Posts Tagged ‘Internet’
The Future Of Business – The Internet & War
I was having breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants, the Roasted Grape, and was talking to the owner about what’s changed, and what is changing in business. Much of it is simple, too me, but there is much that goes into how you should adopt what’s changing. I had my laptop with me this morning and was working on my Social Tool called TweetDeck, he said, that’s alot of action going on there. I said, it’s not as much action as you might think, I am listening, alot. He had a confused look on his face of course. I showed him how I was listening for his business on Twitter, then I smiled.
When people don’t understand, don’t know, they feel helpless and in some cases, stupid. Most business owners don’t like to look like they don’t know, but Matt admitted he is somewhat overwhelmed by all that is changing. So I ask him what two things he felt were game changers in the world, in the history of mankind. He had to stop and think about it, I suggested, The Internet & War.
Think about it, War impacted the entire world, and it changed the world at such a deep level, we still get emotional about it. The Internet has done the same thing, it has changed everything, how we communicate, how we sell, how we research information, and we look for loved ones hoping we will find them. It’s so huge, the impact of the Internet has changed my working life, it will never be the same, and it’s about to change the way school is done.
The questions then turn to how to use it, how to use it in business. It’s not that complicated really, it just seems that way. My workshops are all about helping business owners wrap their brain around this huge game changer, and social media just complicated it more. Social Media is not new kids, it’s just gone digital, stop complicating the conversation, in fact, it’s not the conversation, it’s where it takes place and who is listening. Everyone!
We are in the middle of a different kind of war today, an information war, a spiritual war, and a war of how we use our time. But we really struggle with how this thing called the Internet impacts our business, how we make our living, it’s a battle.
Don’t let the battle get you down, fight the good fight.
My gift of helps is why I write, why I hold workshops, and why I public speak, I just want to help, make the world a better place. How are you using your gifts, your business, how do these two come together and help fight the war, are you making the world a better place inspite of the war?
The Future Of Business – Don’t Get Left Behind!
Have you noticed traffic to your Blog has dropped off a little, maybe alot. Have you noticed that comments don’t come as frequently as they used to. You may be wondering what’s wrong, is it you, is it your content, or is it….(insert what you think it is here). Are you feeling like you are being left behind, maybe not even noticed.
It may not be any of the above, it may be, that you are being left behind for reasons out of your control. If it is something you can control, then get on it, fix it as quickly as possible, but what if it isn’t. What if it’s sheer numbers. What if you can’t be found or heard because of one thing.
There is a saying out here on the Internet, one that matters today and in the future, if you want to generate revenue or be top of mind. You have to “Create More Content Than You Consume”. There is much to unpack in that statement, way too long for a Blog post, you may find it in an ebook soon.
But being left behind is something much simpler than what to do or how to do it. The truth is, you can’t control what’s happening, because it’s like a tidal wave, you can’t stop it. Here is the problem. There are 2.1 Billion (rounded up) people on the NET as of March 31st, 2011:
As you can see, Asia & Europe lead the way. The problem doesn’t reveal itself in this graphic, it’s the other 3 Billion coming, over 5 billion people will be online. They will be coming via the O3BNetworks project. And you can’t figure out why it’s getting harder to be found, harder to be heard, and maybe, harder to keep sales up.
Is it possible, that creating more content than you consume will be enough, probably not. You will need a great many things going on to be where you want to be when it comes to business online. You will want a large following, a community that cares about your product and or service, and a thing called Klout will become a factor once that mature’s. This combination will go a long way in making sure you are not left behind.
Today is the day, don’t wait, don’t sit and have meeting after meeting to discuss what went wrong, and worse yet, do nothing! Understanding the Future Of Business takes hard work, and figuring out how to adopt all that is changing requires you and your business to make a paradigm shift.
SHAMELESS PLUG
If you want some insight on what to do, and you live in my area, attend my Future Of Business Workshop, a great place to start. You will be glad you did, you’ll learn how to prevent being left behind. In the end, you will learn that Mindset Trumps Skillset Evertime. Come learn about the Future Of Business and Don’t Get Left Behind!
The Future Of Business – Everyone Will Be An Affiliate Of Something
I was having this conversation and the topic became very clear, one revenue stream will not be enough in the future to make a living. Everyone will become an affiliate of something. I found this to be true here on owengreaves.com, I do workshops, public speaking and I have links to affiliate products and services. I also own a webhosting company called Billyhost.com, as you can see I don’t rely on just one for cashflow or a primary source of income.
The younger generations get this, they have multiple passions and want to experience them all. They do something different for each one to pay for those said passions. They find a product or service that is in-line with that niche or passion idea. We all must adopt this theology if we are going to insist on doing business on the Internet. Yes there will be a few exceptions but for the most part, most of us will need to leverage multiple revenue streams to be able to do the things we dream about. But survival will require us to think outside the box and align our passions with those niches that will help us make the most money.
In my workshops I help you find those alignments, show you examples of those who have gone before you. I’m trying to plug the workshop, I’m sharing that there many of us out here that are doing it, and doing it well. We want you to learn and grow, that’s why we share here on the Internet.
If you have read many of my blog posts, you will have found an affiliate link or two along the way. You will also notice that I have a page for Headway Themes, I am an affiliate of that product, it’s the best WordPress Theme on the market in my opinion, and based on the sales, many seem to agree. I sell Headway because I run a WordPress Blog, and I run a Webhosting Business, which means I build a site or two. It’s in-line with my interests and it helps me make money.
Simple right? Not really, but you get the idea. So if you were going to align yourself with an affiliate product, what might that be, how does it relate to the passion you are wanting to experience, how will it make you money to experience it?
When the other 3 Billion People get online, you will have a whole new market to leverage, and with 5.1 Billion here on the Internet, everyone will need to be an affiliate of something. What do you think?
The Future Of Business – Turn Your Business Into A Platform
This idea of platforms has been talked about for years now, new start-ups are popping up everywhere, many are trying to convert and become a useful platform. Why a platform? The business of the future needs to become a destination and useful, a place where people can come together and do something useful. People always return to things and places that are useful to them.
The best example of a platform to date is Google, they provide an environment where you can run your entire business. That in itself is very useful. Crisis mappers wasted no time responding: In under 2.5 hours Google launched its person finder application, which was also used when New Zealand’s 6.3 quake. A platform can be built upon and used, think of all the things you can do at Google, problems you can solve, and dare I say it, the time you can save. Today you can view your street via Google Maps, you can get images, videos, news, books, you can use Gmail for your primary email service, you can use Blogger to put your content on the NET, you can translate the language of a site. Google provides all these tools at no charge to you, an open & free business model to the extreme, it’s what the cloud is meant to be.
If you have a platform, you will need developers and other entrepreneurs to build on it, creating more functionality which brings more users. FaceBook did that. Networks are built upon platforms, the Internet is a platform, services like Flickr, WordPress, PayPal, self-publishing company LuLu.com, and business software Salesforce.com.
Google as I mentioned above is not just one platform but multiple platforms, multiple ways of using Google, multiple ways to build upon what Google has built and provides to you for free. What is a platform, platforms help users create products, businesses, communities, and networks of thier own. If it’s open and collaborative, those users may add value to platforms.
Questions to ask yourself: How can you or your business act as a platform? What can others build on top of it? How can you add value? How little value can you extract? How big can the network grow atop your platform? How can the platform get better learning from it’s users? How can you create an open standard so competitors will use and even contribute to the network and you get a share of thier value? It’s time to make your business a platform. It’s time to make your business mobile.
As you can see by the list of questions there is much to consider, pull together a team to begin the process of building you platform. If you are looking for help in creating ideas to adopt the future of business, stay here, I will be continually be posting concepts and ideas for you to build upon, or, just e-mail me.
How Do I Get Your Attention?
Attention is a funny thing, kids are masters of getting as much as they need, but how do businesses master that same art without becoming annoying? Sometimes annoying works well for advertising campaigns, but do they win friends and influence people? Do they get your attention, or just your anger?
Some people, like me, can’t walk into a room quietly, we naturally draw attention to ourselves, probably because we are insecure or some other mental issue. I don’t know why it is, but it is. I love people, and I love helping them when I can, but that doesn’t get attention the way I would like it to. It might have something to do with my opening : )
I’m going to use me as the scape goat in this post, as an example of what some of us are dealing with. I hope it stirs some emothions in you and makes you think.
People and business are not the same, they have two different personalities and yet some of the same needs. When a person fills the role of business owner, they look at the world completely differently than when they are at home. OK maybe, but usually. The business owner, if they are doing well, tend to have healthy happy relationships with staff, and the staff reflect that out to those who are dealing with them. In a perfect world that’s probably very true, but not always the norm.
Every business has the same need, they want your attention, and those who figure out what gets your attention tend to survive longer. I’m generalizing, but you get the idea. So how does a business of one get your attention the same way a business / Brand or many people do? It still comes down to need doesn’t it. There has to be a need for me to look your way, and more importantly, a compelling need for me to find out more about what you are offering. Not all businesses need my services, they do, but don’t realize they do, why? Urgency. I may show you a tidal wave, but it’s not going to get here till 2014, I’ll wait and see mentality sets in, and well, you know what happens. So how do I get your attention?
I’m not a kid any longer, so I can’t get your attention the way kids do, and I can only cry wolf so many times before you take my work seriously, so what will it take? Why do most small business have a tougher time over bigger businesses? Probably because big businesses have more resources and can buy attention at a level small businesses or individuals can’t. It’s not a level playing field by those terms is it?
If it’s that hard now, what will it be like when another 3 – 4 billion people come online? If you haven’t noticed, we are moving away from the Bricks & Mortar style of consuming, we are buying more and more through our smart phones than ever before. That is going to increase, and it’s not going away as if it was a fad like Bell Bottom Blue Jeans.
My tag line should be, I SEE DEAD BUSINESSES! Why? Because most small businesses know the tidal wave is coming, if they don’t, they aren’t listening. It’s as if they are looking the other way, hoping it won’t actually happen. Fear is an immobilizing thing most of the time, but that doesn’t mean what I’m sharing isn’t real or going to happen.
You should be doing three things in your business right now, no matter what size it is, become social, become very mobile, and be prepared to serve a portion of the 4 billion people yet to come. So I ask you, how do I get your attention? The better question might be, forget about me, how do you get the the attention of 4 billion yet to come? Attention is the currency of our future, learn how to get it.