Who else wants to learn the hidden secrets of quickly turning any business idea or concept into a R10,000 a month automatic profit generator?

Sungai Tua Fall waterfall feng shui activate f...

The problem with a lot of would-be entrepreneurs who believe they have a brilliant idea for a product or service is that they want to do it on their own. Yet in today’s highly competitive product and service markets competitive positioning, knowing how to develop a product or service that creates value for prospective customers and knowing how to commercialise a product or service including marketing and selling as well as distribution can’t be learnt overnight or at a drop of a hat.

A pioneer Internet marketer recently surveyed his customers and email followers to find out what range of income they were returning from their online businesses. The results were surprising. Only a small percentage were making any money online and even fewer were realising an income that could make them self-supporting. The majority of his followers had started businesses but unfortunately had made no income. Their businesses, if you could call them that, were actually no more than a hobby. Continue reading “Who else wants to learn the hidden secrets of quickly turning any business idea or concept into a R10,000 a month automatic profit generator?”

Only a fool would gamble their hard-earned cash

Horse racing event
Horse racing event (Photo credit: tpower1978)

At about 8:30 in the morning I walked past a man talking loudly on his cellphone. I was in the Boulders Shopping centre in Midrand, Johannesburg, coming out of Game department store where I had just bought an umbrella because the rainy season has started year on the Highveld.

The man was in his early fifties in a blue T-shirt, denim shorts and slip slops. He was standing with his cellphone glued to his ear. He looked across the giant boulders with tall aloes showing their candle-like red flowers growing in a rockery below, the centrepiece of the shopping centre. Continue reading “Only a fool would gamble their hard-earned cash”

What small business owners can learn from Angelina Jolie about making tough decisions

English: Angelina Jolie at the Cannes film fes...
English: Angelina Jolie at the Cannes film festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Angelina Jolie found out how high the risk of breast cancer was to her personally she decided to be proactive and minimise the risk by having a preventative double mastectomy.

Jolie did her homework. She got the facts to make an informed decision. Consulting her doctors she confirmed that she carries a “faulty” gene, BRCA1 and her risk was 87 percent for breast cancer and 50 percent for ovarian cancer.

She did not backpedal on making her decision. She did not play it safe. She demonstrated courage by making a difficult decision.

Small business owners are faced with tough decisions in this uncertain and difficult economy. Tough decisions have to be made to ensure small business survival whether yours is a retail store or you act as an independent consultant.

Here are 10 tough business decisions that small business owners face in these rough times: Continue reading “What small business owners can learn from Angelina Jolie about making tough decisions”

What’s the weakest link in your business?

English: TVCC Hotel Site Fire
Detect smoke early before you have a blazing fire on your hands. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The vulnerable spot, almost imperceptible at first, exposes a business to great risk.

A service business, 25 years old, one of the top such businesses in the country, employed an accountant who chiselled a large sum of money from the business. Strike one. The business accepted a large government agency contract, did all the print work, paid the supplier but the agency was never formed. The service business couldn’t recover their money. Strike two. Game over. Continue reading “What’s the weakest link in your business?”

How do you turn your small business into an innovation machine?

Innovation
Innovation (Photo credit: Seth1492)

A dog day care business faced stiff competition with similar businesses starting up. The owner decided to introduce new services such as caring for older, sickly pets, offering on-site vaccinations and placing webcams in the facility so owners could check their pets anytime. This innovation helped the business expand from 11 locations to 100 franchise outlets and wholly-owned shops.

The perception exists that small businesses are not as innovative as larger companies. Yet while this may be true for common village professionals like shopkeepers, real estate agents, plumbers, lawyers and doctors, many small business owners are highly innovative.

Why is innovation so important to small businesses? Continue reading “How do you turn your small business into an innovation machine?”