Gennaro Cuofano's Blog, page 239

An Essay: My Notes On Voice Search

On this blog, I’ve already covered and talked about voice search and why I think is critical to Google future strategy.

Let me start by a couple of moves Google has made which show – I argue – how much the company is betting on voice search. For instance, in 2018, Google invested in San Diego-based startup, KaiOS.

This is a company that created an operating system for a feature phone (the dumb brother of a smartphone). What’s so incredible about KaiOS is that it creates within a feature phone some smart features, like social, and productivity apps. KaiOS also allows feature phones holders to install a Google Assistant.

That is incredible! Finally, hundreds of millions cheap phones around the world, especially in India and Africa can be connected to the internet and have access to apps (like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Google) that have influenced the spread of global cultures in the last decade.

If Google manages to make its Voice Assistants widely used on those devices, it will be able to collect massive amounts of voice data and get access to emerging markets very quickly.

Also, in January 2019, Google bought the answer engine called Superpod. It paid $60 million for it. While we don’t know for sure how Google will use it, we can imagine this will be used as a repository of answers that will help Google enhance its voice search side.

If that is not enough for you, look at the graphic below:

[image error]

Source: SEMRush Sensor

This is a visualization from the SEMRush sensor. In short, this is a tool that measures, based on a sample of searches, what percentage of those are served as advanced features of Google.

Some of these features comprise featured snippets, knowledge panels, top stories, and instant answers. This is of course only a reference point and it is not meant as to say that those are exact numbers of Google advanced searches.

However, they are enough for me to support the argument that those features are essential, not only because as a business owner, they can give more visibility to your company through them.

But they show how Google is evolving toward voice search. Indeed, a featured snippet is an answer Google gives to specific questions, also complex ones. Below an example:

[image error]

When Google intercepts an intent of a user that might be well served with a featured snippet.

Other features, like knowledge panels, top stories, and instant answers, all have as an aim to push some information out, on the search results pages – without the users have to click through websites links provided by Google – so that users can find it without the need to leave the search page.

From the image above you can appreciate how the effect of these features is cannibalizing the visibility of organic content. But it also shows how we might be going toward voice search.

Indeed, as shown on this blog, often, advanced features like featured snippets do also become answers in the voice assistant.

This is an example of a featured snippet from this blog, coming from the query “what is a hidden revenue business model” that also has become an answer within Google Assistant:

Considering that in 2018, Google Assistants were already on over five hundred million devices. That justifies all the excitement around voice, and why it is so important in the future development of the web.

Besides all the buzz, excitement and utopic views that go with new technologies, let’s also look at the downside of voice.

Is voice search in tune with human nature?

The classic study by Albert Mehrabian pointed out that 55% of communication happens via body language, 38% to tone or voice – meant as tone and music – and 7% to words.

Whether or not those numbers are accurate, completely off track, or apocryphal, let’s think about this issue from a different perspective.

If I think about this issue rationally, I’m driven to believe that most of my communication is done via words, spoken and written. However, this is the logical side that wants me to think he’s in charge.

On the other hand, we all know that there are dozens if not hundreds of cues that each day help us go through and drive us.

From a simple expression of a person’s face, we can infer the mood of that person. From a simple gesture, there is a whole world. Thus, we can – I guess – agree that words, be them spoken or written are only a small part of our communication.

The remaining part is body language. For that matter, voice search doesn’t seem to be the perfect candidate to replace most of our interactions with tech devices. Rather, body gestures will play a critical role.

When I’m on the street with a set of AirPods in my ears, I’ll never shout loud “next song.” I prefer rather tap on it a couple of times on my left ear to jump to the next song. It does make me look like a fool, but it’s way more comfortable.

Also, as those devices are used by more and more people, those gestures that might seem absurd now, might become part of our daily routines. If I tap twice on my left ear, the person on the other hand that also belongs to the “AirPods circle” will understand I’m also part of the same circle!

For instance, in a recent study:

[image error] Source: searchenginejournal.com

People surveyed mentioned as primary reasons for not liking the voice experience:

Not comfortable shopping by voice
Not screen (for smart speakers like Google Home)
Can type faster to get what is wanted
Do not like to say the wake words (like “Hey Google“)

It is important to notice that those devices are still at the primordial stage, and so far it’s very hard to control the experience of people using them. Also, often those devices work very hard at understanding us. So talking to them is not as easy as speaking to another human (yet).

In addition, humans have shown to use technologies also when they seemed counterintuitive and against our nature. I read entire books on my four inches smartphone! People have been searching for years stuff on the web, based on keywords, rather than use a more natural language.

Just because Google semantic power wouldn’t be able to keep up with users’ human-like searches. We didn’t change technology, we kept at it, as we didn’t know any better.

Thus, using this parameter alone won’t work. People use tech, not just because it is useful. They use it also because they want to belong. In fact, tech entrepreneurs are well aware of the importance of network effects, when building up a company.

With network effects, platforms get better with each new joining user. In addition, when a critical mass is reached people would be “socially locked-in.” When anyone around you has an app, you’ll need to have it too.

I still struggle these days explaining to my family why I don’t use WhatsApp, or why I’ve given up to social media for years (before activating social accounts again, back in 2015, to spread more easily the content of FourWeekMBA).

Therefore, the ability of those companies to put as many devices on the hands of people, with a proper distribution strategy that taps into the right channels, will be critical. Let’s do a recap.

Key takeaway

I’m a believer on voice search. And I do believe Google is and will invest massively in it. I’m also aware of its limitations. Voice might represent a great transition toward another more advanced way of discovering information and interacting with the objects that surround us.

Yet I’m not sure it will be the primary way we interact with things. This, of course, might turn out to be wrong!

What’s your take on that?

Read next:

The Power of Google 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
How Does Spotify Make Money? Spotify Business Model In A Nutshell
DuckDuckGo: The [Former] Solopreneur That Is Beating Google at Its Game

How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Hidden Revenue Business Model Explained

The post An Essay: My Notes On Voice Search appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

“Talk To Four Week MBA:” My Notes On Voice Search

If you’re in the United States the FourWeekMBA has created the first Quiz and Trivia about Business Models; you can finally test your skills about the companies that dominate the business world and how much you know about them!

Below, a sneak preview:

[image error]

Go to your Google Assistant or ask to your Google Home device “Hey Google, talk to Four Week MBA” and it will trigger a The Business Models quiz by FourWeekMBA so that you can test your business skills! 

The Quiz will be updated by time to time and enriched.

If you need some help before the quiz:

Some resources for you to train:

What Is a Business Model?
What Is a Business Model Canvas?
Amazon Business Model
Netflix Business Model 
Starbucks Business Model
Google Business Model
DuckDuckGo Business Model
Apple Business Model
Microsoft Business Model
Facebook Business Model

My notes on voice search, voice devices and more

On this blog, I’ve already covered and talked about voice search and why I think is critical to Google future strategy.

Let me start by a couple of moves Google has made which show – I argue – how much the company is betting on voice search. For instance, in 2018, Google invested in San Diego-based startup, KaiOS.

This is a company that created an operating system for a feature phone (the dumb brother of a smartphone). What’s so incredible about KaiOS is that it creates within a feature phone some smart features, like social, and productivity apps. KaiOS also allows feature phones holders to install a Google Assistant.

That is incredible! Finally, hundreds of millions cheap phones around the world, especially in India and Africa can be connected to the internet and have access to apps (like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Google) that have influenced the spread of global cultures in the last decade.

If Google manages to make its Voice Assistants widely used on those devices, it will be able to collect massive amounts of voice data and get access to emerging markets very quickly.

Also, in January 2019, Google bought the answer engine called Superpod. It paid $60 million for it. While we don’t know for sure how Google will use it, we can imagine this will be used as a repository of answers that will help Google enhance its voice search side.

If that is not enough for you, look at the graphic below:

[image error]

Source: SEMRush Sensor

This is a visualization from the SEMRush sensor. In short, this is a tool that measures, based on a sample of searches, what percentage of those are served as advanced features of Google.

Some of these features comprise featured snippets, knowledge panels, top stories, and instant answers. This is of course only a reference point and it is not meant as to say that those are exact numbers of Google advanced searches.

However, they are enough for me to support the argument that those features are essential, not only because as a business owner, they can give more visibility to your company through them.

But they show how Google is evolving toward voice search. Indeed, a featured snippet is an answer Google gives to specific questions, also complex ones. Below an example:

[image error]

When Google intercepts an intent of a user that might be well served with a featured snippet.

Other features, like knowledge panels, top stories, and instant answers, all have as an aim to push some information out, on the search results pages – without the users have to click through websites links provided by Google – so that users can find it without the need to leave the search page.

From the image above you can appreciate how the effect of these features is cannibalizing the visibility of organic content. But it also shows how we might be going toward voice search.

Indeed, as shown on this blog, often, advanced features like featured snippets do also become answers in the voice assistant.

This is an example of a featured snippet from this blog, coming from the query “what is a hidden revenue business model” that also has become an answer within Google Assistant:

Considering that in 2018, Google Assistants were already on over five hundred million devices. That justifies all the excitement around voice, and why it is so important in the future development of the web.

Besides all the buzz, excitement and utopic views that go with new technologies, let’s also look at the downside of voice.

Is voice search in tune with human nature?

The classic study by Albert Mehrabian pointed out that 55% of communication happens via body language, 38% to tone or voice – meant as tone and music – and 7% to words.

Whether or not those numbers are accurate, completely off track, or apocryphal, let’s think about this issue from a different perspective.

If I think about this issue rationally, I’m driven to believe that most of my communication is done via words, spoken and written. However, this is my logical side that wants me to think he’s in charge.

On the other hand, we all know that there are dozens if not hundreds of cues that each day help us go through and drive us.

From a simple expression of a person’s face, we can infer the mood of that person. From a simple gesture, there is a whole world. Thus, we can – I guess – agree that words, be them spoken or written are only a small part of our communication.

The remaining part is body language. For that matter, voice search doesn’t seem to be the perfect candidate to replace most of our interactions with tech devices. Rather, body gestures will play a critical role.

When I’m on the street with a set of AirPods in my ears, I’ll never shout loud “next song.” I prefer rather tap on it a couple of times on my left ear to jump to the next song. It does make me look like a fool, but it’s way more comfortable.

Also, as those devices are used by more and more people, those gestures that might seem absurd now, might become part of our daily routines. If I tap twice on my left ear, the person on the other hand that also belongs to the “AirPods circle” will understand I’m also part of the same circle!

For instance, in a recent study:

[image error] Source: searchenginejournal.com

People surveyed mentioned as primary reasons for not liking the voice experience:

Not comfortable shopping by voice
Not screen (for smart speakers like Google Home)
Can type faster to get what is wanted
Do not like to say the wake words (like “Hey Google“)

It is important to notice that those devices are still at the primordial stage, and so far it’s very hard to control the experience of people using them. Also, often those devices work very hard at understanding us. So talking to them is not as easy as speaking to another human (yet).

In addition, humans have shown to use technologies also when they seemed counterintuitive and against our nature. I read entire books on my four inches smartphone! People have been searching for years stuff on the web, based on keywords, rather than use a more natural language.

Just because Google semantic power wouldn’t be able to keep up with users’ human-like searches. We didn’t change technology, we kept at it, as we didn’t know any better.

Thus, using this parameter alone won’t work. People use tech, not just because it is useful. They use it also because they want to belong. In fact, tech entrepreneurs are well aware of the importance of network effects, when building up a company.

With network effects, platforms get better with each new joining user. In addition, when a critical mass is reached people would be “socially locked-in.” When anyone around you has an app, you’ll need to have it too.

I still struggle these days explaining to my family why I don’t use WhatsApp, or why I’ve given up to social media for years (before activating social accounts again, back in 2015, to spread more easily the content of FourWeekMBA).

Therefore, the ability of those companies to put as many devices on the hands of people, with a proper distribution strategy that taps into the right channels, will be critical. Let’s do a recap.

Key takeaway

I launched the first FourWeekMBA quiz on Business Models, that – if you are in the US – you can activate by using the invocation on Google Assistants or Google Home, “Talk to Four Week MBA.”

This will trigger a quiz, that will allow you to test your skills on business modeling. I will enrich it by time to time.

I’m a believer on voice search. And I do believe Google is and will invest massively in it. I’m also aware of its limitations. Voice might represent a great transition toward another more advanced way of discovering information and interacting with the objects that surround us.

Yet I’m not sure it will be the primary way we interact with things. This, of course, might turn out to be wrong!

What’s your take on that?

The post “Talk To Four Week MBA:” My Notes On Voice Search appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

Visualizing Top 25+ Unicorns Business Models For 2019

A Startup Unicorn is a company which has passed the billion dollars mark of valuation. Based on CB Insights research on Startup Unicorns. Variants of Unicorns include a Decacorn, made of companies valued at over $10 billion. And a Hectocorn, made of companies valued at over $100 billion. 

The top ten Startup Unicorns as of January 2019, comprise Bytedance, Uber, Didi Chuxing, WeWork, Lu.com, Airbnb, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, Stripe and JUUL Labs. The US remains the country with the highest numbers of Unicorns, followed by China. The top five industries for Startup Unicorns comprise Fintech, Internet Software, and Services, E-commerce/marketplace, On-demand, Healthcare.

The methodology used for the FourWeekMBA Unicorns Business Models Map

Classifying a business model isn’t a simple task, a business model is made of many moving parts. And creating a representation of a company on a single characteristic or feature is too reductive.

There are several approaches to define a business model. Each aims at understanding how a company works, and how its engine moves. That engine is made of things like key partners, resources, processes and how a company makes money.

Those approaches start from assumptions about what a company is and what aspects to focus on. Therefore, any attempt at classifying business model might never be complete enough.

For the sake of this article, I’ll put a label on each business model, by picking what I think is the most qualifying ingredient for the organization in the current moment. The aim is to provide you with as many business insights or at least stimulate your curiosity about these organizations.

As any labeling system, it has many limitations. Just like putting a label on a person is reductive, putting one on a complex organization is even more simplifying.

It is important to remark that this is not a science. A business strategy itself is made of assumptions about how the world works. In my opinion, the role of the entrepreneur is to test those assumptions in the real world as quickly as possible. When those assumptions turn out to be wrong, we’ll call them “failures.”

Yet in reality, those are feedbacks about the world at that moment. For instance, an idea might be too early for the world to accept, and an entrepreneur which is trying to push it to the market will fail.

It is important to notice that complex organization (think of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft) don’t rely on a single business model pattern, but have combined them to create a unique organization that can capture a long-term competitive advantage.

For instance, Amazon runs on several models, from a subscription-based, to cloud as a service, to an online store, third-party stores and more.

While this is true for larger organizations, consolidated over the years; for smaller organizations, or unicorn startups a simpler business model allows them to scale up to a billion dollar valuation.

I did my best to put the right label on each of the Unicorns, part of the FourWeekMBA Unicorns Business Models for 2019. This label comprises the main feature of that company from both product and monetization standpoint.

The Unicorns come from a list of 311 companies by CB Insights.

I hope you enjoy and get as many insights from it!

The FourWeekMBA Unicorns Business Models For 2019

Toutiao (Bytedance) business model : digital short-video format model powered by AI
Uber business model : ride-sharing on-demand marketplace model
Didi Chuxing business model: digital media on-demand marketplace model
WeWork business model: office space sharing/real-estate-as-a-service model
Lu.com business model: online finance marketplace model
Airbnb : e-commerce/on-demand home-sharing marketplace model
SpaceX business model: space transportation model
Palantir Technologies business model: big data-based enterprise SaaS model
Stripe business model:  payment marketplace model
JUUL Labs business model: consumer electronics model
Epic Games business model: digital games marketplace model
Pinterest business model: digital advertising model
Bitmain Technologies business model: crypto mining blockchain-based model
Samumed business model: biotech-based model
Lyft business model: ride-sharing on-demand marketplace model
GrabTaxi business model: ride-sharing on-demand marketplace model
Global Switch business model: multi-tenanted data centers-as-a-service model
Infor business model: cloud-based enterprise SaaS model 
DJI Innovations business model: drones products-based model
One97 Communications (operates Paytm) business model: marketplace and virtual bank model
Coupang business model: mobile-based eCommerce/Marketplace for consumer products 
Coinbase business model: digital currency exchange marketplace model
Instacart business model: on-demand grocery delivery services and marketplace model
Slack Technologies business model: team-communication-as-a-service freemium model
Snapdeal business model: daily-deal e-commerce/marketplace model
Roivant Sciences business model: biotech in-license drugs and development model

Other 60 business model patterns FourWeekMBA has put together in partnership with BMI Lab:

Other resources for your business:

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
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
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business

The post Visualizing Top 25+ Unicorns Business Models For 2019 appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

SEO Guide: How To Grow Your Blog With SEO

Google has changed a lot in the last decade. It is now way more a semantic engine than it was back than. What has changed? 

Let’s get started from a key algorithm change: RankBrain.

What is RankBrain why it matters?

Google RankBrain is a machine-learning system integrated within a Google algorithm update called Hummingbird. This Google system is able to better serve search results to users based on their intent, rather than just keyword matching.

It’s hard to realize how complex and sophisticated is the Google search algorithm just because it works so marvelously well that it seems natural it does so. Yet before we got there, it took almost two decades. And that revolution was evident in 2015.

In fact, that year futurist Ray Kurzweil arrived at Google, with one mission: make search engines understand human language. That is how he put it:

My mission at Google is to develop natural language understanding with a team and in collaboration with other researchers at Google. Search has moved beyond just finding keywords, but it still doesn’t read all these billions of web pages and book pages for semantic content. If you write a blog post, you’ve got something to say, you’re not just creating words and synonyms. We’d like the computers to actually pick up on that semantic meaning. If that happens, and I believe that it’s feasible, people could ask more complex questions.

Source: Wired.com

From that quest, Google updated its algorithm in 2013, with Hummingbird and later on in 2015, AI (in the form of Natural Language Processing) became a major factor for search with RankBrain.

In other words, a few years back it didn’t make any sense to ask questions to Google because it didn’t know what to do with them. Today the scenario has changed substantially. We can test that right now:

When I type in Google’s search box “moon distance,” that is what I get:

You may think this is pure keyword matching, but it is not.

In fact, if I ask “How far is the moon?”

I get the same answer:

Google’s ability to understand language goes further. If I search “moon distance in meters” that is what I get:

In short, Google knows I’m referring to the same thing and gives me the proper answer.

Related: What is SEO Hacking? How to Steal Featured Snippets with These SEO Hacks

What does that mean for SEO? Is traditional SEO dead?

The old SEO says that if you want to be successful at ranking your site you got to have backlinks, keywords and optimize for those. Those basic tactics still work. Indeed, the backbone of the web got built upon backlinks.

In fact, in a Q&A with Andrey Lipattsev, a Search Quality Senior Strategist at Google, when asked what factors, together with RankBrain affected Google’s rankings, he replied:

I can tell you what they are. It is content. And it’s links pointing to your site. (source: searchengineland.com )

Therefore, it was confirmed that the three major factors in Google’s rankings are:

1 & 2: Links, Content (hard to say what comes first among the two)

3: RankBrain

How do you make your SEO strategy effective in an era where NLP-powered search algorithms can read human language independently from keywords?

First, this process is more like a transition. Therefore, even though keywords still matter they are becoming obsolete. When is this happening? Hard to say!

That will probably also depend on how fast voice search will take over, which will speed up the process as people will start interacting in natural language rather than keywords with those digital assistants.

What can you do then?

As made clear by Google itself there are a few things that still help it understand web pages. One of them is structured data. In fact, not by chance Google has inserted structured data in its Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide by making clear that:

Proper structured data in your news, blog, and sports article page can enhance your appearance in Google Search results. Enhanced features include entry in a top stories carousel and rich result features such as headline text and larger-than-thumbnail images.

Source: Google Developers

This is crucial because this structured data also trigger voice commands ad Google specifies here:

By structuring your content according to this guide, your content may be automatically turned into an action on the Google Assistant.

Source: Google Developers

There are tremendous implications for that.

First, you can’t think any more of SEO as single and isolated “tricks” or tactics. That is something that great SEO experts already knew. But now this needs to be clear to everyone looking to implement advanced SEO strategies today.

Second, with structured data; SEO, PASO and editorial strategy become the same thing. If you start building your content

Third, you need an entity-based content model based built upon a sort of barbel strategy. On the one hand, short, conversational and voice-ready content. On the other hand, long, detailed content. The short content will be used to address specific questions, to make it ready for voice search.

In short, that is how you make your SEO strategy holistic. You also need a rigorous process of SEO Hacking if you want your site to gain traction, quickly.

How does SEO change in this context?

We saw how Google changed in the last years. What was relevant just in 2015, it isn’t so anymore. Of course, old strategies might still work in the short term, but they’re slowly losing relevance. This means that a winning SEO strategy has to be more holistic and it has to take into account an entity-based content model built upon three pillars:

long-form content for the top of the funnel
short-form, conversational content for the bottom of the funnel
structured data to make that content better understood by search engines and voice-search ready

Those things together can help you reach the top of Google‘s search but most importantly get ready for voice search.

This kind of approach – the entity-based content model – has been developed together with the WordLift team for whom I’ve been involved as a Business Developer. WordLift is a software that uses AI in the form of NLP to enhance on-page SEO and assist SEO experts to transition toward a future where RankBrain became a primary factor for Google’s search algorithm.

As of 2018 structured data and open linked data are two crucial factors that Google is taking into account to rank web pages. Not only that. In fact, nowadays things are changing, and Google‘s search algorithm is getting smarter and smarter. For that matter, there are three crucial aspects of search to take into account:

Google‘s featured snippet
Google‘s Knowledge panel
Voice search

From a superficial look, those might seem like three separated aspects of SEO. However, that is not the case. In fact, with a proper Semantic SEO strategy, you can target them all.

Before we get to more advanced strategies, let’s cover some basics.

SEO copywriting basics

Many who write online believe that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is something too complicated to handle. That is why they give up before even figuring out what is SEO and how it works. However, I want to show you a practical way to use a few free and simple tools to use right now to master the basics of SEO copywriting.

Enter Google Autocomplete and Google related searches

Unknowingly we’re all search engine experts. By that, I don’t mean to say that we all need to be going around telling others what to do. Instead, that Google is a website we use on a daily basis. Therefore, we know how to deal with it. For instance, you might have noticed that when you type something in the search bar, you get suggestions:

[image error]

Those suggestions you get is called Google autocomplete. That feature is quite useful for a few reasons. First, it helps you complete the search by suggesting you valuable things. Second, it saves you time. Third, it also gives you new ideas about things you might not have thought about.

That is from the user standpoint. What about who writes content? Well for those who write content Google autocomplete feature is even more useful. In fact, those suggestions are queries or questions that users frequently ask Google. That is why they are getting featured as autocompleted results.

Also, Google also shows related searches at the bottom of the page:

[image error]

Those two tools are all you need to pick a topic, title and the right keywords for your next copy. In fact, that is Big Data Google is giving you about your target audience. That is also all you need to understand the basics of SEO copywriting.

Related: What is SEO Hacking? How to Steal Featured Snippets with These SEO Hacks

Pick the right topic by using free Big Data

It is critical to writing about something you’re passionate about. Yet if you’re writing for business, you need to find an audience first. How do you see that? Simple, look at Google’s autocomplete. In fact, those are frequently asked questions, which means there is an audience for that specific topic.

In fact, we all use Google mostly to solve practical issues. Therefore, with the autocomplete, you can figure out whether there is an audience for the article you’re about to write.

For instance, let’s say you’re writing a piece about SEO for Google. Of course, Google is the most used search engine; we’re so used to it that many users still believe that is the only search engine out there. Also, “why” is a powerful question to be used as a hook for your next piece. Thus, you type into Google search box something like “Why Google” and see what the autocomplete will suggest:

[image error]

The first suggestion “Why is Google the best search engine” seems excellent as the topic of your next piece.

Let your readers pick the right title

Journalists know the title is a crucial component of the whole piece. Therefore, you might want to spend time understanding what title to use for an article. One kind of claim that works pretty well for business content is that title that addresses a specific pain point of the users. Where do people show their pain? On social media, for sure they don’t. Once again, Google is the place, and the autocomplete is the answer.

In the previous paragraph, we used the autocomplete to see whether the topic we want to write about has an audience. Now we want to figure out whether the title is good enough. Google told us through the autocomplete that people often ask “Why is Google the best search engine.” All you have to do now is to check if this title has potential. For instance, you could use the Headline Analyzer to check this out:

[image error]

The Headline Analyzer gave a score of 72 out of 100. That is pretty good considering I’ve never had a score higher than 76. I wouldn’t focus too much on the number, but I believe from 70 up the headline shows great potential.

We have the title; now we need the right keywords. How do you do that?

Target the right keywords with Google related searches

Most people that write online fear SEO, because they believe that is too hard, or that they need to know sophisticated search engine optimization techniques. That doesn’t make sense at all. First, if you think of SEO is about gaming Google‘s algorithm, you got it wrong. SEO is a set of insights that you have about what people look for through Google. In short, you can uncover data about your potential readers, and customers with the utmost simplicity.

In fact, SEO doesn’t have to be complex at all. For instance, now that we picked a topic and a title, we can find some keywords users are typing into Google related to the topic we’re about to write. How? Simply by using Google‘s suggestions.

For instance, I start by typing the autosuggestion that helped me pick the topic:

[image error]

Once Google gives me the result page I can scroll to the bottom of the page to see the related searches Google gives me:

[image error]

This will be a good list of long-tail keywords, which are merely questions users type into Google search box, which is as popular as the one we just typed in. Use that list like I’m doing below:

what makes google so popular
what has made the google search engine so successful
best search engines
internet search engines
search engine definition
bing search engines
why google is good for us
types of search engines

You could pick a few of those and include that in your copy. Of course, you need to do it in a way that doesn’t make your writing worse. In other words, in your text among the questions that you pose there might be “Is Google the best search engine?” or “Why Google is good for us?”

These questions even though usually have a way lower volume compared to simple keywords like “SEO” they are also more specific and address an issue the user is having at that moment. Therefore, those are transactions.

That is how you get questions users frequently ask, to include in your copy to address real doubts your target customers might have. That’s it.

Key takeaway on SEO copywriting

Search engine optimization is not complicated. That is how we perceive it though. Of course, there are basic to advanced tactics. The advanced tactics are for those people that gained experience in the SEO industry for years. However, if you’re trying to put down a simple piece, which copy is optimized and at the same time useful to your potential users you can do that in four simple steps:

make sure there is an audience for the topic you’re writing about with Google autocomplete
pick the right title by looking at questions users frequently ask Google
find out relevant and related long-tail keywords/ queries users are asking to Google
include those keywords organically in your text, always focusing on the user needs so that the copy is accessible to readers


An SEO case study

A little caveat: the purpose of this article is to show you the findings of my experiments. I try to test things, not in the sense of gathering data but rather to do simple experiments with a low probability of succeeding. When one of those does succeed; for me the signal is clear. There is something in the experiment that Google liked. I can’t say exactly why and what. But that doesn’t matter. As long as you follow the steps I’ve taken chances are you’ll also get similar results.

Related: What is SEO Hacking? How to Steal Featured Snippets with These SEO Hacks

Start with the end in mind

On this blog I published an article about Google‘s business model:

What Is a Hidden Revenue Business Model? Google’s Business Model Explained

I intended to target a long-tail keyword with low search volume and competition and see if I could trigger a featured snippet. Once and if the featured snippet would have been triggered. I’d wait a few days and then test whether that also triggered a voice search from my Google assistant. That is what I did, and it worked!

In short, the question I targeted was: 

“what’s a hidden revenue business model?” 

After 24 hours from publishing the article associated with that query, the featured snippet appeared:

[image error]

After a few days that featured snippet has become a trigger for the voice search answer you get from Google‘s assistants:

How did that happen?

Dissecting Google’s featured snippet

Going from the featured snippet to voice search is not automatic. Backlinko recently analyzed over 10,000 Google Home search results, and it found that 40.7% of all voice search answers came from a Featured Snippet. 

Of course, thinking about a fixed percentage might be deceiving as Google continuously updates its search algorithm. Also, voice search is so new that it’s hard to say how it will evolve in the next months. 

Yet as of now a featured snippet is a powerful way to get into voice search, that is also why I like a strategy based on targeting for the Google‘s featured snippet.

In a recent post I explained how I triggered the featured snippet and what steps I did take to make that happen:

[image error]

Above you can see a summary and breakdown of five critical aspects.

Google’s search algorithm is smart enough to split text and images: how to optimize for both image and text in the featured snippet

In my editorial strategy, you’ll see that in some cases I divide up the title of an article in two parts. The first part is usually a question. In fact, the purpose of that question is to target a featured snippet.

Recently I had written an article on DuckDuckGo business model:

How Does DuckDuckGo Make Money? DuckDuckGo Business Model Explained

I was targeting the question: “How does DuckDuckGo make money?”

However, this one was way more competitive as the featured snippet was already taken by Quora (as you might imagine Google trusts Quora way more than a small blog like mine). However, not all is lost.

Thus, I had already an answer to that question on Quora. So I used the infographic I had produced for my article, and I added it to the same question on Quora.

My reasoning was simple. First, the question that was ranking first on Quora and that Google was using as featured snippet didn’t have any image inside. So why not try to see whether I could trigger a featured snippet by signaling Google that my answer was more comprehensive as it comprised the infographic.

Second, by positioning my content on Quora, I was also trying to signal to Google that the same content coming from my blog could be trusted. In short, I was trying to use Quora as a vehicle to bring credibility toward my blog.  Something interesting happened.

[image error]

The day after I had repurposed my content over Quora. When I typed on Google the question “how does DuckDuckGo make money?” it triggered the old featured snippet.

This time though, while the text was coming from the old answer; the image was coming from my answer (which includes a graphics I had inserted inside).  Even though I didn’t manage to steal the featured snippet; I still managed to position my image inside the featured snippet. 

In short, I believe since the text answer from Quora didn’t provide any graphics. The search algorithms pulled it out from mine. 

In other words, Google‘s search algorithm is smart enough to split the featured snippet in half: text and image. 

Remember the purpose of the featured snippet is to give a direct, short answer to users for questions. Further, the goal is to provide relevant content that can quickly answer, be it text or an image. 

That is also why at times the search algorithm might get the text from a site and the image from another site. Therefore, when you’re planning to trigger a snippet, you have to make sure to do a consistent strategy for both text and image. Both have to be prone to be “snipped!”

Do you want to skip the line? Target the featured snippet!

In 2017 ahrefs.com analyzed 2 million featured snippets. From the analysis it turned out that a featured snippet didn’t always come from the first position on Google‘s SERP:

[image error]

Source: ahrefs.com

From the data above you can see that also search results that are at the 4th or 5th position have chances of getting the featured snippet. This is important because if you do get it, then you’ll steal traffic from the first position.

[image error]

Source: ahrefs.com

As pointed out by the same study, when a search result is ranked first, and there is no featured snippet, it gets 26% of the traffic for the overall query. When instead, there is a featured snippet on that page the first result only reaches 19.6% of traffic. In other words, the featured snippet steals traffic from the first positions.

At times a featured snippet might be triggered by the last results on the first page, just like it happened to me with this query:

[image error]

Even though my result was in the 7th position in the SERP (therefore according to ahrefs.com study it only had 0.7% of chances of getting snipped) it still triggered a featured snippet.

Featured snippet vs. knowledge panel: Who’s the winner?

Another SEO experiment I had done was based on personal branding. In short, I was trying to assess whether I could trigger a featured snippet on the query “who’s Gennaro Cuofano?”

Thus, control my brand through Google. Therefore, I set up a page for the scope and used a strategy that I explained in this article. This SEO experiment is important because usually a featured snippet of a person is triggered either when there is a Wikipedia page that supports it. Or the site from where it’s coming from has high authority. Yet I wanted to see whether I could do that with my small blog based on the quality of data I provided to Google.

It did trigger it:

[image error]

Thus, the featured snippet showed up. Also, something interesting happened! A knowledge panel that before wasn’t there was triggered:

[image error]

In this particular case that is pulling up information about me taken from an author page, I have on Amazon.

What is a Google Knowledge Panel? 

 As specified by Google:

When people search for a business on Google, they may see information about that business in a box that appears to the right of their search results. The information in the box, called the Knowledge Panel, can help customers discover and contact your business. 

How do you get one? 

Like search results, whether or not a business’s information will appear in the Knowledge Panel is determined by a variety of factors. Relevance, distance, and the prominence of the business all contribute to its standing in local search results. Verifying a business does not guarantee that it will appear in the Knowledge Panel.

In short, it seemed like the work I’ve done for the featured snippet (Schema and Open Linked Data might have been the most significant contributors) had also triggered the knowledge panel.

However, as of the time of this writing, the knowledge panel has eaten the featured snippet:

[image error]

Like in a poker game where there are winning hands. If I had to compare featured snippet to knowledge panel; I’d say the featured snippet is like having a four of a kind. Instead, the knowledge panel is like having a straight flush!

In fact, today if you look for “Gennaro Cuofano” you’ll only see that box on the right side of the search box (that is the knowledge panel).

As we’ve seen the knowledge panel has a different purpose than the featured snippet; while the featured snippet aim is to answer a specific question. The knowledge panel gives relevant information about a business.

The featured snippet is way more fluid and based on rankings; the knowledge is based on the ability of the information you’ve provided to enter Google’s knowledge vault.  While there is no sure way to trigger a knowledge panel; getting a featured snippet might facilitate it. When the knowledge panel cannibalizes the featured snippet that is a good sign – I argue – as this implies that Google might be trusting more your data.

As pointed out by Dr. Peter J. Meyers on Moz, over time featured snippets get cannibalized by knowledge panels:

[image error]

Source: moz.com


Why does that happen?

 As Dr. Peter J. Meyers pointed out:

It’s likely that Google is trying to standardize answers for common terms, and perhaps they were seeing quality or consistency issues in Featured Snippets. In some cases, like “HDMI cables”, Featured Snippets were often coming from top e-commerce sites, which are trying to sell products. These aren’t always a good fit for unbiased definitions. Its also likely that Google would like to beef up the Knowledge Graph and rely less, where possible, on outside sites for answers.

Therefore, over time Google‘s knowledge panels might consolidate around websites like Wikipedia, Amazon and so on.

What’s going on with Google?

A debate is going on about what’s happening with Google. In fact, Google introduced a featured snippet with no SERP:

[image error]

In other words, for some queries, Google prefers to give a result in the form of a featured snippet. If users want to see the other search results they have to voluntarily click on “show all results.” This seems to be an important change as for the first time Google is hiding its results page.

On the one hand, this isn’t surprising as those queries (like knowing what’s the time) have a clear intent. In short, users just want to get a straight answer. In this case, Google is acting just like Wolfram Alpha. In addition, as pointed out by Bill Slawski this isn’t new as it was since 2005 that Google started to work on “Just the Facts, Fast”:

Google started providing answers to questions in 2005, as they described back then in “Just the Facts, Fast”: https://t.co/rZ1aee690V https://t.co/C6K4jy8053

— Bill Slawski (@bill_slawski) March 15, 2018

Yet now the question comes naturally: Will Google cannibalize content from the SERP? Is going getting into the content business?

Well, I thought what a better way to solve the impasse than to ask Google itself.  If you think about it – I argue – it’s all about its business model. If the business model fails, then the company doesn’t exist anymore.

So I asked Google itself, what is its business model: 

[image error]

The answer is clear:  “Googe is a one-stop shop for helping you find things.” 

Now, “one-stop shop” means that users can get all they need right there, on that blank page. Thinking about how Google has evolved in the last years. There is no doubt that Google needed third-party websites – it still needs them – to offer relevant content to its users, besides paid ads.

Imagine a web filtered through Google where all you got was a bunch of paid ads. Who would have found that interesting at all? Instead, when Google introduced its paid network for publishers (AdSense), this allowed any site to monetize their content quickly.

As anyone – that deals with Google – knows, the search engine from Mountain View loves content. This spurred the birth of a content industry on the web, which main aim was to feed as much web pages to Google. The deal – although implicit – seemed to work quite well. Google got “quality content” from third websites. It allowed them to monetize it; while those websites remained the intermediaries between Google’s users and Google itself.

This deal made sense for anyone. In fact, Google didn’t have enough power to produce content itself. However, starting 2012 Google has introduced a set of initiatives (Knowledge Graphs, Hummingbird, and RankBrain just to mention a few) that made it way smarter than it was. Those initiatives allowed Google to gather content around the web, converts it into data, which can be easily manipulated to create new data. That data, in turn, can become content, served to its users.

Thus, if Google can produce that content itself? Would it still make sense to show search results coming from third-party websites? 

The question remains open. It’s too early and too hard to say what will the future hold. There are a few considerations to make though. First, if we look at AdSense compared to AdWords. There is no doubt that the former help fuel the latter. However, it is true that Google shares most of its revenues with AdSense partners. That is also why AdSense has such lower margins compared to AdWords.

Thinking business, if I were Google, I’d try to focus on the part of the business that has high margins. Second, Google has no control over third-party websites part of AdSense. As a company that wants to be a one-stop shop, it also makes sense to have as much control over its content. Thirds, today for Google might be cheaper to index the visible web and give back search results. But what if it becomes cheaper to create its own content? Imagine how much resources would Google save in terms of crawling budgets, and spamming controls.

Another little caveat: featured snippets are volatile as they depend on ranking and other aspects that Google might take into account from time to time. Thus, some snippets that appeared at the time of this writing might have disappeared. However, the overall strategy proved to be successful, at least in the short run. In fact, the objective isn’t just the featured snippet but the knowledge panel, which is usually way more stable over time. Yet, one and the other might often be connected if in you use a Semantic SEO strategy based on structured data and open linked data. 

Numbers and Results

Let’s talk numbers now!

[image error]

As you can see even though the number of total impressions deteriorated by 18% (from 31,170 impressions down to 25,525). On the other hand, if we look at total clicks, they went up by 6% (from 521 to 554) in the last 28 days. In addition, the average CTR (click through rate) has increased from 1.52% to 2.17% (this is a staggering 42% increase). Also, the average position of my keywords on the SERP increased from 47.8 up to 45.9.

If we look at the numbers in absolute terms, they might seem small. Yet, if we take into account the % increase that is not bad at all! Imagine this kind of metrics improvement for a large site.

[image error]

If you look at the users for this month (in blue) from organic traffic alone, compared to the previous month (in orange) that is clear that the slope is upward. I also noticed that some of that traffic was coming from specific questions:

[image error]

On those keywords the volume is low. Yet as of now they seem to have a good click-through rate. Of course, numbers are still too small to draw any conclusion. However, It will be fun to see how traffic coming from those keywords will evolve over time.

Personal branding and SEO

Just a few months back I was curious to understand how Google algorithm was changing in light of the transition toward voice search. That is why together with WordLift Co-founder Andrea Volpini we undertook an SEO experiment to see how I could use SEO for personal branding. In short, I wanted to know whether I could trigger a featured snippet based on the question “who is Gennaro Cuofano?”

For me, it was an SEO experiment, but of course, now that it worked it is also a good business card to have. Why? First,  I was able to have it based on a web page of my site. That rarely happens. In fact, most times when it comes to people, Google only offers a featured snippet if you have a Wikipedia page or an authority website.

In short, Wikipedia has such an authority in Google‘s algorithm eyes that it will take it for good and offer it as a snippet. Even so, if you’re a person, unless you’re a public person there is no way Google is going to use that information in a featured snippet. At least that is what I thought before of this experiment!

For the sake of this discussion I’m also going to mention how I used WordLift (the company I currently work for) to hack my personal branding.

The Featured Snippet Framework

You need a few steps to improve your chances of having the snippet:

set up a dedicated page
target a long tail keyword
transform that page into an entity
bring link juice to that page
bring authority to your featured page

Related: What is SEO Hacking? How to Steal Featured Snippets with These SEO Hacks

Set up a short dedicated page

If you want to set up your page to make it to the featured snippet you want to make sure to have it set up as a biographical age. Ideally about 58-60 words and avoid storytelling. To have an idea on how to set it up you might want to look at Wikipedia pages for other people. For instance that is how I set that up:

Gennaro is a digital entrepreneur specialized in growing online businesses. He launched and created FourWeekMBA.com. He holds a Law Master’s Degree and an International MBA from LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego. In San Diego, he worked as a financial analyst for a real estate investment firm. Now Gennaro is a Business Developer for WordLift.

You might notice how I avoided story-telling, kept it short and biographical. That leads to the second point.

Target a specific long tail keyword

To make the page optimized for the featured snippet make sure to target a particular question. For instance, on my short page, I targeted the question: “who is Gennaro Cuofano?”

That will make it easier for Google to understand that you’re targeting that specific question, thus improving your chances to get the snippet.

Use structured data

Google Search works hard to understand the content of a page. You can help us by providing explicit clues about the meaning of a page to Google by including structured data on the page. Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content; for example, on a recipe page, what are the ingredients, the cooking time and temperature, the calories, and so on.

Source: developers.google.com

Although Google makes a case for using structured data for recipes, we now know that structured data is crucial also to rank any other kind of page. In other words, with structured data, you do Google‘s little crawlers job easier to index and rank the page easier.

How can you implement structured data? With a vocabulary called Schema.org.

What is Schema.org? As explained on their website:

Schema.org is a collaborative, community activity with a mission to create, maintain, and promote schemas for structured data on the Internet, on web pages, in email messages, and beyond.

and it continues:

Founded by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex, Schema.org vocabularies are developed by an open community process, using the public-schemaorg@w3.org mailing list and through GitHub.

In short, Schema is the most efficient way to translate the content on that page as data that Google can quickly process. That is why I used WordLift to create a page and set that up as a schema type “person.” In fact, that is a particular property of Schema.org that allows Google to understand what the web page is about.

[image error]

I then used an additional field to link my page to all the other pages about me on the web.

[image error]

With this setting, you will create an entity, or a defined object now existing on the web. It is almost like Google finally knew I existed.

Bring link juice to that page

To make that page more relevant connect it to other key pages of your site. For instance, if you have a few articles that are ranking pretty well use them to create internal linking toward your page.

Bring authority to that page

To make sure that page becomes authoritative for Google you need a bit of backlink. How do you get them? One effective way is to use that page as a bio to link when writing guest posts for other sites.

Key takeaway

Getting a featured snippet isn’t only about getting leads but also building your brand through Google. For how unconventional that might seem Google is the ultimate source of authority. Therefore, that is the best business card you could ever present to anyone.

Free SEO tools

I’ve been dealing on a daily basis with advanced SEO strategies as part of the WordLift team, in the last year and a half. In addition, I use SEO Hacking as a process to gain traction over larger publishing outlets.

A few months back I was looking for some quick and free Google Chrome extensions I could use to have a quick glance and an overview of any website.

As I talk to dozens of people on a weekly basis to consult on SEO related issues I’ve developed my swiss knife for SEO. This comprises mainly five Google Chrome extensions that I’ve been using on a daily basis for the last years.

Over the dozens of extensions I’ve been trying out, those have stuck with me, and I believe that if you are an SEO professional or on the road to be one, those extensions might help you out. Of course, those extensions are meant to give you a quick glance; an overview of any website you’re looking at.

Those are not meant as a substitute for a proper analysis. In fact, for a more in-depth analysis, you’ll need to check your data and cross-reference it. However, for a quick glance, those tools are quite useful.

Related: What is SEO Hacking? How to Steal Featured Snippets with These SEO Hacks

OpenLink Structured Data Sniffer Chrome Extension

If you’ve been following how Google has been evolving in the last years. You’re aware that since 2012 it has been building up a so-called knowledge graph. In other words, Google is organizing the information on the web to have it become knowledge. This knowledge graph is built on top of triples, which are simple phrases (that comprise a subject-verb-object). Those triples are organized in data, which is called structured data. Just as humans use language; nowadays search engine use structured data to talk to each other.

With the OpenLink Structured Data Sniffer Chrome Extension, you can see the structured data present on any web page.

[image error]

For instance, in the case above, you can see how with WordLift I automated the process by adding critical information about my website and the web page in the form of JSON-LD, a format that Google likes to understand web pages. Why? Because this format isn’t affecting the performance of the page and it is allowing Google bots (the crawlers that go on a web page to extract critical information to index a web page) to have rich data about the web page.

Wappalyzer Chrome Extension

If you’re like me, the first question that comes to mind when on a website is, what CMS is this website using? The fastest way to understand that if to use Wappalyzer:

[image error]

The app shows you right away with a small icon on your Chrome Browser what CMS the website is using. Also, if you click on it, you’ll also have a more in-depth analysis of plugins and tools used by that website. This is by far the fastest way to assess what CMS any site is using once you land on them.

Keywords Everywhere Chrome Extension

This Chrome Extension is a goldmine. It allows me to have constant access to keywords data from the Google page. This is why I like it so much. That is why I suggest you download keywords everywhere:

[image error]

You will see the data related to a keyword you type in the Google search box. You’ll also get a box on the right side that says “people also search for” which shows you all the related keywords with volume, CPC, and competition. The data seems to be pretty reliable, and I’ve been using it in the last months with great pleasure.

SimilarWeb Chrome Extension

When checking out a website, it is critical to understand its marketing mix. SimilarWeb Google Chrome Extension helps me with that! I always remind people to whom I suggest to use SimilarWeb that the data is an estimate and in no way to take it as a 100% reliable data:

[image error]

In fact, the quality of data from SimilarWeb depends really on several factors. In general, it is a great tool to have a quick glance at any website. In my opinion, the app is getting better and getter.

Alexa Traffic Rank Chrome Extension

To counterbalance the data from SimilarWeb, Alexa Traffic Rank Chrome Extension is a good alternative:

[image error]

Here the same caveat I did for the SimilarWeb app. It is an estimate which is not supposed to substitute a rigorous analysis but to have a quick glance of any website, in a matter of instants!

Read next: 

What is SEO Hacking? How to Steal Featured Snippets with These SEO Hacks

Other resources for your business:

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 post SEO Guide: How To Grow Your Blog With SEO appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

The Process To Choose How To Outsource Software Development

SaaS business models are dominating the business world. Thus, it becomes critical to understand how to outsource a software company.

Although there are exist thousands of custom software development companies, all of them propose different service and standards. Once you come up with an idea and vision for your new software project, you’ll have to find the right software developing company. To avoid a negative outcome, it is recommended to look at multiple factors. It’s indeed a very tricky job and should be done with caution. However, we hope you will find the information given below useful, and you select your right software outsourcing partner.

Shape your idea

Define the scope of the project, invest time on writing specification, diagrams, mockups or at least visual presentation. If creating mockups is a problem, you can write a description of how the user uses the product or User Stories.

Most likely you’ll also need some graphic design and user interface. You can hire a freelance designer, but there is a possibility that collaboration between a freelancer and a development team will be problematic. The best way is to choose a company providing a complete team.

Describe the existing system components and the technologies that used in your company.

Learn about the different software development technologies and choose the appropriate for your project. This is especially applicable if your project required to be built on a specific software system. Of course, you can consult with potential partners, but if you know the technology in advance, it will help you to shortlist prospecting companies.

Describe your ideal partner

It’s just like shopping on eBay or Amazon – with a low price might come a cheap product. You don’t have to compromise on the quality of the software for low costs either. Also don’t forget to look for hidden or additional costs in the contract, like additional fees for maintenance, document management and so on.

Read about the country where the potential development company is located. National holidays, timezone and business culture – everything is important and might be crucial.

In some cases, communication with the project manager is enough. But it’s possible that at some point you’ll want to discuss some technical details with a certain developer. Therefore, you need to know in advance if the developers are fluent in spoken English.

Reality shows that nowadays communication and quality of service become to be more important that price for customers. It’s doesn’t matter what management tool you use (Asana, Trello, Jira or even Taiga) – more important is to know that your external team is accessible. You should feel almost like you’re working in the same office, communicating with them daily on Slack or Mattermost during the working week.

Talk with other folks in your network to get referrals about custom software developers. It will not only fast-track the process of selecting potential software developers but also help you gather honest feedback about them. Check reviews to get some different points of view.

To build a front-end in React, look for a company working with React. If you want to have a backend in Node.js, look for a company working solely in Node.js on the backend. Identify the techniques that can be used to develop your software, and seek developers with a proven knowledge base in that area.

Start the hunt

Research & review portals (Clutch.co, GoodFirms, etc.) are a good option because of useful filters (average hourly rate, location, technology, client focus, industry focus, etc.), detailed references gathered directly from the company’s customers. But keep in mind that many good companies don’t promote their services there so that you may miss a lot.

Job boards for freelancers (Upwork, Toptal, Guru, etc.) are a huge market of freelancers with reviews from their previous clients. But they are created mainly for freelancers, so if you are looking for a company (with a team, project manager, and more developers in case you want to scale), it won’t be easy to find them there.

Obviously, Google is the biggest catalog of all software houses in the world. But the lack of filters (except for choosing the right keywords) will make you visit a website of each software house to find any information about them.

Narrow the list

A blog provides a good insight into the company’s approach to the projects and its particular aspects such as communication, collecting requirements

Sometimes the name and brand is not a guarantee that everything will be the way you expect. Rather often, on the contrary, small companies with sufficient experience in every possible way try to make better service for less money. Communication with them is simpler, and the bureaucracy is minimized.

You can check their technical skills. See what technologies they use besides Java. Try to avoid software companies which claim to work with every possible technology. You cannot be an expert in 10 languages (maybe if you are a huge enterprise). Rather choose those, which are focused only on a few – it’s more likely that they’re genuinely experienced in them.

Do they have any open-source projects in their portfolio? Check if it meets your expectations.

Send an email to the companies from your shortlist. Include in the message a clear call to action. And… Get ready for an interview. See an example of a good interview process. 

This is a guest contribution by Andrew Lepkin CMO in Custom software product development company Aligned Code was founded back in 2013 as a high-tech custom software product development company. Today AC’s engineers help different clients open up solid user acquisition channels while positively impact retention by delivering.

Other resources for your business:

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
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
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business

The post The Process To Choose How To Outsource Software Development appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

How To Start A Moving Company From Scratch

Considering the state of the economy, starting up a moving company can be a terrifying undertaking. Some people think that they can only start the business if they have big commercial trucks and huge warehouses. Well, they’re wrong. You don’t need to purchase those big trucks or even rent a warehouse to build a moving company. You can quickly engage in the business of moving with a smaller van in place. However, there are a few general steps that can help you start a moving company business. Here are some of them.

Let’s have a look at the moving company business model and how to set up one.

1. Create a business plan

Of course, you can’t open a business without preparing a business plan. Regardless of the size of your new moving company, you’ll still require a plan of action. A business plan, for instance, will be your guide in answering the question on how to start the company. It’s an essential part of running a business as it allows you to pay attention to the key points, predict business development, apportion resources and prepare for possible problems that may come along the way. Additionally, your business plan should also include some factors that will help your business to work out.

2. Apply for moving and transportation permits

Like any other business, you need to comply with the legal authorizations when starting up a moving company. After all, you can’t open a legitimate business without applying for certain permits. Thus, you need to get in touch with your local state regulatory authority to gather information on licensing and registration necessary for putting up a new moving company business. However, you should bear in mind that state requirements for moving companies vary from one place to another. So, make sure you become familiar with your state laws before deciding to start up your own company.

3. Calculate the costs associated with starting a moving business

Depending on the size of the moving company you want, you need a significant amount of money to get started. This means you have to calculate the possible costs that you may incur upon starting a moving business. When you’re a beginner, it’ll help if you start small. Purchase a smaller moving truck and an initial inventory of several moving materials. These moving basics include various moving boxes, dollies, ropes, moving pads, furniture belts, and some packing supplies. With these moving essentials in place, you’ll look more equipped in the eyes of your customers. Once you purchase your own moving trucks, be sure to register them with the designated local registration officer in your state.

4. Obtain appropriate insurance coverage

Building your own moving company requires you to have cargo and liability insurance. That said, it’s essential to speak with your insurance agency and get the right insurance coverage for liability and damages. Typically, you need to obtain cargo and vehicle insurance as you’ll engage in the business of moving. Try to check with your insurance agent the specific requirements necessary for getting your cargo and vehicle insurance.

5. Advertise your new moving business

As an entrepreneur, you need to promote your new moving business to attract more sales and for your target customers to know you better. So, here’s how you can advertise your company and be successful in the future:

Give your new company a great name. Select carefully and be sure you’ll not be involved in any legal issues.
Create your own logo and make sure your company numbers and the logo will be placed on your moving truck. That way, people will see that you’re operating a moving business.
Come up with an effective marketing strategy. Nowadays, you can do this by making some connections and becoming a member of some moving associations. Also, get memberships on local business directories and other publications.
Make a business website. These days, people use the Internet to search for something online. Thus, creating a site can help you build a robust online presence. This means you should have a well-designed website that provides a list of moving services. If you have extra budget, talk to a professional web designer to ensure your online presence.
Work with some online brokers and lead providers. It’s one way of getting a kick-start on your new moving business. Not only that but you need to get your moving schedules filled up as soon as you open the company.

6. Undergo moving training

If you have no experience in the moving industry, it’s essential to have some training before offering some services to your potential customers. This kind of training can give you a better understanding of the system used in packing and loading. If you want to excel in the moving industry, you need to be more efficient in all phases of the moving process. That way, you’ll be able to establish a good reputation in this business.

7. Treat your customers with utmost care

Most people believe that the word of mouth form of advertising is the most effective way to attract customers and get more referrals. That’s why it’s vital to take care of your potential customers and make sure you accommodate them promptly by answering all frequently asked questions to movers like you.

Conclusion

If you have the strength, dedication, and a vehicle that you can use, opening a moving company can be a great way to make a living. All you have to do is to conduct thorough research and prepare your start-up capital. When all are set, you’re then ready to reap great rewards. If you’re planning to start up a moving company like Movers NYC in the Big Apple, keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be on your way toward having a great moving business shortly.

This is a guest contribution by Dianne Belencio-Abonita has been writing blogs for Roadway Moving a New York-based moving company. She is interested in a lot on this niche which makes it a joy for her to write about Movers NYC. But among all the niches, business and marketing are her favorite. When she’s not busy writing, Dianne spends her time with her husband Francis and daughter Francinne. This is where she draws inspiration from to continually provide informative blogs to the different audience.

Do you need other ideas to get a business off the ground? Below some business ideas with a low set up cost: 

Become a blogger
Become an online instructor
Become a professional photographer
Become a ghostwriter
Become a Chatbots maker
Become an affiliate marketer
Become a career coach, resume writer or LinkedIn profile writer 
Become a business development contractor
Become an infopreneur 
Become a websites flipper 
Become an SEO consultant
Become a contractor headhunter

How to get started with your business?

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

Handpicked popular case studies from the site: 

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

The post How To Start A Moving Company From Scratch appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

Centralized vs. Decentralized Exchanges: What Business Model works best?

People are massively exchanging cryptocurrencies using unique online platforms that offer this type of service. You can either exchange fiat money for cryptocurrencies or simply convert one kind of cryptocurrency to another.

However, they are not created equal. In fact, all of them belong to either centralized or decentralized exchanges. Both of them have certain advantages and disadvantages, which we will explore in this article and try to decide on the best option for people who want to exchange crypto.

First of all, let’s see what centralized and decentralized exchanges are. Read on!

Read: Blockchain Economics 101: The Theories Of Value In A World Driven By The Blockchain

Centralized Exchanges (CCE)

Whenever something has a “center,” it probably means that there is one thing which affects all others that revolve around it. Such is the case with centralized exchanges, where one company dictates the rules of trade, so to say.

In other words, this type of exchanges uses a similar model to the one we see in traditional stock and brokerage markets. The company in the center has total control of all funds and transactions that take place on the platform. Therefore, the users must trust them 100% before they decide to start trading using the centralized exchange.

When we put it that way, it does look like taking a step backward from what cryptocurrencies are supposed to be – decentralized currencies that should not depend on anyone or anything. The idea that powers cryptocurrencies is to get rid of a centralized system as something that is potentially harmful to everyone.

However, centralized exchanges have their advantages as well. First of all, most of them are regulated and cannot scam you. Almost all of them have up-to-date terms and are actively implementing know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) policies.

Furthermore, centralized exchanges are better when it comes to updating their platforms and making them user-friendly, catering to the latest user requirements. The fees that you pay when trading at a centralized exchange are often used to fund improvements on the platform.

Centralized exchanges are much faster than decentralized ones since their internal trading systems are often better optimized, paving the way for higher market liquidity as well. On the other hand, decentralized exchanges have a hard time implementing the latest trading features.

Finally, users can exchange fiat currencies for cryptos and vice versa on centralized exchanges, whereas that is not possible on decentralized exchanges where the crypto-to-crypto transfer is the only type of trade.

This type of exchanges has a couple of disadvantages compared to the decentralized exchanges. The most important one seems to be the fees which users have to pay to make any type of transaction on the platform. In other words, everything is a bit more expensive, which is a price you pay for a quick and regulated service.

The most significant disadvantage is definitely the increased risk of hacker’s attacks. Due to being a centralized system, this type of exchanges is often exposed to hackers and was a subject of both successful and unsuccessful attacks.

Decentralized Exchanges (DEX)

Decentralized exchanges support the viewpoint behind blockchain technology. In other words, there is no central company which is responsible for operating a DEX. Nobody has customers’ information, position, or funds on this type of platform, which increases the level of anonymity of those who trade. All transactions are peer-to-peer, and the platforms are usually open-source.

This type of platforms is usually very well protected from any type of attack because all their nodes are distributed all over the world, making them virtually impenetrable. Although possible in theory, there were not many successful hacking attacks which managed to endanger decentralized exchanges.

However, hackers are not the only threat that an exchange could have. Being decentralized means not being dependent on any government and their regulations. This could be either an advantage or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it. Governments can interfere in how CCEs operate and can even shut them down if they want to. This is not quite possible with a DEX as the decentralized system prevents anyone from meddling with how they work.

The crucial advantage compared to centralized exchanges is definitely fees, which are significantly lower. In CCEs, fees are usually taken by the governing body which provides the service, so to say. There is no such thing on DEXs, resulting in much more affordable transactions on the platform.

There are some issues, though, that a DEX cannot solve due to their decentralized nature. The first and foremost is the low trading volume. DEXs are often very unintuitive and difficult to use, and only expert traders can get around. Moreover, decentralized exchanges often have limited functionality that is very difficult to extend.

As a rule, decentralized exchanges are made in such a way that fiat currencies simply cannot be integrated into the system. Therefore, if you don’t have any cryptocurrencies and your plan is to buy some, you should avoid registering on DEXs as most of them offer no such option. Still, there are a few platforms that support USD.

Key takeaway

When you take a look at the list of popular exchanges in the world, you will notice that most of them are actually centralized. There is a good reason for that because CCEs are much easier to use, and have better functionality as well as other options for the users. Given that most of the people who trade cryptos are not experts, they find it more convenient to stick to CCEs rather than switching to DEXs.

To answer the title question, the centralized model seems to work better at the moment. However, that need not be the case in the future as well. Blockchain technology is still in its infancy, and DEXs have the potential to become much more convenient in the future, which will lead to their jump in popularity.

Read next: Blockchain Economics 101: The Theories Of Value In A World Driven By The Blockchain

Other resources for your business:

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
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
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business

Handpicked business models:

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? It’s Not Just Advertising! 
How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Hidden Revenue Business Model Explained
The Google of China: Baidu Business Model In A Nutshell
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 Centralized vs. Decentralized Exchanges: What Business Model works best? appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

Blockchain Economics 101: The Theories Of Value In A World Driven By The Blockchain

According to Joel Monegro, a former analyst at USV (a venture capital firm) the blockchain implies value creation in its protocols. Where the web has allowed the value to be captured at the applications layer (take Facebook, Twitter, Google, and many others).

In a Blockchain Economy, this value might be captured by the protocols at the base of the blockchain (for instance Bitcoin and Ethereum). 

However, according to blockchain investor Paivinen due to ease of forking, incentives to compete and improved interoperability and interchangeability also in a blockchain-based economy, protocols might get thinner.

Although the marginal value of scale might be lower compared to a web-based economy, where massive scale created an economic advantage. The success of the Blockchain will depend on its commercial viability!

Blockchain: the beginnings

On January 10th, 2009, a man named Satoshi Nakamoto sent an email to Hal Finney, another man from Santa Barbara. Reported by online.wsj.com, the email said:

Normally I would keep the symbols in, but they increased the size of the EXE from 6.5MB to 50MB so I just couldn’t justify not stripping them. I guess I made the wrong decision, at least for this early version. 

I’m kind of surprised there was a crash, I’ve tested heavily and haven’t had an outright exception for a while. Come to think of it; there isn’t even an exception print at the end of debug.log. I’ve been testing on XP SP2, maybe SP3 is something.

I’ve attached bitcoin.exe with symbols. (gcc symbols for gdb, if you’re using MSVC I can send you an MSVC build with symbols)

Thanks for your help!

The subject of that email said “Crash in bitcoin 0.1.0.”

Satoshi Nakamoto (none would eventually figure out whether he was a real person, a pseudonym or a group of people) was explaining to Hal Finney how to make the bitcoin work!

The Bitcoin would be the first application of The Blockchain, a decentralized way to handle exchanges of this cryptocurrency, which didn’t require a central authority or an intermediary.

As a business person, you might want to understand how the Blockchain value-capturing mechanism works. In a world powered by web apps, most of the business value so far got captured at the applications layer level.

To understand this mechanism look at the infographic below:

[image error]The emergence of the Blockchain has also favored the development of new business models. It is essential to understand the implication of these new business models from a different standpoint. According to Joel Monegro, former USV analyst (a venture capital firm) the blockchain implies value creation in its protocols. Where the web has allowed the value to be captured at the applications layer (take Facebook, Twitter, Google, and many others). In a Blockchain Economy, this value might be captured by the protocols at the base of the blockchain, where the apps built on top of it will have a fraction of the value

The so-called theory of “fat protocols, and thin apps” of the blockchain, compared to the “fat apps, and thin protocols” of a more traditional economy is a good starting point to understand at what level, business value is captured in these two forms of economic systems.

However, this theory also minimizes two significant effects:

The power of forking in a blockchain-based economy
And the power of open business models in a web-based economy

Understanding both – I argue – is critical to understand how a blockchain-based economic system might evolve.

What is forking and why it matters in a Blockchain Economy?

In simple words, a fork is a mechanism where a blockchain path splits toward two separate paths that imply different outcomes. However, this is the hardest form of forking.

As explained by coindesk.com, “a byproduct of distributed consensus, forks happen anytime two miners find a block at nearly the same time. The ambiguity is resolved when subsequent blocks are added to one, making it the longest chain, while the other block gets “orphaned” (or abandoned) by the network.”

Therefore, at its most basic level, a fork is a way to resolve ambiguity within a blockchain. On the other hand, there are two different forms of forks that have a more radical impact:

hard-fork
and a soft-fork

In a hard fork is similar to a software update, where the previous version won’t be valid anymore, thus a device to work will have to update to the newest version of that software. A fork is a “collectively agreed upon update” to a blockchain protocol.

[image error]

Source: Digital Asset Research

When this update happens, the new version of the software will not be compatible with the old one. This implies a “hard fork” or a mechanism that makes the old version incompatible.Thus, if there is a lack of consensus on “convincing” old forks to join the updated blockchain, this brings a split of the blockchain.That happens when the majority of a blockchain can’t agree on a fork. Splits happen and a blockchain that once was united splits up in competing versions, that will run with different consensus rules, features and “cultures.”
In other cases, however, when a new version of the blockchain is still compatible with the old version, this is called “soft-fork.”Understanding the implication of forking in a blockchain-based economy is a fundamental issue.
A forking, interoperable and interchangeable blockchain-based economy
Teemu Paivinen, blockchain entrepreneur and investor referring to fat protocols theory, pointed out:

I’d like to propose that while these protocols in aggregate will continue to capture most of the value, individual protocols will in fact be quite thin and tend towards capturing minimal value, due to the combined effects of forking and competitive market forces.

In short, Paivinen introduces three important variables that might apply to a token economy or blockchain-based economy:

Ease of forking
Incentives to compete
Improved interoperability and interchangeability of protocols

He defines this phenomenon as “the great thinning” a phenomenon in which the marginal benefits of scaling up a protocol becomes smaller and smaller the bigger the protocol it gets. In a web-based economy tech giants have used “scale” to dominate the market. Therefore, this concept might sound counterintuitive.

When a larger protocol gets thinner, smaller protocols form. These smaller protocols might become useful and more efficient in performing specific tasks. And as most of the forks on a blockchain are soft-forks, those are “backward-compatible” which makes several protocols spring up.

Once these protocols become interoperable, that is how new ecosystems get created. As Paivinen points out: 

As these forces push the industry towards more specialisation and forking allows almost unlimited competition, less the anti-competitive information and data advantages of the traditional technology industry, it would seem that protocols can only get thinner.

When these protocols get thinner, and they get interoperable, this kind of phenomenon might arise:

[image error]

Source: blog.zeppelin.solutions

Once again this concept isn’t simple to grasp initially. In a traditional economy, as companies get bigger, they scale up but also become more centralized. These companies tend to unlock value by creating a closed system.

The marginal benefits of scalability in a blockchain-based economy

In a traditional, web-based economy, competitors can’t access data. The primary argument is actually that data ownership is what makes those companies worth billions. A traditional example is Facebook and Google. As the web has grown more and more centralized (even though the world is connected it is so via a few apps and websites).

Those tech giants also set the rules of the game. When Google “imposes” AMP (accelerated mobile pages) as the prevailing format for mobile searches publishers follow. When Google uses the Open Handset Alliance – the developer of Android – Google does that so it can get featured on as many mobile devices as possible.

When Android (owned by Google) is on those devices, Google can exchange data at a higher rate. That data is turned into an asset and locked into the company’s algorithms to generate more advertising revenues.

Thus, a closed centralized company uses open systems to increase its scale. In a blockchain-based economy, in theory, data should be shared, and this would create a way more competitive ecosystem where the advantage of scale decreases at a certain threshold.

This is how Teemu Paivinen represents it:

[image error]

Source: blog.zeppelin.solutions

It is important to notice that those expressed so far are theories. And whether they will prove sound, only time will tell.

Before we conclude this analysis, we need to look at another couple of points that matter to us to understand a blockchain-based economy.

 

When the web was supposed to be open

The web might have turned the way it did, with applications capturing most of its business value, but one might wonder whether this was the only path possible.

The answer to this dilemma is of course not. When protocols that made the web possible were made freely available, or they didn’t have necessarily a monetization strategy, those allowed other private companies to take advantage of them.

Those open protocols were such not necessarily because it was an intrinsic characteristic. Rather it was a choice. The first people that developed the web wanted it to be open, decentralized, and transparent.

Then tech giants leveraged on the open model to squeeze in profits and centralize data in the process. Thus, the web has become more closed, centralized and less transparent. This, of course, is a simplification. The main point here though is that the web was supposed to have certain characteristics.

But the “commercial web” flipped them. This is neither good or bad. But in my view is what made a web-based economy be configured as “thin protocols and fat applications.”

The battle from closed to open web isn’t over yet. And as open business models might be coming back, the Blockchain might help this process, unless existing tech giants will be able to leverage on it.

For instance, Facebook has launched a Blockchain team to find out possible applications and integrations of it within the platform (presumably for a payment infrastructure, even though we can’t know for sure):

Is the Blockchain killer app trust decentralization?

If you ask me what is that is special about the Blockchain which can radically change the way our economic system works, I’d say trust decentralization.

This concept is completely new to our society. Indeed, even though we’ve now been used for centuries to deal with impersonal entities, which we call governments those are still run by people, at central level. And while the bureaucrat we all hate is a person, we all imagine that person with certain features.

However, we also know that power is centralized and our way to decentralize it is to express our vote. With a blockchain-based economy, things change. In short, you don’t have to trust a middleman, a corporation or anyone else ensuring a transaction among two parties.

You just have to trust the mathematical system behind it. It’s math, science, all proved, and it can all work without trust! So far so good. But is it really as good as it seems? We often forget that a blockchain is a technology.

Just like AI and machine learning can help you finally process massive amount of data. Still, if you give garbage to the AI, it not only will give you garbage back, it will give you even more.

Take the case of Amazon who had to stop its sexist AI from wanting to hire all males candidates. Therefore, it all goes back to data! A technology that allows to audit data at a decentralized level doesn’t make that data good in the first place.

Kai Stinchcombe points out that a Blockchain which works by removing trust from the equation won’t make things better. It would actually make them worst. For instance, he points out that “The key feature of a new payment system — think of PayPal in its early days — is the confidence that if the goods aren’t as described you’ll get your money back.”

In other words, in a financial system, trust is what makes it thick. In a system where trust is removed, and people are left on their devices, things won’t work.

For instance, Kai Stinchcombe also points out the case of “The government-backed banking system” which “provides FDIC guarantees, reversibility of ACH, identity verification, audit standards, and an investigation system when things go wrong.”

In short, a system that works in the long run is not a system where things work out more efficiently. It’s instead a system that survives when it all goes wrong.

And when you are a Bitcoin trader or Bitcoin holder, and you lose your key, or due to security failures of the system, you lose all your cryptocurrency, and there’s no one that can help you with that, this feels like more of a hell than a world where we all would like to live in.

How to argue with that?

Therefore, a system of checks and balances will be critical to the blockchain success and this system seems comprised by four key players that all act in their own interest, but together might form a solid ecosystem:

developers
miners
investors
and nodes

 

[image error]

Source: hackernoon.com

For the system to keep its integrity it becomes crucial that each of these stakeholders doesn’t amass too much power. A risk of a blockchain-based economy of course, is that a few key nodes might control the whole system.

Thus, while we all like to have utopian views about the Blockchain and what it can do. We have to realize it is a powerful technology, but it also evolves according to the prevailing culture.

Beside the utopian side though, whether or not a blockchain-based economy will be successful will depend on whether people will find it useful and better suited compared to other existing solutions and technologies.

When tech giants like Google and Amazon finally proved commercially viable, and actually extremely successful, it was finally a proof that the web wasn’t just something built on thin air.

Therefore, for the blockchain to prove successful it will need its first commercial breakthrough.

What is going to be the Blockchain breakthrough?

CB Insights lists among fifty potential sectors where the Blockchain might have a strong impact. From Banking to Waste Management. The top ten list comprises:

Bankings
Messaging apps
Hedge funds
Voting
Internet identify and DNS
Critical infrastructure security
Ride-sharing
Internet advertising
Crypto exchanges
Education and academia

What of these will actually be commercially successful it’s hard to say. Yet when that commercial success will be proved, we can finally say we live in a blockchain-based economy!

I’m not a developer, neither a Blockchain expert, I made my best possible effort to evaluate the possible scenarios and pro and cons of a blockchain-based economy. But if you think I missed something, or I completely oversaw some aspects, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll make sure to take that into account and integrate it in the text!  

Other resources for your business:

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
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
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business

Handpicked business models:

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? It’s Not Just Advertising! 
How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Hidden Revenue Business Model Explained
The Google of China: Baidu Business Model In A Nutshell
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 Blockchain Economics 101: The Theories Of Value In A World Driven By The Blockchain appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

The FourWeekMBA Business Model Framework To Build A Solid Company

How do you build an effective company? For effective, I mean a company able to grow quickly, gain traction, have a strong brand while becoming financially viable in a relatively short time frame.

With that question in mind, I’ve studied hundreds of companies and looked at several frameworks and toolbox for entrepreneurs. I’ve come to the conclusion (so far) that an effective business model is built on two dimensions:

The people dimension
The financial dimension

These two dimensions walk hand in hand. Yet the people side is what makes the business thick from the economic standpoint.

The people side comprises the following elements:

A compelling value proposition: How do you want your people to think about your brand?
A unique brand positioning: What do you offer to your people that make them want more?
A 10x goal setting: Can you offer a 10X better product or service? (compared to existing solutions)

This people dimension will help you build a solid brand. A solid brand builds up a tribe, a group of people willing to follow you anywhere. Once you have a solid brand, you can focus on the second dimension: the financial dimension.

The three elements of the financial dimensions are:

Customer segments: Who is your customer? (to notice here we’re not talking anymore about people but customers, those willing to pay for your product or service)
Distribution channels: How do you get your product or service to your customer?
Profit formula: Is the business financially sustainable?

Let’s see why these elements are critical and why each of the matter so much for the future success of your business.

The two key business model dimensions

While people and financial dimensions are tied and often create a feed that is hard to untie, it is essential to keep them apart, have the people dimension as a foundation.

Indeed, people that love your brand and product might also make your distribution, and finances look better. And as your finances look better, you might be able to invest more in making those people happier.

However, by placing the people’s dimension first, this makes it possible to start building a business by neglecting – initially – the financial dimension. The assumption is simple. If you do build something great, then money will follow.

This assumption is not to confuse with the conventional startup wisdom where companies get along for years without finding a monetization strategy or never becoming profitable. Profitability is a key ingredient, for long term business success.

Thus, once you’ve figured the people dimension, you better off focusing on the financial dimension. More precisely, having people that love your brand isn’t enough to create a business that is financially viable.

You’ll need to identify who of those people will be willing to finance your business growth. That jump is not immediate. For instance, of the many people using a product, many of these people won’t be willing to pay.

Therefore, if you’re trying to build a subscription business model, it will be critical to understanding if these people left will be enough to sustain the business. In the opposite scenario, you might want to experiment with other business model patterns.

Enter the FourWeekMBA business model framework

Let’s see how the critical elements of a business model according to the FourWeekMBA business model framework.

The people dimension

The key components of the people dimension are:

A compelling value proposition
A unique brand positioning
A 10x goal setting

This dimension is critical to start building a solid brand even before you make a buck. I know it sounds counterintuitive, as there are companies making money for years without ever building a brand.

This is fine. However, a brand is what makes your company unique, what makes it recognizable at the eyes of your tribe. These people willing to save it when the financial side doesn’t work as well anymore.

Thus, even before start making a dime you need to start building up a solid brand. And it all starts from a compelling value proposition.

A compelling value proposition

How do you want your people to think about your brand?

In this dimension, we’ll refer to people as these are the individuals part of your tribe, independently from becoming your customers.

These are your supporters and fans. If you’ve done a great job in the people dimension, chances are it won’t be hard to build the financial dimension.

However, for now, let’s focus on building up a great product, and making it unique in the eyes of those people that will carry our organization to the marketplace.

When Google built its search engine, it wasn’t the first, and it would not have been the last. However, it was recognizable for its clean style, focus on the quality of its searches and speed. By the early 2000s Google became a verb:

[image error]

How “googled” and “google it” became common verbs thanks to a strong brand built on top of a 10X better service. A strong brand builds a strong culture! 

That relentless focus created a strong brand quickly.

A unique brand positioning

What do you offer to your people that make them want more?

A product and service that can build up a viable company have to be sticky. This implies a focus on what makes your people coming back, and want more. There was a time when the web was AOL; then Google took over.

Everyday billion of people keep going back to Google. In part, this is due to Google seamless experience and quality of its service. However, there is also a strong brand component.

For instance, as Google has grown and scaled up, it has also lost some of its tech-savvy people focused on privacy, now are switching to alternatives like DuckDuckGo.

A 10x goal setting

Can you offer a 10X better product or service? (compared to existing solutions)

This element is connected to the first two. And it is as important as these elements. A 10X better product or service is the fastest route to build a strong brand.

This also requires massive focus. You can’t ask to be everything to everyone at every level. Instead, chose one aspect, one feature, one element of your product; and to make it way better than anyone else out there! The focus is the key.

The financial dimension

The three elements of the financial dimensions are:

Customer segments
Distribution channels
Profit formula

In this phase, it becomes critical to identify the people among your tribe willing to make it financially viable. You’ll need to tap into the proper distribution channels and make sure you make it profitable.

Customer segments

Who is your customer? 

This phase can also be named “from people to customers.” It is the first time in the life of your business when you start having a “business conversation” with your tribe. This is the time to understand what monetization strategy and business model patterns will work best.

If your tribe doesn’t feel like to pay for your product or service, you’ll need to find someone willing to finance that for them. Take the case of a portal made of professionals. The portal is free, these professionals love to use it. Yet they don’t feel like paying for it.

For that matter, you can build up a job board, where your tribe can find valuable job opportunities, while companies (your customers) will pay a commision for each candidate that gets hired.

In the case in which you’ve found among your tribe those willing to pay for the service, a freemium model will work out quite well. In these cases, it is important to establish a monetization strategy that doesn’t break the trust and support of your tribe.

Distribution channels

How do you get your product or service to your customer?

A great product without proper distribution won’t go far. Distribution requires you to think in terms of how to make your service and product scalable.

Read: Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business

Profit formula

Is the business financially sustainable?

From a financial standpoint, it is critical to look at the bottom line. Things like profit margins and cash flows will be your north star.

When focusing on growth profitability might become less important in the short run. However, a successful business has to be able to repay for its expenses and still generate a substantial margin for its owner.

When companies give up profitability, they must do it with a goal in mind. For instance, when Amazon has given up to its margins and lowered its prices and profitability it also built up a cash machine business model pattern that made it possible for the company to grow quickly and expand at exponential pace!

Key takeaway

An effective business model is built upon two dimensions: people and the financial dimension. Even before you make a buck, you need to take care of your people and build up a solid brand.

It is counterintuitive for many business people, yet if you did a great job taking care of the people dimension, you’d also be able to master the financial dimension.

Other resources for your business:

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
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
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business

Handpicked business models:

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? It’s Not Just Advertising! 
How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Hidden Revenue Business Model Explained
The Google of China: Baidu Business Model In A Nutshell
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 The FourWeekMBA Business Model Framework To Build A Solid Company appeared first on FourWeekMBA.

What Are The Key Components Of Any Business Model?

The key components of any business model are: 

A compelling value proposition: How do you want your people to think about your brand?
A unique brand positioning: What do you offer to your people that make them want more?
A 10x goal setting: Can you offer a 10X better product or service? (compared to existing solutions)
Customer segments: Who is your customer? (to notice here we’re not talking anymore about people but customers, those willing to pay for your product or service)
Distribution channels: How do you get your product or service to your customer?
Profit formula: Is the business financially sustainable?

A glance at the business model tools available

With FourWeekMBA I’ve been researching into over a hundred business models at the time of this writing. From tech to luxury, from innovative to more traditional.

I’ve been in search of a framework, recipe or something that could help me dissect any company. As I came from a financial background the most logical thing for me was to look at these companies by analyzing their numbers.

However, I soon realized that approach was too reductive. So I started to look at other frameworks that could be used to find the simplest parts of a business model and its key components.

In this article, I’ll show you a few approaches and how they come down to similar vital components.

A recap of key components according to several business model tools and frameworks

A business model is a representation of a company in the real world (this is a definition that works for practitioners, not necessarily for academics).

Business modeling for entrepreneurs might be a useful tool to gain insights about competitors, better understand your organization or design toolbox to grow your business.

From that standpoint, over the years a few tools came handy. Some of them have been discussed at great length on this blog:

business model canvas
lean startup canvas
blitzscaling canvas
sales navigator framework 
and many others

Each of those frameworks assumes a business model has several key components. For instance, the business model canvas tells you that a business model has nine key components:

Key partners
Key activities
Value proposition
Customer relationship
Customer segment
Key resource
Distribution channel
Cost structure
Revenue stream

While a lean startup canvas tells you there are still nine key elements, but it substitutes key partners, key activities, key resources, and customer relationships, with a problem, solution, key metrics, and unfair advantage. Therefore, the lean startup canvas will look like that:

problem
solution
key metrics
value proposition
unfair advantage
channels
customer segments
cost structure
revenue streams

The lean startup canvas as an adaptation from the business model canvas might be better suited for startup organizations, which need to scale quickly while gathering feedback from customers.

The blitzscaling business model innovation canvas instead, looks at a business model as primarily skewed toward massive growth.

In that instance, what identifies a business model is its ability to leverage on growth, or to limit its growth.

Thus it is comprised of four growth levers and two growth limiters:

Key growth factors

Market size
Distribution
High gross margins
Network effects


Key Growth limiters

Lack of product/market fit
Operational scalability

Another framework from BMI Lab put together in the sales navigator assumes that a business model key components are three:

value proposition
value chain
revenue model

Those elements come together when a business owner answers to a few key questions, such as, “what do you offer to the customer?” or “how is the value proposition created?” or yet “why is it profitable?”

Another tool called four box business model framework by Innosight breaks down the business model in four key components:

customer value proposition
key resources and processes
and the profit formula

Each of those elements feeds into each other to create a feedback loop of business model innovation. Those tools are quite useful, and it tackles how you can assess your business at each stage.

The FourWeekMBA business model framework

After looking at the key components of a business model based on a few toolboxes; based on the analyses performed over the years, for the business model boils down to three key elements, those are tied up by another ingredient.

This framework by FourWeekMBA has three aims:

simplicity
noise reduction
branding
and profitability

In short, I believe that a great business model toolbox has to have a super simple set up. It has to be based on very few elements. And it needs to focus on its long term financial sustainability.

However, what the toolboxes I’ve been looking at mostly miss is the branding of each business model success.

In short, for me there are two dimensions of a business:

The people dimension
The financial dimension

These two dimensions walk hand in hand. Yet the people side is what also makes the business thick from the economic standpoint.

The people side comprises the following elements:

A compelling value proposition: How do you want your people to think about your brand?
A unique brand positioning: What do you offer to your people that make them want more?
A 10x goal setting: Can you offer a 10X better product or service? (compared to existing solutions)

This people dimension will help you build a solid brand. A solid brand builds up a tribe, a group of people that can follow you anywhere. Once you have a solid brand, you can focus on the second dimension: the financial dimension.

The three elements of the financial dimensions are:

Customer segments: Who is your customer? (to notice here we’re not talking anymore about people but customers, those willing to pay for your product or service)
Distribution channels: How do you get your product or service to your customer?
Profit formula: Is the business financially sustainable?

Key takeaway

To recap an effective business model has to focus on two dimensions: the people dimension and the financial dimension. The people dimension will allow you to build a product or service that is 10X better than existing ones and a solid brand.

The financial dimension will help you build proper distribution channels by identifying the people that are willing to pay for your product or service.

Other resources for your business:

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
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
Marketing vs. Sales: How to Use Sales Processes to Grow Your Business

Handpicked business models:

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? It’s Not Just Advertising! 
How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Hidden Revenue Business Model Explained
The Google of China: Baidu Business Model In A Nutshell
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 Are The Key Components Of Any Business Model? appeared first on FourWeekMBA.