Posts Tagged ‘Business’
The Future Of Business – Small & Mobile
The future of business – small & mobile, in every sense of the words. many of the big box stores have been shutting down locations, why, too expensive. Even the food industry sees the future, the mobile kiosk style restaurant merely parks on the street and serves up gourmet meals as if you were sitting in a high end restaurant. This trend is not going away, in fact, it’s a huge phenomenon.
Many resist the notion that big box stores are going away, but look at the trends, the Internet, technology, and the business that is small is the new big….you don’t need big boxes, or big anything. Small means many things, but most of all, if your business is small, it can change quickly, adopt and improvise without skipping a beat. Being small also means you are probably mobile, I don’t mean mobile in technology, I mean, you can move to another location and go where the people are at a moments notice. Being mobile technically is the other side of mobile. Technology helps put your business on billions of mobile devices with very little effort.
We used to laugh at the kiosks setup in these big boxes called malls, who’s laughing now? There is almost no overhead with a kiosk, no maintenance to really speak of, it’s like having short hair, low maintenance, wash it and go.
Today we work from virtually anywhere, no pun intended, but mobile is everything these days. Having a bricks & mortar business almost seems like you are breaking the law, why would you build a business like that? I know, I’m getting ahead of our time, but there are some serious realities to building a business the old industrial way. technology won’t tolerate it. You see technology waits for no one. We think we control it, but we don’t, our brains are not wired to control something that big, and with the exponential power & growth it overwhelms us with.
WHAT TO DO
So what do we do? This is the simple question that is more complicated than it’s simplicity. Did that even make sense to you? In my last post I wrote about being a carpenter, as if carpentry was just invented today, what would you build, what do you see that the world needs. The same holds true here, if you were a carpenter, you would probably build a small social, human, mobile business. Not a huge massive big box store with far too many staff, it just doesn’t make sense, does it?
I’m not bashing those who have gone before us a built these big box stores, I’m merely pointing out that those coming after us, the under 20 generation….they aren’t interested. They’re egos are not wired that way, they want less, they are minimalists, they want fast, cheap, NOW! And that’s what they will build, legacy is not as important to them as it is anyone over 30. I’m generalizing of course, but if you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that’s what I do. There are always exceptions, but those numbers are much smaller.
So is your business small & mobile? Can you move quickly, is your business easily accessible via mobile devices, and is small? Small as in a low number of staff, low overhead, but large return on investments, that means profitable.
If you are thinking of starting a business today, think small & mobile.
The Future Of Business – If I Were A Carpenter
If I were a carpenter, what would I build? I think of carpenter’s a builder’s, in fact, I think of entrepreneur’s the same way. Business owner’s used to be builder’s, but something happened, they were lulled into management mode. Carpenter’s are also builder’s from the industrial age, the art of carpentry is a dieing art, well at least the way we think of it. But that’s the point, how we think.
I have said many times, over and over again, it’s the tag on this blog, Mindset trumps skillset everytime. How we think about building, how we think about our business, how we think about everything really, it’s all changing and we are not. I was sharing with Chris Brogan on Kitchen Table Talks last week about how the this area has yet to embrace a new way of doing business. The new way? Becoming a social business, a human business. What are we so afraid of?
If I were a carpenter, I would build a business that opens your mind, that shares this new concept, this new open & free business model….wait….I have built it, but is it done? There’s another problem, we think in terms of being finished, social businesses, human businesses are never done. Do you think your relationships with people and businesses are ever finished, no. So why do we think, just because we are building a business, it will be finished someday? If you think you are finished, you will be. Think about that for a moment, let it settle for a moment.
You see, my business, I hope it is never done, I hope it draws you in, I hope it causes you to question the status quo….always. My prayer is that you will want to learn new ways of adopting the new way of doing business, if you don’t, someone else will, and your business will be finished.
There are some incredible people out here on the Internet sharing, (far too many too mention here) all the time, teaching you to see business differently, you want to but….you seem to fall back to what you’ve always done. It happens everytime you get into management mode, new ways are too hard to implement and maintain in your head, so you do what you’ve always done. Push back as hard as you try, time gets you everytime.
Imagine if you, just for a moment, what if being a carpenter was just invented today, what would you build? You build something that no longer works, or would you invent something new?
I challenge you, ask yourself the question based as if being a carpenter was invented today. If you were a carpenter, what would you build? A traditional business? probably, but I would suggest a different model. I would build a very open and free business model, a social business, a human business. What say you?
Related articles
- Future Scratches (chrisbrogan.com)
- Owen Greaves On Kitchen Table Talks With Chris Brogan (owengreaves.com)
- Do you have a people strategy? (sethgodin.typepad.com)
Owen Greaves On Kitchen Table Talks With Chris Brogan
Naked Boxer Briefs
Owen Greaves on Kitchen Table Talks with Chris Brogan. This was impromptu, not planned, not scripted, it was on the fly minutes before a lunch meeting, so it’s very unprepared…I like that : ) I asked Chris on Twitter who was on the show, he said YOU! Chris interviews a few people in this clip, he also chats with John Morgan right before me, he is the author of Brand Against The Machine, one of my fav books right now. If you haven’t watched or taken part in Chris Brogan’s Show, Kitchen Table Talks is a great show for business owners, entrepreneurs, plus it’s just fun to watch…be sure to check it out. You can follow the show on Twitter with the HASHTAG #ktco or visit the website on The Pulse Network. ENJOY!
The Future Of Business – When Simple & Brilliant Collide
When simple & brilliant collide. You would think this happens often, but it doesn’t. In the marketing world, this collision would be called a homerun, the grand slam, or utopia, that’s when they think they have nailed it. When you hear the words, or see the picture, you can’t help but smile.
The word KitKat, or seeing a picture of one, just makes you feel good, you want to have one. Could you imagine if everyone felt this way when they think of your product or service?
The super stars tend to have this collision more often than most, that’s why they are the leading brands, they bring simple and brilliant together, often.
What do you feel when you see this picture above, do you think the marketing department knows what they are selling? Is it a chocolate bar, or a feeling you get when you eat one?
I just had to share this with you, it’s simple & brilliant. The future of your business should practice this, how could you bring simple & brilliant together for your product or service?
Related articles
- The Future Of Business – Pay Attention (owengreaves.com)
- The Future Of Business – Hardwood Floors (owengreaves.com)
- Is Your Business Normal? (owengreaves.com)
The Future Of Business – Pay Attention
The future of business is really quite simple, pay attention. I’ve been writing and talking about this secret sauce for a few years now, and it seems that most businesses are missing the point. We will spend thousands, no, millions on traditional advertising, because there is a perception that it works. It some cases it still does, but the world has gone into a state of flux, it’s not paying attention to traditional ways of advertising like it used to. Today, you have to pay attention, but not in a the way you think.
For years, OK the last 300 years it seems, we could merely hang a shingle, yell from a soap box, run an ad on Radio or Newspaper, and get the kind of attention we wanted. That’s true, but something has changed hasn’t it? We are no longer within ear shot of those types of ads anymore, we’ve been driven indoors by technology, we don’t get out much like we used to.
Social Networks have become the new place to hangout, it’s where everyone is spending their time, their money, and it’s where they share almost everything their lives. The new advertising model is sharing, and we don’t have to pay for it! So how does one get found, get the attention one needs to generate revenue, or a living. It’s simple, you have to pay attention. You have to pay attention to what is being shared, what is being said.
There’s only one way to do this, grow bigger ears! Learn how to listen, pay attention and look for the buying signals. It’s what we do in traditional sales, why are you looking for something different? The process is the same, it’s the tools that have changed. Because the tools have changed, the world is suddenly confused, and isn’t sure what to do.
Money is being left on the table because most have yet to learn the new tools, haven’t taken the time to use them, and or taken the time to harness the power of growing bigger ears. Many business owners still haven’t bought into the power of listening in Social Networks, there is a huge misunderstanding of what’s happening in these networks. But if you pay attention long enough, and are looking for the right signals (keywords), you can add thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to your bottom line. So far, it hasn’t happened, at least not in my area, the world is still waiting for something, waiting for something to happen so business owners don’y have to do anything. They are looking for the next radio & Television, the next newspaper, well…..it’s not coming, you will have to do something to find the fore mention dollars that are waiting for you.
THE LESSON
I shared an example of what I meant a couple blog post’s ago, the example is me, with 20 thousand in hand, no one was paying attention to me as I shared on social networks. I shared what I was looking for, I am doing improvements to my home, bought a new fridge, and I’m still not done…but no one, not one business was listening, so they missed out on making that money. In fact, 5 other people in my circle of friends are doing the same thing, imagine, 100k at your finger tips and you missed it, you weren’t paying attention.
This is the new way of finding customers, you must be paying attention by growing bigger ears, by listening. This is where the people are, online, waiting, searching, and buying products and services, every hour of the day. Business owners, the future of business is…..pay attention.
Related articles
- Is Your Business Community Listening? (owengreaves.com)
- Brands Built Without Advertising (owengreaves.com)
