Starting A Business

IN THE BOX PODCAST

Episode 47: Scarcity Marketing, Media Relations, Ducks In A Row, And More (Podcast)

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast we discussed how to use the media when you’re starting a business, what constitutes a selfie and how it’s terrible, why scarcity marketing still works, how to deal with the Monday blues, and if our ducks will ever be in a row (what do you think?).

Episode 47: Scarcity Marketing, Media Relations, Ducks In A Row, And More

Media – One tip on how to effectively use the media if you are starting a business?

Selfie – The selfie: Good? or bad?

Scarcity – Why do you think scarcity tactics still work when we sell? Don’t you think people have gotten over that?

Ducks – Will our ducks ever be in a row?

Bonus – One way to deal with a bad case of the Mondays?

 

Stay Positive & Subscribe Here To Listen

In The Box Podcast

Episode 12: Startups, Rewards Points, Staying Humble And More – Podcast

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast, we talked about the state of things like everyone wanting to start a business, the continuous rise of rent, and if rewards points are better than cash back.

We lightened things up when chatting about why it’s hard to change our minds, how we can stay humble and embrace humility, and discovering our own balance.

Subscribe if you haven’t already, and enjoy.

Episode 12: Startups, Rewards Points, Staying Humble And More

Startups – Does it feel like everyone wants to start their own business?

Rent – Despite a ton of housing going up in Madison, why has the price of rent continued to go up?

Rewards Points – what are the advantages of having a credit card with reward points as opposed to cash back?

Change your mind – Why is it so hard to change a mind?

Staying humble – What does humble and humility mean to you? (How can we be more of each)

Input vs Output – How does one know when its time to focus on output vs. input? (should they be balanced?)

 

Stay Positive & How Do You Balance?

Two Ways To Start A Business

Two Ways To Start A Business

Garth Beyer

Starting A Business
One way is to start with your own idea, build a business plan around it, and shout, shout, shout with hopes people hear you, switch from competitors to you, and give their attention. To be successful with this, you have to change the way people think, act, and feel.

Damn difficult to do.

Another way is to start by searching for a niche, an area that’s been untouched, perhaps listening to more than a million complaints of people until you come up with a solution. The method: you find a small problem and you provide a small solution.*

To be successful with this, you gather a tribe of like-minded people who have the same complaint, the same problem and you give your solution to them. Instead of changing the way people think, act, and feel, you’re listening, understanding and reacting to how people think, act, and feel.

You can shout, advertise and sell or you can connect, gather, and give.

Two ways to start a business. I think you know which way is better.

 

Stay Positive & Either Way, Have Fun With It

*All big problems have been solved with big solutions. Times have really changed. Think the taxi industry. Big solution for big problem. Then think of Uber and Lyft. Small problem. Small solution. Huge success.

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Where Do You And Those In Your Life Stand On The Line

Garth Beyer

I have a fairly strong motto: keep moving forward. I consider myself a shark when it comes to business and lifestyle; I die if I stop moving. (We. all. do.)

On my pursuit of moving forward in life, who do you think I ask for advice? My family? Friends? Old professors?

More importantly, who do you ask for advice when your pursuing success or trying to move forward in life or work or academia?

If you put yourself on a line where failure is behind you somewhere and success is in front of you somewhere, where are those in your life who you are asking for advice stand? It’s not judging, it’s assessing. If you want to be successful, you have to assess your team.

A likely response is that they are right beside you. The people next to you on the line are the people you are asking for advice on pursing success. One question for you: if they knew how to move forward on the line, don’t you think they would already be forward on the line?

I not only ask where on the line those in your life stand, but also ask where you stand on the line. If you want to pursue success, it’s best to take advice from those who are ahead of you on the line, not beside or behind. Knowing where you and everyone else is on the line (and what success actually means to you) are the roots of learning how to become successful with the help of others.

Quick note: It’s not that good advice never comes from those beside you or behind you, from family members or enemies; it’s simply better not to take the chance when so many people in front of you are ready and willing to help you keep moving forward.

Lastly, remember you don’t need to leave anyone behind. Simply move forward and then extend back a helping hand.

 

Stay Positive & Please Don’t Die Standing Still (Or Asking Advice From Those Who Are)

 

Get Your Entrepreneurons Buzzing With These Marketing Playbook Strategies

Garth Beyer

The following are tips from a new WARF series focused on bringing the fundamentals of getting a new venture started.

The following entrepreneurs marketing playbook strategies are courtesy of

  • Marsha Lindsay of Lindsay, Stone & Briggs
  • Todd LaBeau, vice president, director of digital marketing, Lindsay, Stone & Briggs
  • Mike Judge, director, Center for Brand and Product Management, Wisconsin School of Business
  • Tim Gill, search manager, Shopbop.com/Amazon.com
  • Chris Parker, vice president and chief commercial officer, Cellular Dynamics Internationale

1. You have to be willing to bet the farm on an idea. And if you don’t have a farm, bet the house and the car on the idea.

2. When you start something, it’s incumbent upon you to continue.

3. 512,000 new businesses launched in 2012, 250,000 new products are launched every year, 75% of VC backed firms don’t return investors capital, 95% of start-ups fail.

4. Face reality: what will it take to dramatically increase your odds? Face what you know and don’t know about marketing and then devote as much to learning and mastering marketing as you do your innovation. Be prepared to invest in what it takes to build awareness, engagement, adoption.

5. Before you set expectations or make promises you can’t meet, do marketing math and avoid seeing what doesn’t exist. “You will see in the data what you want to see even if it’s not there,” confirmation bias.

6. Number one reason innovations fail: product doesn’t have meaningful role in people’s lives. Realize you’re launching not an innovation, but a meaningful role to play in people’s lives. It is what drives sales and revenue and line extension. Know what is compelling not in your eyes, but in eyes of the user.

7. Building marketing strategy in from start. Today marketing is synonymous with innovation and business strategy.

8. Your why should help people be more of who they are or aspire to be.

9. To survive your startup, you need as many paying customers of all kinds as quickly as possible. To last, you need your target audience to be your partner.

10. Know where you’ll get your volume, know your competitors and what their product is.

11. As much as you invest in something, make sure you expect that something will not happen the way you want it. Allow for a contingency plan.

12. Not what everyone wants is a product they can touch hold and play with. Some people want a product that makes them feel a certain way. How is it you figure out the feeling people want?

The best way to figure them out is through qualitative research. Sit down with people and watch them use the product, ask them about the product and how it makes them feel. Learn to ask better questions to get someone to say “I loved how this happened, or I love how it’s like X.” Figure out how it makes them feel without asking them how it makes them feel.

 

Stay Positive & Take These Lessons Then Run With Them

A Simple Answer To Starting A Business At Age 25 Or Not

Garth Beyer

Ironically, the two articles of my young entrepreneurial beat were published on the same day and are equally counter-argumentative. The first article, “Don’t Start A Company Before You’re 25” by Robbie Abed was posted on Technori, where people go to celebrate entrepreneurship. The second article, “Start A Company When You’re 25 – Not When You’re 52,” was submitted on Forbes by Liz Kammel. Just from viewing the titles you can bet they will be butting heads like two entrepreneurial rams during mating season. Mating, of course, with their destiny of either starting a company before the age of 25, or not.

Robbie Abed, the author advocating you not to start a company before you’re 25, understands that every reader of his article is aware of how controversial it is. In fact, within the first line of the article he says, “Yup, this article is controversial.” His writing, from the beginning, taunts you personally. His language and word choice is nearly mirrored to what his reader would be thinking after glancing over the title. However, after his humorous introduction, he begins to attack the point of his article, giving support to those in favor of starting a business before the age of 25. Then, suddenly, his entire voice shifts over to something which should be held with the utmost respect, a voice that radiates wisdom and complete confidence. He boldly notes that “Success does not equal happiness” but “happiness is the new success.”

Instead of defining happiness, which you can rightly agree does not have a definition, Abed talks about his friends. Friends who are not involved in technology or startups at all. Friends that hang out every weekend and have fun. He considers them to be “happy” people. In contrast, he uses himself as an example; that he works too many hours, tries, but can’t take weekends off and is addicted to his kind of success. Quite plainly, he says that being happy and having fun while young is far more important than starting a business and losing the youthful and exciting era of life to the task of building a business. After adding contextual support for the statement, “it’s never too late, but it can be too early,” he offers his closing statement that “when you start your company at 26, you won’t be behind. I promise.”

All that Abed has said is clearly tried and true, however, one specific portion of his take on starting a business at an early age is used as leverage in the other article, “Start A Company When You’re 25 – Not When You’re 52,” by Liz Kammel. Kammel explains how the youthfulness which Abed described is – to Abed’s disappointment – the largest reason to start a business when you’re 25. “At age 25, the sky is the limit,” Kammel says. As you can readily agree with, when you’re young, you can stay up late every night, work as many weekends as you want, and as Kammel most importantly notes, “you have no fear of challenging ‘market standards.’”

As a 20 year old, I can offer even greater support than Kammel offers. When you’re young, you have an extremely low number of responsibilities: one pet, if any, a couple of bills, no kids. When you’re young, you can settle for less: a small place, maybe even just living at home, a part-time job, and of course, ramen noodles.

This free, flexible, full play lifestyle that Abed states is important to happiness is as important in starting a successful business.

The second argument Kammel makes is that a company should be started early and with the support of an older mentor. What she hints at is the inclination for older mentors to help the youth. Naturally, you wouldn’t think a 52-year-old would be working with another 52-year-old on starting a business. The mentor would, as expected, be puzzled as to why another 52-year-old man is asking for advice rather than giving his own to others. It’s a simplistic structure of society – the old help the young.

Kammel makes a strong point that as a young entrepreneur, there are plenty of experienced people you can hand the business off to. While they are taking care of “business,” you’re off starting another one!

Comparing and contrasting the two articles, it seems the better choice – to start a business early or not – comes down to what you have more fun doing on the weekends? Working on a business startup or hanging out at a coffee shop?

Stay Positive & Live On

Garth E. Beyer