Being a start-up comes with all kinds of opportunities that other, more established companies may not have access to. However, it also comes with its own challenges and obstacles to success. Here's ten of the biggest problems your start up may face, and how to avoid them.
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No one likes long goodbyes, but quick goodbyes are often even harder to come to terms with - particularly when the person scarpering out of the door is a customer.
Customers come and go - that’s a fact of business - and it should never be assumed that the most loyal will hang around forever. That mindset only leads to complacency and, before you know it, long-standing clients will leave without so much as a parting wave or regretful glance over the shoulder.
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With over 2.307 Billion global social media users, it will be foolhardy for any business not to leverage this platform for maximum promotion.
Finally, there is a distribution channel that will allow you to reach a targeted global audience while interacting and engaging with them as well. At the same time, you get to glean insights about the demographics and buying patterns of your customer.
Social media is such a powerful tool right at your fingertips, and with the right social media marketing strategy in place, can go a long way in building your business.
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Are you about to go into a negotiation? Whether it’s discussing an employment package with a new employer or closing a deal with an existing supplier you’ll want to read these 5 steps to planning the best negotiation for you.
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For a long time, just like everyone else, I would take meeting notes with a piece of paper and a pen. As the meeting progressed, I’d note down quotes from others, promises on my behalf and anything that struck me as being important.
This presented two problems each and every time I did it...
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Worried about having to present your ideas to a group of people? Whether it’s a huge conference with 1000 delegates or 3 senior managers from another team, it can be daunting to have to put together presentation material and then deliver it.
It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You can give a convincing presentation and be confident about it if you follow these 4 steps.
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A company is only as good as its employees. With such insight, businesses are always in the search for better talents. Many CEO’s know that continuous rejuvenation of the companies means continually searching for these new, young creative minds to uplift the organizations to higher scales. Small businesses without well-defined departments, however, may face a challenge in hiring and recruiting new staff.
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Negotiation has become a very important part of every job. Whether you have to negotiate your way into successful employment or you are about to make a million dollar deal – you will definitely have to know how this unusual activity called negotiation works and what steps need to be taken in order to win. As a matter of fact, negotiation is the only sport where you win only if your opponent wins as well. If you manage to achieve a win-win situation, you are a master negotiator.
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So, you’ve decided to branch out on your own and become an entrepreneur. That’s fantastic, but we’re going to start by reminding you that 90% of startups fail. A cruel way to open a helpful blog post? Far from it!
The reality of becoming an entrepreneur is very tough indeed. It requires seemingly endless amounts of your time, the ability to pick oneself up when knocked back and the odd bit of good fortune.
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The business world is full of metaphors and analogies but to me none are as amusing and as “bang on the money” than the concept of monkey management. This isn’t a quick guide for zookeepers in case you were wondering, but actually goes to the heart of what it is to be an effective manager in the frenetic world of a modern growing business.
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We are looking at a customer-supplier IT outsourcing relationship. Over the years many problems and irritations have escalated until a point where the customer finds it unacceptabel to continue as-is and suggests his supplier to engage an independent mediator to solve their disputes. Objective of the mediation is to continue the collaboration and prevent formal litigation.
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Your hands can’t hit what your eyes can’t see. That’s one of the many quotes Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) delivered to the world. And like this one, many can be considered as sound business practice as well: if you are blind to what happens around you, you can’t be successful.
Muhammad Ali could take out a man with just one punch (I have borrowed and adapted this line from Bob Dylan), he had 37 knock-outs. To do this, Ali said, "you need to be aware of your surroundings and yourself."
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Regardless of your level in the organization, you make decisions daily at work. You make decisions for your own tasks within your own sphere of responsibility. You make decisions based on recommendations from your team, where it’s your job to have the final say. You put together briefings and recommendations, and influence those higher up the organization for decisions that you know you can’t make alone.
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Although denying is the old school way of handling a crisis, still many companies, politicians and managers, fall back to this strategy. Check the examples in the mind map. Nestle India initially denying that there were safety issues with its popular Maggi Noodles. President Clinton denying that he had sex with intern Monica Lewinsky...
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You want to create and curate content that your audience wants to read and view. After all, that’s the content that is going to be shared, that is going to create engagement, that is going to increase your followers, and that is ultimately going to drive traffic to your website. This of course is what is going to improve your conversion rate. Creating content takes time, human resources, and technical resources.
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