Tag: entrepreneurship

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Getting out there and looking for ideas

7-day-crash-course-231x300In this tough economy some small business owners have seen their turnovers collapse. Instead of giving up, they have gone out in search of new business ideas. Some have found new opportunities to revitalise their business lives.

Where do business ideas come from? They can be triggered by your personal circumstances. For example, you may have a problem and you find a solution for it. Ideas can also come from your experience with customers. They may be looking for a new way to solve a problem and their complaints spur your thinking. Others may try one of the many idea-generation tools and techniques that help find “white spots” of opportunity that may have been overlooked. Yet others go walkabout. They may visit local shopping centres, morning markets, or even travel to other towns and cities. Continue reading “Getting out there and looking for ideas”

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How to position your business so you’re seen as the best choice

First customers
First customers (Photo credit: stavos)

What does a start-up, small business owner or consultant need to know about a customer value proposition?

It may sound like a term used by business schools or management consultants but it’s a tool that can make a difference in your business.

In one way it’s got harder for small businesses to offer greater value than the big giants but in another way the corporate behemoths can’t cover every niche. Continue reading “How to position your business so you’re seen as the best choice”

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Is your management style repelling employees from your business?

World Youth Day 2008 Concert (#458)
World Youth Day Concert (#458) (Photo credit: Christopher Chan)

In this economy when the pressure is on and you as the business owner expect your employees to perform, you may overreach and repel employees from staying in your business.

It takes a lot of thought to bring new employees into your business in the first place. You need to find out about their knowledge, skills, attitudes and attributes that fit with the core competencies of your entrepreneurial venture. All this time and money is wasted if you don’t treat your employees well. Continue reading “Is your management style repelling employees from your business?”

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What early detection systems do you need in your business?

White_sharkA start-up co-founder Craig Anderson has come up with a shark attack mitigation system in the form of a product called Clever Buoy, which is able to detect sharks and warn lifesavers of their presence in bathing areas.

The Perth-based Shark Attack Mitigation Systems business has developed Clever Buoy with the help of Google and Optus (A POTUS). The company has used a process from the oil and gas industry to develop new software that recognises sharks through sonar based on their swimming patterns.

Continue reading “What early detection systems do you need in your business?”

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Simple ideas work best

Credit: Image courtesy of KTH The Royal Institute of Technology
Credit: Image courtesy of KTH The Royal Institute of Technology

A new, simple solution for traffic congestion in many cities could be an ancient transportation mode – the boat.

Researchers in Sweden, at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, are supporting a strong case on how water buses could be integrated into Stockholm’s mass transport system. Continue reading “Simple ideas work best”

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Watch out for dodgy business advice

Open mike night, Marks Park, Emmerentia, Johannesburg. Photo: Chesney Bradshaw
Open mic night, Marks Park, Emmerentia, Johannesburg. Photo: Chesney Bradshaw

We were halfway to a music venue when we realised that all the suburbs were impacted by the electricity power failure. But we really wanted to see the show because we had heard good reports and had waited several weeks to attend. When we got there the venue was in darkness except for a few candles.

The organisers had decided to continue with the musical show despite the electricity failure. One of the organisers drove his car up to the back window and shone his car headlights onto a circle in the middle of the large auditorium to light up the performers. This was a showcase of local talent young and old and gave us an opportunity to listen to music that you don’t hear on the radio, at big concerts and in pubs. Continue reading “Watch out for dodgy business advice”

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Keep trying until you get the recipe right

A photograph of Fried calamari (squid).
Fried calamari (squid). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I haven’t made calamari for a long time and while I was on holiday I went to a fishmonger to buy some and asked him for his best recipe.

The calamari from the fishmonger was fresh and a perfect white colour. For frying the calamari I used a vegetable oil – sunflower seed oil – and coated the calamari rings in flour. The only problem was that the fishmonger had said that the calamari should stand in meat tenderiser for about 20 minutes and then be washed off. I lost track of time and let the calamari stand for about one and a half hours, thought nothing of it but when I had fried the calamari it tasted too soft. The entire 600g of calamari was completely wasted.

The next time I fried calamari again I made sure that I had all the best ingredients and only used the meat tenderiser for the stipulated 20 minutes. This time the calamari came out golden brown and the texture was pleasing and soft but not unnaturally so.

How often have you found that you have the right recipe for something but perhaps don’t have all the necessary ingredients or do not correctly follow the recipe to the letter and come up with something that is not pleasing to the palate? Continue reading “Keep trying until you get the recipe right”

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Why can’t you start your own business this year?

Kawaii cell phone pouch tutorial

With all the gloomy news around, negative talk and depressing thoughts one can easily and quickly slide into a blue funk and not recognise the opportunities that others don’t see.

It would be foolish to open a business in the eye of an economic storm. But recessionary times do provide opportunities that others may not see.

I’m not saying you have to be hard on yourself or anything like that. Force yourself to come up with ideas to start a new business. No, not at all. But it may be an opportune time to look around, see where others are making mistakes or serve customers better than they are presently being catered for. Continue reading “Why can’t you start your own business this year?”

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The secret lies in your wallet

myLIFTER
myLIFTER is a garage pulley system that raises and lowers objects through the use of a mobile device.

Entrepreneurs have come up with a new product called myLIFTER, a smart variation of the garage pulley system that raises and lowers objects through the use of a mobile device.

The entrepreneurs needed to raise $50,000 through their Kickstarter campaign. Only after a few days they had already been 165% funded with $82,698 pledged for the new product idea. The originators of the new product said that they needed the funding as an indication of the orders required to manufacture at a competitive price level. Continue reading “The secret lies in your wallet”

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Trust in me… trust in me

roadkill
Don’t end up as roadkill (Photo credit: deepwarren)

Remember the scene in the Jungle Book where the young orphan boy Mogli meets up with Kaa, a hungry Indian python. Kaa tries to hypnotise Mogli into a deep and peaceful sleep saying “Trust me… trust me. ”

We’ll come to how Mogli escapes the scary python Kaa in a few moments. The python hypnotises Mogli, traps him, holds him tightly in his coils and tries to devour him.

Continue reading “Trust in me… trust in me”