Continuing the musings on dealing with economic turmoil, there's a another worldview - this is just business as usual in emerging markets like Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America etc. Having just returned from a quick trip to India where everyone I met talked to me about the US downturn , I agree there's something to be learned from countries where economic stability is not taken for granted.
The Wall Street Journal recently had an article on Surviving the Downturn: Lessons from Emerging Markets which is interesting reading. The primary lesson here is that while we in the US, and presumably other developed countries, have a tendency to shrink, retrench, hunker down and other 'fall back' actions, there's a case to be made for seeking growth, as they do in other places. While the article is focused on larger companies, the ideas apply to small startups just as well. For example, the one about increasing product and service visibility - that can be done with a team of one (yourself, the entrepreneur) if need be, and is a great investment as I'd mentioned in a previous post 'time to build'.
The other idea on rethinking customer value is a call for flexibility - and really paying attention to what your customer wants, especially during this time. It helps to understand that value may not always be just about cutting prices. I shop frequently at a Trader Joe's close to my home and used to worry about the survival of a little independent produce store right next to it - it had too little produce and too few customers and I thought it would go under, especially as the economy tightened. But, the management decided to pump it up, put up huge banners stressing 'neighborhood', 'independent', ' farm fresh', all guaranteed to appeal to the kind of people who go to TJ's, and it is now literally overflowing with produce and bustling with customers. They did a little bit of both - increased visibility and paid attention to what the customers value - and are reaping the profits.
Finally, the article ends by emphasizing the underlying theme: stay optimistic. It is not easy, particularly with the daily dose of doom around you, but it is a choice you can make - and a forward-thinking approach will get you focusing on growth, instead of just survival, which vastly increases your chances of being around when the upswing happens. Not to mention, when you stop panicking, you'll have more fun and be more fun too. In a networked world, good ideas flow in all directions.
Channeling the inner entrepreneur who views life as a startup. Musings about people, their spirit, the startup ethos and the entrepreneurial attitude, with an emphasis on education and social ventures. The 'how-to'? Not so much. But definitely the why, the what and the whatever.
Focus on fundamentals
Last night, the teen team I mentor at BUILD (see here for more info from a previous post - is worth your support!) presented at Round 2 of the business plan competition. There are two more competitions to go, the last one being the biggie, but this one was exciting and illuminating on many levels, and as usual, there are many lessons for us grown-up entrepreneurs.
First, there was plenty of drama before the competition. My co-mentor and I were concerned that the team hadn't quite completed the presentation - this was their first attempt at Powerpoint, the lingua franca of business pitches - but we'd given all the feedback we could, and both of us prefer it to be their own effort, not overly influenced by our own business experiences. In other words, we didn't show them how to do sales projection graphs in Excel, for example. And we found out there was more confusion when one of the parents felt that the product was not properly designed (it's an accessory for teens) and got involved in re-doing the whole pitch the night before, but it was too late as the original pitch had already been turned in and that was the one that would be projected.
There was little we as mentors could do minutes before the presentation other than assure the team that the original pitch which they had worked on was good enough, and that they were all familiar with it, so to just go ahead with it. They were the last team to present, so the tension kept mounting. All the previous teams had colorful slides, with sales projection charts and all. We kept repeating that the team shouldn't worry about their plain slides though they weren't convinced - but when it came time to make the pitch, they went up there showing none of the tension and did it and won!
Based on the judges feedback and what I observed, here are some reasons why I think they won, all of which are applicable to any business:
First, there was plenty of drama before the competition. My co-mentor and I were concerned that the team hadn't quite completed the presentation - this was their first attempt at Powerpoint, the lingua franca of business pitches - but we'd given all the feedback we could, and both of us prefer it to be their own effort, not overly influenced by our own business experiences. In other words, we didn't show them how to do sales projection graphs in Excel, for example. And we found out there was more confusion when one of the parents felt that the product was not properly designed (it's an accessory for teens) and got involved in re-doing the whole pitch the night before, but it was too late as the original pitch had already been turned in and that was the one that would be projected.
There was little we as mentors could do minutes before the presentation other than assure the team that the original pitch which they had worked on was good enough, and that they were all familiar with it, so to just go ahead with it. They were the last team to present, so the tension kept mounting. All the previous teams had colorful slides, with sales projection charts and all. We kept repeating that the team shouldn't worry about their plain slides though they weren't convinced - but when it came time to make the pitch, they went up there showing none of the tension and did it and won!
Based on the judges feedback and what I observed, here are some reasons why I think they won, all of which are applicable to any business:
- The lack of color and flash on the slides did not matter, but the content of the slides did. Our team had only a few bullets per slide and they were in simple words (side note, for most of our team, English is a second language). It's good to have clarity in your pitch (though a little color wouldn't hurt).
- The product and manufacturing/distribution process were described clearly and step by step, so everyone could understand it. In fact, the judges even complimented them on the simplicity - which implies the viability - of the process. People trust what they can understand.
- They focused on the important stuff - the product and how they would make it, sell it and what the financials would be. They missed some extras covered by other teams, like what they would do with the profits, but they nailed the core elements of what it takes to build the business - the stuff that matters.
- The team projected confidence, both during the pitch and in the Q&A. Even when questioned on things that they hadn't considered before (like 'barrier to entry'), they thought on their feet and answered with conviction if not accuracy. You trust teams that believe in what they're selling, and if you're sold on it, the chances are potential customers will be too.
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