Gennaro Cuofano's Blog, page 214
November 27, 2019
Revenue Stream: Examples, And Types Of Revenue Streams
A revenue stream is one of the foundational building blocks of a business model, and the economic value customers are willing to pay for the products and services offered. While a revenue stream is not a business model, it does influence how a business model works and delivers value.
Revenue streams vs business models
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How Airbnb described its revenue streams as a business model.
One of the greatest misconceptions is around revenue streams and business models. In short, for most entrepreneurs how you make money is also your business model. While this simplification does work out (especially in pitch decks where investors might want to have a simplified story of a business model) it might be limiting if you’re an entrepreneur trying to grow or dissect competitors’ businesses.
Therefore, revenue streams do affect a business model, and a revenue stream is an important building block of any business. But that is only part of the story. Missing this point means limiting your business around the bottom line alone.
Why understanding revenue streams matter?
In a digitally-driven business world, it’s easy to fall in the trap of focusing on aspects that are too far from monetization. While monetization and revenue streams are not all that is. They are critical building blocks that need to be figured, tested and iterated quickly. From them it is depending the survival of your company.
There is another element that makes the action of having your customers pay for a service or product you offer, which is tied to the so-called “revealed preference.” That is a theory offered by the American economist Paul Samuelson in 1938. The theory asserts that consumersâ behavior â assuming a constant income and itemâs price â is the best indicator of their hidden preferences. In short, that is how people reveal what they really want.
We can call this “Skin in The Game Data.”
To understand this point, in the FourWeekMBA interview to Alberto Savoia, he explained:
So skin in the game data means not people telling you, âOh yeah, if you build it, I will buy it,â they need to give you something. So the smallest amount of steering the game somebody can give you is a valid email address with a clear understanding you will use that address to let them know if the app is ready. So you have this video, you either buy some ads or you put it on some forums, you say, âokay, hereâs an app I am trying to build, if you are interested, please give me your email address, and once I launch it, I will let you know.â
While complex businesses make money in many different ways. Looking at revenue streams and where the key customer is can help us assess the nature of an organization. Of course, this is in theory, as many digital platforms are very complex.
At times who and those who can’t be deemed as customers are often the most valuable assets for a digital organization. This is true for media businesses and in some cases for digital platforms.
For instance, Google is free for its users. Yet users, are the most important “returning customers” for the search engine. As from them, it depends on the monetizations of its main asset: the search results page.
Let’s draw a line here.
For simple, more linear business models, the bottom line is highly tied to its key customers.
For more complex business models things get trickier. In short, for platforms, superplatforms and non-linear businesses where there is a more complex interaction between the bottom-line and the key players’ revenue streams are only a small part of the story.
For other, simpler business models, revenue streams reveal business facts that can’t be ignored.
Branding vs revenue streams
Focusing on revenue streams doesn’t mean ignoring the rest. In the business world, often companies praise themselves to be extremely focused on the bottom line and their key customers.
However, thinking in terms of bottom-line alone, while might give us the appearance of being rational business people, it doesn’t leave space for nonlinear growth, which can be achieved through branding efforts.
[image error]Brand building is the set of activities that help companies to build an identity that can be recognized by its audience. Thus, it works as a mechanism of identification through core values that signal trust and that help build long-term relationships between the brand and its key stakeholders.
When we focus on revenue streams and bottom-line we can work on direct actions intended to bring more customers in.
However, we might end up ignoring marketing and branding activities that while harder to track and explain from a logical standpoint, can bring our business. That is also what leads to confusion.
For instance, in the startup world, a freemium model is often seen as a business model or revenue stream. Instead, a freemium model is in many cases a marketing and growth tool, which helps the company leverage virality to make its brand go in places where customers alone can’t bring you.
You can still build a revenue stream or a whole business model around a freemium (take the case of DropBox), but in many other cases, as a business person, you need to accept there is no linear connection between your free offering and the bottom-line.
What is a revenue stream in the business model canvas?
[image error]The business model canvas is a framework proposed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur in Busines Model Generation enabling the design of business models through nine building blocks comprising: key partners, key activities, value propositions, customer relationships, customer segments, critical resources, channels, cost structure, and revenue streams.
For what value are your customers willing to pay?
What and how do they recently pay? How would they prefer to pay?
How much does every revenue stream contribute to the overall revenues?
When you build a business model, it might – at times – all start by identifying a problem, or perhaps creating the perception that a problem exists (which is the whole point of demand generation activities). From there a product or service which entails an identified value proposition is launched or tested in the marketplace.
What you think is valuable it might not be so for your potential customers. For instance, you might launch. At that stage, you need to find what some might call product-market fit. Or finetune the value proposition (which provides a solution to a problem or a set of problems) with a group of people willing to pay for it.
When you reach that stage you have a revenue stream, and thus an important building block of your business model.
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Revenue streams and value propositions
Often times, particularly when a company has scaled up, there isn’t a single value proposition that is aligned with the value demand. That is because there are multiple key customers, thus making the way the company delivers value more complex.
[image error]A company like Amazon has multiple value propositions, as it serves several target customers in different markets. With its mission âto be Earthâs most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices,â Amazon value propositions range from “Easy to read on the go” for a device like Kindle, to “sell better, sell more” to its marketplace.
[image error]Apple is a tech giant, and as such, it encompasses a set of value propositions that make Apple’s brand recognized, among consumers. The three fundamental value propositions of Apple’s brand leverages on the “Think Different” motto; reliable tech devices for mass markets; and in 2019, Apple also started to emphasize more and more about privacy to differentiate from other tech giants.
Why testing your revenue streams early on makes sense
In the FourWeekMBA interview to Ash Maurya, he highlighted how:
On a business modeling side, we have the way we deliver value, so that would be the solution you build. Yes, we can make it as efficient as possible in the early days, but that is again chasing pennies and letting dollars slip through the cracks.
What we instead should be doing is focusing more on the revenue streamside, trying to maximize things like pricing, for instance. Trying to identify the right customers, for instance.
In the digital world, it’s easy to focus on parts of your business model that have nothing to do with the bottom-line. Thus, postponing the experimentation of the revenue stream early on. In the end, if you got venture capital money, why spend that on experimenting with pricing, and potential revenue streams, when you can burn it all on growth?
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Income Statement and Cash flow statement from WeWork Financial Prospectus.Â
If you take a case like WeWork, the office-sharing startup who went from Decacorn back to Unicorn, up to touch the ground. The company did grow its revenues, yet it didn’t manage to create a sustainable revenue stream.
Therefore, the only cash at the bank was coming from venture capital funds or financing activities.
Bootstrapped companies have a different approach in their DNA, as they need to master their key customers very quickly, before going out of business.
[image error]The general concept of Bootstrapping connects to “a self-starting process that is supposed to proceed without external input.” In business, Bootstrapping means financing the growth of the company from the available cash flows produced by a viable business model.
To build a sustainable business model early on, it’s important to start experimenting with the revenue stream building block as soon as possible.
How to choose the right revenue stream?
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Building a business is about identifying an opportunity and go with it. Thus, an entrepreneur is a hard-wired opportunist. However, business is also a matter of choice. And how you make money is part of that choice.
For instance, if you build a website, which generates traffic. That traffic can be monetized in many different ways. You can simply sell those page views to others, thus acting as a publisher. You can sell other people’s products or services, thus acting as an intermediary on commission. Or you can develop your own offerings.
You can do it in all these ways. And there isn’t one which is better than the other. It all depends on what you’re passionate about, and whether the market values your skills so that you can find a niche and built a business on top of it.
That sounds easy, yet it’s not. Often entrepreneurs follow every single opportunity that presents itself without evaluating whether it’s in their frame of reference.
Revenue streams types
[image error]In the FourWeekMBA Revenue Streams Matrix, revenue streams are classified according to the kind of interactions the business has with its key customers. The first dimension is the “Frequency” of interaction with the key customer. As the second dimension, there is the “Ownership” of the interaction with the key customer.
There are many ways in which we can classify revenue streams. For the sake of this guide, we’ll look at revenue streams by looking at the interactions with the key customer.
This classification isn’t flawless, quite the opposite. And you can argue that it’s not complete, and you would be right. Therefore, rather than a final or complete representation of the revenue stream types, it’s just a starting point.
Let’s classify the possible revenue models types based on the kind of interaction we can have with the key customers.
Based on that a whole business model will cascade:
Repeated interactionÂ
The relationship with the key customer doesn’t end after the transaction, but it continues. In a subscription-based model, like SaaS, the software vendor will have to provide support and continuous updates of the software to keep the value of the service worth the subscription.
Other businesses based on a repeated relationship, like Netflix, have to advance and invest massive amounts of capital to keep their platforms interesting enough for subscribers, to avoid churn.
Companies like Amazon and Costco also introduced a component of the repeated transactions (via Amazon Prime Membership or Costco Memberships) within their business model. While many analysts look at the additional revenues generated by this revenue model. In reality, this revenue stream has more holistic and dynamic importance.
When Amazon introduces Prime, it does so, because the service enables repeat customers to eliminate the cost of shipping, which for repeat customers is the most burdening expense. Thus, a Prime Membership isn’t just an additional revenue stream, but a business model enabler.
Transactional interactionÂ
In a transactional interaction, the company mostly engages with its key customers on a product or project basis. Usually, a product company has this kind of approach. For instance, Apple comes up with the new iPhone, which gets sold to millions of customers as a one-time transaction.
In a transactional revenue model, the whole business model needs to be organized so that the product can be distributed at the best at its launch. Usually, the key customer is engaged on a one-time basis and even if in the long-run she buys multiple products the kind of interaction doesn’t necessarily call for continuous interaction with the key customer.
Intermediated interactionÂ
When a company doesn’t have direct access to its key customers we can call this an intermediated interaction. In short, the company can’t access directly a customer base but will do that via a third-party platform or distributor.
Think of the case of a company offering its product white labeled. Final customers won’t know its brand. Distributors will relabel the product with their own brand. Thus, the maker doesn’t have access to its key customers.
In that scenario, the distributor acts as the key customer. The maker will have to adapt its business model to the requests and policies that the distributor demands.
Direct interactionÂ
In a direct interaction revenue model, the company has access to its customer base and key customers. It can deliver the product via its own channels and it can control the perception those customers have. Distribution doesn’t come for free. Instead, it requires maintenance, massive investments, and a strongly recognized brand.
Revenue streams examples
There isnât a single way to generate revenues. You might choose a subscription business model, a freemium, a fee or membership model. That also depends upon the industry, product, and service you offer.
For instance, Facebook uses a hidden revenue generation model.
In short, the free platform in a way âhidesâ to its users the way it gets monetized. Of course, business people and marketers are well aware of how Facebook makes money as it has been so far a proper advertising channel for many businesses.
However, the average user doesnât have a clue. Things are changing now that privacy issues and new regulations have brought attention to the Facebook business model.
Yet for a decade Facebook has benefited from a vast stream of revenues and high profitability without most users ever noticing it.
Some examples of revenue models comprise:
Advertising
Sponsorships
Subscriptions
One-time products and services
Commissions
White labeling
Pay as you go
Licensing
And more
Each of those revenue models can influence the overall business model. In many cases, companies rely on several revenue streams. For instance, a publisher like The NY Times runs on advertising, sponsorship and subscription revenues.
Key takeaways
Revenue streams do affect a business model, and a revenue stream is an important building block of any business. But that is only part of the story.
While complex businesses make money in many different ways. Looking at revenue streams and where the key customer is can help us assess the nature of an organization.
Focusing on revenue streams doesn’t mean ignoring the rest. In the business world, often companies praise themselves to be extremely focused on the bottom line and their key customers.
There isnât a single way to generate revenues. You might choose a subscription business model, a freemium, a fee or membership model. That also depends upon the industry, product, and service you offer.
Picking a revenue stream is also a matter of choice of the kind of business you want to build.
Other resources for your business:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
The Complete Guide To Business Development
Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
What Is Market Segmentation? the Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
How To Write A Mission Statement
What is Growth Hacking?
Growth Hacking Canvas: A Glance At The Tools To Generate Growth Ideas
The post Revenue Stream: Examples, And Types Of Revenue Streams appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
November 24, 2019
The Top 7 Benefits Of Writing A Book
Competition for attention is fierce. Your company needs a new, sustainable channel for exposure to build a viable business model. Social media teams are churning out fresh content every day for your products and services. It feels like you are running on a treadmill of marketing chaos.
You’ve exhausted all the possibilities for creating connections with new audiences.
Or so you thought.
There is a powerful and often-overlooked method of gathering eyeballs and notoriety.
Write a book.
I cannot stress the importance more. Why is it overlooked? Because most people think it is difficult. But what if it wasn’t? More on that later.
Our clients at Leaders Press consistently manifest far more with their books than they anticipated. Because of this, they see the process as a worthwhile investment instead of an emotional and mental grind.
Here are the top 7 benefits you can receive from writing a book:
Immediate Credibility
Studies conducted by many authorities abound regarding the effectiveness of publishing a book. Establishing credibility with a book is no secret, and no one questions the premise.
New Connections
A properly positioned and marketed book will reach people that you would never have found another way. These new connections have their valuable networks, which can become great new relationships for you.
Deeper Knowledge Of Your Niche
All of our clients have experienced a surprising and refreshing side effect of writing their book. As they have compiled their content, they’ve learned even more about their craft. Great leaders know that they never stop learning, and writing a book gives the author a focused medium for discovering brand new information.
Up-To-Date Content
The exercise of creating a book’s content automatically renders original and contemporary material. You can then repackage this information for infinite uses: social media posts, webinar slides, articles, blog/vlog posts, email campaigns, and much more.
Recruiting Top Talent
Attracting and retaining excellent candidates for positions within your organization is significantly boosted by the leader(s) of that company having notoriety in their industry/niche. People want to be part of something bigger than themselves, and a published book gives the potential teammate a reason to believe in the leader and organization.
Catharsis
The emotional release that many of our clients feel when they have finished their book is remarkable. The leader may have been even unaware of many feelings that can be cleared and let go. For some, this facet of the book writing and publishing process is their favorite personal benefit.
The Thrill
Writing your book is an adventure. If you are seeking a new challenge that can reap many planned and unplanned benefits, then permit yourself to tackle this very achievable strategy. It can provide a massive shot in the arm to your confidence and clarity as a leader.
You’ll notice that I did not mention income as one of the benefits. There is a reason for that. We at Leaders Press downplay earnings as a primary goal for writing a book. Pay can be a result of publishing a great book, but in today’s incredibly crowded book publishing world, it can be very tough for even high exposure bestsellers to create lots of income.
I’ve written articles regarding the dilemma that has been created by online publishers like Amazon. Although anyone, and I mean anyone, can write and publish an online book, this enormous glut of new books uploaded daily has created a drowning and splintering effect.
The very top echelon of writers that sell many books in print and online are a tiny fraction of the millions of writers that make virtually nothing. Those that focus all of their marketing and entire careers on creating book sales income aren’t even all successful.
So a leader who is using a book as a leverage and credibility tool will be served much better by concentrating their wants and needs on the other benefits listed above. The book then can become a precious device for generating benefits that are superior to only receiving a little more income. Boosting your primary business could bring more revenue than book sales alone and simultaneously help your partners, employees, and all other stakeholders.
You may be asking, “How do I write and publish a book that creates all of these benefits but doesn’t take all of my time and energy in the process?”
The answer is straightforward. You outsource it.
Outsourcing Your Book is available as my gift to the readers of FourWeekMBA. Thank you for educating yourself and for taking action.
Now, write your book!
Other resources for your business:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
The Complete Guide To Business Development
Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
What Is Market Segmentation? the Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
How To Write A Mission Statement
What is Growth Hacking?
Growth Hacking Canvas: A Glance At The Tools To Generate Growth Ideas
The post The Top 7 Benefits Of Writing A Book appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
November 22, 2019
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas In A Nutshell
The lean startup canvas is an adaptation by Ash Maurya of the business model canvas by Alexander Osterwalder, which adds a layer that focuses on problems, solutions, key metrics, unfair advantage based, and a unique value proposition. Thus, starting from mastering the problem rather than the solution.
What is the lean startup methodology?
Steve Blank, launched the Lean Startup Movement, which as he explained in a 2013 HBR article “Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything:”
 Itâs a methodology called the âlean start-up,â and it favors experimentation over elaborate planning, customer feedback over intuition, and iterative design over traditional âbig design up frontâ development.Â
Today startups take this methodology for granted. Yet at the time this was an innovation as Steve Blank recounted:
Although the methodology is just a few years old, its conceptsâsuch as âminimum viable productâ and âpivotingââhave quickly taken root in the start-up world, and business schools have already begun adapting their curricula to teach them.
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Some of the key aspects fo the lean startup movement is based on using a “scientific method” and a process of creating, launching and growing a startup.
This focuses on getting insights as quickly as possible from customers without focusing too much on business planning. As Steve Blank remarked in his 2013 article:
A business plan is essentially a research exercise written in isolation at a desk before an entrepreneur has even begun to build a product. The assumption is that itâs possible to figure out most of the unknowns of a business in advance, before you raise money and actually execute the idea.
Once the money is raised:
Developers invest thousands of man-hours to get it ready for launch, with little if any customer input. Only after building and launching the product does the venture get substantial feedback from customersâwhen the sales force attempts to sell it. And too often, after months or even years of development, entrepreneurs learn the hard way that customers do not need or want most of the productâs features.
In the lean startup movement and methodology, three things are critically important. In fact, those are the new pillars that challenged the old assumption of how an enterprise should look like have allowed the lean startup movement, thus the lean startup canvas.
Course:Â The FourWeekMBA Business Model Innovation Flagship Course
Business plans rarely survive first contact with customers
As remarked by Steve Blank business plans are long documents written by entrepreneurs or aspiring ones in isolation and to get money from investors. Most of the time those documents won’t survive the first contact with customers. I argue this happens for several reasons.
The business plan’s main purpose isn’t to plan for the business but to impress investors. Most of the time targeting the right market is more a matter of tinkering than planning. And usually, a business plan is biased by the view of the world and untested hypotheses by the person drafting it.
Five-year plans are worthless and a waste of time
On the HBR article Steve Blank remarks the waste of time a five-year business plan represents:
No one besides venture capitalists and the late Soviet Union requires five-year plans to forecast complete unknowns. These plans are generally fiction, and dreaming them up is almost always a waste of time.
Start-ups are not smaller versions of large companies
One of the critical differences is that while existing companies execute a business model, start-ups look for one
This point is critical because of a large organization or existing companies operating with known business models.
The lean startup instead iterates until it finds a business model that fits that startup. In fact, Steve Blank defines the lean startup as:
a temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model
It is crucial to emphasize the fact that the business model needs to be repeatable and scalable.
The lean start-up movement is about agile development
Agile development is a methodology that works hand-in-hand with customer development.
This methodology “eliminates wasted time and resources by developing the product iteratively and incrementally.”Â
The lean startup canvas vs. business model canvas
In the Business Model Canvas we saw how it comprises nine building blocks:
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The business model canvas is a useful way to assess the overall business model. However, as Ash Maurya has noticed, that canvas seemed to be useful at hindsight.
In short, he was looking for a way to get more insights on what business model would be best suited for a start-up before it scaled up.
This is why in 2010 with his article “How to Document Your Business Model On 1Â Page” he came up with an adaptation to the business model canvas with the new lean startup canvas:
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The main purpose follows the lean startup movement by Steve Blank, and it tries to create something more actionable compared to the business model canvas:
Create a Business Model versus Business Plan
Ash Maurya found the business model canvas a bit too general for a lean startupÂ
The business model canvas might be good to understand businesses from outside-in, but less to give actionable insights to the insider entrepreneur
That is why he created his version for the lean startup canvas. As Ash Maurya mentioned in “Why Lean Canvas vs. Business Model Canvas,” he recruited other entrepreneurs:
To start building an online version of Lean Canvas with the initial goal of facilitating more of these learning conversations in my workshops, and subsequently opening it up to everyone.
As Ash Maurya was adding four more blocks (problem, solution, key metrics, and unfair advantage) he needed to take out four building blocks:
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Source:Â blog.leanstack.com
In short, Ash Maurya took out key partners, key activities, key resources, and customer relationships and substituted it with a problem, solution, unfair advantage, and key metrics, respectively.
As he mentioned in his 2010 article, that is built upon these nine building blocks:
Thereâs a clear delineation down the middle, on PRODUCT versus MARKET and hereâs a brief description of each block and the order in which I like to think/validate them:
1. Problem: A brief description of the top 3 problems youâre addressing
2. Customer Segments: Who are the customers/users of this system? Can they be further segmented? For example, amateur photographers vs. pro photographers. If I have multiple target customers in mind, for example, graphic designers vs. lawyers, I will create a separate canvas for each. More than likely a lot of the other pieces like problem, solution, channels, etc. will be different too.
3. Unique Value Proposition: What is the productâs tagline or primary reason you are different and worth buying?
4. Solution: What is the minimum feature set (MVP) that demonstrates the UVP up above?
5. Key Activity: Describe the key action users take that maps to revenue or retention? For example, if you are a blogging platform, posting a blog entry would be a key activity.
6. Channels: List the FREE and PAID channels you can use to reach your customer.
7. Cost Structure: List out all your fixed and variable costs.
8. Revenue Streams: Identify your revenue model â subscription, ads, freemium, etc. and outline your back-of-the-envelope assumptions for life time value, gross margin, break-even point, etc.
9, Unfair Advantage: I left this for last because itâs usually the hardest one to fill correctly. Jason Cohen, a smart bear, did a great 2 part series on competitive advantages. Most founders list things as competitive advantages that really arenât. Anything that is worth copying will be copied. So what is a competitive advantage:
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Source:Â blog.leanstack.com
It is critical to remark here that the “unfair advantage” is the essential part of the lean startup canvas and that is why it is crucial to understand it deeply.
What is an unfair advantage?
As Jason Cohen remarked in “Real Unfair Advantages:”
Anything that can be copied will be copied, including features, marketing copy, and pricing. Anything you read on popular blogs is also read by everyone else. You donât have an âedgeâ just because youâre passionate, hard-working, or âlean.â
Thus, as he remarked in the same article, “the only real competitive advantage is that which cannot be copied and cannot be bought.”
I suggest you read the article carefully as he mentions six things that can give you an unfair advantage:
Insider information
Single-minded, uncompromising obsession with One Thing
Personal authority
The Dream Team
(The right) Celebrity endorsement
Existing customers
It is also critical to know what it’s not a competitive advantage the can bring you toward the unfair advantage.
As Jason Cohen pointed out in “No, that IS NOT a competitive advantage,” although common misconceptions the following are not competitive advantages:
We have feature X
We have the most features
Weâre patenting our features
Weâre better at SEO and social media
Weâre passionate
We have three PhDs / MBAs
We work hard
Weâre cheaper
Also, keep in mind the unique value proposition, and unfair advantage are not the same thing. As remarked in “Why Lean Canvas vs. Business Model Canvas?”
The job of a UVP is to capture a customerâs attention while the job of the Unfair Advantage is to deter copy cats and competitors. These two are often NOT the same thing.
and he goes:
For example, with Facebook:
UVP: âConnect and share with the people in your life.â
UA: Large network effects
Is a lean startup canvas for anyone?
From the perspective of the lean startup canvas, it is essential to remark that this might not be suited to anyone.
As noted by Ash Maurya “lean Canvas was designed for entrepreneurs, not consultants, customers, advisors, or investors.“
Is it better to use the business model canvas or the lean startup canvas?
The answer isn’t easy. I like the business model canvas to have an overview of other businesses.
For instance, if I’m studying business models for Apple, Google, Amazon and so on, the business model canvas might be a helpful tool.
However, most of the times those companies created a business model based on a lot of tinkering, rather than design.
Also, the business model canvas might be better suited to understand how to run the overall business rather than have more insights about product development to reach the so-called “product-market fit.”
If you need a canvas to understand better your customers’ problems, I would start from the lean startup canvas.
If instead, you need a canvas to understand other businesses or to have an overview of your business the business model canvas might be more suited.
As Ash Maurya pointed out “the most important takeaway is that you document your key business model assumptions (and learning) in a portable format that you can share and discuss with people other than yourself.“
Key takeaways
In this article, we explored the evolution that leads to the lean startup movement. From that movement, it was clear that a scientific method based on experimentation, tested assumptions and continuous iterations is the key.
From this movement, the lean startup canvas was born. This is a model that helps entrepreneurs get actionable insight for business and product development.
This is based on a profound understanding of the problems your customers are facing and the unfair advantage you can build or have built into your business.
I’d like to remind that the lean startup canvas is a practical and portable tool for the entrepreneur.
The main aim is to have a holistic view of your business on one page, which allows you to iterate on your business model.
Thus, I’d say that the lean startup canvas is as much about “market-business model fit” than it is about “product-market fit.”
In short, you aim to generate a repeatable and scalable business model that unlocks value for your organization, as quickly as possible.
Course:Â The FourWeekMBA Business Model Innovation Flagship Course
Handpicked business models:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
How Does PayPal Make Money? The PayPal Mafia Business Model Explained
How Does WhatsApp Make Money? WhatsApp Business Model Explained
How Does Google Make Money? Itâs Not Just Advertising!Â
How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Hidden Revenue Business Model Explained
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
The Google of China: Baidu Business Model In A Nutshell
Accenture Business Model In A NutshellÂ
Salesforce: The Multi-Billion Dollar Subscription-Based CRM
How Does Twitter Make Money? Twitter Business Model In A Nutshell
How Does DuckDuckGo Make Money? DuckDuckGo Business Model Explained
How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Netflix Make Money? Netflix Business Model Explained
The post What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas In A Nutshell appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
November 18, 2019
Top 21 Business Books To Read For 2020
Our world changes at a faster and faster pace.
What was true yesterday, not necessarily is going to be so tomorrow.
Yet, in this scenario, it is essential to be grounded in the real world and rather than rely on too many things to know, one way to survive and thrive is to be aware of a set of heuristics.
In short, knowing the heuristics is a way to avoid to get lost in the plethora of information, theories, and news that every day keeps us distracted from real issues in our life, family and business.
To thrive in this scenario, you need an internal compass that can guide you through the business world so that you will never lose your path again.
You can build that internal compass by implementing physical and mental habits that will make you mentally stable. One way to shape this internal compass is by reading good stuff.
Although it might always seem right to read, selecting what you read is critical. Just like on a diet you want to ingest qualify food when it comes to reading you want to feed your mind with ideas and insights that will empower you and create a better version of yourself as a person and businessman.
For such reason, I am going to suggest fifteen business books that will deepen your understanding of the business world. Although this is a list for 2019, do not expect to see the newest books on the market. Often I believe the best books are the ones that survived to the test of time.
Also, this is a list, but it is not meant to be read as a ranking. Each of those books will shape your understanding of the entrepreneurial and business world in a way that is not possible to rank.
Blitzscaling
The lessons of blitzscaling can be adapted to help build great companies in nearly any ecosystem by Reid Hoffman, Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
In a business world that has become very competitive, thanks also to the digital age, it becomes critical to develop a new mindset and framework that goes beyond the conventional business thinking, Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies is a book written by Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn Co-founder) and Chris Yeh, is the perfect book for that.
At its core, Blitzscaling is a process of massive growth in an uncertain environment. It shows you the path toward building multi-billion dollar companies but also how to think in a more unconventional way. At the same time, Blitzscaling suggests an interesting perspective on how to look at business model innovation as a key ingredient for any organization’s success!
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Related: What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
Measure What Matters
We must realize—and act on the realization—that if we try to focus on everything, we focus on nothing by John Doerr, Measure What Matters
John Doerr is a venture capitalist and among the early investors of Google. He developed over the years a framework for goal setting which is aimed at helping any organization find the proper way to set goals and achieve strategic results for the sustainable growth of the business.
Indeed, early Googlers are among the companies that used his system, called OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) for setting, communicating and monitoring their goals during a process of hypergrowth! If you need a leadership process for your organization, this is the book for you!
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Tools of Titans
The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion ― by Timothy Ferriss, Tools of Titans
Many believe that reading is for wimps. Why would you be spending your time reading, when you can act?
Action without reflection is like steering a boat that is about to go adrift.
In other words, it is essential to act, but also to take the time to reflect and study. That is going to make your actions way more efficient.
If you are looking for a tool that can boost your effectiveness in the real world, there is no better book than Tim Ferris’ “Tools of Titans.”
This is a book about health, wealth, and wisdom (the book comprises three sections).
Tools of Titans is the distilled knowledge of over 200+ guests interviewed in more than two decades at “The Tim Ferris Show,” one of the best podcasts currently available for business and lifestyle.
What makes Tools of Titans unique?
Most of the content of the book is actionable. Ready for use. In other words, if you are looking to transform your life, that is a fantastic way to start.
Furthermore, Tim Ferris does a great job in locating the best experts in each field. Therefore, whatever interest you have, you can now find a mentor thanks to Ferris’ work.
I suggest you go through this book with a notepad and mark the pages you find more interesting (you will see most parts of the book fascinating).
As soon as you have done reading it; start implementing and testing.
Related: Three Effective Online Business Models for the Solopreneur
Homo Deus
Censorship no longer works by hiding information from you; censorship works by flooding you with immense amounts of misinformation, of irrelevant information, of funny cat videos, until you’re just unable to focus by Yuval Noah Harari
Homo Deus isn’t designed as a business book. Yet I believe it will benefit you in many ways.
Harari, the author, is a historian but most of all an avid practitioner of Vipassana Meditation. This is a practice taught in India for over 2,500 years, whose main aim is to allow us to see things as they are.
There is nothing esoteric, mystic or religious about this practice. Instead, this is a way of detaching your mind from your thoughts and stop identifying yourself with your mind.
By practicing Vipassana, Harari also developed a way to see the reality, that will blow your mind.
What makes Homo Deus unique?
In the complex world in which we live it is impossible to predict what is going to happen tomorrow. Even though Harari’s account in Homo Deus explores the likely scenarios that will shape our world in the next century, this fantastic book does one more incredible thing,
It will give you new eyes that you can use to look at the business world like never before.
Related: The Art of Storytelling: How to Think Like Yuval Noah Harari
Antifragile
They think that intelligence is about noticing things are relevant (detecting patterns); in a complex world, intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant (avoiding false patterns) – by Nicholas Nassim Taleb
Our minds have not been wired to live in a complex world like that we created in the last century. In short, we evolved in a world where scarcity was paramount.
On the other hand, nowadays the opposite is true. In most western developed countries abundance is the rule. From food to information we have it all.
In short, the world we created clashes with the world in which we evolved. These mismatches make us vulnerable in many ways.
One of the most significant vulnerabilities is about how we interpret reality. Prehistoric humans had to understand each pattern around them to avoid extinction. For instance, when Mr. Hunter-Gatherer saw a moving bush, he knew it was time for him to run as fast as he could.
In fact, behind that bush, a dangerous predator could have been hiding. Even if the wind only moved that bush, it didn’t matter to Mr. Hunter-Gatherer. Indeed, the cost of being wrong was so high (death) that he could not afford it.
While this ability to find patterns allowed us to survive, it also makes us extremely biased toward the modern world.
The former trader, Nicholas Nassim Taleb, in his book, Antifragile, will show you how and why reality is not as we perceive it. Although his focus is on the business and economic world, Taleb’s immense culture makes him able to space across several disciplines.
What makes Antifragile unique?
While reading Antifragile, you will suddenly change your perspectives on many things. You will probably stop watching TV, and read newspapers; while you will start reading classics. Yet the most significant change of all will be about a new fresh mindset,
You will become a modern skeptic
Related: What Is a Barbell Strategy? Nassim Nicholas Taleb Investment Strategy Explained
Pre-suasion
In large measure, who we are with respect to any choice is where we are, attentionally, in the moment before the choice ― Robert B. Cialdini, Pre-Suasion
What makes Pre-suasion unique?
This book will show you how “invisible clues” can shape your decision-making ability way more than you think.
For anyone that operates in the business world, the book will also do a crucial thing,
Pre-suasion will give you a toolbox to use right away to boost the reach and success of your business.
Related: Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
The Right It
According to Alberto Savoia’s research, the reason why most startups fail is due to developing what he calls “the wrong it.” So it’s not about execution, but failure is rather about wasting effort, time and capital in developing an idea that the market doesn’t want. In his book, “The Right It” Alberto Savoia came up with a methodology called Pretotyping which minimizes the risk of developing failing products or services, by manufacturing experiments that allow entrepreneurs to gather real-world data, to assess whether their product will work on the marketplace.
Traction
Poor distribution – not product – is the number one cause of failure.
― Gabriel Weinberg, Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers
In the startup world, often having a good product seems enough to scale a business (I believed that too). Yet as Gabriel Weinberg, CEO and founder of DuckDuckGo explains, often what a startup is lacking to take off and scale is the distribution side. Weinberg previously cofounded Opobox, which got acquired for $10 million.
The co-author of Traction, Justin Mares is the founder of two startups and the former director of revenue at Exceptional, a software company that was acquired by Rackspace.
The formula for a successful customer acquisition goes through what the authors call Bullseye Framework.
Related: DuckDuckGo: The [Former] Solopreneur That Is Beating Google at Its Game
My life in advertising
We must submit all things in advertising, as in everything else, to the court of public opinion by Claude C. Hopkins in My Life in Advertising
We like to give new and fancy names to old things. Whether you want to call it marketing, growth hacking, and business development that is all about sales and scale up a business. Yet, Claude C. Hopkins was one of the great advertising pioneers taught me that independently of the name you give it marketing is about selling.
At the age of 41, he was hired by Albert Lasker owner of Lord & Thomas advertising in 1907 at a salary of $185,000 a year. If you think that is a lot today imagine what it was back then.
Related: The Advertising Economy: Inside Facebook Money-Making Machine
Ogilvy on Advertising
“Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals.” ― David Ogilvy, Ogilvy on Advertising
David Ogilvy was a business executive who founded the advertising, marketing, and PR agency Ogilvy & Mather in 1948. Once again, you can read new books about new marketing disciplines to which we gave then fancy names. However, the foundation of those subjects came from people like Ogilvy.
The Start-Up of You
All humans are entrepreneurs not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA, and creation is the essence of entrepreneurship. ― Reid Hoffman, The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career
Reid Hoffman is one of the most exceptional internet entrepreneurs of our time. Beside co-founding PayPal and LinkedIn (if that is not enough) he also invested in Airbnb, Coupons.com, Edmodo, and many others.
He teaches us how in today’s world having the mindset of the entrepreneur isn’t for a few but instead encapsulated in our DNA.
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Lost and Founder
The problem with MVPs, and with the “something > nothing” model, is that if you launch to a large customer base or a broad community, you build brand association with that first version. by Rand Fishkin in Lost and Founder
If you’re familiar with digital marketing, then you must know Rand Fishkin. He’s the founder of Moz.com the most important and authoritative blog on search engine optimization. He is a rockstar not only for SEO practitioners but for many that are trying to build a business from scratch. In fact, with his Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin has been teaching to millions of people SEO.
Also, Rand Fishkin has also grown Moz, a subscription-based business model software for SEO in a multimillion-dollar company, that in 2017 netted over $47 million. His book, “Lost and Founder” is a transparent story of how it all started and the painful process of growing a startup from a web agency.
This is a must-read for any aspiring founder but also for anyone that is running a startup. Rand Fishkin bursts many myths about the so-called “Silicon Valley” way of thinking about entrepreneurship!
You will learn many lessons from Rand Fishkin that you can apply to your business. One example is the concept of an exceptional viable product.
Related: What Is the Minimum Viable Product? Why Use the Exceptional Viable Product Instead
How I Lost 170 Million Dollars
You have to decide your own self-worth versus letting others determine it by Noah Kagan in How I lost 170 Million Dollars
Anyone in the digital entrepreneurship world knowingly or not has met Noah Kagan. How? Through either AppSumo.com or Sumo.com.
Those websites are among the most popular because they offer to digital entrepreneurs the tools to grow their businesses, quickly.
Also, AppSumo hosts lifetime deals on digital tools. Noah Kagan and his team have built their business on email marketing and SEO copywriting.
What is most interesting about this book is the experience described by Noah Kagan as employee number 30 on Facebook, before the company would scale up to become the tech giant it is today. The story is transparent, honest and with no BS.
Noah Kagan spent most of the time in the book describing is greatest failures but also how those turned out to teach him many valuable business lessons that he used to build his current startups successfully.
Related: How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Hidden Revenue Business Model Explained
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory
Bullshit jobs are jobs which even the person doing the job can’t really justify the existence of, but they have to pretend that there’s some reason for it to exist. That’s the bullshit element. A lot of people confuse bullshit jobs and shit jobs, but they’re not the same thing
In a world that is becoming increasingly technological, already a few decades back we believed that work would have become shorter and shorter.
However, this didn’t happen. If all we only focused more on productivity and efficiency with the results of creating a bunch of jobs, that seems useful from the outside but that in reality are useless for the same people performing them.
In short, modernity has created a whole new category of jobs, that Davide Graeber defines “bullshit” because they are meaningless and degrading for who performs them.
This account is incredible because it will burst many myths we have today about our workplaces and how we perceive time and money.
The Business Models Book
This is FourWeekMBA’s official guide to business modeling. On this blog business models have been covered from several perspectives. From Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Airbnb, Netflix and more! You can download it below!
Other suggested books
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Tools and resources for your business:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
The Complete Guide To Business Development
Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
What Is Market Segmentation? the Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
Handpicked popular case studies from the site:
How Does Google Make Money? It’s Not Just Advertising!
How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Netflix Make Money? Netflix Business Model Explained
How Does Spotify Make Money? Spotify Business Model In A Nutshell
How Does Airbnb Make Money? Airbnb Peer To Peer Business Model In A Nutshell
How Does WhatsApp Make Money? WhatsApp Business Model Explained
Alibaba vs. Amazon Compared in a Single Infographic
DuckDuckGo: The [Former] Solopreneur That Is Beating Google at Its Game
The post Top 21 Business Books To Read For 2020 appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
November 16, 2019
The Complete Guide To Content Marketing
Content marketing is one of the most powerful commercial activities which focuses on leveraging content production (text, audio, video, or other formats) to attract a targeted audience. Content marketing focuses on building a strong brand, but also to convert part of that targeted audience into potential customers.
Pick the perfect title
Journalists know that the title can make or break an article. It doesn’t matter how good it is what you wrote if none will open it none will read it! For how trivial that might sound, this is even truer for blog posts. With over a billion websites and over four million blog posts; the title is a great shortcut for our brain to make sense of the clutter.
To make your headline catchy, sticky but also good from the SEO perspective then there are a few factors to take into account. The main ones are,
Is your title emotional? For instance, invoking good or bad emotions can be a powerful way to have people read your stuff.
Is the title short? Too long would be bad for SEO. Plus none will know it. The right length would be around 55 characters.
What are the first and last three words? In fact, apparently, when people skim content they look the first and final part of the title.
Are there keywords in it? Those keywords are not only meant to make your content read by search engines but to capture the searchers’ intention
In other words, it has to be:
Emotional
Short but meaningful
Focused on first and last three words
Searchable
How to meet all those standards without hassling too much on it?
Simple, use CoSchedule Headline Analyser
That is what I did to pick the title for this blog post. Therefore, if you did open it, it may be thanks to it!
For instance, I initially picked up a title,
As you can see my score wasn’t that bad; However, I wanted to make it a bit better because it was too long and not as catchy as I wanted it to be!
I tried several headlines, and my score got worse,
Until I got the title, I was looking for!
Can you do better?
Make your blog the fastest in town
With the staggering growth of content on the web, the demand for it seems to be growing at a slower pace compared to the offer. In other words, there is so much content out there that it becomes impossible to consume it all.
Therefore, when you do find what you were looking for you finally click on it, but the site is so slow that you eventually give up! That is even worse for mobile users.
For instance, on average if your website takes more than three seconds to load you might lose up to 40% of your users! That can make or break your business. Thus, there’s no surprise that site speed is one of the most important factors for optimizing your blog.
The goodnews is you can now improve the speed of your site up to 30/40% in a few minutes and with no costs. Go on and check your speed performance, as I did.
I went to check my PageSpeed with Google Developers Tools, and that is what I got,
As you can see my site didn’t pass the test; Although not that bad from the desktop, it was bad on mobile. I can’t imagine how much traffic I lost due to that. How could I solve that? Google gives you some suggestions to make your website lighter, therefore faster.
Yet I didn’t want to spend too much time on it. In short, I was looking for a quick and efficient way to improve the speed of my website right on. I figured that the most important factor affecting the speed of the website is your Media folder.
That’s right! How many times did you unconsciously upload very large images? Well, now those images are burdening your site speed. It is time to compress them.
No problem though, I got the solution!
So I figured I could solve this issue very quickly through a WordPress plugin. That is called WP Smush. I uploaded directly from my WP website, installed it and activated it,
Then into the Media folder, I clicked on check images and started to compress them
After a few minutes, the compression was completed, and I had just saved almost one-hundred sixty megabytes in pictures. That’s impressive!
I checked my site speed again. I was impressed. My desktop speed went from 83 to 88. Ok not bad. What about mobile speed?
As you can see with this tweak alone, my mobile speed increased by over 30%, from 60 to 80!
That is how my website went from Sloth to Swift in the blink of an eye.
Time to optimize your images
When you write a blog post you often use images, right? We know for a fact that our brain loves pictures.
They are a faster and more effective way to communicate a thought, emotion and inspire action! Yet for how cool the image you picked for your blog post if search engines won’t understand it they won’t read it.
The consequence is that your content will be only in part read by search engines which are the intermediaries between your blog and your audience. How to solve this impasse? Use the alt attribute.
That attribute is crucial because it describes what the image is about in the context of your blog, or article. Now adding the alt attribute is not hard but time-consuming. For instance, if you add an image to your blog you will have to add the alt attribute manually as I did on this picture,
You can partially automate this process by installing a plugin called Format Media Titles.
If there’s a title for that image, the plugin will automatically save the alt attribute, which will make your image optimization faster and more efficient.
Target Google‘s featured snippet
If you’re familiar with basic SEO, you know what a keyword is. In short, each time a user searches for something on the web it does so through a search engine’s box, like Google‘s
Until not long ago when search engines scanned your page (in SEO lingo called crawling) most of what they saw was based on keywords. Therefore, the more keywords you stuffed into your page, the more you would show up in the search, which in the SEO world is called ranking.
Yet things changed dramatically when a few years ago Google updated its algorithm. The algorithm now looks more at context and the semantics behind the content you write rather than matching simple keywords.
Also, common wisdom in the past would tell you to rank for short keywords (for instance “blogging”). Those keywords while can bring you traffic won’t bring you conversions.
Therefore, if your objective is to bring more customers, you might want to change focus and look for long-tail keywords. A long-tail keyword is simply a very specific query of a user. An example? A question!
Also, addressing a specific question of a user a great way to convert that into a customer. Where do you find those long-tail keywords?
You can find them through a tool called Anwer The Public.
That is what I did. I digited “blog” and selected my target country, US:
I got 158 questions users have about “blog.”
Those questions have organized in clusters. Now I can use them to optimize my content by focusing on the specific pain-points my target has.
With those questions, I can also target Google’s featured snippet,
If you want to know more about how to get your snippet read the post I wrote on Search Engine People:
Use data to build effective CTAs
The adage says “Ask, and you shall receive.” This saying is true in life like in marketing. In fact, CTAs (call to actions) are a powerful tool to prompt your audience to take action. For instance, you can use them to inspire your audience to subscribe, purchase or just click through. How does a call to action look like?
Source: vieodesign.com
As you can see a call to action makes it easier for the users to go toward a particular objective that you set beforehand. Yet the most effective way to use CTAs is to A/B test them. In short, you will have two versions of a CTA (for instance, one button is blue, the other red) and see what converts more. There are several free tools to A/B test your CTAs. For this blog, I use Hello Bar.
For instance, my goal is to get more subscribers. I’m A/B testing my CTA,
As you can see in the first CTA, there’s “join us!” in the second “subscribe.” Therefore, when landing on my homepage, some users will see the first version, while some others will see the second. It’s still too early to say what’s best. I will wait for at least a thousand view on each to say what’s best. For now, the latter version is performing better.
All it takes is to register there for free, create an account and follow the instructions. In a few minutes, you’ll have your A/B test ready!
Key steps for the first part
Growing a blog requires a lot of hard work. Yet there are a few tweaks you can implement to grow it fast and effectively. I showed you how:
pick the best titles
make your site fast
optimize your images
convert users into customers
and A/B test your call to actions
Guide to syndicate your content
The truth is no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works.
How far from today’s reality does this statement sound? Would you say that who stated the above was a fool?
Yet that is what astronomer, author, and teacher Clifford Stoll said in his Newsweek’s interview on 2/27/95!
Yet before judging and feeling smart about yourself, I want you to take a step back. We were in 1995, the internet is still a marginal phenomenon, which was growing incredibly fast, but less than 1% of the world population was connected to the web.
Of course, it easy to see what’s in front of us today. It is easy to assume where the web is going. According to Internet Live Stats, more than 3.5bln people are connected to the web. Which means that over 40% of the world population is on the web!
The growth of the web was so wide and wild that none could have predicted how it would have looked like. To have a feel about it take a look at the graph below from Internet Live Stats!
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Yet there is an even more staggering stat that any blogger should be aware of. If you launched a blog or website in 1995, you could potentially reach about 45million users (that was the world wide web population in that year).
“Cool,” you may think, “I am better off today!“
Yet you would be dead wrong!
Why? Even though you could only reach 45million internet users, there were only 23,500 existing websites. In short, in 1995 there were about 1,908 per website!
If you just said to yourself “Ok, not a big deal!” you have to keep reading!
As of 2015, the world-wide-web population has grown to over 3bln people.
Yet the number of websites/blogs has grown exponentially too.
In the same year, there were well over 800k websites.
This means that in 2015 each website had only 3.7 users!
Is blogging dead? Let’s see…
By looking at those stats it easy to conclude that blogging is dead.
But is that really the case?
I don’t think so!
Blogging is still a great tool to reach an audience.
Yet while a few years ago, blogging alone was enough, that is no longer the case.
In short, in order to make your online business successful, you must think it like an ecosystem, where blogging fits your overall business strategy.
In other words, if you want to succeed in online business you have to use your blog strategically.
The time of “I will blog and see what happens” is over!
Blogging entails that you set an editorial strategy.
I know it may sound too much, but if you stay with me for the length of this article you will comprehend why you need to treat blogging seriously.
Before we dive into it, let me give you a visual hook of how your online business ecosystem should look like,
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Blogging is the trigger, from which your online business cascade will fall.
The process that I am going to show you is pretty simple.
First, set up an editorial calendar.
Second, build the social platform, which will work as an amplifier.
Third, test what works.
Fourth, upgrade the most successful blog posts/articles to create a series of info-products (ebooks, online courses, webinars, and videos) around what your audience deemed useful.
Fifth, organize your first meetup!
At the end of this process, you will rinse and repeat!
Step 1: Start with an editorial strategy!
Making content go viral is not an easy task. Yet we can optimize the process of content creation and improve our chances of having that content go viral.
How?
As Aristotle already found out in 350 B.C. you have to leverage on:
Ethos (ethical appeal)
Pathos (emotions)
Logos (appeal to our rational mind)
We can put Aristotle’s teachings in a framework that Jonah Berger built in his “Six STEPPS,”
Social Currency (would your article make people look smart by sharing it?)
Triggers (are you writing about something that is interesting?)
Emotion (will your content arouse your audience?)
Public (is it getting shared enough?)
Practical Value (is it useful?)
Stories (do you have a narrative attached to it?)
Although we are going to use this framework as a reference throughout this guide, our objective isn’t necessarily to go viral.
Rather we want to make sure the content we are creating will have three main features:
Usefulness (is there a niche market for it?)
Upgradability (can we create other content around it?)
Non-perishability (what is its shelf-life?)
Practically speaking this framework translates in few simple steps.
Usefulness
How do we determine whether what we are going to write will be useful?
The concept of usefulness needs to be extremely targeted. We are not trying to be celebrities. We don’t want unneeded visibility. We are building a business!
Therefore, we are going to find a problem and a group of people with that problem.
To find a problem, we have to find a pain point that a group of people has (your niche).
Therefore, problem + small group of individuals = potential niche
Upgradability
The greatest lie ever told about content is to think of it as a fixed, never changing asset. Yet content itself can be reused and repurposed in several ways.
In other words, once you have picked a topic that is relevant to a small group of people, that content one day could become an e-book, a YouTube video, or a short webinar.
The question is, will the content you are creating have the potential to become an info-product?
This question can also be answered by looking at the last but not least important aspect,
Non-perishability
Usually, when we think about content, we tend to think of it like we do with biological organisms. In other words, we look at two articles, and we tend to read the most recent.
Yet that is a huge mistake. Why? Because of the Lindy Effect!
In short, when it comes to content, the opposite is true. Take the Iliad. It was written two thousand years ago. Yet we can expect it (probabilistically speaking) to be relevant for at least another two thousand years!
There is a caveat though. Each time you are facing your laptop, and about to write content keep in mind only one question:
am I about to write something that has the potential to outlive me?
If yes, you are ready!
Step 2: Be Social
There is no need to say the numbers and stats of users of each society to understand the importance of integrating them into your digital strategy.
Yet the major question is,
Where does my niche hang out?
LinkedIn? Facebook? Twitter? G+? Tumblr? YouTube?…
It is important to keep a presence across all these platforms.
Yet, it is crucial to understand where your niche hangs out and put most of your effort on that channel!
Step 3: The online world is your laboratory
So far we managed to decide what content to create. Also, we saw how to amplify it. We are ready to test what works and what does not. The next step will be to repurpose the most successful articles to convert them to other content formats. How?
Only look at your stats!
What posts had more success? Who are your marketing personas? Which article converted more regarding interactions (like and share) with your audience?
Step 4: Your content is like a cat. It has seven lives
There are several myths that affect our society, and it is funny to see how those same myths branch out.
For instance, while in Europe we say that cats have seven lives, in the US those lives become nine.
Besides the number of lives a cat has, there are many myths about content too.
There is often the feeling that content has a short life and that it can only be used once. But is that true?
Not really! It is time to have the words on your screen to jump out and become spoken words and images. It is time for some new fresh content!
Once again, the content upgrade will depend upon the channel where your niche hangs out.
For instance, if your audience is mainly on YouTube it will make sense to create a short video. If your audience likes reading and possesses a Kindle, then it may be the time to publish your first e-book!
Once again, no preconceptions. This is a business. Is your audience ready for it? Then you must be too!
Step 5: It is time to get offline
It has become so easy to interact with people through the web that we forget about the real world.
Often times we neglect our family to chat through the phones with individuals we never saw, neither met in real life.
Yet there is nothing stronger than meeting people. We can use all the senses to have others see who we are.
Also, there is no better way to build a loyal, trusted audience!
Start very small. Organize a meetup with no more than 10/15 people. Teach them what you have been writing about. Have them share their experience with you. That’s all!
Rinse and Repeat
Running an online business is not rocket science. Yet it takes time and dedication. Once you set up your process, it is time to rinse and repeat!
Advanced content syndication
In this section, I want to show you how to make sure to reach a large audience each time you write a piece of content. So that the time invested in producing it, won’t be wasted!
You wrote an excellent article. Strangely each time you put together a piece of content, it feels like that is the most incredible creative work you’ve done in your entire life. Therefore, high expectations arise.
You look forward to the moment when you will hit the publish button and see that content go through the blogosphere, go viral and get featured on Forbes or Inc. Magazine.
Yet that is all a dream. In fact, as soon as you hit the publish button you barely get your dearest friends to read it. Why?
Usually, who writes for passion believes that writing alone is enough to be read. Instead, when you start doing it professionally, you realize how deceived you were. In fact, creating great content is only part of the job.
The rest is about making sure it gets found, read and shared. That is why as a content writer you need to have a framework in place to make sure each time you write a piece of content you reach at least a few thousand people that are ready to engage with it.
Also, today many believe that posting their content around the web still give them control over what happens to it. Ownership is only part of the equation. Indexing is as relevant if not more than ownership of content.
Therefore, you want to make sure your content gets indexed on a platform you control before syndicating it anywhere else.
How Social Networks Hooked Us
In one of my previous articles, I talk about the Hook Model. I explain what it is and how to use it ethically to transform your product or service into a habit for the user.
Yet one of the most powerful weapons social networks use to grow their user base is the feed.
The feed is the most addicting feature social media have. Not surprisingly we spend countless hours scrolling that feeds in the hope of keeping our excitement level high for as long as possible.
Almost like drug-addicted millions of people use the feed as the main source to get the information they look for.
Source: mediakix.com
In other words, the average person spends five years and four months of his/her life on social media.
That is why if you want your content to reach a larger audience you must learn how to use social media feed to feed your blog‘s traffic.
However, if you’re tempted to stop creating content on your blog and start disseminating only through social media, there is something you’re missing out.
Indexing vs. Ownership of Content
In the past all you needed was copyright. In short, once published a literary work that copyright did allow you to have control over it. Thus, you “owned” that piece of content.
Nowadays this is only in part true. In fact, the concept of ownership of content has changed. With the advent of the web and how search engines crawl it, ownership lost relevance in favor of indexing.
Indeed, each time you write a piece of content. You hit the publish button. That is how you’re claiming authorship on that.
You want to make sure to have ownership on the publishing media outlet where your blog was posted. That is why your blog is the answer.
Start with your blog
In short, what matters is not who wrote the piece of content but where it was first indexed. For instance, let’s assume you wrote an article and published it on Medium.
It doesn’t matter where you’ll post that content next. Since the article got first released on Medium, Google indexed it there. Creating an irreversible relationship among your story and a platform you don’t control!
Therefore, each time you publish on Medium, Quora, LinkedIn or any other publishing outlet it is almost like you’re giving up part of the “web ownership” over that content. Unless you use the following framework…
Content Amplification Framework
That is a framework in three steps with one objective:
GIVE YOU TOTAL CONTROL OVER YOUR CONTENT!
How? In three steps. First, indexing; second, spreading; third, experimenting.
Step One: Indexing
The first step is all about letting Google’s crawlers index your page so that your content is tied to your blog. Once drafted the coolest article in the blogosphere all you have to do is to hit the publish button!
As soon as you do so, billions of crawlers that are indexing the web will also walk on your page and understand where it belongs to. Time to take the second step.
Step Two: Spreading
Beyond the traditional sharing, you must do (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and StumbleUpon to mention the main ones). You want to syndicate your content on four major publishing outlets: Quora, LinkedIn Publishing, Medium, and beBee.
How to use Quora for Content Amplification
Quora is a social network where people post questions, and other people answer them. While Facebook is mainly about scrolling the feed passively, Quora is about actively engaging with a community of people that for the most part are interested in reading in-depth content.
Back in March 2016 Quora had already over 100 million users, and it is the perfect place to start to build a following and amplify your content strategy.
As soon as done go back and create your blog there.
Go on the icon on the top right corner, click on it and then go to “Blogs.”
On the top right corner click on “Create A New Blog.”
Once done, repost your article there! Why? A few reasons:
First, Quora will give you visibility that otherwise you wouldn’t have.
Second, by having links that point back to your blog, you will drive traffic back to it.
Third, less intuitive you might also improve your rankings (still testing this strategy out). In fact, when Google notices that your content is getting found (the original piece of content got first published and indexed from your blog) it may traffic back to your site.
Another thing to do is to atomize your blog post and use it to answer specific questions people on Quora have.
After personalizing the answer, you can insert a link at the end of the question so that people that want to know more can go back to your blog and read the entire article.
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How to use LinkedIn Publishing for Content Amplification
In 2017 LinkedIn, the most popular professional network in the world reached over 500 million users. Time to syndicate your content there.
If you don’t have an account yet follow these simple steps:
Source: Linkedin.com
You can use LinkedIn for sharing your content and for writing posts with an extract from your articles.
Therefore the first step is to share a post as I did below,
Since Neil Patel had retweeted my post on Twitter, I used that to reshare it on LinkedIn and get some extra visibility which brought few dozens of visits back to the blog.
Also, I got an extract of the post and written an article on LinkedIn,
You could either repost the entire article if you wish or just an excerpt from it and then a link to bring traffic back to your blog.
Among the two, the former is the most successful to amplify your content as much as possible. For instance, each time I republish an article entirely on LinkedIn publishing I get way more traction compared to just an extract.
My assumption is the LinkedIn algorithm makes your story seen more in the feed the more in-depth the article is.
But at times it also depends on the time and day it got published. Also usually LinkedIn feed is like a diesel engine, a post or update you posted a few days before will be showed again to some of your LinkedIn contacts.
One more thing to do to optimize your profile for content amplification is to add your articles to your experience,
In this way, anyone that is browsing your profile on LinkedIn will check your articles,
Time to move on to Medium!
How to use Medium for Content Amplification
I don’t know this platform well enough. However, this is a media outlet with over 60 million unique monthly visitors.
Also, the audience on Medium is more selected, which makes a perfect place where to share your content.
Also, there’s an import feature that allows most to share your stories quickly. So why not to do it?
Time to the last step of this framework, experimentation.
Experimenting
Growing a blog is one of those things you do if you’re passionate about it. In fact, it takes a long time to build your audience, hone your writing skills and learn the marketing tactics to make your content found, read and shared.
Yet it all starts with a mindset, which is about experimenting with everything that leads to growth. Eventually, you’ll consolidate the lessons learned, leave the tactics that don’t work and compound your growth with what’s left. It takes a lot of tinkering.
For instance, when I first started to write on my Blog, I used only to share my articles on social media without syndicating my content. Then I understood I had to change strategy. Now I use my content in multiple ways.
For instance, at times it makes sense to atomize an article and make it become many smaller posts on other media outlets like beBee, Medium or Quora. In this way, with the same level of effort, you’ll be able to get more leverage on what you wrote.
It is time for you to do some tinkering now!
The resources you need to get started with your business model:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
How to Write a One-Page Business Plan
The Rise of the Subscription Economy
How to Build a Great Business Plan According to Peter Thiel
What Is The Most Profitable Business Model?
The Era Of Paywalls: How To Build A Subscription Business For Your Media Outlet
How To Create A Business Model
What Is Business Model Innovation And Why It Matters
What Is Blitzscaling And Why It Matters
Snapshot: One Year Of “Business Model” Searches On Google In Review
Business Model Vs Business Plan: When And How To Use Them
The Five Key Factors That Lead To Successful Tech Startups
Top 12 Business Ideas with Low Investment and High Profit
Business Model Tools for Small Businesses and Startups
How To Use A Freemium Business Model To Scale Up Your Business
Popular case studies from the blog:
The Power of Google Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Google Make Money? It’s Not Just Advertising!
How Does DuckDuckGo Make Money? DuckDuckGo Business Model Explained
How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Netflix Make Money? Netflix Business Model Explained
How Does Spotify Make Money? Spotify Business Model In A Nutshell
The Trillion Dollar Company: Apple Business Model In A Nutshell
DuckDuckGo: The [Former] Solopreneur That Is Beating Google at Its Game
The post The Complete Guide To Content Marketing appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
November 13, 2019
A 33 Years Old Jeff Bezos Explains How He Started Amazon
Three years ago I was in New York City working for a quantitative hedge fund when it came across the startling statistic the web usage was growing at 2,300 percent a year so I decided I would try and find a business plan that made sense in the context of that growth.
He then explained how his thought process to get Amazon off the ground:
I picked books as the first best product to saw online which making a list like 20 different products that she might be able to sell and books were great as the first best because books are incredibly unusual in one respect that is that there are more items in the book category and there are items than any other category by far.
And how he structured his operations:
At any given time we’re inventory in our own warehouse only a couple of thousand titles and then we have we do almost in time inventory.
At the time he already obsessed over customers as the primary growth tool, which would become the Amazon Flywheel:
For the first time that actually has real value for the customer that’s a hard thing to do but if you do that then newspapers will write about you what you’re doing customers will tell other customers you’ll get a huge word-of-mouth fan out and and that can really drive and accelerate businesses and that’s what happened with us in the first year of opening Amazon become to the public we didn’t do any paid advertising and all of our growth was fueled by word-of-mouth.
Read next:
How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell
What Is the Receivables Turnover Ratio? How Amazon Receivables Management Helps Its Explosive Growth
Amazon Case Study: Why from Product to Subscription You Need to “Swallow the Fish”
What Is Cash Conversion Cycle? Amazon Cash Machine Business Model Explained
Why Is AWS so Important for Amazon Future Business Growth?
Amazon Flywheel: Amazon Virtuous Cycle In A Nutshell
Amazon Value Proposition In A Nutshell
Why Amazon Is Doubling Down On AWS
The Economics Of The Amazon Seller Business In A Nutshell
How Much Is Amazon Advertising Business Worth?
What Is the Cost per First Stream Metric? Amazon Prime Video Revenue Model Explained
Jeff Bezos Teaches You When Judgment Is Better Than Math And Data
Alibaba vs. Amazon Compared in a Single Infographic
Amazon Mission Statement and Vision Statement In A Nutshell
The post A 33 Years Old Jeff Bezos Explains How He Started Amazon appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
November 11, 2019
Business Storytelling: How To Build Your Brand Around Storytelling
Business storytelling is a critical part of developing a business model. Indeed, the way you frame the story of your organization will influence its brand in the long-term. That’s because your brand story is tied to your brand identity, and it enables people to identify with a company.
Back in the cave
Humans have dominated the world thanks to their cognitive abilities. Humans have bigger brains that allowed them to overcome adversity and thrive. Humans conquered the world thanks to their intellectual superiority.
Would you agree with these statements? I bet you would. Yet this is not the thesis of History’s Professor, Yuval Noah Harari, also the author of “Homo Sapiens,” and “Homo Deus.” In fact, as he explains in his Ted Talk, individually, humans are not that smarter or stronger or better than other animals, or mammals in particular. Humanity took over the world.
How is it possible then that humans dominated the world? The answer, according to Harari is ‘cooperation.’ Other animals cooperate as well! What makes us special? Are we more peaceful, compassionate or smarter than other mammals? Not really.
For instance, among our closest cousins, the bonobos, are way more peaceful and almost as much intelligence as we are. Then, again, what is unique about us?
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
The Rise of the Story-Listeners
According to Harari, we are the only species on earth, which beliefs in stories, myths, and narratives. In short, if you ask a monkey to loan you a banana in exchange for a banana and a half in a year’s time; the monkey will not only eat it but also throw you a stone. Why? Because the monkey does not believe in the “interests’ myth.”
This ability to believe in stories, allowed us to form large and complex societies. In fact, our brains allow us to cooperate at the small-scale level.
This is because there is only a certain threshold of information that our minds can handle before plateauing. According to Harari, if we could not believe in stories, it would’ve been impossible to form groups of more than 150 individuals.
Therefore, this ability carried us forward. Yet, if we ask ourselves “are we happier, healthier, and more intelligent than we were when living in the Savannah?” Although there is no definitive proof, according to Harari, the answer may be a “big no-no.“
Why? Often we are so compelled to believe in stories. Those narratives, bend our reality and make the world take a strange turn. In other words, when those stories became mere propaganda this can lead to significant troubles.
Therefore, each time we come up with a new “myth” we should also place a label on it, which says “handle with care,” to avoid troubles.
What does this have to do with the business world?
How Storytelling Moved from the Historical Stage to the Business Arena
So far we can say that among the most significant inventions of humankind there is not the wheel, the steam machine, or the space shuttle. Instead, the corporation, the state, and the church.
From Emperor Augustus to Steve Jobs; from Alexander the Great to Elon Musk; storytelling and the ability to “fabricate” new myths had played a massive role. For instance, Emperor Augustus understood that to keep the Roman Empire compact; he had to create the “Roman myth.”
How could he otherwise glue together the consciences of millions of individuals? He did so through a story, which became known as “The Aeneid,” written by the most excellent storyteller of that time, Virgil!
Successful people in business understood this concept and made it work in their favor. Would anyone love Apple if it didn’t believe in “Steve Jobs‘ Myth?” Would anyone trust Tesla or SpaceX if it didn’t believe in “Elon Mask’s Myth?“
You may say, “well, these are persons, not myths.” Yet this is only in part true. Take Steve Jobs. Although he doesn’t have a physical existence anymore, he is still alive in the conscience of millions if not billions of individuals. We can say that in the “inter-subjective reality” (the stories shared by millions of heads) he is alive than ever.
Don’t get me wrong, both Apple and Tesla are great companies. A great contributor to their success was the ability of those companies to carry out the so-called “founder’s myth.“
There is nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, when the fabricated stories start to bend reality, by creating a massive gap between the “real world” and the “mythological world” things may get out of hand.
What would happen to Apple or Tesla if people suddenly stopped to believe in the founders’ myth?
An Ethical Code for Storytelling: The Art of Finding the Sweet Spot
We saw how important storytelling is to create a business that sticks in people’s minds. On the other hand, we also want to make sure to find the sweet spot. How? By answering three central questions:
Is your story authentic?
Howard Schultz (Starbucks‘ Founder) tells the story of his father, which broke an ankle when he was only seven years old, and the whole family lived in New York City housing projects. Since his father had no health insurance, to pay for the expenses they were left with no income.
At the moment in which Howard Schultz told this story, he fabricated the corporate responsibility myth. In fact, companies are abstract entities. How can a company be responsible?
When people associate Starbucks with the responsibility, they think of Schultz’s story, and that is how the Starbucks brand grows into the imagination of millions of people around the world. The story works though because it is authentic!
Would people be enthusiastic about sharing your story?
When Blake Mycoskie explains how he founded TOMS SHOES people want to be part of it. Therefore, when you buy Tom’s shoes, you are not only purchasing cool shoes but rather the story behind it.
As Mycoskie recalls in his book “Start Something that Matters” people are so excited to share Tom’s story, that there is no need for marketing the product; it sells itself. Once again, Mycoskie is a story that compels people to share and spread the word. And once again the story is authentic.
Is the story in line with your business?
When Elon Musk‘s story of how he founded his companies spreads like a virus, his companies automatically acquire an aura of heroic entities, operating for the “greater good.“
Therefore, even though Musk‘s companies get $4.9 billion in government support, none raises an eyebrow. Why? Because once again the story is authentic, compelling, and in line with Musk‘s business ventures.
The resources you need to get started with your business model:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
How to Write a One-Page Business Plan
The Rise of the Subscription Economy
How to Build a Great Business Plan According to Peter Thiel
What Is The Most Profitable Business Model?
The Era Of Paywalls: How To Build A Subscription Business For Your Media Outlet
How To Create A Business Model
What Is Business Model Innovation And Why It Matters
What Is Blitzscaling And Why It Matters
Snapshot: One Year Of “Business Model” Searches On Google In Review
Business Model Vs Business Plan: When And How To Use Them
The Five Key Factors That Lead To Successful Tech Startups
Top 12 Business Ideas with Low Investment and High Profit
Business Model Tools for Small Businesses and Startups
How To Use A Freemium Business Model To Scale Up Your Business
Popular case studies from the blog:
The Power of Google Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Google Make Money? It’s Not Just Advertising!
How Does DuckDuckGo Make Money? DuckDuckGo Business Model Explained
How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Netflix Make Money? Netflix Business Model Explained
How Does Spotify Make Money? Spotify Business Model In A Nutshell
The Trillion Dollar Company: Apple Business Model In A Nutshell
DuckDuckGo: The [Former] Solopreneur That Is Beating Google at Its Game
The post Business Storytelling: How To Build Your Brand Around Storytelling appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
What Is a Barbell Strategy? Barbell Strategy Applied To Business
A Barbell strategy consists of making sure that 90% of your capital is safe, and use the remaining 10%, or on risky investments. Applied to business strategy, this means having a binary approach. On the one hand, extremely conservative. On the other, extremely aggressive, thus creating a potent mix.
Barbell strategy in a nutshell
A Barbell strategy, a la Taleb consists of making sure that 90% of your capital is safe, by investing it in Risk-Free assets, which cover from inflation. On the other hand use 10%, or the remaining capital for very risky investments.
Few people can coin a new word, and one of those is the options trader, writer, and philosopher Nicholas Nassim Taleb. He introduces the concept of Black Swans and how to deal with that in his three books series called “Incerto.”
Before men discovered the existence of Black Swans in Australia, empirical evidence showed that they did not exist.
The problem with empirical evidence is that it can only be falsified rather than prove to be right or wrong ultimately. In other words, there will be not a final theory in science, or in socio-economical life, that will be right forever.
Instead, a method that works better compared to the previous ones. Until a new, evolved theory, therefore falsify a previous one. It does not mean that the former assumption was wrong, but rather not as complete as the new theory.
What does this introduction have to do with investing? The investing world is plenty of gurus, which affirm to be able to read the markets.
The problem is that this is not possible, not because they are not knowledgeable enough but somewhat because they are too indoctrinated with their theories and, therefore, they fall into the narrative fallacy.
The narrative fallacy is a bias that we all carry, but that the so-called “experts” seem to carry the most.
In other words, we tend to give an explanation and create cause-effect relationships between events, which are not related at all. In short, with words we can create stories, those stories fit a narrative, which is deviant from reality.
Also, while experts in the domain of physical things, maybe really able to have a better understanding of that domain, this is not the case for social areas.
As Taleb puts it,
“if you put 1000 people in line and you take the person who weighs the most in the world, that person will represent thirty basis points of the total (0.30% of the total);”
instead, if you take 1000 people and you want to measure how the wealthiest person in the world will affect the total, you will be astonished to see that person representing 99.9% of the total.
Mediocristan vs. Extremistan
In other words, Taleb classifies our world in two domains, a first domain, called Mediocristan, like the weight example. And a second domain, called Extremistan, like the wealth example.
In the weight example (mediocristan), one single rare event minimally impacts the total. In the wealth example (extremistan), instead, one single rare event will make the total. From here, we go back to our idea of black swans.
Socio-economics is classifiable as an extremistan domain, where one rare event can make the total. Therefore, the problem here is to understand the difference between rare events, or “Black Swans” which can be classified in “Positive Black Swans” and “Negative Black Swans.”
In other words, we want to avoid negative black swans, while we want to completely expose ourselves to positive black swans. But how does this concept apply to finance and investments?
To take advantage of positive swans while avoiding negative ones, you have to take an opposite approach in the same domain. In short, you want to cover yourself from blowups while also making yourself exposed to unlimited upsides.
The barbell strategy
This strategy translates into the Barbell strategy, elaborated by Taleb. This strategy mainly consists of making sure that 90% of your capital is safe, by investing it in Risk-Free assets, which cover from inflation. On the other hand use 10% of the remaining capital for very risky investments.
Risky investments such as options, or rights but not obligations to either buy or sell a stock in the future. The cool thing about options is the fact that you know the downside beforehand (the cost of the option), although, you don’t know the upside (as Taleb puts it “The sky is the limit”).
While this strategy can be used in investing, it can also be used in other domains of life. The interesting theory coming from Taleb’s book is intriguing since it can be expanded to the point of making yourself “antifragile” to life.
This new word coined by Taleb differs from robustness. Indeed, while robust things are resistant, “antifragile” things, gain from disorder. In an uncertain, extremistan world, becoming antifragile can be the answer and solution to life’s meanest problems.
The Four-Week MBA is an online community. The article above is not meant as an investment advice, but rather as an educational article. For investment advice consulting an investment professional.
The resources you need to get started with your business model:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
How to Write a One-Page Business Plan
The Rise of the Subscription Economy
How to Build a Great Business Plan According to Peter Thiel
What Is The Most Profitable Business Model?
The Era Of Paywalls: How To Build A Subscription Business For Your Media Outlet
How To Create A Business Model
What Is Business Model Innovation And Why It Matters
What Is Blitzscaling And Why It Matters
Snapshot: One Year Of “Business Model” Searches On Google In Review
Business Model Vs Business Plan: When And How To Use Them
The Five Key Factors That Lead To Successful Tech Startups
Top 12 Business Ideas with Low Investment and High Profit
Business Model Tools for Small Businesses and Startups
How To Use A Freemium Business Model To Scale Up Your Business
Popular case studies from the blog:
The Power of Google Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Google Make Money? It’s Not Just Advertising!
How Does DuckDuckGo Make Money? DuckDuckGo Business Model Explained
How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Netflix Make Money? Netflix Business Model Explained
How Does Spotify Make Money? Spotify Business Model In A Nutshell
The Trillion Dollar Company: Apple Business Model In A Nutshell
DuckDuckGo: The [Former] Solopreneur That Is Beating Google at Its Game
The post What Is a Barbell Strategy? Barbell Strategy Applied To Business appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
November 10, 2019
Stats and Facts Of Challenges Content Marketers Face [Infographic]
Content marketing isn’t as easy as many think. Producing high-value quality content is one thing; winning leads over and ensuring conversions is quite another. While working your way through the content marketing journey, you will most likely encounter a lot of challenges. On the flip side, however, its advantages are so numerous and beneficial that the obstacles faced become seemingly negligible.
Some content marketers are limited by technology. Others, on the other hand, have adequate technology but can’t use it to its full potential.
Interestingly, a study by the folks at Review 42 revealed that only 18% claimed they had the right technology to manage their content marketing efforts. Another 45% claimed they had the right technology but weren’t using it to its full potential.
Driving Traffic and Generating Leads
Most online customers often do their research online before sticking to a particular brand or buying a particular product. So, you need to develop an online presence to be found.
Simply generating good content isn’t enough anymore. You must promote the content you create. In fact, most successful content marketers spend 80% of their time on content promotion and only 20% on content creation.
Social Media Algorithm Changes
Nothing scares marketers more than a change in the algorithm of their social media challenge. 2011 came with its own fair share of changes in social media algorithms, affecting the way content marketers carry out their content marketing campaigns.
Take, for example, the change in Facebook’s algorithm. The social media giant announced users would now see more news from friends, family, and groups rather than news from businesses and brands.
Also, content that was intentionally provocative or sensationalist was demoted and, by extension, so was its organic reach.
Content marketers today are faced with scores of challenges. But finding answers to these challenges can help run successful content marketing campaigns.
Check out the infographic below to get a better view of the challenges faced by marketers such as data privacy/regulations, staffing and changes to SEO algorithms, among others, to find a way out of the difficulties.
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Other business resources:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
The Complete Guide To Business Development
Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
What Is Market Segmentation? the Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
How To Write A Mission Statement
What is Growth Hacking?
Growth Hacking Canvas: A Glance At The Tools To Generate Growth Ideas
The post Stats and Facts Of Challenges Content Marketers Face [Infographic] appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
10 Startup Terms You Should Know
Do you have an idea that you think could make a viable business? If so, you can make it a reality — at least, there isn’t anything major stopping you from making a serious attempt. We can take the internet for granted, using it for entertainment and forgetting that it’s the greatest resource humanity has ever developed.
As it happens, all the guides you can read and all the tools you’ll need are out there just waiting for you to get started. Though there’s little in your way practically, though, you don’t want to go into that process with no knowledge of what you can expect. You don’t have to get your first startup attempt right, but you should at least give it your best effort.
Since you’re on this site, you’re on the right path: read as much as you can, and you’ll learn all about top business models, how to make money, and how to build a compelling brand. In this piece specifically, we’re going to run through 10 startups terms that are absolutely worth knowing for anyone in the entrepreneurial world. Let’s begin:
Scalability
You can have an idea that’s perfectly viable in the long term with limited growth, and can sustain a small business indefinitely — and if you’re not aspiring to great things, that can be enough. The issue, though, is that reaching a high level of success requires scalability.
Depending on the context, this can refer to one of two things: the potential of your business concept to be expanded steadily, or the room for growth in your operational infrastructure. If you want your startup to eventually reach a reasonable size, it needs scalability.
Incubator
In the era of remote working, the notion of shared working spaces has really caught fire. Professionals who aren’t tied down to particular locations like getting to work alongside people from other companies and fields: it helps to expand their horizons, and provides them with varied support.
An incubator is somewhat akin to shared working space in that it’s a facility designed to house and support startups. If there are a great idea and solid talent but the plan is lacking, joining an incubator is often the way to go.
Pivot
What happens when you’ve built a great team and happened upon some interesting ideas in the process of discovering that your primary idea is practically untenable? Well, if you have the necessary determination and presence of mind, you pivot.
Pivoting involves swapping out the core of your startup while retaining as much of everything else as possible. Some of the biggest companies in the world are the products of timely pivots.
Freemium
A popular choice in the time of SaaS, the Freemium model offers a great middle-ground between free services supported by ads and/or donations and paid services that might be somewhat too expensive for the target audience to consider.
Freemium software comes in two forms: some tools have free tiers with restrictions that encourage users to pay to upgrade (e.g. Dropbox), while others essentially have free modules that have specific limitations but make it more likely that their users will choose to pay for some of the paid modules that natively integrate with them (for example, it’s free to use Wave for startup invoicing, and if you do so then you might decide to pay for the linked payroll service).
Seed
Seed, or seed money, is the initial round of investment in a fresh startup — so named because it’s intended (and expected) to grow into something exponentially larger. This type of investment isn’t usually that substantial and might have much harsher terms than later investments.
It’s all due to the likelihood that any given startup will fail. Investors who wait to pitch in until a startup has shown some real-world promise will get a safer prospect but worse terms.
Cash flow
Consider your business activities for a given period — typically a week or a month — and compare two things: the money you received during that time, and the money you paid. The ratio of the former to the latter is your cash flow, and it can be positive or negative. If it’s negative, then your liquidity is suffering, which can cause massive problems.
Note that it isn’t about deals made or money owed, just money actually sent and received. Cash flow is fully distinct from profitability (and profitable business can collapse if it has a negative cash flow).
Accessibility
Very important these days, accessibility is largely about the design approach of everything from software to instructional manuals. When you receive a booklet for a purchased product and find that it contains setup details in numerous languages, that’s the result of accessibility being a priority. In the digital realm, it pushes companies to create layouts that visually-impaired people can clearly parse, and support screen readers designed for blind users.
Churn
Churn is a word that sparks fear in the hearts of small business owners everywhere. It refers to the rate at which customers are lost, requiring you to source new customers to maintain your level of business.
Given that it’s typically markedly more expensive to win over a new customer than it is to keep an existing one (plus long-term customers tend to spend more and be more enthusiastic), keeping the churn rate down is a vital priority — particularly for SaaS companies.
Evangelist
Every business needs backers and not just of the financial kind. An evangelist is someone happy to sing the praises of a particular startup to anyone who’ll listen: they’re incredibly excited about what it brings to the table, and want to get everyone they meet involved.
Sometimes an evangelist is an investor in a startup, but sometimes they’re simply a customer so happy with the results that they want to play a part in the company’s growth.
MVP
In the context of business, MVP stands for a minimum viable product, and it’s a term that the average startup owner needs to understand well. Here’s why: a startup (even in good shape) won’t have a remarkable budget, and will be pressed for time, meaning that it can’t realistically overdeliver on its targets.
Instead, it must determine the necessary components of its intended product or service. Additional features can be added later, but for the company to endure, it needs to have something tangible to offer. That’s the MVP.
Other business resources:
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
The Complete Guide To Business Development
Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas Explained
Blitzscaling Business Model Innovation Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
What Is a Lean Startup Canvas? Lean Startup Canvas Explained
What Is Market Segmentation? the Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business
How To Write A Mission Statement
What is Growth Hacking?
Growth Hacking Canvas: A Glance At The Tools To Generate Growth Ideas
The post 10 Startup Terms You Should Know appeared first on FourWeekMBA.
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