Archive for advice
Partnerships – The Pros and Cons
Posted by: | Comments(This article originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of BizNess Magazine)
In last month’s article we talked about different ways to fundraise for your start-up or business. I left out for this month’s article the option of taking in a partner or two because it is part of a bigger discussion.
At first glance taking in a partner when you need funds could be a great option. You are doubling your network reach and you can share the initial investment and work load. But is that reason enough to form a partnership? Let’s talk about the pros and cons of partnerships.
Pros:
- Double the Network
- Shared Risk
- Twice the Brain Power
- Shared Responsibilities
Cons:
- Shared Rewards
- Not the only decision maker
At first glance it would seem the pros far outweigh the cons, but let’s see if that is true.
Pros
Double the Network
Both you and your partner have family, friends and your owned network. These are the people you can go to for advice, investments, and any other sort of connections. Obviously the more partners you have the more reach your company will have.
Shared Risk
If you each decide to invest the same amount of money then you are sharing the risk of losing the money if the company goes under. So if it would cost you $100,000 to start the business then your personal risk would only be $50,000. In addition, you will share responsibility with any tax or legal issues that may arise.
Twice the Brain Power
Have you ever heard the expression “Two heads are better than one”? Having a partner allows you to bounce ideas off each other as well as how to deal with any situations that will come up. Sometimes the best ideas come when you are just sitting together and brainstorming. I remember well early in the days of one of my startups the best ideas would come at around 2am between one of my partners and I using Skype!
Shared Responsibilities
One of the best reasons to take in a partner is that you now have twice the man power! There is so much that needs to get done when starting and running a business. Having someone that has the same interests in its success as you will help you get more things done faster.
One of the secrets to entrepreneurial success is knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are. For example, I know my strengths are in branding, ideas, negotiations, and vision, but I am not a numbers guy and I hate getting down to the details. So in my startups I always make sure to have someone that can run the books and legal issues as well as get down to the level of detail that you need to be careful of when starting a company. This enables me to be creative and concentrate on the bigger picture while my partner makes sure to run and operate the company properly.
Cons
Shared Rewards
The most obvious and biggest reason not to take in a partner is so that you won’t have to share the profits. Keep in mind that even if you don’t take it partners, that doesn’t mean you have to do everything alone. You can decide to hire our outsource some of your needs or give small amounts of equity instead of equal amounts.
So if you have an amazing or unique idea and can do a lot of what’s needed to get started on your own, then it may be better to go that route. In general, before looking for partners or investors it is always better to do as much as you can. This will give you more leverage when negotiating an investment and could entice an amazing partner who may have otherwise not joined your company.
Not the only decision maker
This is also a very important consideration. As I mentioned in last month’s article about raising capital, that if you can invest your own money that is the best way to go so you won’t have to answer to anyone. Similarly when taking in partners. When you go solo you have no one to answer to but yourself. You make all the decisions that need to be made and cannot be out voted.
Non Equal Partners
Above we were talking mostly about being equal partners, but you can also take in partners that are not equal in terms of equity or the decision making, yet can still act and work as full set partners.
But keep in mind that even if you hold the majority of stock in the company, you still need to consult with your partners and it can become extremely uncomfortable to force your decision even if you can.
How Many Partners should you take?
This question really depends on the size of the company you are building and the talents that are needed to get it off the ground. If you are starting an internet company that it is best to have a few partners, but at the very least you will need someone that knows how to code if you don’t. You can be the best salesman and marketer in the world, but if you have nothing to sell or market besides an idea on paper, then the odds are against you. If you can bring on a talented programmer that believes in your vision, then you will have a dedicated partner that can build a demo for you and it will be much easier to attract investors. It may also be good to get a web designer on board since the look and flow of your site will be very important and ongoing as well.
You really need to look at what is the top two or three things that will make your company a success and then make sure you and your partners cover those items.
Do you really need a partner?
Recently I consulted with two women who were thinking about going into partnership together. They both had worked with each other before and enjoyed working on projects together. They felt that instead of working on their own, they could grow both their businesses by joining forces. After talking to them for a couple of hours I realized that this would not be a good partnership and the reasons they both wanted to become partners could still be achieved without forming an official partnership. They could still work closely together and work on projects together, but in this case one of the women was a stronger personality and in addition to being a designer, she would also actively go after new business. I felt that down the line she would feel a little resentful if she was bringing in all the clients in addition to a shared work load and it turns out I was right. I advised them not to become partners and they were both thankful weeks later in helping them make the right decision.
It’s very important when choosing your partners to do your due diligence. Even if you think you know the person well or he has a great reputation you should speak to others who have worked with him/her and make sure that your personalities won’t clash and that you both have different strengthens you bring to the table. Even if you’re the best of friends, you need to be able to make sure you can work together since you will be spending most of your waking hours together.
You also want to make sure you can handle having a partner. If you are a control freak, it may not be a good idea to bring in a partner if you won’t be able to relinquish some of that control.
A word of caution
Starting a business is very, very exciting and having someone to do it with can make it a lot of fun as well. Just please make sure that you put your agreement down in writing. Make sure you both understand clearly what the expectations and responsibilities will be as well as how decisions will be made in case of a stalemate. Also agree on a Rav you will both go to and accept in case of any disputes. Hopefully these things will not be needed, but in case they are it is so important to have them down on paper from the start.
Nachum Kligman is a Serial Entrepreneur, Consultant and Speaker. He is the founder of Ideago.com And the is the Co-Founder & CEO of SportsFan.me. He is also the Founder of Qoof/ViewBix , and the Co-founder of PeerBid.com, TeesAtRisk.com, KidsOutlet.com, amongst many other Internet startups. He is also a partner in Cellar 18, a new boutique wine store located in Ramat Bet Shemesh.
How do I know if my idea is a good idea?
Posted by: | Comments(This article originally appeared in print for BizNess Magazine)
In my previous article we talked about “where do good ideas come from”. In this article we will discuss how do you know if your idea is a good one.
Every week people come to me with business ideas and 80% of the time I try to talk them out of it. It pains me to see people throwing good money after bad ideas or even taking good ideas, but executing them horribly.
But let’s say you have an idea your excited about. The first thing you should do is some basic research online. If you think you have a unique idea and that is what is going to be your selling point, then you need to make sure it is unique. You can start with Google and search for key terms about your idea and industry and see what comes up. If your idea is an internet based idea then a great site you want to check out is http://www.go2web20.net it’s a directory of all the latest internet startups and you can do a search by keyword.
Another idea you can do is go to a domain registrar such as Dynadot.com and start checking for what you believe would be the perfect name for your idea. Search for 10 different names and see if the names are not available perhaps there is a website already live that is doing what you just thought of or something similar.
You also want to search on blogs such as TechCrunch.com and Mashable.com since they have been covering startups for the last several years. Keep in mind that even if someone is doing something similar, it does not mean that you don’t have a shot at success. No two companies are exactly alike and competition just proves there is a market for your idea.
Also it is important to keep in mind that perhaps your idea exists in other locations or countries, but perhaps does not yet exist in Israel. For example: Instead of opening yet another pizza shop, why not open a healthy fresh sandwich shop? Subway’s has been the #1 Franchise for a number of years now, so just follow their model!
My latest startup is a company called SportsFan.me. It is a cross between Facebook & Twitter for sports fans. In my presentation to investors I list 12 different companies that are in the same space as me, but I can also show how what is unique about us and how we are different. It also doesn’t hurt that sports is such a huge market with plenty of room for competition and niches.
So now that you know your idea either doesn’t exist or it doesn’t exist with the nuances you have for it or it doesn’t exist locally, now it’s time to start speaking to people.
There are 3 types of people you need to speak to before starting a business:
- Your Spouse
- Accountants, Lawyers, & Businessmen
- Potential Customers
Your Spouse
Starting any business takes a huge commitment and toll on your family and the surest way to success or failure is the support of your spouse. Make sure she/he is on board with your idea as there will be many long hours and a ton of focus that your startup will need. The more time and focus you put into your business means less time and focus for your family.
Accountants, Lawyers, & Businessmen
You should go over your business model with a business accountant and make sure that your startup is viable. If you’re opening a restaurant you need to keep in mind the taxes you need to pay and the costs for Employees and benefits you need to provide plus the cost of hashgacha and having a mashgiach on premises; Ongoing advertising & marketing costs etc. At the end of the day you may find that in order to be successful you will have to charge prices that people won’t be willing to pay or you will have to give smaller portions that won’t make customers happy.
It is also very important to speak to your lawyer and get his feedback and advice. Make sure everything you are doing is legal and realize what the ongoing legal costs if any are. Also many lawyers may have connections to other business people or investors so it’s good to discuss your project with them.
Now the most important person in this category to speak to is a successful businessman. Doesn’t have to be someone local, but it is best if you can meet him in person. It is also better to speak to other people in the industry you are entering. Don’t be so worried about someone stealing you idea, it almost never happens. A great way to find people in your industry is using LinkedIn (http://linkedin.com). LinkedIn is a Social Network for Professionals and Entrepreneurs. They have a group feature which allows you to communicate with other like minded people and to discuss specific industry topics. I have joined several groups in the professional sports industry and that way I can keep tabs on the latest on what’s going on in the business of professional sports as well as meeting other people in the industry. You should post questions to the group and join the conversations taking place. This is a great way to meet people and to find the ones that can be of most value to you.
Another great website to check out is Quora (http://quora.com). Quora is a Questions and Answer website for business topics. You are not allowed to promote your business on the site or you may be banned, but it is a tremendous resource for almost every topic imaginable when starting a business. It is also a great place to interact with well known and successful entrepreneurs who often use the site as a way to give back to people by contributing.
Potential Customers
This is the most critical of the research you must do as well as the one that is most often overlooked or skipped over. You must, must, must speak to potential customers before you invest any money in your idea! I cannot stress enough how important this step is. You may think that if you love such a product then everyone will love that product to! There are two questions you need to ask:
- Do people want the product you are offering?
- Even if they want the product, are they willing to pay the price you need to charge?
If your product is geared towards Mothers then contact 100 mothers and ask them if they would use such a product and then ask if they would pay for the product and how much they would be willing to pay. Also ask them if they could improve the product how would they do it? Very often discussing your product with potential customers will lead to even greater ideas. If you are creating software for a business then contact 25 businesses. Ask them if they would use it and how much they would pay. You may find out in both these cases that either people don’t want your product, or even if they do, they would not pay the amount you would need to create and profit from your idea.
Now that your idea is ready to launch, you will probably need some funding to get started. That will be the topic of my next article.
Nachum Kligman is a Serial Entrepreneur and speaker. He is the Founder of Qoof & Ideago –StartUp Lab, and the Co-founder of PeerBid.com, TeesAtRisk.com, KidsOutlet.com, and the now launched SportsFan.me amongst many other Internet startups. He is also a partner in Cellar 18, a new boutique wine store located in Ramat Bet Shemesh.
How to choose the right name for your company Part II – Practicing What I Preach
Posted by: | CommentsLast month I wrote an article for BizNess Magazine on how to choose the right name for your business. In this months issue I followed up on this article. Read below.
Soon after I wrote the article for the previous issue I got involved in a new business venture, opening a wine store in Ramat Bet Shemesh. Part of my tasks was to come up with the best name and the logo for the company. In today’s article I will walk you through what I did and show you the results.
The first step was to choose a proper name for the company.
We had to keep in mind a couple of things. The first is our target market both from launch and for the future. Even though the store is opening in Ramat Bet Shemesh, I needed to keep in mind that we may be opening others stores in different areas in the future as well as have an online presence. In addition we will be offering other services such as corporate wine and cheese events, gift baskets and delivery service and well as tours to wineries across the country. So the name could not be a local sounding name.
In addition the name needed to either sound good in both English and Hebrew our needed to translate very well. And of course we needed to have a domain name and social media branding that connects everything.
Choosing the Name
The first thing you want to do is see what is out there and grab ideas from people just to sort of get a feel for what is out there. Below are a few of the steps I took:
- Did a search on Google for “Best Wine Stores” and “Top Wine Stores”. I wanted to see what were the type of names top wines stores were using
- Placed a post on NamePros.com domain name forum asking domainers for the perfect name. I was willing to either purchase the name for them, or if they suggested a name to me that was not yet registered I would pay them a $50.00 bounty. I got about 60 names from this one post.
- Started typing in all sorts of wine related names into Dynadot.com, a domain registrar I use. They have a domain suggestion box which tells you some available domains based on the keywords you enter
So as I came up with ideas or pulled them from the resources above I made a list of the top names I liked. Once I narrowed the list down to about 7-8 names I sent them out to my partners for feedback. I already knew the name I liked best from the list and when one of my partners also liked it, it sort of rose to the top of the list and as we debated the other names we finally chose the one which became our name and brand which is “Cellar 18”. The runner up was Vintage 18 which we all really liked, but we nixed it because 1) there is already an Israeli wine company running a website at Vintage.co.il and secondly because vintage in Hebrew is not a very common word.
“Cellar” obviously comes from Wine Cellar, but I also like that it is a subliminal meaning of “seller”, that we sell wines. The “18” comes from “Chai” life and to make a l’Chaim. The Hebrew word for Cellar is Hamartif, which also fit very well. It is short, memorable and classy. The perfect name we were looking for.
And of course we got all the domain names and important social media links to protect our brand:
Some of the names that we came up with that we did not choose were:
- Vintage 18
- 12 Tribes Wines
- Oak 18
- Blue Vine Wines
- The Vine Stop
- Geshem Wines
- Shefa Wines
- Kadosh Wines
So now that we had the perfect name, we now needed the perfect logo. I knew that to get something classy we had to spend a bit of money and I did not want to stick with just one designer to work with. There are many “logo contest” sites out there where designers compete by designing your logo for a cash prize. One of the top sites for this is 99designs.com, but I decided to go with a bit of a smaller player called Hatchwise.com. I had a budget of about $350.00, but I take pride in always trying to be able to come under budget while not affecting the quality in any way.
We received 84 Entries. As the entries come in, I am able to rank them from 1-5 and that way keep track of the logo’s I like best. Out of the 85 I probably discarded 60% of them at first look, but that still left us with about thirty logo’s to consider. You are able to request unlimited changes to the logo’s from the designers. One of the first entries I liked right away, and in the end it was actually the one we chose. Below are some of the options we liked:
The very first entry we got was this:
Right away I liked the one in the bottom left corner, but it needed some tweaking so I asked him to make the bottle round and he sent me this:
Now we were on to something! But I told him that we needed some Red color in it and I wanted the bottle to point the other way, so he sent me what became the logo we chose which is:
And we absolutely love it! Total cost came under $280 including prize and site listing fees.
But now that we have the perfect logo, there is still one minor issue. We are in Israel! And the official language is Hebrew! So we needed a Hebrew version of our new logo. So I went to a very talented graphic artist named Navit Mendelovici. We were in a huge rush and I went to her about 10:30pm and we finished about an hour later and She did an amazing job! You can see her work below:
and here it is in just the Hebrew version:
So now you know exactly the process I took to came up with the name and branding of Cellar 18. You can see from my previous article that I do indeed practice what I preach 
I’m an addict – An honest assessment from an entrepreneur
Posted by: | CommentsWish it wasn’t true but it is. I’m an addict. The month before Rosh HaShana is always a time to reflect on ourselves and see what needs to change and to be honest with myself I really do need to change. Watch the video below:
Now I would like to think I am not as bad as every scenario in the video above, but too many of them hits home.
My excuse?
I’m involved in more than 10 projects and each one of these projects has amazing teams and I feel a real sense of obligation to each one of them. And on top of my partners there are also clients, programmers, marketers and many other people I work with on a daily basis and I put tremendous pressure on myself because the truth is I value their time and I don’t want to hold up any project or decision because they are waiting for my input.
In addition, another problem I have is that my mind never shuts down and is always thinking. I have ADHD almost my entire life. It is very hard for me to just relax and for the last 20 years I have been taking pills to help me fall asleep at night. For the last 10 years I was taking Tylenol PM, but I finally took myself off of it just about a month ago and now I take natural melatonin. When I have things on my mind I just want to do them in order to get them off my mind. One of the good things about that is that I have become extremely good at being able to make quick and good decisions, and that is something my partners really appreciate.
Not being able to relax or to enjoy a vacation or a walk in the park or even a meal in a restaurant is something I have learned to deal with and accept, but the real problems come when I feel I don’t give proper attention to my wife or kids. They deserve to have all the time in the world from me and they are the most important people in the world to me, but I guess what they say about hurting the ones you love most is true. And all my success and everything I have is only because of the love and support I have from my wife. I guess deep down I feel that since their love is unconditional that they will always forgive me. Is a client really more important to me than my wife or kids? Absolutely not! So then why can’t I just put down my phone or computer for a couple of hours? I know that I won’t be missing out on anything really important, so why can’t I do it?
And come to think about it, isn’t it the same thing with G-D? Don’t we feel that G-D knows what is going on inside our hearts so we don’t really need to have so much focus during prayers? Or when doing a Mitzvah? I mean G-D loves us more than anyone and so don’t we take advantage of that as well?
I know, I know, take baby steps and try for 1/2 hour then an hour etc. Make a plan and keep to it, and I will, but I just need to send out this email first…
Bizness Magazine: How to choose the right name for your business
Posted by: | CommentsA friend of mine just launched a new business magazine for Anglos in Israel called Bizness Magazine. He asked me to write an article answering a question and I chose the topic of ”Choosing the right Name for your Business”. Below is what was published.
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Choosing the right name for your business is one of the most important decisions you can make and yet if often the one that most people spend the least amount of time and money on it.
First impressions may not be everything, but it certainly does make an immediate impact.
Perceived Value is really what marketing is all about. Think about it, marketing is all about trying to get you to believe in the value of a product for more than the actual product is worth. If not, then no one would ever make a profit . The more they increase the value in your mind the more you are willing to pay for it.
That is why people are willing to pay $3.00 for a bottle of Perrier when they can get the same water with a Shop Right label on it for $.89.
Here are some important rules when choosing a name for your company:
• Shorter is Better
• Must be easy to spell
• Must be easy to pronounce
• Ask as many family and friends as you can if they like the name
• Make sure the name is not confusing with other businesses in your area
• Check to see if there is a Trademark or Copyright on the name you want to use
There are websites and companies that can help you choose the perfect name for your company and very often at a low cost. One place to check out is http://www.crowdspring.com/company-name
Now if you are starting a business online then there are a whole set of further rules you will need to follow in terms of choosing the proper domain name and utilizing the best extension.
Domain names are like online Real Estate. The better the quality the more it will cost you.
Perceived value kicks into high gear here. If you are selling furniture online and your domain name is furniture.com, then when you call a manufacturer, they will always take your call and give you better service then if you were to call and say you were from DovidsHemisheFurniture.com.
Chances are the domain you most want is probably registered already and may even be in use, but up to 80% of domain names that are registered are not yet in use and can in most cases be purchased.
Don’t be afraid to spend money on the perfect name for your business. If you are going through all the efforts of creating a business that will hopefully earn you tens of thousands of dollars a year, then paying even $10,000 for the right domain name could be money well spent. Each week there are domains that sell for the hundreds of thousands and sometimes even in the millions of dollars. You can check out http://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm to see what sells each week.
The idea is to get as close to a perfect name as you can for the product you are selling. For example, I recently paid a couple of thousand dollars for the domain name KidsOutlet.com. I bought it because I know it is one of the best names to sell children’s products online. It’s a great name because:
1. It is very easy to remember
2. It is a “.com”
3. The term “Kids Outlet” is searched more than 33,000 times on Google each month in the USA
4. Has a very high perceived value. I know that when calling a vendor to sell their products through my site they will answer my call.
Since purchasing the name with a partner we have raised 5 figures and have found a couple of other partners in the States and we hope to launch in September. (You can sign up at http://kidsoutlet.com now and we will let you know as soon as we launch)
Purchasing this perfect name was the driver that enabled me to bring on partners and raise funds to launch this company.
(By the way, you can search to see how many times “keywords” are searched by following this link: http://goo.gl/7kgFB)
So where do you go to look for a name? To see if a name is available you can register a .com name for under $10 at Dynadot.com or name.com, but if the name you want is taken you can try buying it from the owner if his name is listed. To see who the owner of a domain name is follow this link: http://www.whois.net You will then have is email address and you can make an offer via email. Keep the email very informal and don’t use a business email address. If they think you have money they will try to sell it to you for a higher price. I always use a secondary email account and write something like this:
Subject: DomainIWant.com
Hey, I saw you have the name domainiwant.com and that you are not using it, I was thinking about using it for a project I would like to work on. Are you selling it for a reasonable amount?
Thanks so much,
Richie
I keep it very informal and sometime I will put in spelling mistalkes on purpose and use my nickname etc..
Now if you can’t get the name you want then you should go to the secondary markets and see what names are available that will fit your business. Very often you can find a great name for a reasonable price. One place to look is http://sedo.com. I have sold many names there. Another place is a domain name forum like NamePros.com. I have bought and sold hundreds of domains there.
Now even though .com is King, there are a lot of Queens out there. If your market is in Israel then you may want to use the .co.il extension and very often can find a great name. Getaways.co.il is an example of a company I co-founded that uses this.
Another popular extension is .TV. .TV was the extension given to the Tuvalu Islands. They really lucked out since “TV” is the most popular two characters in the world. Many years ago a company offered to market and sell domains with their extension and this has become a major source of income for Tuvalu.
If you are starting a video centric website then .TV name may be a good extension to go with as well.
One other very important area that you must pay attention to is “Social Media”. Social Media can be huge for your business since it relies heavily on friends telling their friends about topics, products, and brands that matter to them most.
The two largest sites that you should try and get your company name for is FaceBook and Twitter. Of course all the good names are taken. To see if your name is taken on Twitter just type in the url: http://twitter.com/yourcompanyname. If the name is available you will see a page that says “Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!” Then you are free to register it.
With Facebook, you will need to set-up a “Page”. You can create a page for free and learn more by following this link: http://www.facebook.com/FacebookPages
In order to get a custom FaceBook link like http://facebook.com/israpreneur you will need at least 25 people to “Like” your page. Once you do you will be able to choose a custom name.
A quick way to get 25 likes without asking all your friends is using a site called Fiverr (http://fiverr.com). There you can find people that will get you 25 liked (and many other services) for just $5.00.
It is very important to try and use the same name for your domain name, twitter handle, FaceBook Page etc. This will strengthen your brand and make it easier for customers to find you.
There is a lot more to say on choosing the right name for your business, but space is limited. It is no doubt something that is worth putting time and effort into and should not just be an afterthought.
Great Post by iyazam.com on how to market your business in Israel
Posted by: | CommentsHere are a few very important tools that will help you market your business in Israel.
Networking:
This is probably one of the most effective tools for marketing your business in Israel. Everyone knows everyone in this country.
Getting a degree is not the same thing as getting an education
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What a profound statement by Seth Godin: Getting a degree is not the same thing as getting an education
This is so true and companies are getting smarter. Just because you have a piece of paper that shows that you know how to memorize text books and do well on tests does not mean you are educated. There has been too much emphasis on getting a degree. Of course in certain fields such as Medicine, it is essential, but even then nothing beats hands on work and real world experience. That is why in the medical field you need to do hands on work before you can get a license.
The same is even more true for being an entrepreneur and you will hear it over and over again from savvy investors. They would rather put there money into an entrepreneur who has failed in a venture then a guy with the best business degree you can get that has no real world experience besides flipping burgers as a teen.
Now even while your working in the real world you do need to keep yourself educated. That is why I am constantly reading the top blogs, magazines and books that center around StartUps and being an entrepreneur. Being knowledgable about what is going on in your industry is super important… Just don’t test me on it
In this post by Seth he talks about how great online education is becoming and how relevant it is to being successful in any industry you are in.
You said Focus! So how can you be involved in so many ventures?
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the founders of a company I am a partner/consultant for asked me this question and it is a great one!
It is true that I preach FOCUS and that that is one of the keys to success in any venture. If you want to succeed you must focus on whichever idea you choose to run with. That is still very true.
So the question is how can I be involved in so many projects and expect them all to succeed? The answer is that in all my projects there is at least one founder who is totally focused on the success of that project and without the focus of that particular founder then the project no matter how great the idea is will become much harder to achieve success.
As an idea guy and over 25 years as an entrepreneur I have learned a tremendous amount. (A lot of times from mistakes). It is this knowledge plus my constant education I keep giving myself that allows me to guide other entrepreneurs and quickly help them make the right decision. Basically I can get a lot done using my strengths in less time.
Still there does come a point where I have to hold myself back and not take on new projects as there is only 24 hours in a day and it would be bad for the business to get it launched if I don’t have the proper time commitment or team around it. In those cases I just file it away in my “idea file” and wait for a rainy day.
Don’t wait for competition!
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I have seen it so many times and it is one of those things that just drives me crazy. Businesses in Israel seem to be ok with mediocrity and then when all of a sudden competition comes in they start to panic.
Here is a few hints:
- If you don’t yet have competition act as if you do!
- Never stand for mediocrity, always go the extra mile
- Don’t wait for clients to tell you what is wrong, most won’t. You need to go and ask how can you improve
- There is always room for improvement
- If you constantly working on your company and always working to be the best, then a) you may scare off competition and b) even if there is competition you won’t be in a panic
Truth is I’m a big fan of competition since it is the consumer that always wins out, but shouldn’t the consumers be winning out before the competition comes?
Thinking outside of the Box
Posted by: | CommentsIt drives me crazy when I see businesses in Israel conduct business like everyone else. Meaning just doing what everyone else is doing. There is a severe lack of creativity and of “metooisms”. What’s meetooisms? Metooisms is creating a business like someone else because they are already doing it. I was thinking about this rescently when I heard that yet another candy store is opening up in Bet Shemesh.
Now I wish the owners success, but do we really need a new candy store? There is already two of them in Ramat Bet Shemesh and a big one in the industrial area. So does that mean they can’t succeed? Of course not, they can succeed if they decide to think out of the box! Make themselves stand out. Be different!
One idea I had is to be in touch with all the schools in the neighborhood and offer big lollipops with a ribbon around it for teachers to give out to kids who learn the best each week or for when finishing a book of the Torah or many other reasons. Or even smaller treats to hand out. Just make sure that each ribbon has the name of your store and these 2 words “10% Off”.
Now you will stick out! Now you are creating incentives for kids to do well and the schools/teachers are happy with the free gift to give out and you get parents that now have two good reasons to come into your store. The first is because they feel appreciation for the free gift and second because they now have a 10% off coupon to use.
So will the new store do this? Unfortunately I doubt it. It’s hard to break out of the box of Metooisims.
