Business Model

What is a business model?

Your business model defines the way your SME operates. A good business model outlines exactly how you’re going to make your business work and essentially explains how your business is going to make money.

Because your business model combines your vision for your SME (the why) with the means of achieving your vision (the how), it’s critical that you take the time to put one in place and work to refine this on an ongoing basis.

The difference between a business model and a business plan

Don’t confuse your business model with your business plan. Remember that your business plan is an operational document that’s usually in place for a three to five-year period. It outlines your plans to grow your SME and make it sustainable (i.e. expansion projections; how to drive sales; when to introduce new products etc).

Your business model on the other hand, defines how your business will make money. As such, it functions as the engine-room of your business plan, showing you how your business will actually operate.

How to develop your own business model

Develop your own business model by asking yourself the following questions:

• What is the flow of transaction within my business?

• Who are the key players involved in making these transactions?

• What is my value proposition to the market? (What makes my business unique?)

Planning for Upcoming Next Year 2013

The end of the year is here! But as you kick back into chill mode and prepare to enjoy a well-deserved holiday, consider giving yourself a head start for 2013 by laying the preparation to give your personal brand a boost when the New Year rolls in.

Strategise now. If you put plans into place now, you’ll have a significant advantage in the beginning of the new calendar year and you’ll quickly be able to start implementing them to make a positive difference in your career. Define your personal branding and marketing objectives for 2013. Write them down. Do you want to enhance your visibility in the workplace? Do you want to position yourself as an expert in your field? Will your focus be on developing a network and focusing on mutually beneficial relationships?

Identify actions to support your objectives. When you know what you need to do, it’s much easier to act on it quickly and decisively. Spare yourself the time in 2013 and plan your personal branding and marketing to-do list now. If your objective is to position yourself as an expert in your field, find platforms to share your knowledge, such as articles in industry publications, speaking at trade events or writing a white paper. If you plan to build your online profile, investigate which social media platform will work best for you and develop a strategy to roll out as soon as you get back to work in 2013.

Focus on doing less, better. Being busy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being efficient. Rather than dividing your attention between too many projects or goals and diluting your impact, focus on a handful of key opportunities and think how you can best showcase the value you add and highlight your strengths.

Schedule time to work on your goals. To ensure your goals don’t fall by the wayside in 2013, you’ll need to dedicate time to achieving them. If you want to focus on building your network, sign up for a relevant business group or industry body. If you plan to market your personal brand more efficiently, block out an afternoon every week in your diary to spend time focusing on activities that will help you accomplish this goal.

Invest in the necessary resources. It’s much easier to get the job done if you’ve got the right tools and support. Identify gaps in your skills and knowledge that may stand in the way of reaching your goals and find ways to fill these gaps, whether it means investing in a social media course, reading up on presentation skills during the holidays or finding a personal branding buddy so you ca help each other and keep one another accountable.

It's My Pleasure to Wish all of my Friends and Funs a Merry Mass & prosperous New Year 2013..!

Branding of Our Products or Services!

When you stop and think about Apple® products, what comes to mind? Creativity? Innovation? Style?

What about BMW®? You might instantly think of luxury, speed, and performance. Or, perhaps you imagine yourself behind the wheel of one of their cars, whipping around turns and experiencing the thrill of racing down a highway at top speed.
                           

When you stop and think about Apple®products, what comes to mind? Creativity? Innovation? Style?

What about BMW®? You might instantly think of luxury, speed, and performance. Or, perhaps you imagine yourself behind the wheel of one of their cars, whipping around turns and experiencing the thrill of racing down a highway at top speed.

Brand identity i.e a big part of the success of Apple and BMW. They've created and sustained specific and emotional ideas around their brand, and these ideas resonate strongly with their customers.

A successful brand identity reflects people's values and beliefs, and how they would like to see themselves. 

However, without a clear and meaningful identity, a brand can quickly fade away.

Kapferer's Brand Identity Prism identifies six key things that you need to think about when developing a brand identity. 

   .......coming soon!.........

Eliminate the passion killers:

True leaders inspire employees to reach their potential. 

That’s a tall order. More often, leaders fall into the trap of becoming passion killers. 

One practical way forward is asking your team to catalog “passion killers,” and systematically try to eliminate them. 

Common ones include endless meetings, email that’s too long or too short, lack of customer input, hypercritical reaction to ideas, no recognition, no coaching and interdepartmental conflict. 

That’s a daunting list. 

Start with the easy ones: Eliminate meeting A, revise form B, and get yourself a coach. 

If your aim is true, you’ll receive goodwill and appreciation in return. 

— Adapted from Liberating Passion, Omar Khan with Paul Brown, Wiley

Learn from the Bald Eagle ways to become a Smart Businessman:

When I read about bald eagles and about the way they live, I always start thinking about what a businessman can learn from them in order to become successful and that is what this article is about.

1.Vision

Bald eagles are birds that can often be found on very high altitudes. There they soar and with their very sharp eyesight they have a clear view on the world below them and especially on the prey they want to catch; fish, that is what they like most.

They can see the milky white spot in the water from a distance of many miles. In high places they build their nests.

On a rock, on the top of a tree but always on a spot where they

have a good view on the world that surrounds them. And from

their castle they see what is happening around them and that

gives security.

The businessman should also have a clear view on what is happening in the market. 

From very far he should recognize his potential customers and "attack" them at the right moment. At the same time he should be aware of the dangers that surround him, anticipate, absorb the environment and be prepared to act immediately.

2.Knowledge

Bald eagles are confined to their territories. With the seasons

some migrate but you find bald eagles only in a specific habitat

namely forests, mountains and near sea and rivers. You won't

find them in the desert. In their habitat they know what to do,

where they can find prey and which dangers surround them. By

instinct and by learning they have knowledge about the way they

have to conduct their lives and about how they have to behave

in this habitat. They will never go beyond the limitations of this

frame work. If they do, they die.

This holds a lesson for the businessman. He should know everything about his business and when I say everything, I mean

everything. He should know all about the products he sells from beginning to end, every detail should be an open book to him. He can never be surprised with questions on which he has no answers. He should know about marketing techniques, the position and plans of competitors etc., etc. And if he doesn't possess this knowledge by nature, he has to learn it.

3.Enough is enough

When Bald Eagles catch prey, they will catch only one fish at a time.It is not possible for them to catch more. But they know precisely how to catch this one fish.Their flying skills, their strong talons and their eyesight are extremely well developed and fit for the job. 

Almost every attempt to catch a prey is successful.

This phenomenon also holds a wise lesson for the businessman.

He has to restrict himself to a number of products he can handle and products that matches his skills and abilities. 

To stay in the animal world: if you are a cow don't try to jump fences like a horse. People will only laugh at you. 

It is better to sell one product very well than ten without a satisfying result.

4.Courage

Bald eagles mate for life and they are absolutely loyal to each other. 

From high altitudes the two birds tumble down in a dangerous free fall. Mocking the laws of gravity they unite.Only just above the tree tops they separate and fly wing by wing to the nest. This spectacular show requires great courage. 

A businessman also needs courage to be successful. He has to make decisions about difficult and uncertain subjects. And he also needs to know when to stop his free fall. Having courage to make difficult decisions is not synonymous for being reckless. A decision that leads to disaster is not a decision, but a wild guess.

You see....the businessman can learn a great deal from this majestic bird that embodies not only beauty, strength and freedom but that possesses also the essential conditions and abilities to survive.

The beginning businessman as well, who is maybe starting his business in great uncertainty about the future, can learn from the bald eagle:

Flying high starts with spreading your wings!