Posts Tagged ‘risk’

Posted on September 22, 2008 - by Jeffrey

Who is going to pay when we flip the switch?

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I tend to talk about this a lot in my daily business discussions and I always encounter heat on it. The issue is simple:

There are so many great free services on the internet, one day these companies offering them are going to have to “flip the switch” so to speak and turn a profit. What will happen then?

• Will people just use someone else?
• What happens when no one is left to give away free stuff?
• Will most people just stop using these services entirely?

This is why it is so important to have a real business model in place or an actual product to sell. If you are just building a super cool service that feeds off of another awesome service with no business model in the hopes that you will get bought out, you may want to rethink you exit strategy.

This is where I see the future of internet business models:

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Posted on September 1, 2008 - by Jeffrey

Can You Take Being in the Spotlight?

Let’s face it… If you are going to do anything in business that ends up being big you’re probably going to get thrown in the spotlight from time to time. Being in the spotlight can take shape in many forms and some will be easier than others. I have been in the spotlight a few times in small business environments and as I am getting older and more successful, these moments are coming more frequently and are bigger.

Everyone wants to be the Guy behind the Guy

In almost every business venture I embark on I always end up being one of the main faces of the company. Why? It’s not because I am smarter per say… It’s just that I am willing to face the heat so to speak. Being the face of a company or project is an important element in business relationships and necessary to satisfy the overall flow. If you can’t take people threatening you with lawsuits and other claims on how they will ruin your life on a regular basis than this may not be for you. Don’t take that last sentence lightly, it will happen more and more depending on how much you play the game.

Business is Dirty

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Posted on July 16, 2008 - by Jeffrey

Are you in the boys club?

We all know that contacts help in business, the right ones anyway. Too many times I have been to meetings where everyone thinks we are in the right place talking to the right person when we are really not. The problem is that big companies have so many employees and VP’s and blabla that it is easy to get confused with it all.

I have two schools of thought when it comes to this:

1. Pitch until you find the right person and hope for the right meeting
2. Be in the “boys club” or know someone in the club

(the slow way and the fast track) (more…)

Posted on June 2, 2008 - by Jeffrey

People don’t want to think anymore

You would be surprised how many people in high up positions don’t have the vision to be innovative. It’s like everyone is so worried about loosing their job and making a mistake that no one wants to ever take a chance. Companies are all watching each other to see what the other is doing. One company in the space makes a move, then the others all follow like sheep.

This is why it has become so easy for small companies to forge ahead these days. It takes very little to move a herd of 4 people in a different direction as supposed to moving a 4000 person herd to a new concept. I understand how this works, but why?

How do companies ever expect to be the best and stay at the top without innovation from within?

Posted on May 31, 2008 - by Jeffrey

All they need is your Dollar and a Dream

It never fails, I head on over to the local convenience store and there is a line of people waiting for lottery tickets. I used to think nothing of it, but lately I have become very anti lotto and really annoyed by the whole culture.

How can these people not get it? It’s so rare that you win, but at the same time they keep playing. Then they say “scratch-offs are different”, baloney! Yeah, Instead of it costing a Dollar, it’s more like 3-5 or even 10! Then when they win (on the last one) $5, they justify it and go buy more.

“Can’t stop while your hot”, he tells me. Surrrrrrre…

Mike wrote a great post where he compared a Gambling Questioner to a revised one made by him where the words start-up and working were easily substituted for gamble and gambling.

Just goes to show you that addiction is everywhere. Use it to your advantage, tunnel it into positive efforts!