Want help to start or grow your business? Call 503-501-2444 for a free consultation. Ethos Cleantech

Archive for the ‘business coaching’ Category

How Do I Prevent My Small Business From Failing?

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Why is my business failing? Thousands of businessmen and women have asked the same question at one time or another, especially during the early days of their businesses. To be sure, the marketplace is a high-tech jungle where only the fittest survives.

The bottom line reason your business is failing is that you are not selling enough of your product (goods or services) to cover your operating expenses and make a profit. But the problem is not with the product, it is with the elements that make the product what it is. What are those elements?

  • Do you have the right product for your target customers? Obviously if you don’t they will not buy it, at least not in the quantity that will make you a profit. Choose a product that already has a demand, but emphasize a unique benefit of the product that your competitors are not. It should be a product that is consumable, so that your customers will come back to buy more.
  • Is your product quality and durability comparable to your competitors? The quality of your product is the primary element to which all the other elements are anchored. If you do everything right but have a bad product you will not have repeat customers. Majority of your customers will be one-time customers, and the bad news about your business will spread like a virus.
  • Is your product easy to use or consume? Customers are irritated when they spend their hard-earn money on an item, but cannot get it to work. Next time when they go out shopping they will choose an item that they won’t need the brain of a biochemist to get it to work. Choose products that are customer friendly.
  • Is the price of your product competitive? If a customer can buy your product at half the price from your competitor two block down the street, why would he buy your product? Look around and do some comparison shopping to check on your competitors prices and adjust your price accordingly.
  • What is the platform from which you sell your product? Do you sell your product on the Internet or in a brick and mortar store? If you sell on the Internet, is your website or blog pleasant to the eyes, easy to read and navigate? Being mindful that if a visitor to your website is not able to solve a problem he encounters on your website in 3 seconds you’ve lost him.
  • If you sell in a brick and mortar store, does the layout of the store give customers easy access to your product? Are the price tags conveniently displayed to avoid having the customer to ask for the price of each item? Are your salespeople informed about the product enough to answer customers questions? Your aim is to give your customers a pleasant experience in the store to make them want to come back again.
  • Once you set up your website with quality content and products, nobody will know that you exist until you advertise it. How much it will cost to do so will depend on the type of ad, and the competition in your line of business. You may choose to submit your website to the major search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN or Bing, and wait for months to have your website pages indexed, or buy ‘pay per click’ (PPC) ads that will send visitors to your website within 24 hours of signing up.
  • You will need to know about keywords and their placement on your website. When a visitor goes to the Internet for information, s/he types in a word or phrase. The search engine checks through its indexed web pages for websites and blogs with keywords or key-phrases that match the visitor’s query, and present them in order of relevance. Search engines are scrupulous in their selection, because if they provide the wrong information they will lose the visitor, and that is bad business.
  • Advertising a brick and mortar store normally involves running ads in the local newspapers or on TV. Since this can be expensive, you may want to set up a website or blog and encourage your customers to go there for discount prices and information about your product.
  • When you attract customers to your website or store, and they buy your products, the next step is turn them into repeat customers. Ask for their names and email or postal addresses. Because this information is valuable to your customers, offer something for it. Give them a discount or a coupon in exchange for their personal information.

You can stop your business from failing by selling more of your product to satisfied customers who will buy from you again and again because you sell the right product, high quality product, easy to use and at competitive price; because they know where to find you from the weekly information you provide them by email, letters, on your website or blog about new products, discounts and coupons. Shall we get to work now?

By Ben Aidoo

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in branding, business coaching, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurs, marketing, sales and selling, web design | 1 Comment »

Before You Launch Your Start-Up Stop And Think

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Prior to starting a business, it is important to take some time and understand the cost of the project, your cost of living, and where you have some wiggle room. Staying in shape (financially) when you start a business is not just important; it might actually the determining factor in the success or failure of your business.

The following tips have been collected from a number of our clients. Their experiences are helpful as you try your hand in being an entrepreneur. Read on, learn from their mistakes, and imitate their success stories.

Do what you love
Ahhh, this is the most important advice that you can get. As you are going to devote a lot of time and energy to starting a business and building it, it is really important that you truly, deeply enjoy what you do. I have a friend who loves drinking. Guess what he got into? Right! Well, he made use of his passion for the lager to build a very successful beer joint for all the beer guzzling people in his town.

Start your business while you are still employed
This is a sound advice for anyone who is contemplating on starting a business. As money is very important, you should ask yourself how long you can survive without money because it might be a long time before you actually realize some profit.

Do not do it alone
Use those color business cards and start networking. You absolutely need a support system if you are starting a business. It is a good idea to have a buddy, preferably someone you trust very well, to partner with. Family members are not recommended though because of issues that might be difficult to resolve on a personal level. However, a close friend, a college buddy, or somebody who enjoys the same passion might be a good partner. Even better – find a mentor; if you qualify, apply for a business start-up program. Experience is the best support system you can ever get.

Do not wait until you have officially started your business to line these up because your business cannot survive with them. Apart from those listed above, start networking with potential clients. Immediately place an online business card printing to get you started. Make the contacts. Sell or even give away samples of your products or services. As a piece of advice, you cannot start marketing too soon!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in business coaching, business start-up, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurs, mentoring, tips and tricks | 1 Comment »

No Secret To Pitching Investors

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

I hear from a great deal of my clients that they’re looking for the secret to the, “best pitch to investors.”  To me, this always sounds like looking for the secret to, “the best pitch to ask someone to prom.”  There is no perfect method.  There is no secret.  At the end of the day, all you can do is show up and do your best.  There are, however, things you should remember to do and things you should definitely avoid.  

Strong Opening:  Start off the presentation strong.  This can be intimidating based on the fact that people get nervous over just how to craft those first few sentences that you’re going to say to a potential investor, but that’s why you practice.  Come up with a strong lead-in line, a humorous anecdote, or just a casual introduction to start the ball rolling.  Keep in mind that no matter how you open, the idea is to find a professional, but pleasant way to deliver the beginning to your pitch. 

Origin Story:  How did we get here?  The tried and true way to discuss the project you’re pitching is to tell the story of how you conceived of the idea.  If it’s a product, what precipitated the inspiration?  If it is a service, what was the need and how did you discover the market demand for it?  Keep this story tight, though.  Long-winded rambling tales can bore the audience when you forget that not everyone finds the same topic interesting.  Cover the key points and then move on.  

Visuals for Visualization:  Nothing beats a good prop for a presentation.  PowerPoint has made presenting to groups relatively simple and visually-appealing whether in business meetings or pitch sessions.  Don’t use this as the only source for presentation material, though.  If possible, go out and have more professional looking digital slides done.  If your project requires a prototype, definitely have one produced so that investors can get a good look at what you’re talking about. 

Healthy Body:  Change up the pace when discussing the project.  Don’t keep an even tone throughout the whole pitch.  Making it feel like a more natural explanation will temper the fact that you’re standing in front of strangers and asking them for money.  Also, don’t oversell.  Confidence and arrogance have a great deal of similarities and can be easily interchanged when you’re not careful.  Your idea is not the end-all-be-all on the planet, but you should still believe in it.  As long as you’re not overselling it, then you should be able to convince others that it’s worthwhile. 

The End:  Endings are just as important as openings.  Just make sure that you end as strong as you started.  Restate the key points from your initial pitch and cover the key points that you’ve already gone over and you should be able have a strong finish.  

Dynamic Duo or Dark Knight:  If any of these pieces of advice seem to be too much for you as an individual to accomplish, that is not as much as a negative as you might think.  Selecting an experienced proxy can be the wisest decision involving these sorts of presentations.  If you feel you can cover some of these points, but not all, then look into having a partner on board.  Splitting the workload can create a natural rhythm that can ease pacing issues or any impediments that may arise. 

These aren’t the secret to the perfect pitch.  No, they’re just the advice handed down to me from people who actually succeed in front of an investor.  You can take it or leave it, but at least listen to it.  No one can give you a “how-to” for a perfect pitch, but you can always get some helpful hints to refine what is hopefully a polished presentation.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in business coaching, raising capital | No Comments »

The Holy Trinity Of Business Mentoring And Coaching

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Whenever I’m discussing my philosophies on the purpose of hiring a mentor service, I sometimes notice an elephant in the room that no one wants to address:  Just what the heck IS a mentor anyway?  Sometimes it slips my mind that there isn’t a clear definition of what these types of services are for in business.  My own personal definition of a mentor is pretty much the norm for the business world, but should probably be reviewed, regardless. 

I’ve always felt that a mentor is not there to buy, sell or negotiate. A mentor provides a service. In essence, mentoring is simply helping someone else play their cards right and become successful in their home business or other endeavor.  They’re not there to do anything for you, but rather listen and advise you based on their own experiences.  Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish, etc, etc. 

So that’s my definition of a mentor and it’s important to note that this brand of mentoring has been a business practice for awhile now.  Ask any person involved in a successful business and they’ll admit that using a mentor was a standard business practice for them at some point.

Something I’ve noticed that people don’t keep in mind about mentors is that benefit in this arrangement to them is the experience, not the monetary reward.  When you’re working in the capacity as a business mentoring advisor, you’re there to share what you’ve learned in the trade, but also to try to learn a few more nuggets along the way. After all, what good is information and experience if you don’t share it with someone who needs a mentor down the line?

There is a “holy trinity” to being a successful a mentor.  You’ve got to think in terms of a trainer, a financial expert, and a technical advisor if you want to help someone start their business. 

Personal Trainer

You’re there to motivate them and keep them focused on their goals for success.  They’re going to become discouraged and they’re going to need to be built up by someone that isn’t just placating them.  You’re there to keep them meeting their own personal best so that they can push through every failure and not be enamored with every minor success.

Financial Advisor

You’re there to rein them in when they may get a “pie-in-the-sky” financial scenario that isn’t feasible.  It’s extremely simple to think that the right office or a large staff of employees or a brand new delivery van with all of the trimmings will be the best tools for their business.  Maybe these items will be, but making sound financial decisions with an objective voice of reason works a lot better than going with your first gut instinct.  

Technical Advisor

You’re there to get them the tools to start and grow their business in the best possible fashion whether that’s incorporation documents or the best tools for search engine optimization.  You’ll find out that it’s not a matter of the client being ignorant, but uninformed about what’s available to them in terms of resources and options.  Being a helpful, knowledgeable, and quick with a recommendation should a need present itself will make you an asset. 

You’ll wear many hats in this type of job, but these are the three that matter most.

Why go through this all on your own?  Why make the same mistakes that have already been made by others?  Find an experienced person that knows the three aspects to successful mentoring. Find someone who can help you on the road to success by giving you the benefit of their experience. At Ethos 360 (www.Ethos360.com) your mentor’s hindsight becomes your foresight.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in business coaching, mentoring | No Comments »