The biggest problem with the perfect strategy is this: It’s pretty hard to implement the plan, maybe impossible. That’s why business plans can be overrated. The simpler the strategy and therefore plan, the greater the chance of implementation.
Here’s the start up blog view:
Create a 1 page mud map, and make up the rest as you go along. That way we just might keep up with the world.
When I run my own company I won’t cut prices
When I run my own company I won’t make strategic changes
When I run my own company I won’t be legally conservative
When I run my own company I won’t be stingy with brand investment
When I run my own company I won’t let finance overtake creativity
When I run my own company I will do it my way
When I run my own company I’ll realize that compromise is a fact of entrepreneurship.
Google ad words:
This is why Google shares have quadrupled in 12 months. It has a simple business model. Easy to understand. All parties win.
Barriers to entry are low. You can invest as little as $5 a day / even 10c per click. You only pay for customers who actually go to your site, unlike other advertising (TV, Print et al) which you pay for even if people aren’t looking. Tailored marketing which is far superior to demographic targeting.
Find out more here.
How simple is your start up business model?
Maybe it’s the spaceship interior or the futuristic aerodynamics, but there’s no doubt that when it comes to hybrid cars, the Prius has the monopoly of the mind.
This has been verified by the board game itself – Monopoly, where the Prius has now taken place of the racing car.
The hybrid movement is not without its naysayers…
A $50,000 Greenpeace badge?
The eco-razzi car of choice?
Not as green as public transport?
It shouldn’t matter if it is moving human consumption in the right direction.
That fact is all this is the result of some damn good marketing. Kudos to Toyota.
In the model of Fast Company and Inc magazine Australian Anthill is a magazine for entrerepneurs and fast growth companies. It can claim first to market in this geography.
The fact is Forbes, BRW, Fortune et al tend to focus on the top public companies. There’s some learnings, but it’s not all we need as entrepreneurs and stewards of fast growth companies. If you’re reading this blog it’s fair to say Anthill is for you. Another good thing about this magazine is its willingness to provide some free content on line. With the advent of the internnet, publishing now has a sampling forum.
For those in Australia, the mag makes a good read for when your PC isn’t handy and provides the depth most blogs don’t.
Be sure to check out yours truly in the startups section on page 78 or here.
I love to see people who are passionate about what they’re doing. American Chopper is a classic example. There’s so much belief, it shows in their product output. It’s also a fantasy brand.
Definition – Fantasy Brand: Brand which people can also consume vicariously, through media or secondary branded offers such as merchandising.
Football teams are also often fantasy brands. Think Manchester United and the ‘Theatre of dreams’
American chopper has it all, a single minded proposition, theatre, emotion, craftsmanship, autheticity, artistic integrity, and premium pricing. Put simply you’d seek them out to build your chopper, because it’s them. Very cool.
Dear Mr Public Transit Marketer,
May I introduce you to the concept of ‘wildcard ingredients’. I would very much like to know if you have considered this in your strategy. May I also suggest your wildcard ingredient as ‘climate change’. You see, you won’t need to adapt the public ‘worldview’ to do this. They already know that public transit is a big part of the solution. Yet for some reason, you continue to compete on comfort, price and parking. It seems strange to me that you haven’t leveraged climate change at all.
It is also my humble opinion that you may be able drive this message home with significant free media coverage.
Please Mr Public Transit Marketer, take heed and do something really important. You may even improve the profitability of your employer also.
Yours sincerely,
Startup blog
