Are You Charging What You Are Worth?

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

I recently had a discussion with a client about their pricing structure we are building. In the conversation we spoke a lot about the different aspects of setting a price. As per common knowledge you look at many pieces such as market requirements, expenses, profit margin, etc. During the conversation, two aspects certainly stood out: Value and Competition. In fact we looped back about 3 or 4 times to talk about these two.

People by nature begin their pursuits with a high value thinking to themselves, “I am worth X amount and people will pay for it”. As time continues and the business is being setup, realizations of what they are worth and what the market is asking to pay are completely different. Ideas spring up that in all normality you would think should be for the better but in actuality are not.

The question to answer is:

“who am I asking to get feedback from?”

The client paid my firm to consult on their pricing and marketing model, to develop the business model and to implement a marketing campaign. In the process we had collected real market data creating a business model that would see the client’s business grow. Even though the hard factual data showed the pricing model was solid, during the process, our client had these negative thoughts of it being priced to high.

We pondered this phenomena over and over trying to figure out why this was occurring. Here we had a client paying us for solid real time advice, yet they were getting worried that it would not work.

After brainstorming for quite some time with the team, the question we kept bring up was “why did the client love the pricing but then changed their mind?”.

Was it fear? Was it too big of a change? Were they comparing themselves to others?

Why am I writing this post?

The reason I write this post today is because we asked the right questions to lead to the answers we were looking for. The client had spent quite some time talking with friends, family, and colleagues who discouraged the pricing structure. They were actively discrediting the ability for this person to sell at the pricing we had set.

The fact is that when you start a business you need to maintain your self-worth. Your image of who you are and what your value is must be maintained. The risk in starting your own business is high. With that comes high stress and with high stress come thoughts. They can be positive or negative.

Positive thoughts can make your experience of starting a business a beautiful one. One that brings you to the next level of who you were meant to be!

Thoughts can also be negative. These thoughts can cause high anxiety and a failure complex mentality. Draining your mental resources will only lead you to a level that will put you on the path to failure.

How do these thoughts come to be?

They come to be from conversations with people who are either negative or positive. People who are family members, friends, colleagues, and the people closest to you. People can drain you quite quickly with their negative thoughts. They can bring you to a level of self-worth that will make you feel like there is no possible way you can succeed.

Solution for this?

Establish rules with the people you talk to about your business. If you family has no knowledge of business, if your friends have no knowledge of business, if the people you associate with have no knowledge of business, do not talk to them about business. They will tell you their opinion that is based on what they see and not what is. They have no real research to back their claims. Only the bubble they live in.

Focus solely to talk with people that are in business. People who see your thoughts, your values, and self-worth. These people will help guide you in the right direction, a support that is much needed during the start of a business.

How can I start the Design Think way?

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Design Think is simple. It is the art of being creative in finding new solutions to problems that generally are solved in a normal way. We can take it one step further and apply it to a problem that has not been dealt with yet and needs a creative solution.  Big corporations spend time and money in creating solutions on a big scale.  So the question you should be asking yourself is why can’t I? Simply put, all you need is to think how have people approached this problem before and how can I do it better? Tweaking your thought process is the hard part but it gets easier as you practice.

If your mind set is in the norm, it is time to think big, bold and borderline irrational. Thinking big can help creativity skyrocket.  Introducing realism into the group of thoughts will help you bring them back to real world scenarios and streamline yourself to a workable solution! Take the workable solution and find technology and partnerships that can help streamline your business to provide your customers what they need and in turn solidifying your business is operating at an optimum.

When looking at clients that have requested Design Think, the first step is to analyze what is the current problem and the procedure associated with it.  The next step is to talk to everyone directly involved.  Again this means EVERYONE and not just management. Your company is a team that includes the front line and most importantly your customers are part of it. With social media growing at an astonishing rate, talking to your customers has never been easier.  Being that they are not face to face, ugly truths are easier to be divulged.  They will tell you what needs to be changed. The problem then becomes the how… that may just be the easy part!

Believe me … or DON’T

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

I am running a marathon… or at least I think.. last few months now… is it will or hope? The question I often ask myself!

I am actually running a marathon in the arctic, barefoot and shirtless?  When starting a new venture you analyze all and take risks… risks I took.

Small business is all about risk. Whether you quit your job to start a venture… or you build on it over time… to take the plunge, one thing is for certain… you made a choice and now you need to keep going!

The usual trip of an entrepreneur starts with a dream. Starts with a dream that aims to make things better! As things progress, one begins to think that all is good and success is on the way. As the wheal starts to role, one begins to gain great confidence only to be shut down with reality a short while later.

What happens? What turns the tide from happiness to disparity?

Reality! Yes, reality hits and we realize that the business world was not as we thought it would be. All the sudden success isn’t as promised (as we thought) nor as we expected.  We are now chasing a dream and not a goal. The key word here is goal. People get stuck in an adventure hoping that all goes well but when do we know to go on or quit?

I like to think that this is the point we start analyzing where we are at. Can we figure it out or do we need help? Can we keep going or should we quit? The questions are there but do we have an answer…

The point that we need is to stop and think, and say yes, we need a break from reality, we need a break from fakeness… we need a chance at a new beginning.  This is the point where we stop, no thinking, not actions, just being still.

Stillness is the key to my success. I absorb all my emotions (negative and positive) and allow them to settle down. Usually this is during my coffee break! I create a mind map of things that need to be done to change the tide and jump on the first idea that I think will bring me success.

Why does it work for me?

It works for one reason… when you have no emotion in an idea you have no biased opinion… you are using your mind, your knowledge and experience.

My next article will be all about my “NIKOS strategy”; the third person approach! Conveniently the cure to regret!

Communication: Does Style Matter?

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Over the years I have realized that the most important part of any job is communication. Without it, possibilities of success vanquish. In Project Management however, communication is imperative to successful completion.

From large corporations to small startups I have found one constant to success:
“The ability to grow the team organically through proper communication”.  What is proper though? Let’s put it in to perspective. Proper communication is, and only is, “proper” in the eyes of the team that is involved in the project. Where one person may say great things, another will say horrid things. Bottom line is that one should analyze and come to a proper working model.

In corporations, I have found that it is easiest to follow status quo. Rules and regulations are there for a reason and must be followed. Of course, there is opportunity to change things and yes being flexible is a necessity. However, when being pulled into a project that is not your own or starting a project where you don’t have maximum authority, well then there is no use fighting.

Startups however? That’s another story!  Why? In the previous paragraph I was referring to culture change. In order to change the flow of things, you need the culture of an organization to adapt and transform into a new methodology and way of life organically. Acceptance is not always simple.

In a start up, we can transform the culture such that it not hinder but promotes growth. Simply put, everyone wants to succeed and thus you are able as a project manager to steer the communication in the direction that will find ultimate success.

Working with startups across the globe and in my own backyard, I have found that it is always easier to address the issues at hand and assist in the process of the business as a whole.  Creating a culture around communication is the process that must have focus in the immediate months following growth of employees.

In my next several blogs, I will talk about culture change for communication in both corporate companies and start ups, addressing the differences I have seen!

Design Think in my Company? How can I start?

/0 Comments/in , /by

 

Design Think is simple. It’s the art of being creative in finding solutions to problems that generally are solved in a norm way. Or to take it one step further, a problem that has not been dealt with yet.  Big corporations spend time and money in creating solutions on a big scale.  So the question you should be asking yourself is why can’t I? Simply put, all you need is to think how have people approached this problem before and how can I do it better? Tweaking your thought process is the hard part but it gets easier as you practice.

If your mind set is in the norm, it is time to think big, bold and borderline irrational. Thinking big can help creativity skyrocket.  Introducing realism into the group of thoughts will help you bring them back to real world scenarios and streamline yourself to a workable solution! Take the workable solution and find technology and partnerships that can help streamline your business to provide your customers what they need and in turn solidifying your business is operating at an optimum.

When looking at clients that have request design think, the first step is to analyze what is the current problem and the procedure associated with it.  The next step is to talk to everyone directly involved.  Again this means EVERYONE and not just management. Your company is a team that includes the front line and most importantly your customers are part of it. With social media growing at an astonishing rate, talking to your customers has never been easier.  Being that they are not face to face, ugly truths are easier to be divulged.  They will tell you what needs to be changed. This is the stepping stones to Business Development.  The problem then becomes the how… that may just be the easy part!

Design Think Explosion? Why Now?

/0 Comments/in , /by

Several factors can contribute to the reason as to why Design Think is being use now.  Technology and competition are probably the two biggest contributors.  As technology evolves so does communication.  Innovation in fundamentals breed growth and prosperity for companies and creative means is the key to this success.  Big companies like Apple, RIM, Proctor and Gamble etc. have relied on this design think to grow their companies and be competitive leaders. So, why now?

Firstly, direct results have been achieved as businesses increase outsourcing to third parties.  Businesses are turning their production to project based methodologies.  This project based methodology has allowed companies to shrink problems into workable dilemmas where companies can think creatively and find a workable solution.

Secondly, design think has increased with the growth of social media; word of mouth has evolved to exponential growth on steroids.  A customer can complain and in a matter of days sales have significantly dropped. On the other hand a customer can make a recommendation and sales increase.

Design Think can take both of these cases and work backwards to find a workable solution in real time; breeding innovation with a small turnaround time. Let’s not be discouraged.  Design think can be attractable not only to big business but small business too.

Design Think?

/0 Comments/in , /by

Problems and solutions go hand in hand.  Dealing with a problem involves a solution that is well planned and executed.  Where do external parties come into play? Professionals such as consultants come into an organization when a problem exists. The consultant is an expert at dealing with that specific type of problem and provides a solution based on previous experience.  Almost always, bypassed is the team’s thoughts and potential solutions available through that team’s experience.  Is it a waste of money to jump to a solution specialist? Well not always.  Time and money always plays a role; how about another way?

Design Think is an old concept applied to new business concepts.  The simple word to describe it is abductive reasoning.  Usually we look at a problem in a deductive manor.  We conceptualize an idea, question it, create dilemma or problem and deduce a workable solution.  Abductive problem solving focuses on more creative resolutions involving other aspects of knowledge.  Hence, the “Out of the Box Thinking” is introduced. Buzz phrase of phrases. Out of the box thinking is being able to think outside of the normality to solving the problem.  This being said, creativity must be high in order to have out of the ordinary ideas.

Innovation is a direct result as solutions are created outside the regular norm.  To be innovated by definition, is to have a solution never used before.  More and more, companies have become well known for their innovation as different industries find solutions for their customers through innovation.  The reason why Design Think is becoming popular in everyday businesses begins from the ability to see the customer’s values first and solve inwards to the processes that deliver the product in an efficient cost affordable manner.