Are you weary of the hamster wheel that is your 9-to-5? Are you torn between the siren call of unbridled freedom and the soothing lullaby of steady paychecks? If you're currently stuck in a career crossroads, you might be pondering the eternal question: Should I rock the boat and start my own business, or play it safe and stick with the status quo? Well, fear not my indecisive friend, let's dive into the murky waters of entrepreneurship versus intrapreneurship and see what lurks beneath the surface. Starting a business: The entrepreneur's journey Ah, the life of an entrepreneur. Starting a business is like taking a trip to the amusement park — it's a rollercoaster ride full of twists and turns. Sure, you get to choose your own adventure and chase your dreams, but be prepared to hold on tight and scream your lungs out. Building a successful business requires blood, sweat and tears — and sometimes a little bit of vomit. But if you're brave enough to take on the challenge, you could be the next big thing in the business world. Entrepreneurs have the luxury of calling the shots and pursuing their wildest dreams. They can bring their craziest ideas to life and make it big. And let's not forget the sweet smell of success (and money) that comes with it. But let's be real, the journey to the top is like navigating a minefield blindfolded. According to a study by the Small Business Administration, there's a high chance of stepping on a bomb and having your business blown to smithereens. So, get ready to take that leap of faith and hope for the best. Innovating within a company: The intrapreneur's journey Ah, the intrapreneur. The perfect solution for those who want to dip their toes into entrepreneurship without fully committing to the risk and uncertainty of starting their own business. Intrapreneurs get to innovate and be creative within the confines of a pre-existing corporate structure. They can enjoy the stability of a steady paycheck, job security and even health benefits if they're lucky. But, let's be real, being an intrapreneur isn't all sunshine and rainbows either. You have to deal with corporate bureaucracy, office politics and probably attend an endless stream of meetings. And forget about being your own boss, because your ideas still have to go through a chain of command. And while you may get a pat on the back for a job well done, don't expect a giant bonus or a corner office with a view. So, which one is better? There's no right answer, as both have their pros and cons. But let's take a look at some examples. Success stories Here are some success stories of both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs that demonstrate their impact on the business world:
On the other hand, intrapreneurs have also made significant contributions to the success of many companies. Here are some examples:
So, what can we learn from these examples? Well, first of all, there's no magical formula for success, whether you're starting your own business or trying to innovate within a company. But hey, who knows? You might just stumble upon the next big thing and become the talk of the town. All you need is a brilliant idea, a solid plan and a bit of stubbornness to see it through. Easy peasy, right? My advice As someone who has seen both sides of the coin, my advice to both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs is to always stay curious, take reckless risks and rely heavily on the advice of others. Remember, you can't do it all on your own, so find some yes-men and build your network. And if you ever feel like you're not good enough, just know that even successful leaders like Richard Branson and Sheryl Sandberg have struggled with imposter syndrome at some point in their careers. So, take comfort in the fact that it's a common experience, and don't let it hold you back from reaching your full potential. Oh, don't worry about the obstacles that may come your way! As an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur, you'll face plenty of difficulties, but just ignore them and keep pushing towards your goals. After all, who needs a plan B when you have a plan A and sheer determination? So, what if the odds are against you? Just keep hustling, and success will surely follow! Remember, as the great inventor Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." So, keep pushing forward, keep learning, and keep adapting. Who knows, maybe one day you'll end up like Elon Musk, starting your own car company and launching rockets into space, or like an intrapreneur at Google, inventing the next big thing in tech. Or maybe you'll just end up creating the world's most innovative paperclip. Hey, someone's gotta do it, right? Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/ Image Credit: Shutterstock
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There's a classic expression that one shouldn't mix family with business; However, some of the most powerful entrepreneurial duos were related in some way, shape or form. So in 2014, when I decided to co-found a company with my brother, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. We'd shared a bedroom for almost 10 years, but could we share a cap table? The last time we had to split anything, it was a personal pizza, and I obviously deserved the bigger half because I was the older brother. In all seriousness, I knew that we had an incredible relationship and we trusted one another, but I was also worried that this venture might royally screw up that relationship. In the end, it all worked out and became one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. This article builds the case for starting a family business and suggestions on how to mix the two for the best possible outcome. You know each other's moves Growing up, my brother and I would play one-on-one basketball in our front yard. We'd complain about the fact that each of us had a "move" that neither of us could stop. However, when we played two-on-two, we always seemed to figure out how to use these moves together to play better. As entrepreneurs, we entered the game knowing what our strengths were and could more easily defer to one another in different situations. This process wasn't perfect in the beginning. It did take some time to drop some of our prior expectations, specifically, which roles we'd play based on things that really didn't matter like our age, title and years of experience. However, we had spent decades establishing trust, whereas our competitors might only have ten or fewer years of working experience together. This allowed us to make better decisions on day one versus having to spend years laying the foundation of trust. The fights are intense, but the resolution is quicker My brother and I had some epic throwdowns over the years. We're still not allowed back in my mom's hairdresser after the "Connie's Corner Cuts" melee. As related founders, our feedback tends to flow more freely, and our fights are more emotionally charged. This forced us to be more conscious of and sensitive to the impact that these fights had on our other co-founders and employees. Don't have the blowout fights in front of your employees. While this interaction between siblings may feel normal, it might suggest that there's dysfunction in an otherwise healthy and thriving organization. On the positive side, with 30 years of experience fighting with one another, we're able to come to a resolution quicker and gain alignment on key issues because we know how to have direct conversations without taking things personally. That has also become a major strategic advantage to move our business forward more quickly. The stakes are higher, and the wins mean more My brother and I founded our company the year that my daughter Laura was born. I wanted to create a better life for her and my family, and my brother shared that level of accountability to build something that could provide financial independence for our immediate families. When things were rocky and our bank accounts were empty, we couldn't quit on one another. Failure would not only make holidays awkward, but based on what we had both personally invested in the company, it would take years to recoup that loss. When we sold our company in 2021, it was a life-changing event for each of our families. Aside from the days my kids were born, I don't think there has been a higher moment in my life when we closed on the sale of our company. Not because of the financial impact, although that helped, but more because I knew we had taken care of the people that we love most in the process and set an example for our kids on what it means to fight for something and the people that matter most. Would I do it again? Without question. Our time on earth is limited. On average, we spend 90,000 hours of our lives working. I want to spend that time with the people I love and trust, at least until one of us taps out and says "uncle." A couple of takeaways
Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/ Image Credit: Shutterstock
“What’s in it for me?” That, in essence, is the first question in any buyer’s mind. In fact, it’s often the only question. For their part, businesses tend to use their content and communications to answer the question they wished customers asked: What do you do? This assumes that customers care. It’s a fatal mistake. They don’t. Customers also ask questions such as: How can you make our work easier? How can you save us money or time? How can you increase our profits, or give us an edge over our competitors? Again, it’s all about them (not you). Once you understand this, it opens up big opportunities for marketing. Of course, you won’t usually get the chance to verbally respond to these questions: B2B buyers today are increasingly independent— over half (53%) would prefer to buy without any interaction with your sales folks at all. Answering these questions means being crystal clear about what really is in it for your customers. And this is where a value proposition comes in. What’s a value proposition? In short, a value proposition defines the core business you are in and the real-world value you offer, stripped down to a couple of sentences. This is not normally seen outside the company, but it will inform your positioning—the space you want to own in your customers’ heads—which informs your messaging. In other words, it is how you communicate your value to your market. You’d be amazed how many businesses get this wrong. The three most common errors are: 1. Viewing your product or service from an entirely internal viewpoint, leaving buyers unable to make the connection between their own pain points and your brand. 2. Explaining what you do in a way that’s too complex or filled with too much jargon, making it difficult for outsiders to understand. 3. Trying to appeal to anyone and everyone, losing focus and wasting time and money. The golden rules of value propositions A strong value proposition will define the category you’re in, the target customer you serve, and the real value you deliver. It will be ruthlessly edited. On the face of it, a value proposition seems like it would be easy to formulate. Any business should be able to succinctly articulate exactly what it does for its customers, right? But crafting a compelling value proposition is deceivingly tricky. There’s a saying that when you’re inside the jar it’s hard to read the label. It can be very hard to distill your value when you can see so much to value. The goal is to alienate poor-fit or no-fit customers—those you don’t want to work with—and to be a much more attractive prospect to the ideal customers you hope to work with. What about when there’s more than one customer involved in a purchase? This is very often the case for B2B sales. It simply means you may well need to come up with more than one value proposition for each of the main decision-makers involved in the buying process. When it comes to determining the value you provide, make sure you’re putting yourself firmly in your customers’ shoes. What are the main challenges and problems they are experiencing? Don’t confuse what you think is important with what they think is important. And be careful to keep it about them, not you. Yes, you might be proud of the impact you’re making on society, but stop and ask yourself, is this relevant to the customers' needs? At the end of the day, do they care? How to write a value proposition 1. Try this template As a first step, you’ll need to do a fair bit of brainstorming to get to the heart of both your business’s offering and your customers’ needs. There are lots of different models out there you can draw on to help prompt you. My favorite one, and the one I use with my clients, is based on a framework proposed by Geoffrey Moore in his book Crossing The Chasm. It goes like this: For [target market] who want to [key customer need], [brand] is a [category descriptor] that [key benefit]. Applying this framework to a real example, let's look at how Asana, a workplace management solution, has marketed its services: Are silos making teamwork more painful? Asana helps you manage projects, focus on what’s important, and organize work in one place for seamless collaboration. The first sentence addresses the customers’ problem: teams today aren’t sitting side by side in the same office. This means that without the right software (the company's software), it’s difficult to collaborate; details about Asana's tools are not needed as we can quickly deduce their tech helps busy teams work together easily on projects. Asana's value proposition, therefore, might read: For businesses with remote employees and that want to make teamwork less painful, Asana is a workplace management platform that helps you collaborate seamlessly so you can focus on what’s really important. 2. Talk to your customers The key to an effective value proposition is having a thorough understanding of your customers. How best to figure out their main challenges and issues? Ask them. Find out why they chose your business over your competitors. What is the issue you have helped them with the most? 3. Don’t overdo it It takes restraint to resist listing all the numerous benefits your business can provide. You may feel you are doing yourself a disservice by cutting your list short, but believe me, it pays to limit how much is on your list. Rather than reel off all the many ways you can help, think carefully about the ways in which you truly provide the most value—the reason customers spend their budgets with you. It will give you a more interesting space to play in. Think, too, about the emotional impact of your offering: will it make things easier, smoother, safer, more aesthetically pleasing? Business buyers are not rational robots. 4. Test multiple options Don’t go with the very first value proposition you land on; take the time to consider different options. Debate them with different members of your team and ask for feedback. You can even test them out with your target audience to see how well they are received. 5. Consider your competitors Using the framework suggested earlier in the article, try to identify the value propositions of your competitors and see how your message compares or contrasts with theirs. This can help you figure out exactly how you can differentiate your business from other companies and ensure it stands out from the crowd. Ultimate goal of your value proposition Ultimately, nailing down your value proposition will prove to your customers just how relevant you are when they are comparing brands. It will show that you are focused on what matters to buyers and will offer a compelling answer to the question: “What’s in it for me?” Source: https://www.allbusiness.com/ Image Credit: Depositphotos
Scaling is very rewarding, but the process itself is stressful. These seven steps will help businesses scale with less stress and better results. Did you know that Quibi launched in April 2020 and imploded six months later? It shut down in October 2020, despite receiving funding of $1.75 billion. This article should motivate others to start scaling, so why did I start so dismally? Entrepreneurs want to scale, but not all businesses are ready for scaling. Some startups never make it big, so first, analyze if your business is prepared to scale up. 3 telltale signs you are ready to scale 1. You meet and exceed business targets: As a new business, your sales forecasts and action plans cannot predict how your business fares. Use exact time frames, expenses and average revenue for accurate sales predictions and increased profitability. Document met (and exceeded) targets to assess your statistical data. Next, set attainable, higher goals; if you still beat those, it may be time to scale. 2. Your long-term business goals are challenging: If you are meeting revenue targets, why would the long-term goal of increasing profits be an issue? Your monthly returns may be great because you are fulfilling existing demand. Your long-term success may seem challenging because you currently lack people or resources. Refusing sales orders as your demand increases makes extended goals look challenging. This lack indicates that your business is growing quicker than you expected. 3. Your supply is insufficient for your demand: Rising demand for your products or services is precisely what you aimed for, right? You will lose customers if you lack inventory, employees, or time to keep up with surging demand. The hype and brand image you build will also dissipate. Your revenue and expansion depend on your customer base. Improving customer handling ensures that they remain satisfied with your brand. If your startup is ready to grow, reinforce your infrastructure first. Successfully scaling a startup Entrepreneurs and business owners who scale up earn higher revenue at lower investments. Effective scaling improves your profit margin and increases revenue while reducing costs. Once you have determined that you are ready, the next question is how to scale your business. Below are seven ways you can successfully scale your startup. Data helps predict the resources required to scale. While scaling, it is crucial to maintain productivity and efficiency. A successful business handles spikes in workflows without losses like employee turnover. The following strategies make scaling up less stressful and improve efficiency and productivity. 1. Create a business plan Create a durable strategy and include a monthly sales projection and milestone deadlines. List your target audience, ways to approach them and marketing strategies for conversions. These guidelines will help you track your progress. Do not forget to log known and expected expenses. Your current expenditure will be the baseline to measure how much it will cost to scale up. Make sure you document all the relevant details, or you may run into cash flow problems. 2. Build a team Hire employees or contractors, or embrace a franchise model as your operation scales. Work towards developing a cohesive team of people with diverse skill sets and talent. Inform your team members about all expected goals and objectives. Look after your team, and encourage regular meetings to understand their pain points. Brief them on key performance indicators to improve their performance. Do not foster employee burnout by expecting employees to take on added roles as you grow. 3. Reduce costs of products or services Reduce material costs and buy used equipment. Hire inexpensive labor and reduce wastage. Compare vendor services and choose the most cost-effective ones. Use effective online marketing strategies that are often free. Negotiate for lowered rent or equipment expenses with vendors. Ask shippers for special rates to reduce shipping charges. Find ways to lower energy consumption and switch to green energy, which will cost less in the long run. 4. Optimize your product (or service) for buyers Identify your target market and learn how to reach and sell to them before you scale. Keep building your brand image on established online platforms. Create value additives, such as blogs, DIY articles, press releases and industry publications. Ask customers for reviews to build credibility. Track sources you get the most traction from to identify and fix issues in your lead funnel. Use the money saved by reducing costs to augment your product or service. Invest in customer service and functionality improvements, add new features and train your employees. 5. Streamline processes Processes and procedures should be in place before companies scale up. Break tasks down and assign priorities. Automate because it saves you time and money and boosts employee productivity. Automated billing invoices your customers or adds any applicable surcharges. Automated customer support boosts your customer experience. 6. Assess finances and funding Scaling costs money. It uses lesser investment but yields better returns. Scaling by using only reinvested profits may be difficult. You may choose to bootstrap to be self-sufficient, but that is not always possible. Apply for a business loan or line of credit from banks or lenders, or approach investors to fund your growth. The money you borrow will cost less than equity if you manage repayments well. Carefully choose repayment schedules, interest rates or investor control options. 7. Improve your marketing Small businesses often rely on referrals or free online social media campaigns. You may need to supplement your marketing efforts as you scale. Focus on organic marketing channels such as search engine optimization and content marketing. Optimize your campaigns to control budget spending if you run paid campaigns on any platform, and set realistic goals to track campaign performance. Conclusion Any business growth requires elaborate planning for short-term and long-term business goals. These goals will guide you on the need for investors, recruitment and automation and their relevant solutions. Scaling is attractive because of its returns, but you will face challenges. Stay efficient and avoid errors by keeping data and processes streamlined. Increased customer retention helps; use your customers' feedback and suggestions for improvement. You can do this. Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com
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