entrepreneurship Archives - Page 102 of 235

Promote yourself

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

I often wonder whether or not advertising on work cars is a good idea. Especially given it is in many ways one of the negative sides of business – distribution, busy road, pullution. It might remind consumers that the brand is part of a large corporate monolith. You get the picture. But I’m starting to think this is different for startups.

Firstly, we’re only likely to have one or two vehicles out on the road. Secondly, it’s a good way to create brand awareness cheaply. A colleague of mine who has started a beverage company Jarritos Mexican soda has done just this. At a cost of $2000, he’s invented $50,000 worth of advertising. Which is what branded cars cost via media agencies. See below.

The key element to doing this successfully is making sure the vehicle and advertising matches the brand. For example, an environmentally friendly business should really only partake in such branding if it’s prepared to invest in hybrid / electric vehicles.

Would you advertise your startup on your car? In addition is there an opportunity to start a business branding civilian cars and in doing so helping the general population pay for their transport?

Imaginative work

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

I read a great quote today which I thought was worth sharing:

“There is a recognition dawning that the repetitive linear system which controls work and the worker is no longer profitable. Consequently, the presence of the soul is now welcome in the workplace. The soul is welcome because it is the place where the imagination lives.”

What I like about this is the reference to profit, and that linear systematic work isn’t profitable. If I think about every startup I’ve ever been involved with the real profit has come from the excitement and variety of the work. Internal profit rather than financial. And so my soul has been enriched.

What we follow – AFL

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

If you’re in Australia you’d know it is AFL Grand Final week. In US terms its the Super Bowl for Aussie rules football.

One of the most popular teams, Collingwood Football club has made it to the final. They have many fanatical supporters. So it got me thinking about what we are really supporting when it comes to football:

The Location? No, they do not play their games or even train in their original location of the suburb of Collingwood.

The Players? No, they are also never from the location they actually play for, let alone the same state or even country. They also change teams frequenctly and we welcome new players from other teams with open arms (so long as they are good players)

Our Peers? No, often our best friends follow teams which are the arch enemy of ours. We do not switch teams to be accepted by anyone. We’ll attend the games with them, but barrack for our own team.

The Jumper? No, that changes frequently. It barely looks like the original from 100 years ago and we are often forced to change it if the opposing team has colours which are deemed to clash.

The Performance? No, success is tenuous at best. Systems have been built in AFL to ensure the a more equitable distribution of success (Salary caps, draft systems). 1 successful year in 10 is a great result. 1 in 20 is more frequent.

So what do we support? We support the idea of loyalty. A concept only humans can understand. Following a team allows us to live vicariously, and display loyalty no matter what in a non life threatening way. It allows us to be emotional in a world that attempts to demand only rational thought.

Football and sport in general is one way we can remain human without consequence. And when it comes to brands, or clubs in this case, people can only truly love those which feel human.

Solid advice

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

Startup blog friend and movie maker Ryan Spanger has some kind of a secret project happening called creative.biz – I’m not sure what it’s all about but here’s a video which is on the home page. I reckon this is one entrepreneurs should keep an eye on given the solid advice in this short video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK-48E9tW20]

Bootstrappers Research

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

Today I was with colleague Luke Waldren who said wanted to stop at Cash Converters quickly to have a look. I ask him what he wanted to buy and he said “Nothing”. He then went on to tell me this;

“I go to cash converters every now and again to do some consumer and economic research. It’s a great barometer of the state of the economy at a grass roots level. To see things like what people are off loading, and how much inventory they have in certain categories. To ask the staff members what’s hot and not. If they’re busy or quiet.”

I thought it was a terrific idea, because it represents the buying and selling of the community, in a way that business to consumer trading just can’t.

By the way of example here’s a a couple of simple insights: TV’s are almost non existent in Cash Converters now. They’re too cheap new to have a good resale value when second hand. The case of mobile phones with filled with Blackberrys and Nokias and there wasn’t one iPhone for sale – They sales guy told me they get bought too quick.

Startup Blog says: Real research opportunities are all around us.

How to handle 'too expensive'

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

One of the most common reasons for not buying what we sell is these two words ‘Too expensive’.

It begs an important question:

Is it too expensive because they don’t have the budget, or because they don’t think it’s good value?

We need to know the answer to this question if we make the sale or not as they both point us in alternative tactical directions.

Kulula Air – Eyeball worthy

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Steve Sammartino

I was recently email some pics of Kulula Airlines livery. I’d describe it as eyeball worthy. Because it’s worth looking at, it’s worth talking about. There is no shortage of in cabin jokes from cabin crew while talking to passengers, but few have the courage to paint their personality on the fuselage like Kalula have. In an era of media proliferation, the trick any startup needs to master is the ability to be talked about. Nice work Kulula.