly loses its luster and is soon replaced by another million dollar idea, and so on, and so on. Some of the keys to overcoming this obstacle were discussed in the “Goal Setting- the importance of 30, 60, and 90 day goals” panel discussion at NYEW this past November.
As entrepreneurs, you must realize that your vision and creativity is not only your greatest asset, but also your greatest weakness. Using the creative genius of the entrepreneur in you will always produce millions of possibilities, but not all of those possibilities are legitimate sustainable businesses.
The first way is to keep yourself focused and to stop chasing shiny things is to not let too much time lapse between the idea and your determination of its viability as a legitimate business opportunity. In today’s fast paced global market, you cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and waste time chasing shiny things, so it is imperative that you place a maximum time limit that you will devote to the exploration of an idea. This is especially important if you are a start up entrepreneur who has not yet opened a business.
The second way to keep yourself focused and to stop chasing shiny things is to develop a standard vetting process for all of your ideas. Using this process, you ask key questions to determine if you should move forward on the idea. If it meets the minimum criteria, then there should be another set of questions, and so on, if it fails, you either hold it off to the side for the future and move on to another idea, or discard it and move on..
The following are the 5 key questions to ask of any business idea to determine if it is worth pursuing.
1) Does the opportunity fit my skills and experiences? If I am a restaurateur, opening a used car lot to take advantage of the growing demand for used cars may be a good idea, but is not a good fit for core skills and competencies.
2) Is the opportunity a business or a job? Many ideas are great for a one man show but cannot be expanded into a large scale business. If you open one franchise, you have a job, if you become a master franchisor and open multiple stores, you have a business.
3) Does the opportunity have large market appeal? Is the sales potential large enough to sustain the growth and revenues necessary to make this a lucrative business? What is the size of my market, how many people will buy from me and why?
4) Does the opportunity have a residual income component? I have a friend who sells custom outdoor kitchens, it is a great and lucrative business, but he is constantly hunting for elephants. Is this a business that requires elephant hunting or one where once you bag the elephant, he will continue to buy over and over and over.
5) What is the execution timeframe? How quickly you can put all the pieces together and bring the opportunity to market and begin generating revenue.
Over the years, these questions have helped to separate the “nice to do” ideas from the “need to do” ideas and to spend my time most effectively. The combination of setting clear goals based on predetermined time frames and a minimum standard vetting process has helped me stay on track and can also do the same for you. Best of luck!
—-
About the Blogger: Will Corrente, is the founder of Operation Entrepreneur, an entrepreneurship consulting firm based in West Palm Beach, FL. In addition, he writes a weekly column on small business and entrepreneurship for The Bergen News.
January 31st, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
All too often as entrepreneurs, there are a million and one ideas swimming around your head. You see trends in the marketplace that with the right mix of marketing, execution, technology, and effort could mean big success. But all too often, that million dollar idea quickly loses its luster and is soon replaced by another million dollar idea, and so on, and so on. Some of the keys to overcoming this obstacle were discussed in the “Goal Setting- the importance of 30, 60, and 90 day goals” panel discussion at NYEW this past November.
As entrepreneurs, you must realize that your vision and creativity is not only your greatest asset, but also your greatest weakness. Using the creative genius of the entrepreneur in you will always produce millions of possibilities, but not all of those possibilities are legitimate sustainable businesses.
The first way is to keep yourself focused and to stop chasing shiny things is to not let too much time lapse between the idea and your determination of its viability as a legitimate business opportunity. In today’s fast paced global market, you cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and waste time chasing shiny things, so it is imperative that you place a maximum time limit that you will devote to the exploration of an idea. This is especially important if you are a start up entrepreneur who has not yet opened a business.
The second way to keep yourself focused and to stop chasing shiny things is to develop a standard vetting process for all of your ideas. Using this process, you ask key questions to determine if you should move forward on the idea. If it meets the minimum criteria, then there should be another set of questions, and so on, if it fails, you either hold it off to the side for the future and move on to another idea, or discard it and move on..
The following are the 5 key questions to ask of any business idea to determine if it is worth pursuing.
1) Does the opportunity fit my skills and experiences? If I am a restaurateur, opening a used car lot to take advantage of the growing demand for used cars may be a good idea, but is not a good fit for core skills and competencies.
2) Is the opportunity a business or a job? Many ideas are great for a one man show but cannot be expanded into a large scale business. If you open one franchise, you have a job, if you become a master franchisor and open multiple stores, you have a business.
3) Does the opportunity have large market appeal? Is the sales potential large enough to sustain the growth and revenues necessary to make this a lucrative business? What is the size of my market, how many people will buy from me and why?
4) Does the opportunity have a residual income component? I have a friend who sells custom outdoor kitchens, it is a great and lucrative business, but he is constantly hunting for elephants. Is this a business that requires elephant hunting or one where once you bag the elephant, he will continue to buy over and over and over.
5) What is the execution timeframe? How quickly you can put all the pieces together and bring the opportunity to market and begin generating revenue.
Over the years, these questions have helped to separate the “nice to do” ideas from the “need to do” ideas and to spend my time most effectively. The combination of setting clear goals based on predetermined time frames and a minimum standard vetting process has helped me stay on track and can also do the same for you. Best of luck!
—-
About the Blogger: Will Corrente, is the founder of Operation Entrepreneur, an entrepreneurship consulting firm based in West Palm Beach, FL. In addition, he writes a weekly column on small business and entrepreneurship for The Bergen News.
Two Careers That Didn’t Exist Ten Years Ago
Two Careers That Didn’t Exist Ten Years Ago
February 1st, 2010 Author: Lis Hubert
As a user experience designer, I find it extremely challenging to describe to others what I do. I’m sure there are many reasons why this is, but I think the biggest reason is that my career is so new. In fact, it has been in existence, at least in the web world, less time than I have!
Knowing my struggles in this arena, my good friend passed along to me this article. As I scrolled down the list, I noticed numbers:
7. Social Media Strategist
8. User Experience Analyst
Seeing both side by side as separate titles threw me off. I mean, isn’t part of making a website enjoyable and easy to use integrated with having a social media strategy? Don’t I do this day in and day out with each and every client I work with? I would be extremely hesitant to hire a social media strategist that didn’t have a user experience/usability background.
Here’s why: when business owners hear social media they tend to think about getting more customers to interact with their brand at all costs. “Oh, this is a free way to sell my product.” A social media strategist without a user experience background can help you get more followers on twitter and more fans on Facebook, but I’m unsure they’d be able to get you the right followers and fans.
For me as an entrepreneur, it’s about quality over quantity. Quality followers and fans are different for each brand. Finding this quality group, that’s the job of your user experience designer.
As a user experience designer, it is my job to first know your user base, your business and your competition and to help you do the same. A UX (user experience) Designer will do research to see where the intended user and business requirements intersect and help to promote and attain the needs of both. By doing so, the UXD brings to life the user behaviors of your target customer and that is important for your social media strategy. Knowing your customers, how they act, think and behave is key to knowing how, when and where to implement social media.
The point? Having more followers is great and yes helps, at times, to contribute to sales and word of mouth. But having followers that are engaged with your company, that have a relationship with it because your company meets and exceeds the customer’s expectation is invaluable. These are the followers that will be with you through thick and thin, answering the questions:
Who will buy your product and evangelize your service so you don’t have to?
Who will bring your business from average to extraordinary?
—–
About the Blogger: Lis is the Founder of Hubert Experience Design, a botique user experience firm based in NYC. Her firm has worked with a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 to start-up. Hubert Experience Design takes pride in making websites better and easier to use.
February 1st, 2010 Author: Lis Hubert
As a user experience designer, I find it extremely challenging to describe to others what I do. I’m sure there are many reasons why this is, but I think the biggest reason is that my career is so new. In fact, it has been in existence, at least in the web world, less time than I have!
Knowing my struggles in this arena, my good friend passed along to me this article. As I scrolled down the list, I noticed numbers:
7. Social Media Strategist
8. User Experience Analyst
Seeing both side by side as separate titles threw me off. I mean, isn’t part of making a website enjoyable and easy to use integrated with having a social media strategy? Don’t I do this day in and day out with each and every client I work with? I would be extremely hesitant to hire a social media strategist that didn’t have a user experience/usability background.
Here’s why: when business owners hear social media they tend to think about getting more customers to interact with their brand at all costs. “Oh, this is a free way to sell my product.” A social media strategist without a user experience background can help you get more followers on twitter and more fans on Facebook, but I’m unsure they’d be able to get you the right followers and fans.
For me as an entrepreneur, it’s about quality over quantity. Quality followers and fans are different for each brand. Finding this quality group, that’s the job of your user experience designer.
As a user experience designer, it is my job to first know your user base, your business and your competition and to help you do the same. A UX (user experience) Designer will do research to see where the intended user and business requirements intersect and help to promote and attain the needs of both. By doing so, the UXD brings to life the user behaviors of your target customer and that is important for your social media strategy. Knowing your customers, how they act, think and behave is key to knowing how, when and where to implement social media.
The point? Having more followers is great and yes helps, at times, to contribute to sales and word of mouth. But having followers that are engaged with your company, that have a relationship with it because your company meets and exceeds the customer’s expectation is invaluable. These are the followers that will be with you through thick and thin, answering the questions:
Who will buy your product and evangelize your service so you don’t have to?
Who will bring your business from average to extraordinary?
—–
About the Blogger: Lis is the Founder of Hubert Experience Design, a botique user experience firm based in NYC. Her firm has worked with a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 to start-up. Hubert Experience Design takes pride in making websites better and easier to use.
The Fundamental Choices and Right Questions for Entrepreneurs
The Fundamental Choices and Right Questions for Entrepreneurs
February 7th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
After over a year of working with a variety of clients – individuals and companies – I have realized there are two crucial factors that determine long-term success: the choices we make now and the questions we ask about our future.
You may think that’s awfully obvious. But my experience shows otherwise. My consulting practice is geared to showing clients how to prioritize what they have to change, so that they can make real progress – in business, or in life. Too often companies are focused on their direction and execution, without truly understanding the intention and sense of purpose that drives them. This impacts their ability to make fundamental choices or ask the right questions to move them forward.
“I have a manufacturing crisis”, “I need to hire someone now”, “I have to decide whether this partnership will work” … these are typical client dilemmas. Here’s where it becomes interesting. Because for most clients their obvious course is to try figure out what choices they have to make to immediately improve their situation, and to answer questions that solve current problems.
Instead, I encourage clients to value a strategic perspective. I push them to think about fundamental choices, not short-term trade-offs. A fundamental choice is a conscious decision to act in a way that will ultimately lead to you and your business being focused on your purpose. It often depends on the kind of transformational questions you ask. Not “what can we change?” But “why are we making this change?”
Purpose is a journey. My first step is to measure how purpose-centered each client is: do they know who they are and what is important to them, and why they do what they do? My next step is to show them how their brains are hard-wired for certain behaviors, and how, unless they truly understand the pattern that makes them successful, they will have trouble making decisions, solving problems and communicating ideas.
When you have your purpose blueprint in hand, it’s easy to start creating better strategies. So it’s at this point that I help clients prioritize what’s really important to them. I show them what they have to change if they want a better or different outcome.
Right now many CEOs and companies have been sucked into the turbulent economic vortex and it’s affected their ability to think strategically. I understand its Business Survival 101. But I’m willing to bet that the people who choose to continue to focus on what they stand for and where they want to get to, will weather this storm much better than those whose mindset is only how to survive.
Even in times of pressure, remember that your choices should lead you towards creating more meaning in everything you do. And when you ask questions, focus on the end you want to achieve, and not the situation in hand.
—-
About the Blogger: Janine de Nysschen uses change and purpose dynamics to come up with unique strategies that address complex problems for businesses and executives seeking to increase impact and performance. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies like Microsoft to entrepreneurial start ups and non-profit organizations in the US, Africa and Australia.
February 7th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
After over a year of working with a variety of clients – individuals and companies – I have realized there are two crucial factors that determine long-term success: the choices we make now and the questions we ask about our future.
You may think that’s awfully obvious. But my experience shows otherwise. My consulting practice is geared to showing clients how to prioritize what they have to change, so that they can make real progress – in business, or in life. Too often companies are focused on their direction and execution, without truly understanding the intention and sense of purpose that drives them. This impacts their ability to make fundamental choices or ask the right questions to move them forward.
“I have a manufacturing crisis”, “I need to hire someone now”, “I have to decide whether this partnership will work” … these are typical client dilemmas. Here’s where it becomes interesting. Because for most clients their obvious course is to try figure out what choices they have to make to immediately improve their situation, and to answer questions that solve current problems.
Instead, I encourage clients to value a strategic perspective. I push them to think about fundamental choices, not short-term trade-offs. A fundamental choice is a conscious decision to act in a way that will ultimately lead to you and your business being focused on your purpose. It often depends on the kind of transformational questions you ask. Not “what can we change?” But “why are we making this change?”
Purpose is a journey. My first step is to measure how purpose-centered each client is: do they know who they are and what is important to them, and why they do what they do? My next step is to show them how their brains are hard-wired for certain behaviors, and how, unless they truly understand the pattern that makes them successful, they will have trouble making decisions, solving problems and communicating ideas.
When you have your purpose blueprint in hand, it’s easy to start creating better strategies. So it’s at this point that I help clients prioritize what’s really important to them. I show them what they have to change if they want a better or different outcome.
Right now many CEOs and companies have been sucked into the turbulent economic vortex and it’s affected their ability to think strategically. I understand its Business Survival 101. But I’m willing to bet that the people who choose to continue to focus on what they stand for and where they want to get to, will weather this storm much better than those whose mindset is only how to survive.
Even in times of pressure, remember that your choices should lead you towards creating more meaning in everything you do. And when you ask questions, focus on the end you want to achieve, and not the situation in hand.
—-
About the Blogger: Janine de Nysschen uses change and purpose dynamics to come up with unique strategies that address complex problems for businesses and executives seeking to increase impact and performance. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies like Microsoft to entrepreneurial start ups and non-profit organizations in the US, Africa and Australia.
Perception is Reality for Entrepreneurs
Perception is Reality for Entrepreneurs
February 15th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
Recently, I saw a post on twitter by Gary Whitehill, founder of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), “One of the hardest things to understand in life is: You’re not what you are, but what you’re perceived to be.” In this day and age of social media, this is one of the most important things for people to remember. First impressions last a lifetime and in today’s day and age, our first impression is made with the information that people see about us online.
Let’s be honest, when we connect with a person at a meeting or are introduced through a mutual contact, the first thing we do is go to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more about this person. If the individual has no information available or a spotty resume on these sites, part of the excitement of the initial introduction is lost immediately. The person will now have to overcome this void in order to make a great first impression.
In today’s age of the internet, you are your own brand and how you market and sell that brand will make you a success. You need to take an active role in building that brand so that when you do meet someone you are prepared and give off a great first impression. Some of the ways this can be accomplished are:
· Start a blog about your industry – Portray yourself as knowledgeable and people will listen to you and ask for your advice. This will give you a lot of credibility.
· Learn the industry – Make sure you know the names of the key companies and players in the industry. You don’t want to look dumbfounded when these individuals’ names are mentioned.
· Network – Build up a network of contacts in your field and related fields so that you can leverage their knowledge. Attend industry events and roundtables so that you can be more visible and be an active participant so that people know who you are.
· Learn how to make a great first impression – Make sure you know how to attract someone’s attention when you meet them. People have short attention spans so make sure you know how to get engage them from the first moment. You only have one chance at a first impression!
This is an especially important lesson for entrepreneurs. Very often entrepreneurs are young and have no track record. The only information people have about you is what they can find online. When you are going out to raise capital or to sell your product, people want to know who you are, what you stand for and what kind of person you are. You need to use all the tools available to you to create a certain perception of yourself in the eyes of others. This perception can often be the difference between getting the funding you need or the potential investors having no faith in you.
You are the most important thing that you are selling – make sure you are perceived that way.
—–
About the Blogger:
Aron Schoenfeld, is the co-founder of DreamArtists Studios, a boutique music production company specializing in music for television, commercials and film. Aron also serves on the Board of Advisors for New York Entrepreneur Week and the Bergen Newspaper Group. For more information about Aron, please visit his website at www.aronschoenfeld.com
February 15th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
Recently, I saw a post on twitter by Gary Whitehill, founder of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), “One of the hardest things to understand in life is: You’re not what you are, but what you’re perceived to be.” In this day and age of social media, this is one of the most important things for people to remember. First impressions last a lifetime and in today’s day and age, our first impression is made with the information that people see about us online.
Let’s be honest, when we connect with a person at a meeting or are introduced through a mutual contact, the first thing we do is go to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more about this person. If the individual has no information available or a spotty resume on these sites, part of the excitement of the initial introduction is lost immediately. The person will now have to overcome this void in order to make a great first impression.
In today’s age of the internet, you are your own brand and how you market and sell that brand will make you a success. You need to take an active role in building that brand so that when you do meet someone you are prepared and give off a great first impression. Some of the ways this can be accomplished are:
· Start a blog about your industry – Portray yourself as knowledgeable and people will listen to you and ask for your advice. This will give you a lot of credibility.
· Learn the industry – Make sure you know the names of the key companies and players in the industry. You don’t want to look dumbfounded when these individuals’ names are mentioned.
· Network – Build up a network of contacts in your field and related fields so that you can leverage their knowledge. Attend industry events and roundtables so that you can be more visible and be an active participant so that people know who you are.
· Learn how to make a great first impression – Make sure you know how to attract someone’s attention when you meet them. People have short attention spans so make sure you know how to get engage them from the first moment. You only have one chance at a first impression!
This is an especially important lesson for entrepreneurs. Very often entrepreneurs are young and have no track record. The only information people have about you is what they can find online. When you are going out to raise capital or to sell your product, people want to know who you are, what you stand for and what kind of person you are. You need to use all the tools available to you to create a certain perception of yourself in the eyes of others. This perception can often be the difference between getting the funding you need or the potential investors having no faith in you.
You are the most important thing that you are selling – make sure you are perceived that way.
—–
About the Blogger:
Aron Schoenfeld, is the co-founder of DreamArtists Studios, a boutique music production company specializing in music for television, commercials and film. Aron also serves on the Board of Advisors for New York Entrepreneur Week and the Bergen Newspaper Group. For more information about Aron, please visit his website at www.aronschoenfeld.com
Auxiliary Skills and Entrepreneurship
Auxiliary Skills and Entrepreneurship
February 19th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
There is always a big debate about whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught. I personally don’t think you can manufacture a spirit of innovation. I also believe that everyone has the inherent ability to innovate but it’s a matter of fostering that ability that makes people entrepreneurs. We are all born with the ability to be creative, Picasso said that every child is born an artist, the trick is getting them to stay an artist as they become adults.
Obviously, learning the fundamental “academic” skills of business are probably pretty important to being an entrepreneur. I say probably because I challenge you to find more than one startup entrepreneur who uses LIFO and FIFO accounting systems in their daily lives. Most of what we end up using we learn as we go or from mentors in our specific industry. So what are the skills that make an entrepreneur function at peak ability? Most life skills will do it, everything from martial arts to knowing how to cook can make you a more effective entrepreneur. The desire to collect skills is the same drive that pushes an entrepreneur to improve upon their ideas.
I have my pilots license and nothing in my entire life has taught me how to multitask better than having to monitor six gauges at once, communicate with other plane and traffic control, read a map and navigate using visual and electronic means, watch for other traffic, and oh yeah, fly the plane. I have taken cooking classes with my wife and through those classes I have learned to plan, not just so that the meal tastes good but so that I can entertain friends or clients at the same time and make it look easy. I study Krav Maga, an Israeli Hand-to-Hand combat style where multiple attackers trying to choke me teaches you how to act and react under pressure. My wife is a Yoga instructor and a regularly take her classes to give find my center in a hectic world and bring a calm to my mind that allows me to think of new ideas and activate new parts of my brain. I’m even getting certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Will I ever need to deliver a baby? Probably not, but I will know how?
I can say that in 90% of the situations I will encounter in my life and my business, I will handle them with confidence and decisiveness. If that doesn’t make you a better entrepreneur I don’t know what will.
——
About the Blogger: Ari Meisel is a real estate developer, green building consultant, materials specialist, inventor and author. He started his first company when he was 12 years old and is now working on his sixth venture. Ari’s has been working to foster entrepreneurship since helping create the current entrepreneurship major at the Wharton School of Business. He continues to be drawn to innovations in a variety of fields.
February 19th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
There is always a big debate about whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught. I personally don’t think you can manufacture a spirit of innovation. I also believe that everyone has the inherent ability to innovate but it’s a matter of fostering that ability that makes people entrepreneurs. We are all born with the ability to be creative, Picasso said that every child is born an artist, the trick is getting them to stay an artist as they become adults.
Obviously, learning the fundamental “academic” skills of business are probably pretty important to being an entrepreneur. I say probably because I challenge you to find more than one startup entrepreneur who uses LIFO and FIFO accounting systems in their daily lives. Most of what we end up using we learn as we go or from mentors in our specific industry. So what are the skills that make an entrepreneur function at peak ability? Most life skills will do it, everything from martial arts to knowing how to cook can make you a more effective entrepreneur. The desire to collect skills is the same drive that pushes an entrepreneur to improve upon their ideas.
I have my pilots license and nothing in my entire life has taught me how to multitask better than having to monitor six gauges at once, communicate with other plane and traffic control, read a map and navigate using visual and electronic means, watch for other traffic, and oh yeah, fly the plane. I have taken cooking classes with my wife and through those classes I have learned to plan, not just so that the meal tastes good but so that I can entertain friends or clients at the same time and make it look easy. I study Krav Maga, an Israeli Hand-to-Hand combat style where multiple attackers trying to choke me teaches you how to act and react under pressure. My wife is a Yoga instructor and a regularly take her classes to give find my center in a hectic world and bring a calm to my mind that allows me to think of new ideas and activate new parts of my brain. I’m even getting certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Will I ever need to deliver a baby? Probably not, but I will know how?
I can say that in 90% of the situations I will encounter in my life and my business, I will handle them with confidence and decisiveness. If that doesn’t make you a better entrepreneur I don’t know what will.
——
About the Blogger: Ari Meisel is a real estate developer, green building consultant, materials specialist, inventor and author. He started his first company when he was 12 years old and is now working on his sixth venture. Ari’s has been working to foster entrepreneurship since helping create the current entrepreneurship major at the Wharton School of Business. He continues to be drawn to innovations in a variety of fields.
The Fashion Cross Over for Entrepreneurs
The Fashion Cross Over for Entrepreneurs
February 19th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
Robert Duffy President of Marc Jacobs has begun to twitter and is using it to not only start a ticket giveaway to the famed Armory show that happened last night. They also did live feeds from the show even going as far as leaving a “personal note” on the Marc Jacobs website to invite people to come, watch, and spread the word via facebook.
In the world of social networking and staying in touch minute by minute brands are grasping at any straw they can to stay relevant.
The Mercedes Benz fashion week tents has allowed tweeters from all over the world to give their fans minute by minute soundbites into the world of fashion from backstage to the designer’s final bow.
With that said during event season it is always possible to garner the attention of fans and new clients, but what should a fashion business do in between seasons? Here are a few new products that prove the fashion community is trying to stay on top of the Mobile Application bringing new meaning to anything you want with the touch of a button.
Shop View
A new Iphone App $1.99 app gives you a 3D tour of the local shops on Oxford Street in London plus links to their websites and Twitter feeds of special sales.
Trendstop TrendTracker
This new app not only selects the season’s trends for you but also gives you fashion events and venues around the globe.
Chicfeed
This app focuses on street style, bringing you updates from the most popular blogs, including the Sartorialist, Face Hunter, and Altamira where users can see up to the minute influential fashion from the real people shopping.
myFendi
The ultimate application for the Fendi fan lets you classify your favorite looks by the label and locate the closest store. As a special gimmick, this app also mixes and matches Fendi items with the clothes in your wardrobe.
Love It or Lose It
Can’t decide what to wear? Love It or Lose it ($1.99) lets you send up to three pictures of an outfit – from the store, your room, or wherever you are – to your friends or the app’s online community, giving you instant feedback on how you look.
The key thing to take out of these apps is ingenuity where there is something for every type of client. Instead of trying to reach a much wider audience businesses are using these add-ons to create a better customer service platform for their existing shoppers. And as the news of that spreads, the numbers will grow.
—-
About the Blogger: Lynn Furge is the Creative Director of Nolcha: Fashion Business Services; a leading operator of educational, event outlets, and business-to-business services devoted to fashion entrepreneurs and related retail businesses. The Nolcha platform includes Nolcha.com, an online fashion portal delivering business education and services; Nolcha Fashion Week: New York, currently held during New York fashion week providing key exposure to press, buyers, and industry figures for emerging and independent fashion designers from all over the world to break into the New York fashion market, in both apparel and accessories; events during London Fashion Week with key partners and Independent Retail Week in New York and Chicago, an initiative to drive business and increase revenue for small fashion retail brands.
February 19th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
Robert Duffy President of Marc Jacobs has begun to twitter and is using it to not only start a ticket giveaway to the famed Armory show that happened last night. They also did live feeds from the show even going as far as leaving a “personal note” on the Marc Jacobs website to invite people to come, watch, and spread the word via facebook.
In the world of social networking and staying in touch minute by minute brands are grasping at any straw they can to stay relevant.
The Mercedes Benz fashion week tents has allowed tweeters from all over the world to give their fans minute by minute soundbites into the world of fashion from backstage to the designer’s final bow.
With that said during event season it is always possible to garner the attention of fans and new clients, but what should a fashion business do in between seasons? Here are a few new products that prove the fashion community is trying to stay on top of the Mobile Application bringing new meaning to anything you want with the touch of a button.
Shop View
A new Iphone App $1.99 app gives you a 3D tour of the local shops on Oxford Street in London plus links to their websites and Twitter feeds of special sales.
Trendstop TrendTracker
This new app not only selects the season’s trends for you but also gives you fashion events and venues around the globe.
Chicfeed
This app focuses on street style, bringing you updates from the most popular blogs, including the Sartorialist, Face Hunter, and Altamira where users can see up to the minute influential fashion from the real people shopping.
myFendi
The ultimate application for the Fendi fan lets you classify your favorite looks by the label and locate the closest store. As a special gimmick, this app also mixes and matches Fendi items with the clothes in your wardrobe.
Love It or Lose It
Can’t decide what to wear? Love It or Lose it ($1.99) lets you send up to three pictures of an outfit – from the store, your room, or wherever you are – to your friends or the app’s online community, giving you instant feedback on how you look.
The key thing to take out of these apps is ingenuity where there is something for every type of client. Instead of trying to reach a much wider audience businesses are using these add-ons to create a better customer service platform for their existing shoppers. And as the news of that spreads, the numbers will grow.
—-
About the Blogger: Lynn Furge is the Creative Director of Nolcha: Fashion Business Services; a leading operator of educational, event outlets, and business-to-business services devoted to fashion entrepreneurs and related retail businesses. The Nolcha platform includes Nolcha.com, an online fashion portal delivering business education and services; Nolcha Fashion Week: New York, currently held during New York fashion week providing key exposure to press, buyers, and industry figures for emerging and independent fashion designers from all over the world to break into the New York fashion market, in both apparel and accessories; events during London Fashion Week with key partners and Independent Retail Week in New York and Chicago, an initiative to drive business and increase revenue for small fashion retail brands.
Communicating as a Leader: The Art of Giving Feedback
Communicating as a Leader: The Art of Giving Feedback
February 22nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
Ironically, one of the critical aspects of leadership is developing the leadership abilities of others. Some leaders see employee feedback as either praise or criticism and never utilize one of the most powerful ways to develop others – developmental feedback. Many business leaders are reluctant to give feedback and might avoid direct conversations because they don’t know exactly what to say and/or how to say it without sounding confrontational or negative.
Often, business leaders choose passive methods for giving feedback like communicating important feedback via email (where an employee might not fully understand the intended tone and doesn’t have the opportunity to ask immediate questions). Another poor approach is what I call a “drive-by.” This method usually involves a leader quickly blurting out information while walking away. Like communicating through email, this approach doesn’t provide the opportunity for a genuine conversation or the opportunity for an employee to ask questions or get clarification.
Developmental feedback, however, can empower you as a leader, improve communication between you and your team, strengthen relationships, improve customer service, and drive results. Using a structured approach to giving feedback can ensure you communicate clearly and cover all of your points. It can also provide an opportunity for you to show support and encouragement and share praise
There are two categories of developmental feedback, one is reinforcing (when you ‘catch someone doing something right’ and you want to acknowledge their positive contribution so they continue to behave this way). The other category is redirecting (when you observe a mistake or poor performance and need to correct the behavior).
Consider these five steps when giving either reinforcing or redirecting feedback:
1: Check in first. Instead of telling, try asking. It might seem surprising, but the best way to offer developmental feedback is to start with a question. Ask an open-ended question to better understand the employee’s point of view and to learn more about his/her motivation for acting the way they did. To start the conversation, you could ask something like, “I want to get your take on our new timesheets, are you having any challenges completing them?”
2: What is the standard for behavior? Once you’ve asked an open-ended question and heard the response, you can remind him/her about your expectations of their behavior. For example, “I need everybody to complete their timesheets by Friday at 2pm so I can process the payroll for the entire team.
3: What did you observe? State the behavior or action you observed and be as objective as possible. Don’t speak in universal terms like, “You always do this” or “You never do this.” Comment on this particular situation and use a real example of observed behavior. Say something like, “I noticed that you submitted your timesheet at 6pm for the last two weeks,” as an example of redirecting feedback, or “I want to thank you for submitting your timesheets on time for the past month.
4: What is the impact? Explain the specific impact that his/her behavior has on colleagues, customers, or a work process – whatever makes sense for the situation. Instead of saying something vague like, “You’re unprofessional” say something like, “When you submit your timesheet late, it holds up the payroll process and then some people won’t get their checks until Saturday” or “Because you submitted your timesheets by the deadline, I was able to process the payroll and pay everyone on time this month.”
5: Reinforce or Redirect. Explain why you want them to continue their behavior, if you’re reinforcing. You could simply say something like, “Thanks again for making the deadline.” If you’re redirecting, you could say something like, “If you’d like, I can remind you on Thursday to start completing your timesheet so you can make the Friday deadline. Does that work for you?”
Following reinforcing or redirecting feedback, you should always end on a positive note to motivate the listener. Use statements like, “Eventually, completing your timesheet will be quick, we’re all adjusting to the new form.”
Timing is everything. Make sure you’re in the right frame of mind when you give feedback. If you’re tired or angry, your emotions might sneak into your words and/or body language. Also consider the timing for the listener. Are you trying to catch someone when they’re walking out the door or feel terrible because they just made a major mistake? Try to give feedback when someone is relaxed and open to hearing your ideas.
Timing is also important regarding how often you give feedback. Don’t wait until an annual performance review to give feedback. Give feedback often; make it a part of your regular leadership approach. This five-step feedback process might seem cumbersome at first, but with a little practice, it will get easier. Add developmental feedback to your leadership toolkit and, in addition to driving results, you’ll be strengthening your human resources.
—–
About the Blogger: Holly Landau is a leadership expert, former US Army Officer, and CEO of Landau Leadership – an innovative training & development firm providing customized curriculum, public leadership events, and online learning solutions to boost individual and team productivity. Holly is an active facilitator and keynote speaker covering topics like leadership, strategy, creativity, and communication. She is also a regular contributor to several business blogs including nolcha.com and her own leadership blog. She is one of the contributing experts for the upcoming American Express OPEN Book on Leadership. Contact Holly at hollylandau@landauleadership.com and follow her on Twitter: @LeadershipMuse.
February 22nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
Ironically, one of the critical aspects of leadership is developing the leadership abilities of others. Some leaders see employee feedback as either praise or criticism and never utilize one of the most powerful ways to develop others – developmental feedback. Many business leaders are reluctant to give feedback and might avoid direct conversations because they don’t know exactly what to say and/or how to say it without sounding confrontational or negative.
Often, business leaders choose passive methods for giving feedback like communicating important feedback via email (where an employee might not fully understand the intended tone and doesn’t have the opportunity to ask immediate questions). Another poor approach is what I call a “drive-by.” This method usually involves a leader quickly blurting out information while walking away. Like communicating through email, this approach doesn’t provide the opportunity for a genuine conversation or the opportunity for an employee to ask questions or get clarification.
Developmental feedback, however, can empower you as a leader, improve communication between you and your team, strengthen relationships, improve customer service, and drive results. Using a structured approach to giving feedback can ensure you communicate clearly and cover all of your points. It can also provide an opportunity for you to show support and encouragement and share praise
There are two categories of developmental feedback, one is reinforcing (when you ‘catch someone doing something right’ and you want to acknowledge their positive contribution so they continue to behave this way). The other category is redirecting (when you observe a mistake or poor performance and need to correct the behavior).
Consider these five steps when giving either reinforcing or redirecting feedback:
1: Check in first. Instead of telling, try asking. It might seem surprising, but the best way to offer developmental feedback is to start with a question. Ask an open-ended question to better understand the employee’s point of view and to learn more about his/her motivation for acting the way they did. To start the conversation, you could ask something like, “I want to get your take on our new timesheets, are you having any challenges completing them?”
2: What is the standard for behavior? Once you’ve asked an open-ended question and heard the response, you can remind him/her about your expectations of their behavior. For example, “I need everybody to complete their timesheets by Friday at 2pm so I can process the payroll for the entire team.
3: What did you observe? State the behavior or action you observed and be as objective as possible. Don’t speak in universal terms like, “You always do this” or “You never do this.” Comment on this particular situation and use a real example of observed behavior. Say something like, “I noticed that you submitted your timesheet at 6pm for the last two weeks,” as an example of redirecting feedback, or “I want to thank you for submitting your timesheets on time for the past month.
4: What is the impact? Explain the specific impact that his/her behavior has on colleagues, customers, or a work process – whatever makes sense for the situation. Instead of saying something vague like, “You’re unprofessional” say something like, “When you submit your timesheet late, it holds up the payroll process and then some people won’t get their checks until Saturday” or “Because you submitted your timesheets by the deadline, I was able to process the payroll and pay everyone on time this month.”
5: Reinforce or Redirect. Explain why you want them to continue their behavior, if you’re reinforcing. You could simply say something like, “Thanks again for making the deadline.” If you’re redirecting, you could say something like, “If you’d like, I can remind you on Thursday to start completing your timesheet so you can make the Friday deadline. Does that work for you?”
Following reinforcing or redirecting feedback, you should always end on a positive note to motivate the listener. Use statements like, “Eventually, completing your timesheet will be quick, we’re all adjusting to the new form.”
Timing is everything. Make sure you’re in the right frame of mind when you give feedback. If you’re tired or angry, your emotions might sneak into your words and/or body language. Also consider the timing for the listener. Are you trying to catch someone when they’re walking out the door or feel terrible because they just made a major mistake? Try to give feedback when someone is relaxed and open to hearing your ideas.
Timing is also important regarding how often you give feedback. Don’t wait until an annual performance review to give feedback. Give feedback often; make it a part of your regular leadership approach. This five-step feedback process might seem cumbersome at first, but with a little practice, it will get easier. Add developmental feedback to your leadership toolkit and, in addition to driving results, you’ll be strengthening your human resources.
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About the Blogger: Holly Landau is a leadership expert, former US Army Officer, and CEO of Landau Leadership – an innovative training & development firm providing customized curriculum, public leadership events, and online learning solutions to boost individual and team productivity. Holly is an active facilitator and keynote speaker covering topics like leadership, strategy, creativity, and communication. She is also a regular contributor to several business blogs including nolcha.com and her own leadership blog. She is one of the contributing experts for the upcoming American Express OPEN Book on Leadership. Contact Holly at hollylandau@landauleadership.com and follow her on Twitter: @LeadershipMuse.
Mr. Edison, Please Tell Me What Laboratory Rules You Want Me to Observe?
Mr. Edison, Please Tell Me What Laboratory Rules You Want Me to Observe?
February 23rd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
A good friend of mine once sat down to lunch with Stephen Covey and a group of fellow executives. During the course of the meal, one of the men commented on the unusual tablespoons, and said “Look at the backend of it.” All the people at the table flipped their spoons over, but my friend – quite unintentionally – angled it up so he could look at the bottom tip of it. Laughter ensued. But Covey raised a hand and pointed out that my friend’s actions suggested something interesting in his behavior: the ability to look at the world in an unexpected way. So I guess it’s not surprising to hear my friend is one of the most innovative entrepreneurs I know, as well as a successful millionaire who has transformed the industry he is in.
The story reminds me of an important fact. Entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of innovation. They possess a unique set of skills that lends itself to inspired invention and driven change. Really good business solutions and radical transformations in history have one thing in common. Somewhere, someone believed that you could do something better, different or completely new. Someone challenged the status quo or saw failure as an opportunity to try again. Often, those people were entrepreneurs.
One reason is that entrepreneurs tend to see the world around them differently. As Thomas Edison said to his laboratory assistant, “There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish somep’n!” Innovation is most often simply a matter of having a different perspective than everyone else, and the perseverance to make it happen. For example, some of the most creative people I know had learning disabilities growing up. Forced to adapt so they could fit into a rigid school format, many developed alternative ways of making sense of the world.
Tony Buzan, father of the world-renowned creative technique of Mind Mapping, is a point in case. Tony admits he came up with mind maps because he was “doing badly at school”. He was also smart enough to realize that the way people were measuring intelligence was rather limited. Quick experiment: in your mind’s eye, picture the moon, the sun, the earth and a lemon. Which one is different? While you may be like most people and select lemon as the odd-one-out, Tony would point out that if you were using color as your filter, earth would be odd because it’s not yellow.
Innovation is therefore inspired by understanding that there’s not always only one right answer. Or realizing you may have an answer to a problem that doesn’t yet exist. Did you know that the parachute was invented before powered flight? In a “fascinating facts” piece about James Dyson, you’ll read that his inspiration for cyclonic technology happened one day while he was vacuuming his house (in itself, fascinating!) and he realized his top-of-the-line machine was losing suction and getting clogged. Dyson refused to accept there was only one good way to build a vacuum cleaner, and the cyclonic suction, roller-ball Dyson vacuum cleaner was born.
Innovation is also about seeing an idea for what it’s really worth. Think about all those stories of accidental invention. Like Wilson Greatbatch back in 1956, who was experimenting with a device he was building to record heartbeats. He grabbed the wrong resistor and connected it, and discovered that the circuit emitted a pulse. Voila, Greatbatch realized his device could be used to control heartbeat, and the pacemaker was invented.
Which brings me to a final point on inspired innovation. I believe the most profound and valuable innovation and creativity has to come from a sense of purpose or a powerful cause – it is unbounded thinking about how to make life and the world more meaningful that leads us to solve great challenges and achieve impossible objectives. Just look at how one company’s mission transformed the lives of millions of people: Microsoft, with its tagline of “A PC on every desk”. And behind that audacious goal, an inspired cause to find ways for people and things to achieve their greatest potential.
Innovation comes in many forms and is a tool that’s wielded well by many entrepreneurs. Having a different perspective has inspired many of Apple’s products – simply because Steve Jobs refused to accept that everyday things such as radios and phones and computers had to be mundane and ugly. Ergo: Apple is synonymous with easy, simple and beautiful. Sometimes the entrepreneurial way out has to be invented. Understanding that there’s not always only one right answer gave us solutions like Galileo’s telescope and James Dyson’s vacuum cleaner. Then there are the accidental innovations, like 3Ms’s experimental polymer that turned out to be less of an adhesive and more of a sticky fix that today everyone calls a Post-It™ note. Ultimately, there’s the kind of innovation that really makes this world a better place, because it comes from a passionate sense of purpose. Like Google’s search engine, motivated by the cause of organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful.
Because entrepreneurs have had the courage to ask questions and take risks – wheels were invented, men learned to fly, machines were made to work more efficiently, and the world has moved forward. The spirit to invent and innovate lies at the heart of true entrepreneurship. Or, to loosely paraphrase Peter Drucker: innovation is the specific tool that entrepreneurs use to increase their capacity to create wealth.
—-
About the Blogger: Janine de Nysschen is the founder of WhyTelligence and uses change and purpose dynamics to create unique strategies for complex problems, helping businesses and executives increase their impact and performance.
February 23rd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
A good friend of mine once sat down to lunch with Stephen Covey and a group of fellow executives. During the course of the meal, one of the men commented on the unusual tablespoons, and said “Look at the backend of it.” All the people at the table flipped their spoons over, but my friend – quite unintentionally – angled it up so he could look at the bottom tip of it. Laughter ensued. But Covey raised a hand and pointed out that my friend’s actions suggested something interesting in his behavior: the ability to look at the world in an unexpected way. So I guess it’s not surprising to hear my friend is one of the most innovative entrepreneurs I know, as well as a successful millionaire who has transformed the industry he is in.
The story reminds me of an important fact. Entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of innovation. They possess a unique set of skills that lends itself to inspired invention and driven change. Really good business solutions and radical transformations in history have one thing in common. Somewhere, someone believed that you could do something better, different or completely new. Someone challenged the status quo or saw failure as an opportunity to try again. Often, those people were entrepreneurs.
One reason is that entrepreneurs tend to see the world around them differently. As Thomas Edison said to his laboratory assistant, “There ain’t no rules around here. We’re trying to accomplish somep’n!” Innovation is most often simply a matter of having a different perspective than everyone else, and the perseverance to make it happen. For example, some of the most creative people I know had learning disabilities growing up. Forced to adapt so they could fit into a rigid school format, many developed alternative ways of making sense of the world.
Tony Buzan, father of the world-renowned creative technique of Mind Mapping, is a point in case. Tony admits he came up with mind maps because he was “doing badly at school”. He was also smart enough to realize that the way people were measuring intelligence was rather limited. Quick experiment: in your mind’s eye, picture the moon, the sun, the earth and a lemon. Which one is different? While you may be like most people and select lemon as the odd-one-out, Tony would point out that if you were using color as your filter, earth would be odd because it’s not yellow.
Innovation is therefore inspired by understanding that there’s not always only one right answer. Or realizing you may have an answer to a problem that doesn’t yet exist. Did you know that the parachute was invented before powered flight? In a “fascinating facts” piece about James Dyson, you’ll read that his inspiration for cyclonic technology happened one day while he was vacuuming his house (in itself, fascinating!) and he realized his top-of-the-line machine was losing suction and getting clogged. Dyson refused to accept there was only one good way to build a vacuum cleaner, and the cyclonic suction, roller-ball Dyson vacuum cleaner was born.
Innovation is also about seeing an idea for what it’s really worth. Think about all those stories of accidental invention. Like Wilson Greatbatch back in 1956, who was experimenting with a device he was building to record heartbeats. He grabbed the wrong resistor and connected it, and discovered that the circuit emitted a pulse. Voila, Greatbatch realized his device could be used to control heartbeat, and the pacemaker was invented.
Which brings me to a final point on inspired innovation. I believe the most profound and valuable innovation and creativity has to come from a sense of purpose or a powerful cause – it is unbounded thinking about how to make life and the world more meaningful that leads us to solve great challenges and achieve impossible objectives. Just look at how one company’s mission transformed the lives of millions of people: Microsoft, with its tagline of “A PC on every desk”. And behind that audacious goal, an inspired cause to find ways for people and things to achieve their greatest potential.
Innovation comes in many forms and is a tool that’s wielded well by many entrepreneurs. Having a different perspective has inspired many of Apple’s products – simply because Steve Jobs refused to accept that everyday things such as radios and phones and computers had to be mundane and ugly. Ergo: Apple is synonymous with easy, simple and beautiful. Sometimes the entrepreneurial way out has to be invented. Understanding that there’s not always only one right answer gave us solutions like Galileo’s telescope and James Dyson’s vacuum cleaner. Then there are the accidental innovations, like 3Ms’s experimental polymer that turned out to be less of an adhesive and more of a sticky fix that today everyone calls a Post-It™ note. Ultimately, there’s the kind of innovation that really makes this world a better place, because it comes from a passionate sense of purpose. Like Google’s search engine, motivated by the cause of organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful.
Because entrepreneurs have had the courage to ask questions and take risks – wheels were invented, men learned to fly, machines were made to work more efficiently, and the world has moved forward. The spirit to invent and innovate lies at the heart of true entrepreneurship. Or, to loosely paraphrase Peter Drucker: innovation is the specific tool that entrepreneurs use to increase their capacity to create wealth.
—-
About the Blogger: Janine de Nysschen is the founder of WhyTelligence and uses change and purpose dynamics to create unique strategies for complex problems, helping businesses and executives increase their impact and performance.
Alice in Wonderland – How is Her Economy
Alice in Wonderland – How is Her Economy
February 25th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
If Alice in Wonderland were an entrepreneur, who would she invite to her tea party? First, there would be the Mad Hatter, moving from one seat to the next, drinking tea and spending money every which way. But it’s hard to tell if that’s real money or just more debt.
Then there’s the Cheshire cat, smiling brightly because he knows the way out of recession, but like the economic recovery, keeps fading in and out of view. Commercial banks are happy to come to tea, but they are hard to pin down when Alice asks them for a loan. And where is the Consumer in all this? In the teapot of course – like the Dormouse – trying to avoid more taxes and ever increasing health care costs.
What is Alice to do? At the table over the past few weeks are some thoughts from entrepreneurs about the current economic conditions that are worth reading. Many of them agree – “money is the biggest challenge”. But they suggest this is not the time to give up your dream. Downturns often create opportunities. They say: “Study the landscape to make your product better or different from the competition”. And “price your product appropriately”. Use technology to grow if you can’t expand your staff. Mushrooms may work for Alice when she wants to grow, but the real world requires hardware and software. “Get systems in place to guide everyday tasks.” Then you can manage the work flow and your future growth.
Remember to keep everyone in your organization “on the same page”. These entrepreneurs have a lot more to say and it can be found here in the “How to Succeed” section.
Alice in Wonderland has an easy way out thanks to Lewis Carroll – she can just wake up! But the rest of us need to come up with something more specific to get out of this economic rabbit hole. Hopefully the advice from these entrepreneurs will help.
—-
About the blogger: Alice Krause, former Deputy Executive of Chase Bank’s retail businesses, is Founder of the award winning NewsonWomen,com, a daily news site that focuses on women’s achievements. News on Women reports on what women are doing in business, education, science and technology, philanthropy and the arts.
February 25th, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
If Alice in Wonderland were an entrepreneur, who would she invite to her tea party? First, there would be the Mad Hatter, moving from one seat to the next, drinking tea and spending money every which way. But it’s hard to tell if that’s real money or just more debt.
Then there’s the Cheshire cat, smiling brightly because he knows the way out of recession, but like the economic recovery, keeps fading in and out of view. Commercial banks are happy to come to tea, but they are hard to pin down when Alice asks them for a loan. And where is the Consumer in all this? In the teapot of course – like the Dormouse – trying to avoid more taxes and ever increasing health care costs.
What is Alice to do? At the table over the past few weeks are some thoughts from entrepreneurs about the current economic conditions that are worth reading. Many of them agree – “money is the biggest challenge”. But they suggest this is not the time to give up your dream. Downturns often create opportunities. They say: “Study the landscape to make your product better or different from the competition”. And “price your product appropriately”. Use technology to grow if you can’t expand your staff. Mushrooms may work for Alice when she wants to grow, but the real world requires hardware and software. “Get systems in place to guide everyday tasks.” Then you can manage the work flow and your future growth.
Remember to keep everyone in your organization “on the same page”. These entrepreneurs have a lot more to say and it can be found here in the “How to Succeed” section.
Alice in Wonderland has an easy way out thanks to Lewis Carroll – she can just wake up! But the rest of us need to come up with something more specific to get out of this economic rabbit hole. Hopefully the advice from these entrepreneurs will help.
—-
About the blogger: Alice Krause, former Deputy Executive of Chase Bank’s retail businesses, is Founder of the award winning NewsonWomen,com, a daily news site that focuses on women’s achievements. News on Women reports on what women are doing in business, education, science and technology, philanthropy and the arts.
Features vs Benefits – Jolting Your Sales NOW
Features vs Benefits – Jolting Your Sales NOW
February 26th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Earlier this week I was teaching marketing to about 20 entrepreneurs here in NYC.After the class several came up to say they got some super-cool tips on how to immediately impact their sales with little or no cost. Just rewriting and designing their marketing strategies based on what they just learned.
And here is what they learned: the difference between selling the features and benefits of your product or service.
Features—a physical or tangible component of your product / service. Using a product example, a bicycle: weighs only 23 pounds, has 21 gears, Shimano brakes, 110PSI high-pressure tires, and is designed light and built for speed.
And for service-based businesses, an example would be a chiropractor’s office: we offer a 10 minute evaluation and assessment of your pain (or situation), then do a series of 3 to 5 treatments over the course of two weeks, followed be an additional assessment, and so on.
Benefits—the non-physical, emotional and intangible reactions to your product / service. In our product example: this super-light, super-fast bicycle with 21 gears will make sure you can get up that insane mountain you have been training for all these months. When you get to the top, you’ll look behind you and know you just conquered that amazing ride you’ve been dreaming about….
In our service example: your initial evaluation with our top chiropractor will immediately ensure you are getting the exact treatment you need for your situation, and as quickly as possible. With this you can relax and let our expert chiropractor do his (her) magic on your body. Watch how quickly your body will respond to his (her) touch and adjustments.
Question: Do you think people buy from features or benefits?
In our class this week this became a debate. Some said features, some said benefits and some said both.
We all agreed that people buy on benefits. BENEFITS!
Why?
Because people want to know how they will benefit from using your product or service. Yeah, sure it is helpful knowing how many gears the bike has, but really getting them to feel the accomplishment of getting to the top of the amazing mountain is what is going to override the features.
If they feel the possibility of owning your product (or hiring you for your service), you will make the sale so much easier to accomplish.
People buy on emotions!
Still not convinced? Look at Apple’s iPhones. For many, many people, if it ain’t an iPhone (or other Apple product) they are not interested. It is NOT because of the features (although this certainly helps) it is because they have positioned themselves quite successfully as a hip, cool, state-of-the-art company. And people want a piece of THAT in their lives.
STILL not convinced? Park your rear-end in front of the TV for 30 minutes. Watch two cable stations: Home Shopping Network and QVC. Just watch what these masters of selling do: they can take the ugliest piece of (you know what) and sell millions of them. How they do it is mention (briefly) a feature and then spend 10 minutes talking about all the benefits of it.
Benefits, benefits, benefits!
So if it is in fact benefits that sell your product or service, where are you putting your marketing resources: features or benefits?
If the former, I highly, (I mean highly) recommend you immediately shift your energy into the latter.
And if you do not immediately see results, please e-mail me. I’m not kidding!
Action Steps for the Week
Take a look at your product or service. Make a list of the top 5 features of it.
Next, write as many benefits as you can think of for each of those features. Go nuts with this and then pick the top 10-15 of them (depending on how you will use this information.)
HERE’S THE CATCH: Do this from your customers’ perspective, not yours!
If you are not sure their perspective, find out. There are many ways to get this feedback from them: surveys, calling them, standing on the street corner and asking them, you name it.
Once you are clear on what the benefits are, you are now ready to put your promotional materials together. Briefly mention the feature and then all its benefits. Do this for the top features.
NOTE: avoid grandiose claims like, “The world’s best…” or “You’ll love the taste of…” That stuff does not work. Instead, back it up with statistics, data, survey results, scientific discoveries, etc. Third party endorsements are golden.
Lastly, use testimonials that add credibility to what you promote. Do these to your marketing and you will most likely be amazed at the quick results you will see.
—–
About the Blogger: Stefan Doering is the creator of BEST Coaches’ groundbreaking 90-day “UnReasonable” program which brings to the table his almost 30 years of hard-earned business savvy and 4-plus decades of pure heart. Stefan started his first company at the age of 17. His later companies included the leaders of major companies and institutions as well as multi-millionaires and billionaires as investors, board members and mentors, and had household names among their clients.
February 26th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Earlier this week I was teaching marketing to about 20 entrepreneurs here in NYC.After the class several came up to say they got some super-cool tips on how to immediately impact their sales with little or no cost. Just rewriting and designing their marketing strategies based on what they just learned.
And here is what they learned: the difference between selling the features and benefits of your product or service.
Features—a physical or tangible component of your product / service. Using a product example, a bicycle: weighs only 23 pounds, has 21 gears, Shimano brakes, 110PSI high-pressure tires, and is designed light and built for speed.
And for service-based businesses, an example would be a chiropractor’s office: we offer a 10 minute evaluation and assessment of your pain (or situation), then do a series of 3 to 5 treatments over the course of two weeks, followed be an additional assessment, and so on.
Benefits—the non-physical, emotional and intangible reactions to your product / service. In our product example: this super-light, super-fast bicycle with 21 gears will make sure you can get up that insane mountain you have been training for all these months. When you get to the top, you’ll look behind you and know you just conquered that amazing ride you’ve been dreaming about….
In our service example: your initial evaluation with our top chiropractor will immediately ensure you are getting the exact treatment you need for your situation, and as quickly as possible. With this you can relax and let our expert chiropractor do his (her) magic on your body. Watch how quickly your body will respond to his (her) touch and adjustments.
Question: Do you think people buy from features or benefits?
In our class this week this became a debate. Some said features, some said benefits and some said both.
We all agreed that people buy on benefits. BENEFITS!
Why?
Because people want to know how they will benefit from using your product or service. Yeah, sure it is helpful knowing how many gears the bike has, but really getting them to feel the accomplishment of getting to the top of the amazing mountain is what is going to override the features.
If they feel the possibility of owning your product (or hiring you for your service), you will make the sale so much easier to accomplish.
People buy on emotions!
Still not convinced? Look at Apple’s iPhones. For many, many people, if it ain’t an iPhone (or other Apple product) they are not interested. It is NOT because of the features (although this certainly helps) it is because they have positioned themselves quite successfully as a hip, cool, state-of-the-art company. And people want a piece of THAT in their lives.
STILL not convinced? Park your rear-end in front of the TV for 30 minutes. Watch two cable stations: Home Shopping Network and QVC. Just watch what these masters of selling do: they can take the ugliest piece of (you know what) and sell millions of them. How they do it is mention (briefly) a feature and then spend 10 minutes talking about all the benefits of it.
Benefits, benefits, benefits!
So if it is in fact benefits that sell your product or service, where are you putting your marketing resources: features or benefits?
If the former, I highly, (I mean highly) recommend you immediately shift your energy into the latter.
And if you do not immediately see results, please e-mail me. I’m not kidding!
Action Steps for the Week
Take a look at your product or service. Make a list of the top 5 features of it.
Next, write as many benefits as you can think of for each of those features. Go nuts with this and then pick the top 10-15 of them (depending on how you will use this information.)
HERE’S THE CATCH: Do this from your customers’ perspective, not yours!
If you are not sure their perspective, find out. There are many ways to get this feedback from them: surveys, calling them, standing on the street corner and asking them, you name it.
Once you are clear on what the benefits are, you are now ready to put your promotional materials together. Briefly mention the feature and then all its benefits. Do this for the top features.
NOTE: avoid grandiose claims like, “The world’s best…” or “You’ll love the taste of…” That stuff does not work. Instead, back it up with statistics, data, survey results, scientific discoveries, etc. Third party endorsements are golden.
Lastly, use testimonials that add credibility to what you promote. Do these to your marketing and you will most likely be amazed at the quick results you will see.
—–
About the Blogger: Stefan Doering is the creator of BEST Coaches’ groundbreaking 90-day “UnReasonable” program which brings to the table his almost 30 years of hard-earned business savvy and 4-plus decades of pure heart. Stefan started his first company at the age of 17. His later companies included the leaders of major companies and institutions as well as multi-millionaires and billionaires as investors, board members and mentors, and had household names among their clients.
Should Entrepreneurs Hire a UX Designer
Should Entrepreneurs Hire a UX Designer
February 27th, 2010 Author: Lis Hubert
In thinking about what types of questions I get the most as a User Experience consultant, I came up with one question that is not always asked directly, but that is implied in almost every introductory meeting I have. That question is “Should I hire a UX Designer?”
If the answer to that question is yes, then the next question is usually “When in the process should I hire this skill set?” Let’s look at each question in more detail.
Hiring a UX Designer
When I talk to entrepreneurs and start ups about this topic, I usually try to get a feel for several things. First, does your product and/or service plan on interfacing with users? In my career this interfacing has most often been through a web site (web browser) or a mobile device. However, I have also been hired to work on intranets, desktop applications and database entry systems. Users are not always direct consumers of a product. They may also be employees that are interfacing with objects that enable your product/service to get to market, or maintain a product/services presence within a market. So my advice would be if your product or service relies on these types of interactions, bring in someone who knows users of all kinds, and the types of behaviors to expect from these users.
The second thing I try to get a feel for, is how familiar the entrepreneur or start up is with a user experience designer role. Meaning how well do they know what I do and how I can help. You might find yourself asking “what does a user experience designer do that I can’t do? I know people. I know how people think and act, after all, I interface with systems, websites, and mobile devices all the time, and am a pretty average user. How hard could it be to look a little closer at how I function and design for interactions based on my behavior?”
When I see someone asking these questions, I know that they haven’t worked with someone that does what I do before. So, I would answer these questions with, of course, more questions:
Who are your users?
What need is your product filling?
How are the users filling this need without your product?
How can we learn lessons about their present day behavior (if there is any) and translate that into the medium that you will be delivering your product through?
Oh, and usually, your user is nothing like you, or not as close as you think. Users surprise us at how stupid they are for not realizing how the product/service works. They should just get it. Well keep in mind you want them to pay you for your goods, not the other way around. Why not bring in someone that can help take your product and make it more clear to users? Why not cut the users’ learning curve and instead of trying to completely change their behaviors and habits, work with them or at least learn from them. Considering everything else that you have to do in your day, get funding, talk to stakeholders, plan risk assessments, network your tail off, don’t you think you should bring in an expert to bridge the user gap? It not only ensures efficiency, but also a higher quality of product.
So, when in your process should you bring in a UX designer? Well, in reality this always depends on budget. However, I think that bringing someone in as early as possible, like when you are first considering a user interfacing product, is beneficial.
They can help you to think from a user’s perspective about what the product might be and also help you talk through what features might exist. How helpful would that be in a stakeholder/board meeting? This doesn’t have to be a huge amount of effort from the UXD at first, but could be hourly consultation to steer you in the right direction. The UXD can begin doing user research at this time and can help to define a more detailed strategy for your product, again by bringing in the user point of view. So, ideally you would bring in a UXD before you are even beginning to put together your website or application. If this is not possible, then it is essential that the UXD be present during the website/application planning phase. If you want to do holistic planning, then leaving out your users is not the way to be successful.
The moral of the story is, user research is intensive, and taking the research and knowledge and designing an interaction around it is even more intensive. This is not something that can be done just by knowing websites and computers. User Experience Designers can help you to plan your product and service and create an interface that is pleasant and easy to use. This does not have to be high budget either. A great UXD is flexible and creative and will try to help as much as possible if time is available. But you must be open to someone else being the expert when it comes to user/customer behavior.
This doesn’t mean you should give up all control, but it does mean that there are people out there that can teach you a thing or two about who you’re trying to reach and who can help make your product/service better. Why not let them help?
—–
About the Blogger: Lis is the Founder of Hubert Experience Design, a botique user experience firm based in NYC. Her firm has worked with a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 to start-up. Hubert Experience Design takes pride in making websites better and easier to use
February 27th, 2010 Author: Lis Hubert
In thinking about what types of questions I get the most as a User Experience consultant, I came up with one question that is not always asked directly, but that is implied in almost every introductory meeting I have. That question is “Should I hire a UX Designer?”
If the answer to that question is yes, then the next question is usually “When in the process should I hire this skill set?” Let’s look at each question in more detail.
Hiring a UX Designer
When I talk to entrepreneurs and start ups about this topic, I usually try to get a feel for several things. First, does your product and/or service plan on interfacing with users? In my career this interfacing has most often been through a web site (web browser) or a mobile device. However, I have also been hired to work on intranets, desktop applications and database entry systems. Users are not always direct consumers of a product. They may also be employees that are interfacing with objects that enable your product/service to get to market, or maintain a product/services presence within a market. So my advice would be if your product or service relies on these types of interactions, bring in someone who knows users of all kinds, and the types of behaviors to expect from these users.
The second thing I try to get a feel for, is how familiar the entrepreneur or start up is with a user experience designer role. Meaning how well do they know what I do and how I can help. You might find yourself asking “what does a user experience designer do that I can’t do? I know people. I know how people think and act, after all, I interface with systems, websites, and mobile devices all the time, and am a pretty average user. How hard could it be to look a little closer at how I function and design for interactions based on my behavior?”
When I see someone asking these questions, I know that they haven’t worked with someone that does what I do before. So, I would answer these questions with, of course, more questions:
Who are your users?
What need is your product filling?
How are the users filling this need without your product?
How can we learn lessons about their present day behavior (if there is any) and translate that into the medium that you will be delivering your product through?
Oh, and usually, your user is nothing like you, or not as close as you think. Users surprise us at how stupid they are for not realizing how the product/service works. They should just get it. Well keep in mind you want them to pay you for your goods, not the other way around. Why not bring in someone that can help take your product and make it more clear to users? Why not cut the users’ learning curve and instead of trying to completely change their behaviors and habits, work with them or at least learn from them. Considering everything else that you have to do in your day, get funding, talk to stakeholders, plan risk assessments, network your tail off, don’t you think you should bring in an expert to bridge the user gap? It not only ensures efficiency, but also a higher quality of product.
So, when in your process should you bring in a UX designer? Well, in reality this always depends on budget. However, I think that bringing someone in as early as possible, like when you are first considering a user interfacing product, is beneficial.
They can help you to think from a user’s perspective about what the product might be and also help you talk through what features might exist. How helpful would that be in a stakeholder/board meeting? This doesn’t have to be a huge amount of effort from the UXD at first, but could be hourly consultation to steer you in the right direction. The UXD can begin doing user research at this time and can help to define a more detailed strategy for your product, again by bringing in the user point of view. So, ideally you would bring in a UXD before you are even beginning to put together your website or application. If this is not possible, then it is essential that the UXD be present during the website/application planning phase. If you want to do holistic planning, then leaving out your users is not the way to be successful.
The moral of the story is, user research is intensive, and taking the research and knowledge and designing an interaction around it is even more intensive. This is not something that can be done just by knowing websites and computers. User Experience Designers can help you to plan your product and service and create an interface that is pleasant and easy to use. This does not have to be high budget either. A great UXD is flexible and creative and will try to help as much as possible if time is available. But you must be open to someone else being the expert when it comes to user/customer behavior.
This doesn’t mean you should give up all control, but it does mean that there are people out there that can teach you a thing or two about who you’re trying to reach and who can help make your product/service better. Why not let them help?
—–
About the Blogger: Lis is the Founder of Hubert Experience Design, a botique user experience firm based in NYC. Her firm has worked with a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 to start-up. Hubert Experience Design takes pride in making websites better and easier to use
Sales is Not Magic: Identifying Sales Triggers
Sales is Not Magic: Identifying Sales Triggers
February 27th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Friends, Family and clients still ask on occasion “how did you do it – how did you manage to sell over $500K in shoes within 14 months?”
As mentioned in previous posts, the supposed “secret” to selling is actually not a secret at all. Based on my experience, there are three skills you must embrace to become a top-tier sales Jedi in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace:
1) Understand selling is just a numbers game
One day you’ll sell $11K in three hours of work and the next you’ll struggle to sell $1K over the span of an entire day. But in the aggregate, remaining steadfastly focused on your goals will pay off, with a gradual climb toward long-term success.
2) Understand the 80/20 rule
As mentioned in post #2 of this series, memorize the 20% that makes 80% of the difference until it’s instinctive. This is imperative; your long-term viability as a sales professional depends on it.
3) Develop the ability to quickly identify, hone and leverage the triggers of your target consumer
Of the above three skills, point #3 will catapult you the furthest and fastest. Triggers become significantly more apparent as the frequency of sales presentations increase.
Nordstrom is the ideal environment for scaling sales trigger understanding because a sales rep executes roughly 20 presentations/day during the week and more than 40/day on the weekend. Retail is a fast-paced and transaction-oriented environment. Therefore, within a very short amount of time you’re blessed with the benefit of executing hundreds transactions and obtaining large swaths of customer feedback. These are crucial in facilitating your understanding of the wants, needs and ultimately the triggers of your target consumer.
The downside of this type of sales environment is the very “short leash” you’re given. If you don’t produce the boot will arrive on the horizon very fast. You are expected to ramp up sales significantly faster than in other sales contexts.
For instance, on the other side of the pendulum reside enterprise sales. In the beginning, these are long, drawn out and sporadic transactions (2 – 6 month sales cycle). Every opportunity to identify and hone sales triggers must be cherished. In this environment, you are given a longer lead time to “figure it out,” but even then your “leash” is only as long as the market allows – which isn’t more than four months.
——
Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
February 27th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Friends, Family and clients still ask on occasion “how did you do it – how did you manage to sell over $500K in shoes within 14 months?”
As mentioned in previous posts, the supposed “secret” to selling is actually not a secret at all. Based on my experience, there are three skills you must embrace to become a top-tier sales Jedi in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace:
1) Understand selling is just a numbers game
One day you’ll sell $11K in three hours of work and the next you’ll struggle to sell $1K over the span of an entire day. But in the aggregate, remaining steadfastly focused on your goals will pay off, with a gradual climb toward long-term success.
2) Understand the 80/20 rule
As mentioned in post #2 of this series, memorize the 20% that makes 80% of the difference until it’s instinctive. This is imperative; your long-term viability as a sales professional depends on it.
3) Develop the ability to quickly identify, hone and leverage the triggers of your target consumer
Of the above three skills, point #3 will catapult you the furthest and fastest. Triggers become significantly more apparent as the frequency of sales presentations increase.
Nordstrom is the ideal environment for scaling sales trigger understanding because a sales rep executes roughly 20 presentations/day during the week and more than 40/day on the weekend. Retail is a fast-paced and transaction-oriented environment. Therefore, within a very short amount of time you’re blessed with the benefit of executing hundreds transactions and obtaining large swaths of customer feedback. These are crucial in facilitating your understanding of the wants, needs and ultimately the triggers of your target consumer.
The downside of this type of sales environment is the very “short leash” you’re given. If you don’t produce the boot will arrive on the horizon very fast. You are expected to ramp up sales significantly faster than in other sales contexts.
For instance, on the other side of the pendulum reside enterprise sales. In the beginning, these are long, drawn out and sporadic transactions (2 – 6 month sales cycle). Every opportunity to identify and hone sales triggers must be cherished. In this environment, you are given a longer lead time to “figure it out,” but even then your “leash” is only as long as the market allows – which isn’t more than four months.
——
Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
Seven Steps to Attracting Your Billionaire Angel Investor
Seven Steps to Attracting Your Billionaire Angel Investor
March 2nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
The first time I met John I was really surprised. He was introduced to me from an investor in my new company at the time and John was an old friend of his. What surprised me about John how human he was. He was in his late sixties and somewhat stubborn and opinionated. But not it an arrogant way.
John’s wealth started with his grandfather’s company. The family ran and grew it into a conglomerate that was eventually sold. John now managed the family’s assets of over a billion dollars. I was really nervous when I pitched him, knowing what he could mean to my company. But after listening to me for a few minutes and asking a few questions, John politely rejected my request to invest.
I forgot about John until about a year later when we were at the next level with our business. I knew John was not interested in us but I was able to set up a meeting to get his advice on how to get the next round of financing in, which we were in desperate need of.
At lunch John asked me a bunch of questions and I gave him updates. And while I had answered most of his questions hundreds of times before to other investor leads, at lunch I was just being honest as I knew he was not interested. Polished sales pitch was off and guard was down. I just wanted his advice.
After desert, John asked me how much I was looking for. “Quarter of a million” was my answer. He said, “Why don’t you walk back with me to my office and I’ll write you a check.”
I said, “Excuse me??!!”, to which he smiled and said, “Let’s go.” And in that moment my company took a giant leap forward.
It was far more than the money John invested, it was how involved he became in our business that made him so amazing for us. Instant credibility was gained when people learned he was involved in the business. In fact often our staff would say, “Stefan, John’s on the phone… again!”
And John would call to tell me things like, “Stefan, I just spoke with [so-and-so]. He/she is a $xxx million-dollar guy and they told me to tell you to call them.”
A week later he would check to see if I had spoken with his referral. The times I told John the person did not return my call, he would curse and hang up before I could even finish my sentence.
Ten minutes later the phone was ringing with that person on the line.
And that is an angel investor. In fact, a dream angel.
Angels, if you’re not familiar with the term, are investors that do far more than give you money. They roll up their sleeves and help build the company. The love the excitement and energy the business is generating and they want to be a part of it.
So how do you find one for yourself?
Seven Steps for Finding Your Billionaire Angel Investor:
Refine your vision. Make it “billionaire”-like in scale. Make sure it fits the mindset of someone accustomed to thinking really big and powerfully. This doesn’t necessarily mean the size of the business. Make it real and realistic, but your (authentic) passion and intensity of it must be huge.
Pick your Angel. Identify them by name. Find out as much as you can about them. What they like and have they funded before. Find out their key people: their spouse, personal assistant, administrator, etc.
Use the back door. Often times they are not accessible directly. Find out how to get in front of a key contact of theirs. That should not be nearly as difficult. Start to build a relationship with that person.
Get your ducks in a row. The basics like finances, business plan, executive summary, sales pitch, etc. Make sure you know your industry and what is going on. Feel very comfortable in what you know and what you don’t know.
Practice on your D-list first. Then C-list, then B-list before going to your billionaire contact (i.e. “A-list”.) Make your mistakes and iron out the kinks on those you are OK with messing up on. And you WILL mess up!
Be comfortable in your skin. Passionate about where you are taking the company… and most importantly, be real.
Ask for their advice. These guys are usually hit up all the time. To help them relax and really “be” with you, let them know you (authentically) would like their advice on what to do next for your business.
These steps do not ensure you will nail it every time, but do know what makes you 1,100% more attractive to someone who is constantly approached for money, is just being real with them. Being relaxed and yourself.
So go to it and perhaps you will walk home with someone just like John!
Action Steps for the Week:
Looking for funding in your business? Who is your dream investor? What do you know about him/her? Research that person until you feel you really “know” your billionaire angel investor.
Make sure your business is something that would excite them. How you will know this is a) how excite are you about it and b) their interest level in your industry.
Do you have a way to get in front of them? If not, who do you know who knows an inner-circle person? Still drawing a blank? Then who do you know who knows someone who might know an inner-circle person? Don’t give up and more-than-likely you’ll be in front of your potential angel sooner than you think.
——-
About the Blogger: Stefan Doering is the creator of BEST Coaches’ groundbreaking 90-day “UnReasonable” program which brings to the table his almost 30 years of hard-earned business savvy and 4-plus decades of pure heart.
Stefan started his first company at the age of 17. His later companies included the leaders of major companies and institutions as well as multi-millionaires and billionaires as investors, board members and mentors, and had household names among their clients.
March 2nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
The first time I met John I was really surprised. He was introduced to me from an investor in my new company at the time and John was an old friend of his. What surprised me about John how human he was. He was in his late sixties and somewhat stubborn and opinionated. But not it an arrogant way.
John’s wealth started with his grandfather’s company. The family ran and grew it into a conglomerate that was eventually sold. John now managed the family’s assets of over a billion dollars. I was really nervous when I pitched him, knowing what he could mean to my company. But after listening to me for a few minutes and asking a few questions, John politely rejected my request to invest.
I forgot about John until about a year later when we were at the next level with our business. I knew John was not interested in us but I was able to set up a meeting to get his advice on how to get the next round of financing in, which we were in desperate need of.
At lunch John asked me a bunch of questions and I gave him updates. And while I had answered most of his questions hundreds of times before to other investor leads, at lunch I was just being honest as I knew he was not interested. Polished sales pitch was off and guard was down. I just wanted his advice.
After desert, John asked me how much I was looking for. “Quarter of a million” was my answer. He said, “Why don’t you walk back with me to my office and I’ll write you a check.”
I said, “Excuse me??!!”, to which he smiled and said, “Let’s go.” And in that moment my company took a giant leap forward.
It was far more than the money John invested, it was how involved he became in our business that made him so amazing for us. Instant credibility was gained when people learned he was involved in the business. In fact often our staff would say, “Stefan, John’s on the phone… again!”
And John would call to tell me things like, “Stefan, I just spoke with [so-and-so]. He/she is a $xxx million-dollar guy and they told me to tell you to call them.”
A week later he would check to see if I had spoken with his referral. The times I told John the person did not return my call, he would curse and hang up before I could even finish my sentence.
Ten minutes later the phone was ringing with that person on the line.
And that is an angel investor. In fact, a dream angel.
Angels, if you’re not familiar with the term, are investors that do far more than give you money. They roll up their sleeves and help build the company. The love the excitement and energy the business is generating and they want to be a part of it.
So how do you find one for yourself?
Seven Steps for Finding Your Billionaire Angel Investor:
Refine your vision. Make it “billionaire”-like in scale. Make sure it fits the mindset of someone accustomed to thinking really big and powerfully. This doesn’t necessarily mean the size of the business. Make it real and realistic, but your (authentic) passion and intensity of it must be huge.
Pick your Angel. Identify them by name. Find out as much as you can about them. What they like and have they funded before. Find out their key people: their spouse, personal assistant, administrator, etc.
Use the back door. Often times they are not accessible directly. Find out how to get in front of a key contact of theirs. That should not be nearly as difficult. Start to build a relationship with that person.
Get your ducks in a row. The basics like finances, business plan, executive summary, sales pitch, etc. Make sure you know your industry and what is going on. Feel very comfortable in what you know and what you don’t know.
Practice on your D-list first. Then C-list, then B-list before going to your billionaire contact (i.e. “A-list”.) Make your mistakes and iron out the kinks on those you are OK with messing up on. And you WILL mess up!
Be comfortable in your skin. Passionate about where you are taking the company… and most importantly, be real.
Ask for their advice. These guys are usually hit up all the time. To help them relax and really “be” with you, let them know you (authentically) would like their advice on what to do next for your business.
These steps do not ensure you will nail it every time, but do know what makes you 1,100% more attractive to someone who is constantly approached for money, is just being real with them. Being relaxed and yourself.
So go to it and perhaps you will walk home with someone just like John!
Action Steps for the Week:
Looking for funding in your business? Who is your dream investor? What do you know about him/her? Research that person until you feel you really “know” your billionaire angel investor.
Make sure your business is something that would excite them. How you will know this is a) how excite are you about it and b) their interest level in your industry.
Do you have a way to get in front of them? If not, who do you know who knows an inner-circle person? Still drawing a blank? Then who do you know who knows someone who might know an inner-circle person? Don’t give up and more-than-likely you’ll be in front of your potential angel sooner than you think.
——-
About the Blogger: Stefan Doering is the creator of BEST Coaches’ groundbreaking 90-day “UnReasonable” program which brings to the table his almost 30 years of hard-earned business savvy and 4-plus decades of pure heart.
Stefan started his first company at the age of 17. His later companies included the leaders of major companies and institutions as well as multi-millionaires and billionaires as investors, board members and mentors, and had household names among their clients.
New Classifications of Entrepreneur
New Classifications of Entrepreneur
March 2nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
In a world of niche advertising, marketing and brand differentiation, it is little wonder that the title of Entrepreneur has been prefixed to further define to the world not only who they are, but also the market segment and/or mission they serve.
This new way of segmenting entrepreneurs is not only a boon to marketers and consultants like myself, providing a means to segment and target our audience, but also to the legions of emerging entrepreneurs who are in need of clarity and definition of their new life’s path.
Regardless of how you choose to categorize yourself, ____preneur or entrepreneur, we look forward to seeing you at New York Entrepreneur Week in April 2010. The following list contains some of the most popular “preneur” titles in common use, if I have missed any, and I am sure I have, feel free to add any other “preneur” titles you have heard to this list in the comments section.
Solopreneur-is a single individual operating a business enterprise formerly known as a sole proprietor entrepreneur
Spiritualpreneur – is someone who operates a business enterprise based on the guiding principles of their spiritual beliefs for wealth, prosperity and abundance. Also may include spiritual based ventures such as energy healers, reiki masters, acupuncturist, etc.
Socialpreneur – is someone who operates a business enterprise to create social change, OR
Socialpreneur- is an entrepreneur who uses social media to operate a business enterprise.
Serialpreneur- an individual, who has founded, built and sold numerous ventures.
Womenpreneur- is a female entrepreneur.
Mompreneur – is a woman who is both a mother and operating a business enterprise, also has a magazine specifically devoted to this entrepreneur niche.
Epreneur- an individual who operates an ecommerce business enterprise
Webpreneur – also an individual who operates an ecommerce business enterprise
Infopreneur is an individual who operates a business enterprise which gathers, packages and sell information or information products.
Petrepreneur is an individual who operated a business enterprise in the pet industry.
—-
About the Blogger: Will Corrente, is the founder of Operation Entrepreneur, an entrepreneurship consulting firm based in West Palm Beach, FL. In addition, he writes a weekly column on small business and entrepreneurship for The Bergen News.
March 2nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
In a world of niche advertising, marketing and brand differentiation, it is little wonder that the title of Entrepreneur has been prefixed to further define to the world not only who they are, but also the market segment and/or mission they serve.
This new way of segmenting entrepreneurs is not only a boon to marketers and consultants like myself, providing a means to segment and target our audience, but also to the legions of emerging entrepreneurs who are in need of clarity and definition of their new life’s path.
Regardless of how you choose to categorize yourself, ____preneur or entrepreneur, we look forward to seeing you at New York Entrepreneur Week in April 2010. The following list contains some of the most popular “preneur” titles in common use, if I have missed any, and I am sure I have, feel free to add any other “preneur” titles you have heard to this list in the comments section.
Solopreneur-is a single individual operating a business enterprise formerly known as a sole proprietor entrepreneur
Spiritualpreneur – is someone who operates a business enterprise based on the guiding principles of their spiritual beliefs for wealth, prosperity and abundance. Also may include spiritual based ventures such as energy healers, reiki masters, acupuncturist, etc.
Socialpreneur – is someone who operates a business enterprise to create social change, OR
Socialpreneur- is an entrepreneur who uses social media to operate a business enterprise.
Serialpreneur- an individual, who has founded, built and sold numerous ventures.
Womenpreneur- is a female entrepreneur.
Mompreneur – is a woman who is both a mother and operating a business enterprise, also has a magazine specifically devoted to this entrepreneur niche.
Epreneur- an individual who operates an ecommerce business enterprise
Webpreneur – also an individual who operates an ecommerce business enterprise
Infopreneur is an individual who operates a business enterprise which gathers, packages and sell information or information products.
Petrepreneur is an individual who operated a business enterprise in the pet industry.
—-
About the Blogger: Will Corrente, is the founder of Operation Entrepreneur, an entrepreneurship consulting firm based in West Palm Beach, FL. In addition, he writes a weekly column on small business and entrepreneurship for The Bergen News.
Sales is Not Magic: Identifying Sales Triggers
Sales is Not Magic: Identifying Sales Triggers
February 27th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Friends, Family and clients still ask on occasion “how did you do it – how did you manage to sell over $500K in shoes within 14 months?”
As mentioned in previous posts, the supposed “secret” to selling is actually not a secret at all. Based on my experience, there are three skills you must embrace to become a top-tier sales Jedi in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace:
1) Understand selling is just a numbers game
One day you’ll sell $11K in three hours of work and the next you’ll struggle to sell $1K over the span of an entire day. But in the aggregate, remaining steadfastly focused on your goals will pay off, with a gradual climb toward long-term success.
2) Understand the 80/20 rule
As mentioned in post #2 of this series, memorize the 20% that makes 80% of the difference until it’s instinctive. This is imperative; your long-term viability as a sales professional depends on it.
3) Develop the ability to quickly identify, hone and leverage the triggers of your target consumer
Of the above three skills, point #3 will catapult you the furthest and fastest. Triggers become significantly more apparent as the frequency of sales presentations increase.
Nordstrom is the ideal environment for scaling sales trigger understanding because a sales rep executes roughly 20 presentations/day during the week and more than 40/day on the weekend. Retail is a fast-paced and transaction-oriented environment. Therefore, within a very short amount of time you’re blessed with the benefit of executing hundreds transactions and obtaining large swaths of customer feedback. These are crucial in facilitating your understanding of the wants, needs and ultimately the triggers of your target consumer.
The downside of this type of sales environment is the very “short leash” you’re given. If you don’t produce the boot will arrive on the horizon very fast. You are expected to ramp up sales significantly faster than in other sales contexts.
For instance, on the other side of the pendulum reside enterprise sales. In the beginning, these are long, drawn out and sporadic transactions (2 – 6 month sales cycle). Every opportunity to identify and hone sales triggers must be cherished. In this environment, you are given a longer lead time to “figure it out,” but even then your “leash” is only as long as the market allows – which isn’t more than four months.
——
Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
February 27th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Friends, Family and clients still ask on occasion “how did you do it – how did you manage to sell over $500K in shoes within 14 months?”
As mentioned in previous posts, the supposed “secret” to selling is actually not a secret at all. Based on my experience, there are three skills you must embrace to become a top-tier sales Jedi in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace:
1) Understand selling is just a numbers game
One day you’ll sell $11K in three hours of work and the next you’ll struggle to sell $1K over the span of an entire day. But in the aggregate, remaining steadfastly focused on your goals will pay off, with a gradual climb toward long-term success.
2) Understand the 80/20 rule
As mentioned in post #2 of this series, memorize the 20% that makes 80% of the difference until it’s instinctive. This is imperative; your long-term viability as a sales professional depends on it.
3) Develop the ability to quickly identify, hone and leverage the triggers of your target consumer
Of the above three skills, point #3 will catapult you the furthest and fastest. Triggers become significantly more apparent as the frequency of sales presentations increase.
Nordstrom is the ideal environment for scaling sales trigger understanding because a sales rep executes roughly 20 presentations/day during the week and more than 40/day on the weekend. Retail is a fast-paced and transaction-oriented environment. Therefore, within a very short amount of time you’re blessed with the benefit of executing hundreds transactions and obtaining large swaths of customer feedback. These are crucial in facilitating your understanding of the wants, needs and ultimately the triggers of your target consumer.
The downside of this type of sales environment is the very “short leash” you’re given. If you don’t produce the boot will arrive on the horizon very fast. You are expected to ramp up sales significantly faster than in other sales contexts.
For instance, on the other side of the pendulum reside enterprise sales. In the beginning, these are long, drawn out and sporadic transactions (2 – 6 month sales cycle). Every opportunity to identify and hone sales triggers must be cherished. In this environment, you are given a longer lead time to “figure it out,” but even then your “leash” is only as long as the market allows – which isn’t more than four months.
——
Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
Seven Steps to Attracting Your Billionaire Angel Investor
Seven Steps to Attracting Your Billionaire Angel Investor
March 2nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
The first time I met John I was really surprised. He was introduced to me from an investor in my new company at the time and John was an old friend of his. What surprised me about John how human he was. He was in his late sixties and somewhat stubborn and opinionated. But not it an arrogant way.
John’s wealth started with his grandfather’s company. The family ran and grew it into a conglomerate that was eventually sold. John now managed the family’s assets of over a billion dollars. I was really nervous when I pitched him, knowing what he could mean to my company. But after listening to me for a few minutes and asking a few questions, John politely rejected my request to invest.
I forgot about John until about a year later when we were at the next level with our business. I knew John was not interested in us but I was able to set up a meeting to get his advice on how to get the next round of financing in, which we were in desperate need of.
At lunch John asked me a bunch of questions and I gave him updates. And while I had answered most of his questions hundreds of times before to other investor leads, at lunch I was just being honest as I knew he was not interested. Polished sales pitch was off and guard was down. I just wanted his advice.
After desert, John asked me how much I was looking for. “Quarter of a million” was my answer. He said, “Why don’t you walk back with me to my office and I’ll write you a check.”
I said, “Excuse me??!!”, to which he smiled and said, “Let’s go.” And in that moment my company took a giant leap forward.
It was far more than the money John invested, it was how involved he became in our business that made him so amazing for us. Instant credibility was gained when people learned he was involved in the business. In fact often our staff would say, “Stefan, John’s on the phone… again!”
And John would call to tell me things like, “Stefan, I just spoke with [so-and-so]. He/she is a $xxx million-dollar guy and they told me to tell you to call them.”
A week later he would check to see if I had spoken with his referral. The times I told John the person did not return my call, he would curse and hang up before I could even finish my sentence.
Ten minutes later the phone was ringing with that person on the line.
And that is an angel investor. In fact, a dream angel.
Angels, if you’re not familiar with the term, are investors that do far more than give you money. They roll up their sleeves and help build the company. The love the excitement and energy the business is generating and they want to be a part of it.
So how do you find one for yourself?
Seven Steps for Finding Your Billionaire Angel Investor:
Refine your vision. Make it “billionaire”-like in scale. Make sure it fits the mindset of someone accustomed to thinking really big and powerfully. This doesn’t necessarily mean the size of the business. Make it real and realistic, but your (authentic) passion and intensity of it must be huge.
Pick your Angel. Identify them by name. Find out as much as you can about them. What they like and have they funded before. Find out their key people: their spouse, personal assistant, administrator, etc.
Use the back door. Often times they are not accessible directly. Find out how to get in front of a key contact of theirs. That should not be nearly as difficult. Start to build a relationship with that person.
Get your ducks in a row. The basics like finances, business plan, executive summary, sales pitch, etc. Make sure you know your industry and what is going on. Feel very comfortable in what you know and what you don’t know.
Practice on your D-list first. Then C-list, then B-list before going to your billionaire contact (i.e. “A-list”.) Make your mistakes and iron out the kinks on those you are OK with messing up on. And you WILL mess up!
Be comfortable in your skin. Passionate about where you are taking the company… and most importantly, be real.
Ask for their advice. These guys are usually hit up all the time. To help them relax and really “be” with you, let them know you (authentically) would like their advice on what to do next for your business.
These steps do not ensure you will nail it every time, but do know what makes you 1,100% more attractive to someone who is constantly approached for money, is just being real with them. Being relaxed and yourself.
So go to it and perhaps you will walk home with someone just like John!
Action Steps for the Week:
Looking for funding in your business? Who is your dream investor? What do you know about him/her? Research that person until you feel you really “know” your billionaire angel investor.
Make sure your business is something that would excite them. How you will know this is a) how excite are you about it and b) their interest level in your industry.
Do you have a way to get in front of them? If not, who do you know who knows an inner-circle person? Still drawing a blank? Then who do you know who knows someone who might know an inner-circle person? Don’t give up and more-than-likely you’ll be in front of your potential angel sooner than you think.
——-
About the Blogger: Stefan Doering is the creator of BEST Coaches’ groundbreaking 90-day “UnReasonable” program which brings to the table his almost 30 years of hard-earned business savvy and 4-plus decades of pure heart.
Stefan started his first company at the age of 17. His later companies included the leaders of major companies and institutions as well as multi-millionaires and billionaires as investors, board members and mentors, and had household names among their clients.
March 2nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
The first time I met John I was really surprised. He was introduced to me from an investor in my new company at the time and John was an old friend of his. What surprised me about John how human he was. He was in his late sixties and somewhat stubborn and opinionated. But not it an arrogant way.
John’s wealth started with his grandfather’s company. The family ran and grew it into a conglomerate that was eventually sold. John now managed the family’s assets of over a billion dollars. I was really nervous when I pitched him, knowing what he could mean to my company. But after listening to me for a few minutes and asking a few questions, John politely rejected my request to invest.
I forgot about John until about a year later when we were at the next level with our business. I knew John was not interested in us but I was able to set up a meeting to get his advice on how to get the next round of financing in, which we were in desperate need of.
At lunch John asked me a bunch of questions and I gave him updates. And while I had answered most of his questions hundreds of times before to other investor leads, at lunch I was just being honest as I knew he was not interested. Polished sales pitch was off and guard was down. I just wanted his advice.
After desert, John asked me how much I was looking for. “Quarter of a million” was my answer. He said, “Why don’t you walk back with me to my office and I’ll write you a check.”
I said, “Excuse me??!!”, to which he smiled and said, “Let’s go.” And in that moment my company took a giant leap forward.
It was far more than the money John invested, it was how involved he became in our business that made him so amazing for us. Instant credibility was gained when people learned he was involved in the business. In fact often our staff would say, “Stefan, John’s on the phone… again!”
And John would call to tell me things like, “Stefan, I just spoke with [so-and-so]. He/she is a $xxx million-dollar guy and they told me to tell you to call them.”
A week later he would check to see if I had spoken with his referral. The times I told John the person did not return my call, he would curse and hang up before I could even finish my sentence.
Ten minutes later the phone was ringing with that person on the line.
And that is an angel investor. In fact, a dream angel.
Angels, if you’re not familiar with the term, are investors that do far more than give you money. They roll up their sleeves and help build the company. The love the excitement and energy the business is generating and they want to be a part of it.
So how do you find one for yourself?
Seven Steps for Finding Your Billionaire Angel Investor:
Refine your vision. Make it “billionaire”-like in scale. Make sure it fits the mindset of someone accustomed to thinking really big and powerfully. This doesn’t necessarily mean the size of the business. Make it real and realistic, but your (authentic) passion and intensity of it must be huge.
Pick your Angel. Identify them by name. Find out as much as you can about them. What they like and have they funded before. Find out their key people: their spouse, personal assistant, administrator, etc.
Use the back door. Often times they are not accessible directly. Find out how to get in front of a key contact of theirs. That should not be nearly as difficult. Start to build a relationship with that person.
Get your ducks in a row. The basics like finances, business plan, executive summary, sales pitch, etc. Make sure you know your industry and what is going on. Feel very comfortable in what you know and what you don’t know.
Practice on your D-list first. Then C-list, then B-list before going to your billionaire contact (i.e. “A-list”.) Make your mistakes and iron out the kinks on those you are OK with messing up on. And you WILL mess up!
Be comfortable in your skin. Passionate about where you are taking the company… and most importantly, be real.
Ask for their advice. These guys are usually hit up all the time. To help them relax and really “be” with you, let them know you (authentically) would like their advice on what to do next for your business.
These steps do not ensure you will nail it every time, but do know what makes you 1,100% more attractive to someone who is constantly approached for money, is just being real with them. Being relaxed and yourself.
So go to it and perhaps you will walk home with someone just like John!
Action Steps for the Week:
Looking for funding in your business? Who is your dream investor? What do you know about him/her? Research that person until you feel you really “know” your billionaire angel investor.
Make sure your business is something that would excite them. How you will know this is a) how excite are you about it and b) their interest level in your industry.
Do you have a way to get in front of them? If not, who do you know who knows an inner-circle person? Still drawing a blank? Then who do you know who knows someone who might know an inner-circle person? Don’t give up and more-than-likely you’ll be in front of your potential angel sooner than you think.
——-
About the Blogger: Stefan Doering is the creator of BEST Coaches’ groundbreaking 90-day “UnReasonable” program which brings to the table his almost 30 years of hard-earned business savvy and 4-plus decades of pure heart.
Stefan started his first company at the age of 17. His later companies included the leaders of major companies and institutions as well as multi-millionaires and billionaires as investors, board members and mentors, and had household names among their clients.
New Classifications of Entrepreneur
New Classifications of Entrepreneur
March 2nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
In a world of niche advertising, marketing and brand differentiation, it is little wonder that the title of Entrepreneur has been prefixed to further define to the world not only who they are, but also the market segment and/or mission they serve.
This new way of segmenting entrepreneurs is not only a boon to marketers and consultants like myself, providing a means to segment and target our audience, but also to the legions of emerging entrepreneurs who are in need of clarity and definition of their new life’s path.
Regardless of how you choose to categorize yourself, ____preneur or entrepreneur, we look forward to seeing you at New York Entrepreneur Week in April 2010. The following list contains some of the most popular “preneur” titles in common use, if I have missed any, and I am sure I have, feel free to add any other “preneur” titles you have heard to this list in the comments section.
Solopreneur-is a single individual operating a business enterprise formerly known as a sole proprietor entrepreneur
Spiritualpreneur – is someone who operates a business enterprise based on the guiding principles of their spiritual beliefs for wealth, prosperity and abundance. Also may include spiritual based ventures such as energy healers, reiki masters, acupuncturist, etc.
Socialpreneur – is someone who operates a business enterprise to create social change, OR
Socialpreneur- is an entrepreneur who uses social media to operate a business enterprise.
Serialpreneur- an individual, who has founded, built and sold numerous ventures.
Womenpreneur- is a female entrepreneur.
Mompreneur – is a woman who is both a mother and operating a business enterprise, also has a magazine specifically devoted to this entrepreneur niche.
Epreneur- an individual who operates an ecommerce business enterprise
Webpreneur – also an individual who operates an ecommerce business enterprise
Infopreneur is an individual who operates a business enterprise which gathers, packages and sell information or information products.
Petrepreneur is an individual who operated a business enterprise in the pet industry.
—-
About the Blogger: Will Corrente, is the founder of Operation Entrepreneur, an entrepreneurship consulting firm based in West Palm Beach, FL. In addition, he writes a weekly column on small business and entrepreneurship for The Bergen News.
March 2nd, 2010 Author: Guest Blogger
In a world of niche advertising, marketing and brand differentiation, it is little wonder that the title of Entrepreneur has been prefixed to further define to the world not only who they are, but also the market segment and/or mission they serve.
This new way of segmenting entrepreneurs is not only a boon to marketers and consultants like myself, providing a means to segment and target our audience, but also to the legions of emerging entrepreneurs who are in need of clarity and definition of their new life’s path.
Regardless of how you choose to categorize yourself, ____preneur or entrepreneur, we look forward to seeing you at New York Entrepreneur Week in April 2010. The following list contains some of the most popular “preneur” titles in common use, if I have missed any, and I am sure I have, feel free to add any other “preneur” titles you have heard to this list in the comments section.
Solopreneur-is a single individual operating a business enterprise formerly known as a sole proprietor entrepreneur
Spiritualpreneur – is someone who operates a business enterprise based on the guiding principles of their spiritual beliefs for wealth, prosperity and abundance. Also may include spiritual based ventures such as energy healers, reiki masters, acupuncturist, etc.
Socialpreneur – is someone who operates a business enterprise to create social change, OR
Socialpreneur- is an entrepreneur who uses social media to operate a business enterprise.
Serialpreneur- an individual, who has founded, built and sold numerous ventures.
Womenpreneur- is a female entrepreneur.
Mompreneur – is a woman who is both a mother and operating a business enterprise, also has a magazine specifically devoted to this entrepreneur niche.
Epreneur- an individual who operates an ecommerce business enterprise
Webpreneur – also an individual who operates an ecommerce business enterprise
Infopreneur is an individual who operates a business enterprise which gathers, packages and sell information or information products.
Petrepreneur is an individual who operated a business enterprise in the pet industry.
—-
About the Blogger: Will Corrente, is the founder of Operation Entrepreneur, an entrepreneurship consulting firm based in West Palm Beach, FL. In addition, he writes a weekly column on small business and entrepreneurship for The Bergen News.
How User Experience Designers are like Therapists
How User Experience Designers are like Therapists
March 3rd, 2010 Author: Lis Hubert
In writing for NYEWeek, I always try to think of topics that will relate to the Entrepreneurial mind. The post I write today may or may not do so, but my hope is that it will invoke some ideas that will change your thinking about how you approach your customer. As I’ve mentioned in several previous posts on my blog I’m surrounded by counselors and therapists of all kinds. In talking with these folks, I can’t help but see the similarities that keep coming up between our two professions, those of Therapy and UX Design.
Recently, I asked a seasoned therapist how he chooses to deliver responses to his clients. Basically I wanted to know; if Client A came to him with a problem and Client B came to him with the same problem, would he give them the same response? His reply to my question was eye opening.
The therapist replied “It is not my job to push my thoughts and ideas onto my clients. I am not their friends. Friends do that. When someone comes to them with a problem they respond ‘well this is what I would do…’ then explain their point of view instead of giving tailored advice. My job is to listen to my clients, take their needs & personalities as well as the way in which they explained their problem into account, and really understand what kind of help they are asking for. From there, I tailor a response that the specific client will be able to absorb best as well as one that their personality will be able to use. My personal opinions are thrown out the window.”
Wow, if this didn’t make some connections in my head.
That is precisely how a User Experience Designer is different from the majority of professionals out there in corporate or start up land. Let me explain further. Our job is not to push our opinions about how to create websites or features we like onto our users. There are a ton of interactions out there that I personally despise that I include in my designs. You may ask “Well if you despise them, why do you include them in your work?”
I do so simply because the majority of the users that I’m designing for do NOT share my opinion. These interactions and features are ones that they actually feel comfortable using or that make their experience delightful. My role as a UX Designer is not to force my opinions about certain treatments or interactions onto users. Just because I love or hate something does not mean it will facilitate a great user experience. A UX Designer should NEVER talk in opinions. That is one of the first things we learn in our profession. Instead we take a great deal of our time, including “non-work” time, to study people. We learn what works for users and what doesn’t. We try to understand others’ behaviors and by doing so are coming to our clients with facts and not opinions.
When I tell a client “That is not something that users will understand.” It is because I have studied users, not because I don’t understand it myself. This is a key feature to look for when hiring and working with a UX Designer.
This thinking is a big shift for most people dealing with the web. For example, many people tend to pick colors for their websites because they like the colors, not because these colors facilitate easier reading or emotional response. This same behavior happens with other features (i.e. I like drag and drop and I want it on my site, even if there is no need for this type of treatment). There is actually a science to website creation and the number one rule is to throw away your personal opinion.
You are not your user, and your opinions may or may not match theirs. The fact is you are the one that needs your users to use your website or buy your product and you should make that experience enjoyable. The way to do this is to remove the subjective and work in the objective.
—-
About the Blogger: Lis is the Founder of Hubert Experience Design, a boutique user experience firm based in NYC. Her firm has worked with a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 to start-up. Hubert Experience Design takes pride in making websites better and easier to use.
March 3rd, 2010 Author: Lis Hubert
In writing for NYEWeek, I always try to think of topics that will relate to the Entrepreneurial mind. The post I write today may or may not do so, but my hope is that it will invoke some ideas that will change your thinking about how you approach your customer. As I’ve mentioned in several previous posts on my blog I’m surrounded by counselors and therapists of all kinds. In talking with these folks, I can’t help but see the similarities that keep coming up between our two professions, those of Therapy and UX Design.
Recently, I asked a seasoned therapist how he chooses to deliver responses to his clients. Basically I wanted to know; if Client A came to him with a problem and Client B came to him with the same problem, would he give them the same response? His reply to my question was eye opening.
The therapist replied “It is not my job to push my thoughts and ideas onto my clients. I am not their friends. Friends do that. When someone comes to them with a problem they respond ‘well this is what I would do…’ then explain their point of view instead of giving tailored advice. My job is to listen to my clients, take their needs & personalities as well as the way in which they explained their problem into account, and really understand what kind of help they are asking for. From there, I tailor a response that the specific client will be able to absorb best as well as one that their personality will be able to use. My personal opinions are thrown out the window.”
Wow, if this didn’t make some connections in my head.
That is precisely how a User Experience Designer is different from the majority of professionals out there in corporate or start up land. Let me explain further. Our job is not to push our opinions about how to create websites or features we like onto our users. There are a ton of interactions out there that I personally despise that I include in my designs. You may ask “Well if you despise them, why do you include them in your work?”
I do so simply because the majority of the users that I’m designing for do NOT share my opinion. These interactions and features are ones that they actually feel comfortable using or that make their experience delightful. My role as a UX Designer is not to force my opinions about certain treatments or interactions onto users. Just because I love or hate something does not mean it will facilitate a great user experience. A UX Designer should NEVER talk in opinions. That is one of the first things we learn in our profession. Instead we take a great deal of our time, including “non-work” time, to study people. We learn what works for users and what doesn’t. We try to understand others’ behaviors and by doing so are coming to our clients with facts and not opinions.
When I tell a client “That is not something that users will understand.” It is because I have studied users, not because I don’t understand it myself. This is a key feature to look for when hiring and working with a UX Designer.
This thinking is a big shift for most people dealing with the web. For example, many people tend to pick colors for their websites because they like the colors, not because these colors facilitate easier reading or emotional response. This same behavior happens with other features (i.e. I like drag and drop and I want it on my site, even if there is no need for this type of treatment). There is actually a science to website creation and the number one rule is to throw away your personal opinion.
You are not your user, and your opinions may or may not match theirs. The fact is you are the one that needs your users to use your website or buy your product and you should make that experience enjoyable. The way to do this is to remove the subjective and work in the objective.
—-
About the Blogger: Lis is the Founder of Hubert Experience Design, a boutique user experience firm based in NYC. Her firm has worked with a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 to start-up. Hubert Experience Design takes pride in making websites better and easier to use.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Business Networking Events and Resources for Entrepreneurs in New York
Business Networking Events and Resources for Entrepreneurs in New York
March 25th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Almost everyday someone asks me “where can I go to find XYZ.” I figured it would be easier if I wrote down a decent portion of the organizations I normally recommend to folks. Here in New York there are a plethora of events day in and day out. They include conferences, forums, meetups and workshops.
The frequency, quality, size and scale of events in New York for entrepreneurs, from the aspiring or idea-stage entrepreneur all the way up to the growth and acquisition-stage entrepreneur, can vary greatly.
Below is a list of organizations and resources that you as an entrepreneur here in New York should become familiar with, as well as a breakdown at what stage of your company’s growth the organization(s) would be most relevant for you:
Aspiring / Idea-stage / Early-stage:
140 Characters Conference (#140conf)
Angelsoft
Astia
Bergen News Group
Bernardo’s List – New York
Business Incubator Associate of New York State
CenterNetworks
Collective-E
Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization
Columbia University – Eugene Lang Center for Entrepreneurship
Columbia Venture Community
Do it in Person
Entrepreneurs Exchange Club (NYU)
Entrepreneurs Roundtable
FirstMark Capital
Founder Collective
Get Venture by Mark Peter Davis
Girls in Tech
Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
Hive at 55
ITAC
iBreakfast
Landau Leadership
Levin Institute
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC)
Mashable
MIT Enterprise Forum
New York Angels
New York City Business Networking Group
New York Enterprise Report
New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) Facebook Fan Page
New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) Meetup
New York Tech Meetup
New Work City
News on Women
NextNY
NYC Seed
Pace University – Lubin Center for Entrepreneurship
RRE Ventures
Small Business Summit
StartOut
Startup Digest
Sunshine Suites
TechCrunch
The Hatchery
Ultra Light Start-ups
Under30CEO
Urban Interns
Womensphere
Young Entrepreneur
Growth-stage ($1MM+ in Revenue):
85 Broads
Do it in Person
Entrepreneurs Organization (EO)
Executive Council
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC)
StartOut
WhyTelligence
Women Presidents Organization (WPO)
——
Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
March 25th, 2010 Author: Gary Whitehill
Almost everyday someone asks me “where can I go to find XYZ.” I figured it would be easier if I wrote down a decent portion of the organizations I normally recommend to folks. Here in New York there are a plethora of events day in and day out. They include conferences, forums, meetups and workshops.
The frequency, quality, size and scale of events in New York for entrepreneurs, from the aspiring or idea-stage entrepreneur all the way up to the growth and acquisition-stage entrepreneur, can vary greatly.
Below is a list of organizations and resources that you as an entrepreneur here in New York should become familiar with, as well as a breakdown at what stage of your company’s growth the organization(s) would be most relevant for you:
Aspiring / Idea-stage / Early-stage:
140 Characters Conference (#140conf)
Angelsoft
Astia
Bergen News Group
Bernardo’s List – New York
Business Incubator Associate of New York State
CenterNetworks
Collective-E
Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization
Columbia University – Eugene Lang Center for Entrepreneurship
Columbia Venture Community
Do it in Person
Entrepreneurs Exchange Club (NYU)
Entrepreneurs Roundtable
FirstMark Capital
Founder Collective
Get Venture by Mark Peter Davis
Girls in Tech
Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
Hive at 55
ITAC
iBreakfast
Landau Leadership
Levin Institute
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC)
Mashable
MIT Enterprise Forum
New York Angels
New York City Business Networking Group
New York Enterprise Report
New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) Facebook Fan Page
New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) Meetup
New York Tech Meetup
New Work City
News on Women
NextNY
NYC Seed
Pace University – Lubin Center for Entrepreneurship
RRE Ventures
Small Business Summit
StartOut
Startup Digest
Sunshine Suites
TechCrunch
The Hatchery
Ultra Light Start-ups
Under30CEO
Urban Interns
Womensphere
Young Entrepreneur
Growth-stage ($1MM+ in Revenue):
85 Broads
Do it in Person
Entrepreneurs Organization (EO)
Executive Council
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC)
StartOut
WhyTelligence
Women Presidents Organization (WPO)
——
Stop At Nothing. Achieve Anything.
Gary Whitehill is the Founder of The Relentless Foundation and New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), both of which reflect his entrepreneurial drive and relentless energy.
In 2009, The Relentless Foundation inspired the creation of New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW), an unprecedented gathering of entrepreneurs, from innovation-minded start-ups to multi-million dollar revenue generators who are given the chance to learn, connect and leverage opportunities to help drive economic change.
The Entrepreneur Week movement continues to grow, with events planned in more US cities and around the world.
Additionally, Gary believes kids should have the ability to create the world they want, and that those who are driven to achieve must also be given tools such as entrepreneurship to learn, grow and express themselves.
Gary supports people and companies invested in driving social and economic change.
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