There is a subtle difference between a product or service that stems from an idea and one that is born from recognising an opportunity. Ideas are solutions in search of problems. Opportunities are problems begging for a solution. The magic of solving problems for a specific customer is that the marketing is baked into the…
All successful businesses do two things: They fulfil the unmet needs and unspoken desires of their ideal customer. The businesses that find it challenging to sell their products and services are the ones that fail to begin with this end in mind. Businesses that struggle are those that are inward looking, they usually say: this…
At the King Shaka International airport, just at the entrance of the terminal, there is this musician, I think he is a guitarist, he plays amazing music. At Rosebank mall at the parking pay machines, there is a man who plays a guitar, he is very good. At the men's rest rooms at the OR…
The rows of business magazines in the airport scream the word ‘success’ from their covers. Smiling entrepreneurs and founders who have ‘made it’ are profiled inside. Their success reflected in the visible and the measurable. When did being successful become about being seen to have achieved success? According to our society, anonymous success is not success. For…
The numbers vary, but the trend is unmistakable. The average consumer is subjected to more advertising and marketing messages every day. In a world where it is harder to get noticed, entrepreneurs have responded by trying to be more visible. Being noticed is the goal of most advertising. To be noticed, entrepreneurs make more adverts…
Picture the scene. You are at a networking event or a party. The room is buzzing, it is packed full of people who you could strike up a conversation with and the so-called important people. Of course, you will never get around to speaking to everyone that evening. So you have to choose who to…
“If only we had more time/money/resources” is a natural go-to from time to time. Of course, it turns out that the better thing to do is to replace it with the following question: “But, what am I doing with the time/money/resources I have at hand?” It is a better and more important question for two…
Simplify your life. Reduce clutter in your daily activities. A lot of clutter in your life, leads to a cluttered mind. The thing with clutter is that it distracts you from focusing on what is important. You get lost in the maze of all thing that you are focusing on. When you simplify your life,…
As owners of startups, the vision of the business and how it operates is a reflection of who we are. If we are disorganised as individuals, the business will be disorganised. If we struggle to manage our personal finances, chances are we will struggle to manage business finances. Our startups are a reflection of us.…
The first advice you will get when you start your business is to get your word, your brand out there. By implication meaning make noise. Marketing is not making a lot of noise. Making noise is not a strategy. We equate getting your product out there as the same as making a lot of noise.…
Build a great product first. A product that adds value, solve a customer pain and is accessible and affordable. Focus on making it simple to use. Don't compromise on your product. When Jobs returned from Pixar, he shifted Apple’s focus back to making innovative products: the iMac, and then the iPod, the iPhone, the iTunes,…
When he returned to Apple, Steve Jobs began taking his “top 100” people on a retreat each year. On the last day, he would stand in front of a whiteboard [he loved whiteboards, because they gave him complete control of a situation and they engendered focus] and ask: “What are the 10 things we should…
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