Expert Financial & Business Insights for South Africa
Strategic analysis from Idea Accelerator and ready-to-publish content from Financial News Daily.
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”
Any start-up or small business needs a viable business model.
Have you developed your business model?
Go back to the early beginnings of the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant. Although Ray Krok put together all the elements to make McDonald’s a winner, there was one flaw in his plan: Continue reading “Without a business model do you really have a business?”
The answer to the question of “What has been your biggest disappointment since you started on your journey of establishing your business?” from a new start-up owner is surprising:
He said that it was the length of time that it has taken to establish his new business, the detours that he has taken on the way.
This answer comes from an entrepreneur who has established software to help small businesses determine their cash flow, including their outstanding debtors. Continue reading “What is your biggest disappointment in starting your new business?”
Start-up and small business owners usually make a breakthrough with products and services based on a small incremental improvement on an existing product. In fact, there is an old rule of thumb that says to make something commercially viable in the market it’s best that it not be more than about 15% different than what is already available on the market. Continue reading “Girl invents flashlight powered only by the warmth of your hand”
The other evening I went to buy supper at a new burger joint that’s been introduced into the local market. The queue was amazingly long. This is after the burger place has been on the market for a few weeks. The most amazing thing is the demand for this product probably because it’s new to the market.
It makes you think about these big burger operations and what their innovation is really all about. They’ve been able to create a manufacturing and assembly operation in your neighbourhood and roll it out to anywhere in the world. The branding, hype and advertising makes it all seem so desirable. The innovation is really in the business model which produces high revenue from relatively small real estate space. Continue reading “Can a burger joint be innovative?”
Living in an instant society we want things NOW. We want things to happen straight away. It seems that patience has become a precious commodity.
Like growing tree or garden, developing a new idea from the seed of a concept or notion takes time. If you have a fairly simple product, you may be lucky to get it off the ground within a few months. But for the most part developing and testing an idea from its origination to market can take up to a year or more.
I’m sure there are exceptions and I don’t want to put you off but let’s look realistically at what is involved in developing and testing and introducing a new product or service. Continue reading “How long does it take to develop your product for market?”
People want information on all sorts of issues, problems and interests. Musicians are searching for information on how to create a new gig. Young mothers to be are hungry for information on how to care for their babies. Would be start-up business owners want the latest on business plans and marketing methods. People with an interest in food seek out information on recipes from other cultures such as Mexican, Thai or Indian. Continue reading “Do you have the energy and passion to stay with your blog idea?”
An immigrant came to South Africa and began to look around for work that other people found too difficult to do or didn’t want to do. He knew that if he could find this, there would be his big opportunity.
Instead of going for what was hot at the time or that most would-be business owners would think was an obvious thing to do, this entrepreneur looked around to find a hidden business opportunity.
If you were looking for a hidden business opportunity, where would you look? How would you go about finding a new business opportunity? Would you have the perseverance and determination to keep on looking until you came up with what would be a sure-fire moneymaker? Continue reading “Finding business opportunities through spotting work that others don’t want to do or find too hard to do”
The other day I was talking to someone about a business opportunity and I said to the person that she was only selling her time. She looked at me puzzled. I explained that if you are selling your personal services to accompany whether it be to do a particular job, consulting, advising or training, you are only really selling the time that you have in life.
Look at it this way, people work in jobs for many years and hope to retire at 60 and that their investment of the time will bring them financial freedom, security and a comfortable lifestyle. Yet this is not always possible because the job market is uncertain and by the time that they retire inflation will steadily erode their retirement income. Continue reading “Is time your only source of income?”
For many years now I have visited a small coastal town once twice a year. In this town I have seen businesses start up with enthusiasm in the New Year and by the time I get back on my next visit they have disappeared. Yet there are success stories of new businesses that have been introduced into this community and despite people thinking that they are going to fail, they continue to do well.
This town is like a small incubator for new ideas. I have also seen several businesses that are resilient and have continued to thrive over many years. Continue reading “Simplicity is always the best strategy”
