Business models
Building businesses from kitchen tables
Original post by JENNIFERBALDWIN via Not On The High Street
Our founders, Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish, are currently scaling the dizzy heights of the Amazon bestsellers list with their very first book, Build a Business From Your Kitchen Table. The book, published last week, is their honestly written guide to starting a business from scratch, from home. They cover everything from having faith in your idea to writing a solid business plan, where and how to look for funding, and the art of juggling a family with the demands of a time-consuming start-up. Drawing on their own extensive experience, they recount the early days of notonthehighstreet.com: the great highs and lowest lows, including some of the darkest times when they – not to mention the business – nearly didn’t make it through. Thankfully, they did, and they’re here to tell the story:
“This book, much like our business, is a work of love. It’s something we’ve both passionately pursued since we first had the idea to document our story to help budding entrepreneurs turn their dreams into reality. Whether you’re tired of working in a corporate environment and want do something with more heart and meaning, or you’re a stay-at-home parent who’s looking to make some extra income; we want this book to be a bible for anyone who is starting their own business from home.
We’re delighted to announce we’re holding our second bi-annual Job fair this September in London. Meet NotOnTheHighStreet and many other employers at this event.
A little note from Megan Claire
Original post by JENNIFERBALDWIN via Not On The High Street
The best thing about working at notonthehighstreet.com is that you get to see, first-hand, the success of hundreds of small independent businesses. Many of them are set up by first-time entrepreneurs who are fulfilling a lifelong dream of starting their own creative business, and have a lot more than finance invested in getting them off the ground.
Last week, we were sent an amazing card from one of our sellers, Megan Claire, which reminded us just how much heart and soul is behind every single business that sells on the site. Megan Claire creates a range of distinctive, contemporary and personalised cards, prints and gift tags, all of which are made to order. The card was one of Megan’s own designs, which she had personalised specially for us. The note inside read…
We’re delighted to announce we’re holding our second bi-annual Job fair this September in London. Meet NotOnTheHighStreet and many other employers at this event.
Online: the ‘sharing economy’
Original post by NICK CHURCHOUSE via stuff
Elyssa Pallai founded micro-tasking website Pocket.Jobs to match talent to need, skill to shortage, pet feeder to pet feeder needer.
She describes Pocket.Jobs as ”a connection marketplace” linking people to people online, facilitating the delivery of a needed service or talent in the real world within existing communities.
People with a need for curtains can find someone nearby who can sew curtains, for example. Ditto dogwalking, lawnmowing, housesitting, fence painting and so on.
Outsourcing talent and resources is a common way people are using the web, and provides great avenues for business models delivering platforms for this behaviour tailored to specific communities of users.
Dubbed the ‘sharing economy’ it is home to some of the fastest growth and most hyped web-start-up companies.
Elance, based near San Jose, is an online site that allows companies and individuals to hire and pay independent professionals and contractors online and in the cloud.
The site boasted 80,000 new employers and $43-million in contractor earnings in the first quarter of 2012. And the number of people hiring on Elance grew by 120 per cent in 2011.
Another successful site is AirBnB which advertises people’s spare rooms for rent. There are countless others making huge revenues, as well as those looking to earn.
Original post by CHANNEL 3000
MADISON, Wis. -
With Wisconsin’s economy struggling to crawl out of a deep recession, the need for innovation and ideas has never been stronger.
A weekend event at Madison College brought together more than 100 entrepreneurs, one of whom might have the next big idea.
The innovation challenge was part of what’s called “Startup Weekend.”
On Friday, participants pitched their ideas and then voted to choose the top 15.
Then, they got to work attempting to bring the ideas to market.
John Detloff was one of the participants. He said he’s trying to develop a mobile app that he’s calling “Find Fresh.” The idea behind the app is to help Dane County Farmers’ Market visitors connect with the food they want.
“We did a lot of brainstorming Friday night trying to figure out what we wanted to do,” said Detloff. “If they come with a product in mind, or a list of fruits or vegetables they’re interested in bringing home, we’re going to be able to direct them to the vendors they want.”
A winning idea, perhaps, but the Find Fresh team isn’t alone.
Original post by Lauren La Rose via Winnipeg Free Press
DAVE CHIDLEY / THE CANADIAN PRESS Enlarge Image Chris Bacik, a 22-year-old Western University student flies his remote-controlled helicopter that he modified to carry a camera for aerial photography and video, in London, Ontario. Bacik has used the rig for capturing golf courses and cottages in Muskoka and has been awarded $5,000 in a business pitch competition for student entrepreneurs. He is now building a larger and improved unit for his business.
After playing with race cars and tinkering with toys as a young boy, Chris Bacik has channelled inspiration from his childhood pastimes into a bankable business.
The 22-year-old is owner and operator of Sky Eye Media, a remote-controlled helicopter system that captures aerial photos and video. Images and footage collected are sought by clients like real estate agents and golf courses for promotional use.
And thanks to a $5,000 prize awarded through a business pitch competition for student startups, the Barrie, Ont., resident plans to use the cash infusion to create an enhanced system that will require two people to manoeuvre.
Original post by MartinZwilling via Startup Professionals
One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). The implications of the decision you make are huge, defining your brand image, your funding requirements, and your long-term business viability.
The revenue model you select is basically the implementation of your business strategy, and the key to attaining your financial objectives. Obviously, it must be grounded by the characteristics of the market and customers you choose to serve, the pricing model of existing competitors, and a strategy you believe is consistent with your future products and direction.
So what are some of the most common revenue models being used by startups today? Here is a summary, with some of the pros and cons or special considerations for each:
- Product or service is free, revenue from ads and critical mass. This is the most common model touted by Internet startups today, the so-called Facebook model, where the service is free, and the revenue comes from click-through advertising. It’s great for customers, but not for startups, unless you have deep pockets. If you have real guts, try the Twitter model of no revenue, counting on the critical mass value from millions of customers.
- Product is free, but you pay for services. In this model, the product is given away for free and the customers are charged for installation, customization, training or other services. This is a good model for getting your foot in the door, but be aware that this is basically a services business with the product as a marketing cost.
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“Freemium” model. In this variation on the free model, used by LinkedIn and many other Internet offerings, the basic services are free, but premium services are available for an additional fee. This also requires a huge investment to get to critical mass, and real work to differentiate and sell premium services to users locked-in as free.
Original post by Roland Jones via TheBottomLine
Managers of LinkedIn celebrate as the company goes public in May, 2011.
Shares of professional-networking website LinkedIn surged Friday, jumping 18 percent, after the company reported quarterly sales that more than doubled and passed a major milestone, chalking up 150 million registered users worldwide.
Michael Graham, an Internet analyst at Canaccord Genuity, raised his earnings estimate for the company, writing in a research note that LinkedIn has taken “another step on the path toward becoming the default global hiring solution.”
The growth in users cements LinkedIn’s position as the largest professional network on the Internet. The company’s performance and outlook is keenly watched by investors as an indication of whether the business model of Internet companies is solid — especially in light of Facebook’s filing for an IPO last week.
Facebook’s public offering looks set to be one of the largest and most talked about in recent memory and follows public offerings from other companies in the social media space, including Groupon, Pandora, Zynga and LinkedIn.
Started in the living room of ex-PayPal executive Reid Hoffman in 2002 and officially launched in May 2003, LinkedIn is similar to Facebook in that it connects people but it is much smaller and is geared towards professionals.
It makes money by selling premium subscriptions to its members and by helping companies with hiring and marketing. Its services are also used by professionals seeking jobs or contacts.
Original post by Jennifer Amanda Jones via socialmediaexaminer
Policy. It can be a dirty word, especially in social media communities.
Why? Poorly written social media policies restrict, deter and deaden social media engagement–the exact opposite of what businesses want.
However, great social media policies support, protect and empower high-quality engagement. It is about empowerment and trust.
As Beth Kanter writes, “Trust is cheaper than control.”
This article will explain how social media policies differ from other policies and give you10 tips to help create an effective social media policy.
Why Social Media Policies?
Social media policies are different. In most policies and procedures, we document what staff should do in certain situations: “If this happens, do that.” For social media, there is no way to know exactly what situations may arise – or in many cases – how staff should best handle them. Each social media network and each relationship is unique and the social media environment changes daily.
The risks are uncertain. The courts are in the process of interpreting laws in regards to social media. Until that interpretation process is mature – and this will takeyears – organizations operate without definitive guidance. Issues that may arise include: employee and/or client confidentiality, labor relations issues, brand jacking, miscommunication, spamming, etc.
Given an uncertain environment and unclear risks, how do we move forward?
There are hundreds of sample social media policies on the Internet. If you are looking for a starting point, you will surely find ideas here and here.
However, in order to create policies that work – really work – we must first lay the groundwork.
Original post by Sharon Naylor via Dispatch
A growing number of seniors are going into business for themselves. According to the Ewing Marion Foundation, 55- to 64-year-old Americans have a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than those in the 20-to-34 age group.
Scott Shane, professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University, looked at a 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics report and found that unincorporated self-employment increases substantially with age, and “incorporated self-employment is four times higher among those ages 65 to 69 than among those ages 25 to 34, and a whopping 25 times higher than those ages 20 to 24.” Shane says, “Perhaps the older generation is more entrepreneurial, or perhaps they have more job skills and thus the confidence to go into business for themselves.”
Anita Campbell — host of “Small Business Trends Radio” and BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses — says: “Many people at age 55 and up tend to be at a stage in their lives where they can afford to pursue long-held dreams of owning a business. They’re empty-nesters and don’t have the expenses they had while raising children.”
In short, Campbell surmises that some seniors have enough financial cushion to take the risk of starting their own businesses. “On the other hand, it may be that those 55 and over are starting their own businesses due to being laid off and unable to get another job.”
According to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, 63 percent of American adults plan to work in retirement, and two-thirds say enjoyment of work is the key reason.
Launching a startup, no matter what your financial position right now, does carry some risks. If you’re tapping into severance pay or your retirement account to launch your startup, the stakes are higher for your business to succeed. “Because at that age, you have far less time to start all over again if your startup doesn’t pan out,” says Campbell.
Original post by Greg Collier via VB Entrepreneur Corner
As a CEO of a startup, my online voice – a blog called Greg’s Corner — is the place where I share my company news, try to 
differentiate myself from competitors, and showcase the value I’m offering. But until about a year ago, my online voice wasn’t saying much.
I knew what I wanted to say in these posts but I struggled to find the right words to express my thoughts. I knew my blog needed an objective — a common thread between my posts that would drive home the bigger message. But finding the right chemistry between that objective, the words on the screen, and the tone and attitude that would define my voice was no easy task. Increasingly, it took more time and effort than my schedule allowed.
So I hired a journalist.
Actually, he’s a former journalist; a longtime beat reporter and editor who has worked for some high profile publications and is pretty well-respected for his expertise. Unlike many of his newspaper colleagues, he was not handed a pink slip. Instead, he walked away from a journalism gig that was both high-profile and frenzied, and launched a business that offers “content strategy” services to companies looking to enhance their online voices. I was one of his first clients.
Now, he and I collaborate regularly on my blog posts and other writing projects. We’ve developed a objective that centers around positioning me as an expert on safe online marketplaces. He reigns me in when it comes to tooting my own horn. He helps me practice some restraint and diplomacy when I feel compelled to blast my competitors. He makes sure that I’m not just repeating headlines but focusing my thoughts around particular news events.
He’s making me relevant.
More importantly, he’s charging me a fraction of what a PR firm might charge me for a bunch of other services that I might not really need. Because he’s juggling a number of other clients, he’s not devoting 40 hours a week to my blog strategy and content, and that’s OK with me. My blog is an important part of my business but it’s not a full-time element.
