The below article was posted by the HBS Alumni Publication about the case study on Bob Reiss’ former company, R&R. No Trivial Matter By Garry Emmons It was 1983, and Bob Reiss (MBA 1956) was looking for a new game to play. A Brooklyn native and former basketball star at Columbia University who had become a successful entrepreneur […] Read more »
Partner with Established Brands to Build Your Own
You are known for the company you keep (as well as the company you are). There are several ways to bask in reflected glory. For example, you can run an ad for your product featuring your most prestigious customers. There’s some chance that those customers will kick in some money to support your ad, but […] Read more »
Product Knockoffs— One Idea to Combat
If your product is very successful and if you have no legal way of protecting it—which is true, in most cases—then why not knock yourself off before someone else does? Put yourself in the knockoff artist’s shoes. How would he or she copy your product? In most cases, they will look to make it less […] Read more »
Packaging A Major Factor in the Sale
Many times, the packaging of the product is as important as the product itself. Of course, if you’re making a product like industrial machinery, this may not be true. But in the case of consumer products, packaging can be an overwhelmingly important element. Perhaps the most extreme case involves products bought by collectors, such as […] Read more »
Publicity: A Wild Card for Small Business
Publicity is the great wild card for small businesses. Certainly, advertising can be effective. However, a story in the media about you, your product, or your company generally carries far more weight and legitimacy than any paid for ads. Such a story is likely to reach both consumers and any intermediate customers, such as retailers. […] Read more »
Finding Ideas to Start a Business
One of the most asked and difficult to answer questions I get when I speak to MBA students is “How do I get the right idea to start a business?” In approaching a reply, I would say at the outset, that there are no simple magical answers or formulas. I would add that most successful […] Read more »
Licensing Can Work for Small Businesses Too
Normally the subject of licensing would not appear in a Bootstrapping context because there usually is an up-front cash payment and a guarantee associated with securing a license. These two factors can be substantial with a high visibility license, such as Mickey Mouse, NFL football, Nike, Armani, etc. However, I bring it up here for […] Read more »
Building Trust
The single most important thing you can do in starting and building a business is to get people to trust you. Trust needs to be earned and takes time, although you can lose it in a second. Telling people to trust you doesn’t cut it. In fact, when people I just meet tell me to trust them, my antennae is up to watch my back. The benefits of being trusted are enormous. People have confidence in those they trust. Read more »
Qwik Advice for Entrepreneurial Success
Over the years many people have asked me, “Can you give me the 3 (or other small number) key factors to be successful as an Entrepreneur?” Well, for me, there are many, many more reasons. My mind can’t boil it down to just a few. So, I put together 50 answers to this question in […] Read more »
BLOCKBUSTER IDEAS NOT REQUIRED
The starting point for any new venture or product is the idea. What product or service will our business offer that will be a winner? A great many people can’t get past this idea phase. It seems to me that many of them stall out because they are waiting to hit upon some kind of revolutionary new idea - a concept of such power that it will appeal to everyone. They want bells to go off in their heads. They want brilliance. They want a blockbuster idea. Read more »
Preparation Works in Business as in Sports
The sports media and coaching community consistently attribute the success of our sports stars to their dedication to preparing for their role on the playing field. Football quarterbacks, who besides their extreme physical routine, spend huge amounts of time seeing film of their next opponent and studying their game plans. Baseball pitchers study countless hours […] Read more »
ASKING FOR A RAISE?
A great number of people would rather visit their dentist than ask their boss for a raise that they believe they deserve and is overdue. I believe that everyone in this situation should summon up their courage and ask for it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Here are some thoughts that may help you do so successfully. Read more »
INTUITION—USE IN DECISION MAKING?
One of the big questions about decision making is the intuition versus science balance: how much should you go with your gut and how much should you depend on information that has been gathered systematically? My answer is that intuition should be used as often as possible. I’m well aware that there are many people who feel that “your gut” is the same thing as “your emotions” and therefore should not to be trusted. But it seems to me that if you’re working in a realm you’ve very familiar with, your gut is based on the sum total of your past experiences. Read more »
TROUBLE GETTING AN APPOINTMENT ?
I loved reading the below Media Life Magazine article on a smart way to find a job.I have reproduced it in its entirety as I believe it applies equally to securing a hard to get appointment in your sales effort. Read more »
ACCEPT CRITICISM GRACIOUSLY
I believe that a strong attribute of a successful entrepreneur is to accept criticism and to do it graciously so that the person offering it will give it again. Sounds simple enough, but a great number of people just can’t do it. They get angry, petulant, standoffish, etc., and resent the person offering it. The opposite should happen as most people offering it like you and are doing it to help you. In fact, it may be uncomfortable for them to do it. Those receiving the criticism should thank them. Read more »
BUSINESS INCUBATORS CAN BE A START-UP’S BEST FRIEND
Business Incubators Can Be A Start-up’s Best Friend If you are a start-up company and you qualify, incubators can be a fantastic resource for you in your pursuit of success. Read more »