Then in January 2013, I came across Kaymu.com.ng while it was still in its early stage trying to break her way into the Nigerian e-Commerce terrain. It didn’t take me long to see the market potentials of such a platform where sellers can be connected to over 60 million Nigerians online.

I instantly became a kaymu evangelist. This is partly due to my passion for entrepreneurship development in Nigeria and my successful experience with e-Marketing.

How It Began!

Being an entrepreneurial blogger and coach, I follow up startups both in Nigeria and globally to see how I can help spread the word about their new business venture through unusual interviews with the founders, and that’s how I was introduced to Lukas Zels, the MD of Kaymu.

And as I’ve come to be known for, I asked my typical ‘big picture’ question;

“what’s the bigger purpose for kaymu in Nigeria beyond the obvious –naira and kobo?”

And he replied;

“to empower Nigerians through eCommerce by building the safest and easy to use online marketplace community where genuine buying and selling can take place.”

As it turned out, the meeting ended with me becoming the official brand evangelist [PR consultant] for kaymu. My task was pretty simple; put kaymu to test and share your experience with the world.

My 1^st Month Selling Online

I own a boutique business where I sell both male and female clothing and shoes. So I decided to create my own shop online to test run kaymu and listed the shoes on the platform, this was in February. Oh and if you are wondering why I listed only shoes and left out the clothes? Well, shoes are far easier to snap than clothes. Before the month ended, I was able to sell one shoe despite 5 orders, only one buyer followed through to pickup and paid cash –N3000. This wasn’t so bad since Kaymu opened to the public in February.

My 2^nd Month Selling Online

Towards the end of February, I decided to expand my shop on kaymu to sell in another promising category other than fashion –phones and tablets. Since I didn’t sell phones and tablets, this was made possible by one of my e-Marketing clients who proposed a partnership. I help sell their phones and tablets online through kaymu and earn commissions on every sale.

So because of this collaboration, in March I sold one Blackberry Z10, an iPad4 and a Tommy Hilfiger shoe for a total of N223,000. Not bad huh?

My 3^rd Month Selling Online

April was the best month ever, all of the marketing initiatives where falling into place and people were becoming more confident in the brand due to the number of successful deliveries and safe transactions recorded. So in April, I sold 7 Smart phones and 5 male shoes for a total of N613,547!

The total?

February – N3000

March – N223,000

April – N613,547

Total = N839,547

Why It Pays To Sell Online

• Besides the number one obvious fact that you get to reach a whole lot more people through an online shop, the most significant reason for me is the 24hrs 7days a week operational nature of an online shop. There’s practically no closing time online, you can be making sales while you sleep!

• Reducing overhead costs is one other reason why selling online is so super smart. You don’t have to bother about shop space, on the internet there’s unlimited shelf space. The amount of items you can sell is unlimited. As you just saw me explain, I expanded from just selling male shoes to selling smart phones and tablets and it didn’t cost me additional rent!

• And my personal favorite, growing your brand has never been easier. Online you connect with millions of people you would never have been able to sell to offline. And the bonus part, they become your customers as well not just kaymu’s customers because they buy from you directly not from kaymu.

• Safe transactions is another advantage you get by selling on kaymu. Unlike other free classified sites, kaymu is much more than a free classified site. It is an actual e-Shopping mall where you can buy from so many trusted retailers who have physical shops offline. On Kaymu, you are buying from real businesses not just some random individual who has something to dispose.

Over to you

You’ve read my story and as many naijapreneur readers have come to know me for, I hardly share what I haven’t personally applied. My own approach to marketing is simple; “don’t tell people what you will do, show them what you’ve done. Why? Because results sell faster than words!”

If this isn’t sufficient prove that Nigeria is in the early days of a heavy eCommerce boom, then you can choose to ignore this article. But if you are among the few wise ones, you will get in now while many are still contemplating and begin to reap the rewards of selling online. Here’s an invitation, click here to start!

PS.

If you need help getting started with e-Commerce, send me an email with the subject “e-Commerce coaching”. I will be putting together a workshop very soon that will help crack the e-Commerce code and only the first 20 people who send me this email will get a 20% discount on the workshop fee!

Related posts:

1. e-Commerce 101: How To Startup An Online Retail Business
2. Differentiate Online: How To Use The Internet To Find, Attract, Convert And Retain Profitable Customers
3. Customer Buying Process: The Key To Selling MORE 99% Of The Time
4. The Integrated Selling System: Who Says Your Gateman Can’t Sell?
5. BUSINESS GROWTH 101: How To Diagnose The Problem of Low Sales

This is the paradox of business; to do or to build?

Mastering it is the definition of business success. Ignoring it is the definition of business failure.

To help you master this paradox of business is what this unusual article is about, read on!

What Is The Paradox Of Business?

If you’ve been in business for some time now, you will begin to notice some certain re-occurring trends; while pursuing more business you sometimes stray from your primary/core business. You find yourself doing some other business that is not your core business so long as they rake in some cash.

While trying to get your business off the ground, you neglect some key strategic elements that can help your business on the long run. Deep down you know they are important, but just because they aren’t urgent you keep postponing them till it becomes too late.

While being occupied with the day-to-day operations of your business, you realize you’re no longer paying adequate attention to pursuing your vision. You suddenly forget about the change you originally set out to create in the industry. You forget about the very idea that inspired your going into business. You get caught in doing business as usual.

While making enough sales with your current product/service, you forget about product/service innovation. While satisfying existing customers, you fail to pursue new ones. While pursuing new ones, you fail to satisfy existing ones.

On and on, you find yourself and your business falling short in one or more important aspects of your business. All these are the realities of being in business and all these are what I refer to as the paradox of business.

The world of business is filled with so many contradictory roles, expectations and functions. It wouldn’t be out of place to say that business is very complex consisting of several aspects that are so contradictory in nature.

At one end is the pressure [need] to do whatever you can to keep the business going; this I refer to as hustlepreneurship –doing business. At the other end is the desire [want] to build your business into something great; this I refer to as entrepreneurship –building business.

And therein lies the paradox of business –the contradictory roles, expectation and functions of hustlepreneurship and entrepreneurship; the pressure of survival and the desire for significance; the need to do business and the want of building a business.

HUSTLEpreneurship: The NEED To Do Business

Dreams, desires or aspirations are important, but none of them comes true without action, work, execution or hustle. The entrepreneurial journey in most cases begins with a dream, a desire or aspiration to create something significant that will positively alter the lives of many. This is a noble cause and as with all noble cause, there’s need for action, work, execution or hustle.

Show me a successful entrepreneur and I will show you a man/woman who hustles. In the heart of entrepreneurship lies hustlepreneurship. You cannot have one without the other!

Hustlepreneurship is the inevitable art of doing business. It is inevitable because you simply cannot succeed in business if you are not prepared to do business. But what does it mean to do business? What does it mean to hustle?

Doing Business Means….

• Selling/closing a sale
• Production/manufacturing
• Freelancing/doing contracts
• Managing your Inventory/stock
• Accepting any and every deal
• Doing paper/administrative work
• Making contacts/networking
• Pursuing more business/revenue
• Servicing existing clients/customers
• Day-to-day operations

Here’s the bottom-line when it comes to hustlepreneurship; it’s all about focusing on the NOW, TODAY, SHORT TERM and forgetting or neglecting the future, tomorrow and long term. If you only focus on today as an entrepreneur, your business will not live to see tomorrow. This is what I call the most deadly trap of business; being caught up in doing business –hustlepreneurship.

Many entrepreneurs are not aware of this fact and that’s why their businesses suffer. Ironically, many are aware of this fact and yet their businesses still suffer. Why?

Because hustlepreneurship alone is not all that it takes to succeed in business. It is a necessary element of business success, but certainly not the ONLY element. I have met so many entrepreneurs who hustle their hearts out in business and yet they still struggle with their business. It is true you need to take action, work, execute and hustle to do business; but equally true is the fact that you should dream, plan, strategize and create structures to build your business.

Entrepreneurship: The DESIRE To Build A Business

Entrepreneurship is about starting, growing and building a business that matters. It is the deliberate use of one’s life to create a significant company that helps to solve one or more problems plaguing humanity.

As I have come to learn in business and also in life, it’s not just action, work, execution or hustle alone that amounts to success, no. What amount to success is strategic action, smart work, organized execution and deliberate hustle. This is what entrepreneurship entails.

Entrepreneurs don’t just do business, they build businesses!

The secret is this; let your hustle bring you closer to the fulfillment of your purpose, dream or goal of building a business that matters. This is what it means to succeed; this is what it means to make progress. Without a definite or desired end in mind, without the pursuit of something great or significant, all you do in your business is nothing but expended efforts. This is what I refer to as activity –anything that keeps you engaged, busy or occupied but doesn’t take you in the direction you want to go.

So, you need to balance your hustling with entrepreneurship. You need to NOT only do business but must begin to build a business. What does it mean to build a business?

Building A Business Means….

• Strategic Planning
• Strategic Execution
• Strategic Marketing
• Creating a powerful brand
• Creating a corporate culture/business DNA
• Creating operational processes/structures
• Developing competitive strategy
• Developing innovative products/services
• Developing your people/employees
• Delivering excellent customer services
• Forming strategic partnerships/alliance
• Improving existing products/services
• Launching new products/services
• Research and development

The bottom-line when it comes to building a business is to focus on tomorrow, the future and the long term. This is how great companies are built, they don’t only focus on being relevant today, they create the future.

They dream dreams, nurture ideas, create environments where creativity thrives, they form strategic alliances with others and they constantly seek out great talents to hire. They actively allocate their time into activities that helps them to continually remain relevant today, tomorrow and always.

Conclusion

The key to overcoming the paradox of business is to create a healthy balance between doing business [hustlepreneurship] and building business [entrepreneurship]. And the answer is simple; make sure all that you are doing in your business is aligned with and contributes to your corporate purpose.

In other words, don’t just do business [hustle], do ONLY what helps your business to go and grow in the right direction –entrepreneurship. And eliminate all other things that you do that doesn’t align with your corporate purpose.

Over to you

Where are you caught up in the paradox of business? Hustlepreneurship or entrepreneurship?

At what point in your business did you discover that you’ve been caught up in only one aspect of the paradox of business? What were the particular signs or trends that made you come to this realization?

What did you suddenly realize as a result of reading this unusual article? What new thing did you learn and how do you intend to apply it in your own business?

Related posts:

1. The HUMAN SIDE Of Entrepreneurship: Why Entrepreneurs Also CRY!
2. The BURDEN Of Entrepreneurship: Why Entrepreneurs NEVER Quit!
3. The 27 Irrefutable Laws Of Entrepreneurship
4. The Dark Side Of Entrepreneurship And How To Survive It
5. Business Skills Checklist For Entrepreneurs

Enjoy!

Interview Questions Part One

ENTREPRENEURSHIP – Awakening the Spirit of business

1.       Can you please tell us a little about yourself and your business? What do you do?, how do you do it?, why do you do it and who do you do it for?

 Hi, my name is Mike Morris and I graduated from the University of Rhode Island and the University of Connecticut. I am a programmer turned entrepreneur, and I am the founder of Triplefy, an online platform for small business to create and instantly sell Daily Deals and Gift Cards & also Recdesk, a recreational software useful to parks and recreational departments and communities. To simply put, I love building online tools to help other succeed in business.

2.       How would you describe your entrepreneurial journey into the world of business? Where there any key incidents or life changing events that inspired your decision to become an entrepreneur?

No, there were no major incidents; I just want to help others and be part of their success. I wanted the freedom to enjoy life with my friends and family, entrepreneurship will allow me to do just that.

3.       When you started out in business, what specific idea, purpose or vision was your key driving force?

The most important thing that I wanted to do was to help small businesses to build and grow within their communities. I created Triplefy because I wanted to give them a way to promote their business, reward loyal customers and become a profitable business. We strongly believe in helping small businesses and local economies grow.

4.       What is your take on the general notion that entrepreneurs should build a business around what they naturally love to do?

I think it’s extremely important to build a business around what you already love to do. It takes a long time to be successful at anything, so by building something that you love, your chances of being successful is a lot better. When you absolutely love what you do then it becomes just a habit it doesn’t feel like you’re working. When you’re at this stage there is no doubt you can build a successful business.

5.       What is your personal life mission as an entrepreneur? That is; what contributions do you want to make with your life or what would you like to be remembered for as an entrepreneur through the businesses you create when you die?

Great question, I think about it all the time. I simply want to be remembered as someone who made a difference in the world. I want people to say that my work has helped better their live and businesses. I am a strong believer in growing small businesses. I believe small businesses are the heart of the community. With that said, I would love to be remembered as someone who helped small businesses to become successful.

6.       What would you describe as the purpose of entrepreneurship? That is; what role do entrepreneurs play in the world?

Entrepreneurship is the freedom to follow your own path. I believe entrepreneurs play a very important role in the world today. We are innovators; we are making people’s lives better and easier by providing easy solutions to hard problems. Entrepreneurs are able to create jobs and better the world around us.

Interview Questions Part Two

STRATEGY – The unusual execution of business best practices

7.       How do you identify business opportunities and what metrics do you use to measure their viability?

It’s very simple, I look for problems, I listen to my customers; learn what issues they are having, and then I move on to fix those issues. Business opportunities are everywhere you just have to look and listen to people. Learn about their problems and then provide them with an easy solution. It is as simple as that.

8.       Do you have mentors, business coach or external consultants that you work closely with to grow yourself and your business? If yes, to what extent would you describe their impact on your business? If no, are there any particular reasons?

We’re based in New Haven, CT and I am part of the work space community call Launch Haven. It is a great community of entrepreneurs helping each other succeeds. In terms of mentors I don’t have one per se, but I do have access to a large community of people to help me. It does have a huge impact on my business. The fact that I have a group of entrepreneurs that I can go to whenever I am having an issue is very helpful.

9.       How do you strategically use your time as an entrepreneur? What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs use their time for?

I recommend every entrepreneur to always spend some time reading. Most of the things that I learned came from reading. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just 15 minute a day could really help you grow and understand the basics. Reading works great for me whenever I am feeling a bit un-motivated.

10.   How do you generate profitable customers for your business? What unusual approaches do you adopt for marketing your products/services?

When it comes to Triplefy we mostly target recent Groupon & Living Social users. Businesses that have used those services seem to understand a lot quicker what our service can do for them. Some of the marketing tactics that we do includes social media, online forums and content marketing. Those seems to work best for us right now.

11.   Many entrepreneurs complain about not succeeding in business due to lack of adequate funding, what is your take on this matter and how do you cope with funding issues in your business?

In my opinion most companies fail because they have no customers. It has nothing to do with funding. That fact is if you’re able to get enough people interested in the product then funding will be no issue. I bootstrap for both Tripelfy and RecDesk. I did not look for any outside funding. Getting investors for your new business can both be a positive and negative. I strongly recommend everyone to bootstrap to get started. But if you absolutely have to get outside funding, then look for investors who are bringing more than just money. Look for people who will bring experience and become a strategic partner.

12.   When starting out a new business, who are the likely possible partners or professional service providers you would recommend every entrepreneur work with?

I would recommend working with someone who is just as passionate as you are. Look for someone who can bring something different to the mix. For example, if you’re background is in marketing then maybe look for a partner who is much more technical then you are, like a programmer or web designer. These things can be pretty expensive so having one your team is a win.

13.   The pricing of products/services is always an issue for entrepreneurs, what unusual approach do you take when it comes to pricing?

When it comes to pricing products/services entrepreneurs often make the mistake of under valuing their services. So if you’re unsure of what kind of prices you should set. I would first look at what the competition is offering then decide whether it will be more profitable for me to go higher or cheaper. The best thing to do is to start high then lower the prices if I need to. Because let’s face it, it will much harder for you to increase the prices than to lower it. And also don’t forget to take your expenses into account as well when deciding.

Interview Questions Part Three

MISCELLANEOUS – Resourceful Recommendations, tools, books, and ideas for unusual entrepreneurs

14.   Since you became an entrepreneur – someone who solves problems for people profitably; what has been your most outstanding accomplishments in the context of business?

We were selected twice in a row as one of the top tech companies to watch in 2011 and 2012 by Connecticut Technology Council. This was a great honor to be among some of the most innovative and successful tech companies here in CT.

Another accomplishment is the fact that we are now supporting small businesses in more 3 countries including Australia, Canada and the UK. We recently launched a French translated version store front for some the users in Canada, and that’s been working out pretty great.

15.   What would you describe as your major setbacks and what lessons did you pick from them?

One particular setback that I can think of was the fact that we wanted to be everything to everyone. We didn’t niche our service enough to be able to target the right customers. We lost a lot time trying to attract the wrong kind of customers. We quickly learned that we can’t satisfy everyone so we re-targeted a smaller audience to have a bigger impact.

The most important thing that I learned is that in business, things don’t ever go according to plan. In other words you should always have a backup plan In case things don’t work out.

16.   Where there any particular questions you expected me to ask that is beneficial to entrepreneurs and I didn’t? Kindly share with us such questions and their relevant answers here.

I must say these were all great questions. If I could leave your audience with one piece of advice that would be to pursue what you like. We have so little time in this world so we should spend it doing what we like. Build memories, because in the end that’s pretty much all we have. If you’re thinking about starting your own company, stop thinking and just do it already. Opportunities are everywhere; you just have to be ready when for it when it comes.

I would also encourage anyone who already own a business and looking to offer Gift Cards and Deals to their customers to check http://triplefy.com. We are always here to help you can reach us at support@triplefy.com or @triplefy on twitter.

Thank you for having me it was an honor to share my journey with you.

Your Turn

What more would you like to know about the Unusual Mike Morris? You can ask him further questions below in the comment section and I will be sure that you will get an answer directly from him.

Also, what did you learn from this unusual entrepreneur? What lessons, what philosophy of his strike you the most?

Mike has shared his unusual story with you, now is time to hear from you. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say J

Related posts:

1. Unusual Entrepreneur Interview With {r}evolution Apparel: How 2 Unusual Women Are Changing The World And Profiting From Purpose Through Clothing
2. Unusual Entrepreneur Interview With Yaro Starak Of Entrepreneurs-Journey.com
3. Unusual Entrepreneur Interview With Laura Roeder Of LKRsocialmedia.com
4. Unusual Entrepreneur Interview With Jeet Banerjee Of StatFuse.com
5. Unusual Entrepreneur Interview With Bernadette Jiwa Of TheStoryOfTelling.com

It doesn’t matter whether you are a small startup or an international corporation; every business is looking to grow its profits. So when it comes to increasing your profitability in business, after considering both the universal laws of profitability and the peculiar elements of profitability, there are two simple options open to you;

1.  Increase Revenue [sell more]:

There are several ways to increase revenues. To apply this profit maximization option, here are four things you can do;

• Firstly, increase the quantity of sales, for example by better marketing the product or improving quality. Analyze where money is majorly coming in from and focus on making more sales in those product/service categories.

• Secondly, up-sell to existing customers, for example by persuading them to buy enhanced services or accessories.

• Thirdly, diversify into selling a wider range of products.

• Fourthly, revise pricing to produce a more efficient balance of the number of sales and the revenue from each sale.

2.  Decrease Expenses [cut costs]:

There are also several ways to cut costs. To apply this profit maximization option, here are four things you can do;

• Firstly, analyze where money is being spent. Overhead is one of the biggest categories of expenses that business owners face.

• Secondly, negotiate cheaper prices for supplies, particularly when buying in bulk.

• Thirdly, make the manufacturing process more efficient, for example by breaking it down into individual tasks and setting up a production line system. Improving your business processes can reduce wastages financially. Always adopt time saving and production boosting technologies.

• Fourthly, buy equipment you currently lease, or lease the ones you currently need to buy or do a hire purchase. Assessing costs here may require taking a long-term view.

5 More Easy Ways To Increase Your Business’ Profitability

The following 5 simple tips cover both profitability options discussed above depending on the peculiarity of your business situation, enjoy!

1.     Outsource

One of the biggest sources of expenditure for businesses is human resources. Because no entrepreneur can do all that is required to move their business forward, there’s always a need for talented people in every company, big or small. But for majority of small business owners, you don’t have to employ all the talents you need on full time.

No matter what type of business you are in, you probably have work that can be outsourced for a minimal fee. Look for strategic partners who can offer certain freelance or outsourcing services on a pay-as-you-go basis. Design projects, press releases and website content are all things you could stop doing in-house. Focus your full-time employees on revenue-building projects and send simple tasks out for freelancers to complete.

By so doing, this will reduce your overhead expenses and increase your profitability!

2.     Raise Your Prices

One of the easiest ways to maximize your profits is to increase your prices. Having a good business is not all about offering the lowest price. Sure, it’s what some people may be looking for, but for many, quality and customer service are equally important. If you have a superior product, don’t shy away from charging a superior price. You may lose a few customers at first, but studies show they are likely to return for a quality product or valuable customer service options.

I discussed more about this profitability option in this unusual article; COMPETITIVE STRATEGY: How To Win The PRICE War

 Also, review your cost structure. Make sure you have a sufficient markup on your goods. When the cost of raw materials and related costs increase, the additional costs need to be included in the selling price. Reviewing your cost structure on a regular basis will help you keep track of costs that are on the rise before the cost is too great to completely include in your selling price.

3.    Find A New Energy Supplier

Energy is an expense that every company has to deal with. Trust me; I know how much I spend on power monthly. It is one of the key areas where recurring expenses flow; so if you haven’t shopped around for energy rates lately, it could be costing you.

When we ran our cybercafé business, energy or power was one of the key areas that depleted our revenues. In our first year alone, we spent over 1million naira on energy! Just imagine if some portion of that cost could be saved and converted into profits for the company?

In developed countries and deregulated areas, businesses are able to choose their own energy suppliers, such as Reliant Energy. Many suppliers offer competitively low rates that might be better than what you’re currently paying. And if you are looking to make your business more sustainable, many suppliers offer green energy made from wind and solar resources.

The most important takeaway is that even a penny difference in energy prices can have a significant effect on your bottom line!

4.   Borrow Best Practices From Others

Your business model does not have to reinvent the wheel; you can always copy best practices from others, especially from outside your industry. Find out what’s working for your competition or similar companies and implement it in your business. There is nothing wrong with having a business model that works well, even if it is similar to another company. Just find a way to differentiate your offering [product/service].  If a competitor is excelling with customer engagement, mimic it. If it is using different technology, look into it. Don’t be afraid to take others’ ideas and strategically mold them to fit your company.

Take a look at this unusual article for more insight; Competitive Intelligence: 12 Sure Fire Ways To Strip Your Competitions Naked!

5.   Educate Potential Customers

If people don’t know about your awesome company, then you may have a problem increasing profits. In the age of digital media, it’s just silly not to have an online presence. Create a website, join Facebook and blog about your industry. Let everyone know about your company and how great your product is.

Take it one step further by creating advertisements for your company. Choose mediums that your ideal customer would be using. TV, radio, print and online are just a few of the many places you can advertise. Once you have gained attention, work on engaging your customers. Create relationships that will keep them coming back for more.

Over To You

What other profit maximizing options have you applied in your business?

Participate by leaving your comments below, thanks!

Related posts:

1. The Profitability Code: How To Unlock The Profit Potentials Of Your Business
2. 7 Turnaround Strategies To Revive A Dying Business
3. BUSINESS GROWTH 101: How To Attract, Keep And Grow Profitable Customers
4. Business Mastery: 4 Smart Ways Of Getting More Profitable Customers Always
5. Differentiate Online: How To Use The Internet To Find, Attract, Convert And Retain Profitable Customers

This is a period characterized by harsh business conditions; low sales, low morale, low cash, low market share, and low innovation. Some recover from this and bounce back stronger than before, and some don’t.

There are many factors responsible for this near death experience; those that are self inflicted like; a major project failure, incompetent management or poor financial control are generally termed internal forces. While those that are not self inflicted like; government intervention, economic recessions, the presence of low-cost competitors, or natural disasters are termed external forces.

The continuous survival and success of a business greatly depends on managing these forces internally and externally. Neglecting them can spell doom for any business regardless of size!

How To Revive A Dying Business

If you find yourself struggling with a failing or dying business, here are 7 turnaround strategies to help you resurrect your business.

1.       Re-Evaluate: situation

To treat an ailment, we need to diagnose the patient. The first place to start if your business is dying or failing is to look within the company. This is known as self-evaluation or self-assessment. You have to know what the situation is and what the problem is. When you already know the circumstances, you can now take appropriate actions. When looking within, focus on the following key areas;

• Strategy

Does the business have a direction? Does the business know why it exists? What problems it solves and for whom? Is the business focused on the right things?

• People

Are the right people running the company? Are the right people in the right places? Are employees committed to organizational success? Are employees properly incentivized to share in the ongoing success of the firm? Are commission plans driving sales persons to focus on gross revenues or gross profits? Are difficult policies, internal strife or the behaviors of specific individuals driving down the collective spirit of the organization? Are there bad eggs in your company that are contaminating the whole organization?

• Customers

Are customers satisfied? Do they know, like and trust your brand? Is the business focused on profitable customers versus unprofitable and difficult clients? Are you targeting the right customers?

• Product

Are you offering innovative products/services? Can the business better utilize technology to create better products, reduce costs and improve competitive advantages?

• Process

Are systems in place to get work done efficiently? Are things being done in the right way? Are policies facilitating work or hindering them? Is the business structured for high performance?

• Finance

Are you competitive and profitable? Are cash flows sufficient to sustain ongoing commitments and operations? Is this business largely indebted?

Re-evaluation is the most critical turnaround strategy; without it all other things are just frantic moves that will yield little results. Before you begin to act, know why, what and how affected your business is. Only through re-evaluation can discover all these.

The suggested articles below will help you get started.

Further Reading;

7 reasons why entrepreneurs fail in business

7 warning signs of a dying business

What To DO When Business Is Slow

How To Diagnose The Problem of Low Sales

How Entrepreneurs Are Unknowingly Killing Their Business

2.       Re-Define: strategy

After re-evaluation comes re-definition. Re-evaluation reveals what’s wrong with your business and re-definition is putting the business back on track. This is where you go back to the drawing board to set the overall direction for the company. This is where you create the turnaround game-plan. Failing in business is often as a result of not having a clear direction or having derailed from the set path. So you need to revisit the foundation of your business by touching the following key areas;

• Purpose:

 “Why do we exist as a business?”

“What need or needs are being met by this business?”

• Vision:

 “What do we want to achieve using this business as a tool?”

“How far do we want to go in pursuit of our purpose as a business?”

• Mission:

 “How do we intend to succeed in this business?”

“How and what must we primarily focus on as a business to be the No.1 choice of our target customers?”

• Values:

 “What principles, standards and tenets must we hold to be true and never compromise as a business?”

 “How must we collectively think and behave as a business in order to fulfill our purpose, achieve our vision and execute our mission?”  

• Brand:

“Who are we as a business to the general public?”

“What is our promise to those we intend to serve?”

“How do we want to be perceived by our target customers?”

“What do we want to be remembered, recognized or respected for in the marketplace?”

Further Reading;

Business DNA: Why Your Company’s Success Desperately Depends On It!

3.   Re-Employ: people

Hardly can you turnaround a dying business without talking about the people behind it. A business cannot function by itself, people make it function. People make or break your business. This is why you need to re-employ. To resurrect a dying business, get the right people on board and get the wrong people off, period!

To learn more about the qualities of the right people, make sure you click on the suggested article under further reading below.

Further Reading;

The Almighty Formula For Business Success!

4.   Re-Innovate: product

Lack of innovation is one of the warning signs of a dying business. It is impossible for a business to remain relevant in the market if it fails to introduce new products/services. People change, market change, technology change and so must your business. If you refuse to change, by constantly innovating your products/services, you are doomed. To bring your dying business back to life, do something new!

Further Reading;

How To Unlock The Power Of Creativity For Cutting-Edge Innovation

How To Create An UNTAPPED Market For Your Business

5.   Re-Brand: marketing

One of the consequences of a dying business is the negative impact it has on the brand. Your customers begin to lose trust in the brand as their satisfaction level declines. Negative word of mouth marketing starts to spread and the brand is no longer known, liked or trusted in the market. To correct this negative association with the brand, you have to kill the old brand and create a new one!

This doesn’t necessarily require a total change in the brand name; only do this as a last resort. What rebranding means is to give your business a new meaning, a face-lift and a new brand identity. This is why in almost every turnaround situation; the company comes up with new marketing campaigns, new logos, new brand colors, and new slogans to let the market know that things are not the same as before.

Further Reading;

Corporate Branding Strategy 101

The 4 Elements Of Effective BRANDING

6.       Re-Finance: money

As much as I would like to tell you that you don’t need money to resurrect your dying business, we both know that would only be a lie. One of the most obvious signs of a dying business is lack of money. You are almost out of business because you are running out of cash. So to get your business back to life, you need to pay close attention to finance.

The easiest option would be to seek external funding, but this can be a very daunting task especially if the money in question is much. So what do you do? Start sourcing for funds from within the business by doing the following;

• Take from your personal savings.

• Sell off some of your fixed assets to raise immediate cash.

• Cut costs by reducing your operational expenses. Look for every unnecessary expenses and cut them off. Lay off every redundant staff. Stop every extra incentive or benefits for a while.

• Don’t try to solve all your financial needs at once; it will only further put you in more financial mess. Break down your business financial needs into sizeable chunks tied to specific needs and begin to fill them with the excess funds gathered.

• Seek for strategic alliance from your partners like your suppliers, they can offer you trade credits.

Only after you have exhausted these internal funding options should you seek external sources like; borrowing from family and friends, angel investors, bank loans, factoring, hire purchase, equipment leasing etc.

7.   Re-Work: execution

After all is said and done, there is no way to bring your dying business back to life by mere words; you need to do the work. And not just as you have always done before, you need to re-work the way you used to work. You’ve probably been engaged in random work rather than focusing on performance-driven work or goal-oriented work.

It is one thing to work and it is another to align your work with the strategic goals of the organization. Only by doing so can the business be saved from dying. Every work must be broken down into processes, must have a owner and must have a goal or key indicators to track performance.

Over to you

What new thing or things did you learn from reading this unusual article?

Have your business ever experienced a near death situation and how did you recover from it?

What other ways besides these 7 listed above would you recommend for reviving a dying business?

Related posts:

1. 7 Warning Signs Of A Dying Business
2. Knowing When To Pull The Plug On A Dying Business

According to Sun Tzu, the ancient author of the Art of War;

“If you are ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, then you are a fool and certain to be defeated in every battle.”

No matter how much you think you know about your business, no matter how much experience you have in your chosen field, without a clear understanding of the competitions in the market, you might as well be driving blind. Big companies spend thousands of dollars to conduct competitive market analysis, but fortunately for those of you on a tight budget, you can do quite a bit of this yourself, without spending much at all.

This unusual article is about how you can effectively gather information about your competition and how to use that information to beat the competition.

Let’s get started!

What Is Competitive Intelligence?

Competitive Intelligence is the purposeful and coordinated monitoring of your competitor(s), wherever and whoever they may be, within a specific marketplace… Your “competitors” are those firms which you consider rivals in business, and with whom you compete for market share. Competitive Intelligence also has to do with determining what your business rivals WILL DO before they do it. Strategically, to gain foreknowledge of your competitor’s plans and to plan your business strategy to counter their plans.

The goal of a competitor analysis is to develop a profile of the nature of strategy changes each competitor might make, each competitor’s possible response to the range of likely strategic moves other firms could make, and each competitor’s likely reaction to industry changes and environmental shifts that might take place. Competitive intelligence should have a single-minded objective –to develop the strategies and tactics necessary to transfer market share profitably and consistently from specific competitors to your company.

Competitive intelligence is the core of competitive strategy!

Have A Goal In Mind: What Do You Want To Know?

The very first step in carrying out an effective competitive analysis or research on your competition is to have an objective in mind; what exactly do you want to know? It’s already been stated above that the key purpose of competitive intelligence is to give you sufficient knowledge about the activities of your competitions in order to make better strategic decisions and actions that will give you a competitive edge in the market.

It’s totally unwise to start out without any aim in mind or without any specific information to sought for, so here are some of the key things you need to learn about your competition:

• Who are the major competitors in the market?

• What’s their current share of the market you’ve identified?

• Have there been any significant changes in the market share each competitor has had over the past five to ten years [i.e. who’s moving up and who’s moving down]?

• Which of your competitors address which segments and which of them are strongest in those segments?

• What are your competitors’ strategies for reaching your target market, as well as any segments on which they focus?

Now that you know the types of questions for which you’re seeking answers [and there are many more, but these should get you started], it’s time to actually do the competitive research and to do that, there are two major approaches;

• Researching the competition online
• Researching the competition offline

How To Research Your Competitions Online

Traditionally, finding out about competitor activity might have been a lengthy and costly process. But now, with the help of the internet, you can easily access lots of useful information about your competition. Here are some ways to get started in being your own competitive intelligence gatherer on the Web and it won’t cost anything, but time.

1.   Google It:

Well it’s true what they say; there’s hardly anything online that Google doesn’t know about, including information about your competitions. The very first step to take while conducting a research about your competition online is to Google them.

A simple search about your competition or major players in your industry can reveal a lot about their overall corporate strategy, their next product launch, their recent hiring and even customer complaints and reviews. All these are valuable information that can give you an added advantage while making strategic decisions and planning strategic competitive actions.

Besides using the search feature of Google, there are other useful tools from Google that can provide more information about your competitions such as;

• Google Alerts: allows users to set up alerts by keywords and phrases that trigger an e-mail notification and link every time that word or phrase pops up on a site, blog, or news story — depending on how the alert is configured. A business primarily concerned about three top competitors, for example, might set up a Google alert on all three companies and their top executives monitoring every time they get a mention online. Remember to also set up alerts for your own company so you can monitor what’s being said about you, and keep track of your direct and indirect competitors.

• Google Trends: This is a great tool for keeping track of what’s hot and what’s not in your industry. By using this tool, you can keep track of the major trends in your industry and most especially take note of the trendsetters; these are your competitions who are making things happen.

2.   Use Industry Specific Sites:

While Google is a good place to start your research about competitions, it might not provide certain insider information. This is when using industry specific sites comes in handy; these are sites that gather relevant information about companies from trusted sources such as Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria, Companies House in the UK and in the USA, the local, state or federal government agencies.

In Nigeria, the Corporate Affairs Commission is a good starting point. For UK, visiting industry specific sites such as Duedil where you can access companies house data and search for information on millions of businesses is something to bear in mind. And for the US, visiting the websites of relevant local, state and federal agencies would help.

3.   Use Social Media:

Given how companies are increasingly using social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter as marketing outlets these days, you might be able to pick up interesting facts about your competition—and maybe even your own company—just by tuning in. Follow all your competitions on twitter, like their Facebook fan pages, connect with their key people on LinkedIn and subscribe to the YouTube channels!

Even if your competition isn’t social media savvy, it’s a good bet that they produce newsletters—either e-mail or print varieties—that you can sign up for to get the latest and greatest news and updates on things like new products or services they are introducing and what events they might be attending.

4.   Look At Keywords:

Over 80% of all online transactions begin with a keyword search. To compete, you need to target all the relevant keywords. Keywords are the specific terms or phrases people entered into search engines to get to your website or your competitor’s website. In order to be as visible as your competition on major search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. you need to find out what keywords they are using to rank well on search engines and equally start using them.

One way of doing this is to simply look at the code of their websites. Simply go to the site and click on “View” at the top of the browser, then “Source” or “Page Source” depending on your browser. A page of html code will pop up and the keywords will be buried in the code near the top of the page. If you can’t do this, talk to your web designer and if they can’t also help, then talk to us. Our differentiate online internet marketing services covers all these.

5.   Monitor Traffic and Back links:

Traffic are the number of visitors that come to your office online –website. And back links are other websites that have your website or a page of your website on their own website. They are also known as external links. By doing this, they help improve the number of visitors that come to your website from their website.

Monitoring the number of visitors and the sources [back links] from which these visitors come to your competitor’s websites gives you a clue into potential websites that you also need to have your websites or a page of your website on. Since they are sending your competitions traffic, there is also a likelihood that they will also send you traffic if you can get your website listed or mentioned there.

For monitoring traffic, this information is easy to track on such free sites as Alexa.com and Quantcast.com. And for monitoring back links, there are tools in Google Webmaster Tools and Bing Webmaster Tools that let you track the domains linking to your site.  Both of these tools are free and give you a great deal of information that you can use to maximize your site’s presence on the web. You can also use back link watch, it is equally free.

6.  Scan Review Sites:

A review site is a website on which reviews can be posted about people, businesses, products, or services. A customer review is a review or feedback about a product or service made by a customer who has purchased the product or service. These are done using review sites such as; Google places for business, Yelp, Yahoo! Local listings, CitySearch, MerchantCircle, InsiderPages, Angie’s List and many others.

Using these review sites like can help reveal certain information about your competition, especially your local competitions and the complaints or praises from their customers. The good thing about scanning review sites is the first hand customer information they provide about your competitions; their strengths and weaknesses are easily at your disposal and you can then respond accordingly with a superior competitive strategy.

7.   Get Professional Help:

All these can be very overwhelming especially for businesses that are not very internet savvy. This is where hiring the services of a professional internet marketing company comes in handy. They can help you strip your competitions naked and provide you with detailed report that will help you stay ahead of the competitions.

Like I mentioned above, we can help you out through our differentiate online internet marketing services for smart businesses. Give us a call today!

How To Research Your Competitions Offline

Here are additional ways to research the competition using other offline sources;

8.   Ask Your Customers:

When it comes to identifying sources of information about your competition, don’t skip over the obvious ones—like your customers. Speaking to customers is one of the best [and cheapest] ways of gathering real information on competitors. Whenever you win a new customer, find out who they used before, and why they switched to you [i.e. the reason they were dissatisfied with their previous supplier]. Do the same when you lose a customer; identify what they preferred about your competitor. If you gather enough of these stories you’ll get a very clear idea on what competitors are offering that customers view as preferable. You can then adjust your own offering to beat that of the competitor.

9.    Attending Industry Trade Shows And Conferences:

Attending industry trade shows and conferences—as well as joining industry associations—can be a great way to learn about who your competitors are and what they’re offering.

10.   Read Industry Journals/Publications:

Also subscribing to and reading relevant industry journals/publications can also reveal useful information about your competitions. The closer and more connected you are to industry updates through these publications will give you sufficient insights about the movers and shakers in your industry. And when you do, you can put them on your competitive research radar!

11.   Keep An Eye On Their Staff:

Another strategy is to hire employees from competing firms, especially sales people. No one knows more about the inside of your competition’s business than the employees. Find out all that you can about how they operate, and more importantly, what’s the future like for them? Where are they taking their business? What markets are they venturing into? How are they leveraging innovation to cut costs and advance productivity? Where is the highest level of dissatisfaction with their products or services?

You can also learn something by studying the kinds of jobs your competitors are looking to fill. For example, if a company is hiring a web programmer, they will include information about exactly what technologies the candidates need to know, which tells you what they use. Also look at what positions they are hiring; if they’re looking for a patent attorney, they could be working on some big new inventions. If they’re hiring for several HR, they may be preparing to expand overall.

Generally, monitoring the hiring needs of your competitions gives you a clue about the direction the company is heading and a glimpse of what their future would look like in terms of product launch and innovations.

12.   Become A Mystery Shopper At Your Competitions:

Mystery shopping or a mystery consumer is a tool used externally by market research companies, watchdog organizations, or internally by companies themselves to measure quality of service, or compliance with regulation, or to gather specific information about products and services. The mystery consumer’s specific identity and purpose is generally not known by the establishment being evaluated.

Mystery shoppers perform specific tasks such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way, and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences. This can also be used to gather information about your competitions by sending people to buy from your competition or make enquiries about their products/services.

Conclusion

Keeping an eye on your competitions is a sound business strategy that will not only help you make better strategic decisions and actions, but will also help you stay ahead of the competition.  Start with the steps discussed above and come up with other creative, but legal means of gathering more information about your competitions in business.

Your turn

What other steps or means have you used to tap into useful information about your competitions in business?

Join the conversation, drop your comments below. Thanks!

Related posts:

1. 5 Strategic Ways To Beat The Competition
2. COMPETITIVE STRATEGY: How To Win The PRICE War
3. The Greatest Competitive Edge In Business
4. Business Mastery: 4 Smart Ways Of Getting More Profitable Customers Always
5. STRATEGIC BUSINESS PROMOTION: 5 Ways To PROMOTE Your Business

So, making money in business is not a luxury only a few should enjoy, but a necessity for every unusual entrepreneur.

But wanting more money in your business is not enough. The real questions is; “how do you make that ‘want’ a reality?” To answer this question has been the age long quest of every entrepreneur, business owner, manager as well as several business consultants.

The entrepreneurs or companies who succeed in business are those who have cracked the profitability code –a set of different elements, laws and principles that must be strategically applied. Many entrepreneurs and businesses still struggle with profitability because they are missing one or more elements of this code or they are wrongly applying them. Knowing them and rightfully applying them is what this unusual article is about.

Let’s get started!

Cracking The Profitability Code –The Key To Making More Money In Business!

If you want to make more money in your business, there are two sides to cracking the profitability code that you must begin to focus on. There are universal laws/principles you must follow and there are peculiar factors you must address.

The universal laws/principles of profitability are;

• Value
• Marketing
• Culture

The peculiar factors that determine the profitability of your business are;

• Business factors
• Environmental factors
• Personal factors

Both sides of the profitability code must be rightfully aligned and strategically applied before you can unlock the profit potentials of your business. In most cases, the problem is not from the universal elements of the profitability code. Rather, the problem often stems from the peculiar elements of the profitability code. Why?

Because laws are laws, they rarely change. The only problem with universal laws is this; ignorance of their existence or poor application of them. But the challenge of cracking the profitability code greatly lies with you the entrepreneur, the nature of your business and the environment in which your business operates. These peculiar elements are what you need to really crack in order to make more money in your business.

But let’s tackle the universal elements of the profitability code first.

The Universal Principles Of Profitability

What are those universal principles that guarantee profitability in business?

• Value:

The first universal law of profitability is value. And it states; you will only GET as much as you GIVE.

It’s such a simple logic; you want money, so what are you going to give in exchange for it? Since money doesn’t grow on trees, how do you intend to get it without stealing? The answer is simple; provide something of value. Value is the solution you provide through your business, it could be a product or service or a combination of both. Without value, you are not qualified for profitability.

I have already written an unusual article about this law of profitability, so I won’t dwell much on it here. It’s called the origin of profits, click on the link to read it.

• Marketing:

The second universal law of profitability is marketing. And it states; your business will only go as far as your message goes.

Isn’t it quite obvious? The more people who get to know, like and trust the value your business provides, the more of them will likely buy from you. And the less people who get to know, like and trust the value your business provides, the less of them will buy from you.

The marketing that works is all about influence. So to apply the principle of marketing to your business, you have to focus on these 3 key areas;

• The message
• The medium
• The messenger

I have already written several unusual articles about this law of profitability, so I won’t dwell much on it here. You can learn more by clicking here to read more unusual articles on marketing.

• Culture:

The third universal law of profitability is culture. And it states; every company is the sum of all the people involved, without unifying ideologies a company is a mob.

Come to think of it; imagine if every person involved in your business was going about his/her own agenda, would your company ever make a dime? Obviously not!

Do your employees know why your company exists? Does your business have a big picture? Do they believe in the value [products/services] your company offers to the market? Do they all align to your profitability goals? Do they know and uphold the values the company stands for?

So culture is how you unify the efforts of everyone involved in your business towards the achieving profitability. Culture is the soul of your company. It is the thread that binds everything and everyone together. It influences behavior, defines expectations and inspires teamwork. Without culture, there’s no company, there’s only a mob!

How Does Culture Impact Profitability?

Culture impacts the profitability of your business in the following key areas;

• Customer service/satisfaction:

A company with a positive culture will serve customers better than one with a negative culture. And since your profitability rests in the hands of your customers, poorly attending to them can negatively impact your bottom-line.

• Product development/innovation:

Culture is contagious and this is why it must be taken seriously otherwise a company can cease to exist. Value as was discussed above is the first universal law of profitability, it is the product/service your company offers to the market. The culture of your company will determine the quality of the products/service it creates. Companies with great cultures create great products/services. And great products/services generate high profits.

• Synergy/Teamwork:

The greatest impact of culture on profitability is synergy. There is nothing as rewarding as a group of people working together to create something bigger than they could have individually achieved. Culture is the fluid that makes high performing companies deliver excellence. When everyone in your organization knows what to do, why it matters and how to do it, magic happens. And customers love a company where magic happens!

The Peculiar Elements Of Profitability

What are the peculiar factors that determine your company’s profitability?

• Business factors:

The first peculiar element of profitability is the nature of business you are into. Take it or leave it, some businesses are more profitable than the other. This is why the kind of business you go into is equally important in determining how profitable or not your company will become. So profitability is peculiar to the kind of business you do.

Every business has the potential to be profitable, but the degree or extent to how profitable a business can become is peculiar to the nature of business one is into. Some businesses have irregular revenue or sales cycle while some businesses have regular revenue or sales cycles. A business with regular sales cycle is often more profitable than one with irregular sales cycles.

No wonder cashflow is considered the most important word in finance. It is the relationship between revenue and expenses within a given period. If the frequency of expenses exceeds the frequency of revenue, then you have a negative cashflow.

Businesses with irregular sales cycles are more prone to negative cashflows because they have a longer cycle time. You have to live on your last revenue before the next and in most cases you might end up spending your last revenue while pursuing the next sales. But businesses with regular sales cycle have shorter cycle time and this means before you run out of cash, another sale has been made. In other words, it is harder to run out of cash if you own businesses with regular sales cycles than those with irregular sales cycles.

So the peculiar question you need to answer to be profitable in your business is this; “how often do you make a sale?” Or “what is the average timeline or gap between your previous sales and the next?” The longer the timeline or gap, the more prone to negative cashflow and the less profitable your business becomes. The bitter truth is this; businesses with a higher degree of repeat purchases/sales tend to be more profitable than those with lower degree of repeat purchases/sales.

• Environmental factors:

The second peculiar element that determines your company’s profitability is the environment in which your business is situated. This is when the saying “location matters” holds true. The environment in which your business is located defines a lot about your profitability potentials.

It determines the kind of business you will venture into, it determines the quality level of the products/services you will offer, it determines the price at which you will sell them, it determines the caliber of workers you will employ. All of these factors will either improve or hinder your profitability as a company.

The smart choice is to always analyze the environment before going into business. Check for profitability pointers and killers such as; the standard of living, the prevailing culture, the demography, the income level, the condition of other existing competitions, the religion, level of education, government legislations and many more.

The more receptive the environment is to the kind of value [product/service] you offer, the more profitable your business becomes. The less receptive the environment is to the kind of value you offer, the less profitable your business becomes.

• Personal factors:

The third peculiar element that determines your company’s profitability is you the entrepreneur. There are certain individual traits and habits that are peculiar to entrepreneurs that can improve or impede your company’s odd of becoming profitable.

As a business rule, the more knowledgeable you are as an entrepreneur about the kind of business you venture into, the more you increase your odds of becoming profitable. So having more experience, knowledge, passion and skills in a particular business can contribute to your bottom-line positively.

In business, there is no way you can exclude the impact and role of the entrepreneur in determining how profitable the company becomes. You are the driver of your business and to a large extent it will only go as far as your eyes can see and your legs can take it.

None of all the things listed above will happen by themselves, it takes you the entrepreneur to make them happen. It is still up to you to determine if your business will be profitable or not through the choices you make and the actions you take as the leader of your company. This is why you need to be up and doing; commit to personal development –learn more, do more and achieve more!

Your turn

How are you cracking the profitability code in your business?

What specific steps are you taking to make more money in your business?

 To what extent has the universal laws of profitability helped or hindered your profitability as a company?

To what extent has the peculiar elements of profitability aided or hindered your profitability as a company?

Share your comments, thoughts and questions below to add more value to the conversation. Thanks in advance, really looking forward to learn from your own side of the story!

Related posts:

1. Why CREDIBILITY Comes Before PROFITABILITY
2. The Origin Of Profits: An Unusual Strategy For Increasing Profitability
3. How To Avoid The Trap Of Worrying And Unlock The Power Of Thinking To Solve Your Business Challenges
4. How To Unlock The Power Of Creativity For Cutting-Edge Innovation