Healthcare is a great business to be in, both now and in the future. With all of the baby-boomers entering their prime – the market couldn’t be better.
Here is a video of how Microsoft sees things in the future. What do you think? There are quite a few things that particularly impressed me, including the digital wallet and the red/green lights on the medication bottles. We will have to see what happens though!
[via Geeks Are Sexy]
For the past 2 years, Venture Capitalist funded startups have continuously evolved, each coming up with some pretty interesting and unique features. Not all are instantly successful, though. Some still go to deadpool, funded or not.
If you think you have the latest technologies applied in you new start up and will attract customers because you are providing them some useful services, you really need to focus on Press Releases. With a well structured and well distributed press release, the result will do wonders.
One of the most important things any start up can do is get good press coverage. I can bet that start ups like Profy, Zemanta, etc. have got a good start because they have been encouraging press releases and have been in front of press. I interviewed the Head of Profy marketing a while back. She made sure that Profy, a new type of social blogging platform gets the right coverage through sites like Techcrunch and Cnet through online distributed press releases. Also she gave beta invitations to press sites/blogs to encourage reader participation. By this way, profy has definitely got a loyal and permanent user base which came through press coverage and are actively participating at their blogs (profy).
If you want to take your startup at next level, first you need to have a trial user base who can report bugs and any other related error. This user base can be acquired by getting press coverage. The more exposure you get, better start for your company. You need to create that unique and exciting buzz among people so that you get people to try out your services. In other words, this will be your initial ‘beta’ group. Only a perfect start can easily lead you to next stage. If you provide good services to these initial users, they will start linking and telling other people about what you have to offer which will result in constant traffic.
It is necessary to have something useful to provide, so that people can recommend you. And a PR is a best start for any start up. Also if you have a VC funding, an advantage because that will get likely more attention. So if you still haven’t focused much on PR but on other marketing campaigns, than re-think and try to get press coverage. If nothing else than, this way you are not trodden down in this web 2.0 era where several start ups like you are competing with you.
![photo_8964_20071124[1] copy](http://www.jdsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-8964-200711241-copy.jpg)
Marketing is changing almost as fast as technology. The two have created a sort of marriage; where technology moves forward, so does marketing. I am of course referring to web marketing primarily.
How to Stay on Top of the Game
The best way to stay on top of the marketing game is research, but research takes a lot of time. Here are some marketing resources that are essential:
eMarketer – Great marketing data on trends
MarketingSherpa – Case studies and reports
MarketingProfs – Marketing ideas and webinars
ProBlogger – Darren Rowse’s blog (premier blog marketer)
These are all resources that will help you stay on top of trends, innovations and case studies. They are the resources that help determine what you should be looking forward to, what trends are doing, and what the big shots are doing that works.
Hot Trends in 2008
The best way to stay on top of the marketing game is research, but research takes a lot of time. That’s where I come in. I am going to help you look to the future, not just for 2008 but beyond. And I am going to tell you where to go to help overcome your competitors
The two hottest trends for 2008 are without a doubt mobile marketing and social networking/marketing. That’s not to say that blogs aren’t still a hot item. I am talking new trends and blogging (while a wonderful marketing front) is an established venue.
Mobile Marketing:
If you’re already moving toward mobile or at least planning for it, you are behind much of your competition potentially. According to eMarketer:
Mobile advertising and marketing spending will jump from an estimated $2,695 in 2007 to $19,149 by 2012.
That’s almost a 600% increase! So what are some things you can do to start gearing up for the mobile push?
Social Networking:
Social networks I think are going to be huge in 2008. With the battle between FaceBook and MySpace for domination still raging, now is the time for marketers to cash in on it.
According to eMarketer:
“Marketers are continuing to experiment with social network advertising, with $920 million being spent on social networking sites in the US this year and a projected $1.6 billion in 2008.
Worldwide, online social network ad spending is expected to grow by 81%, to $2.2 billion in 2008 from $1.2 billion this year.”
Now these two things aren’t the only things hot this coming year. Email marketing was a hot topic of discussion at many conferences and expos already this year. I continue to receive emails daily on new email marketing ideas, venues, and services. So keep an eye on it too!
Stay on top of current trends and cutting-edge ideas and you will stay on top of your competition every step of the way.
This is the second post in a series about the power of the buyer. In the last post we established a basic, yet very important, tenet of purchasing: The easiest way to increase profitability is through the buyer by cutting costs. Now that we have cut the cost on the table and chair set we are selling, we have to figure out the best way to price it.
Pricing is a really difficult thing to figure out because there are so many variables that affect how you price something.
But before we get into those, lets go back and cover some basic economics…and more specifically…a demand curve. As you can see by my awesome (and colorful!) drawing of a demand curve…as price decreases the demand for the item increases…translating into more sales. This is economic theory, but it has proven to be pretty accurate over time for the most part.
OK…now that we got that out of the way…lets talk about how to price our table and chairs. We basically have three options, so lets take a look at the pros and cons of each of them Our three options are:
Lower Cost by the same percentage
In our example from the first post our cost was $15 and our selling price was $30 for a nice $15 profit, with a 50% profit margin. Then we cut our cost down to $12, a 20% savings. Lowering the selling price by the same percentage to $24 would yield a $12 profit, with the same 50% profit margin. So the profit margin remains the same…but we are getting $3 less than we were before. That’s bad! But wait…remember our demand curve from above (refer to super awesome picture)? If you lower your selling price you will sell more of them. Theoretically, your 20% lower selling price will draw more customers to at least make up the difference. This is an excellent strategy for items where there is a lot of competition around your price level. Cutting prices lower and lower will almost certainly increase the quantities sold. But what if your business isn’t exactly commodity like?
Leave Selling Price As Is
Using the same example as above, we cut our costs by 20% to $12. But this time sell it for the same $30. This yields an $18 profit, with a 60% profit margin! Alright! Both numbers are higher! Our demand stays constant and we pick up an extra $3 per set. This is the easiest way to increase profitability as a buyer. It requires nothing except for negotiating/sourcing a lower cost. The sales don’t have to increase to pick up extra profit. This is an especially good strategy if you have limited production and don’t have the capacity to sell more quantity.
Lower Selling Price By Smaller Factor
This is my personal favorite method. Basically you split the difference between the two strategies listed above. We take the same 20%, but this time sell it for $27.50. This yields a $15.50 profit, with a 57.3% profit margin. Both numbers increase from the original deal, which is good. The added bonus for doing it this way, is that because you have lowered your selling price…more new customers will be likely to buy your product. You also get to show your customers that you are working hard behind the scenes to save them money…and everybody likes that!
I suppose there is another option, which is to RAISE your price after cutting costs. But I think that’s foolish and can backfire on you quickly if word gets out.
These pricing strategies are very effective for general product sales. If you deal with highly specialized/luxury items, the pricing structure changes completely. But that’s a topic for another day.
What pricing strategies do YOU use? Let us know in the comments!
Thinking about getting a government grant as a way to help finance your small business? You aren’t alone. If you watch any T.V. (especially late night T.V.) or do much reading on the Internet sooner or later you will stumble on a tantalizing possibility for the small business owner: government grants. The holy grail of business financing (of any financing, really) a chunk of money that you never have to pay back. What could be better?
DO NOT PAY, DO NOT PASS GO
Let me start by saying: DO NOT PAY ANYONE FOR GOVERNMENT GRANT INFORMATION – NEVER, EVER, NEVER, EVER, NEVER! (If you need more reinforcement, copy the NEVER, EVER part and paste it again and again in your favorite text program until it fills the screen. If you still think it might be a good idea to pay for some “inside secrets” then ring your call button and Tommy will come hit you on the head with a tack hammer — 10 bonus points for the movie title.)
ALL government grant information is free to the public. You cannot get anymore information from the private sector. The “secret” is to fully and completely comply with all of the requirements for the grant application. It is harder than it sounds. Anyone selling you a package or subscription or whatever is doing nothing more than repackaging the free information I will show you how to get in this article. There, I just saved you enough money to pay for your subscription to JDsBlog.
Not Easy Money
There isn’t a saying that I know about, so allow me to coin one myself that you may feel free to repeat to infinity. “If there is an infomercial about it, it is probably a scam. ”
The best lies are those with a hint of truth. This allows the true part to be verified. Then through slight of hand and with the help of those precious people born every minute (That one is already a saying. Look under Barnum Bailey.) the true part lends its veracity to the rest of the scam and “Bam!” you’ve got yourself a great scam. (This is also how politicians and political radio and T.V. hosts also operate.)
So, let’s break it down. Yes, Virginia, there is a government. You should be painfully aware of this fact as we head toward April, and doubly so if you are a self-employed. (12.7%? !*#!$^@!) It is also true that this same government does in fact disburse grant money. Further, it is true that some of that grant money goes to businesses. It is again true that some of that money goes to small businesses. Ok. We are done here in the Total-Truth Cafe. Let’s head on over to the Half-Truth Inn.
At Half-Truth Inn, their slogan is “The Government Gives Away Billions of Dollars Each Year”. Of course, here in the Half-Truth Inn only part of any statement is true. In this case, it is true that the government gives away Billions of dollars each year. Too, bad that most of that goes to college students. Ever hear of Pell Grants? Those are government grants; over $15 Billion worth. What about business grants? Again, Billions is right. Exxon, Archer Daniels Midland, ConEd, GM, Tennessee Nuclear Power Authority, ever hear of any of them? They got Billions. How about small businesses? Sure. A good friend of mine owns a small business. He applies for millions of dollars worth of grants each year. He has even received some government grant money for his small business. His secret? Well, he and his partners hold about six or so PhDs among them and they are in Biology and Biochemistry and they still have some ties to the university, and they do research into the right things; sound like your business? Ever see an announcement about $300 million dollars to fight diabetes? Some of that will be research grants.
The Real Story
Across the street is the Hard-Facts Tavern. Let’s get a table. For an appetizer we’ll order off the Small Business Association web site. The Small Business Association (SBA) is a government agency dedicated to helping small businesses and small business owners succeed. Just what the budding entrepreneur needs, a little help from a big friend. Open their homepage http://www.sba.gov/ (the link will open in a new window).
Click where it says: small business grants. Not on there? Maybe they call it something else. Try “Billions in Free Money”. No? How about just “Free Money”? Hmmm…let me check with the manager.
Ah-hah! Here we go (it was on the back of the menu) :
Q-2. How do I get a small business grant?
The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments. For more information, visit our Grants section
Hmmmm. They must be kidding because there are tons of links off of the Grants Page. (Feel free to wander off and explore later, but I’m going to bring it home here in the next paragraph, so stay put for now.)
Time for the main course. Let’s find the government grant we want to order.
Start with the “Business” listings from grants.gov. Not too many there. Maybe if we were a little more specific…
“The Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics program encompasses four sub-areas of this broad discipline: Precision Measurements, Atomic and Molecular Dynamics, Atomic and Molecular Structure, and Optical Physics. Research supported in the first three sub-areas includes activities in quantum control, cooling and trapping of atoms and ions, low-temperature collision dynamics, the collective behavior of atoms in weakly interacting gases (Bose-Einstein Condensates and dilute Fermi degenerate systems), precision measurements of fundamental constants, and the effects of electron correlation on structure and dynamics. In Optical Physics, support is provided in areas such as nonlinear response of isolated atoms to intense, ultra-short electromagnetic fields, the atom-cavity interaction at high fields, and quantum properties of the electromagnetic field.”
Whoa! Too specific, and also, WHAT?!?
Wait, here it is: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants.
Now that ought to do it.
“The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive three-phase award system which provides qualified small business concerns with opportunities to propose innovative ideas that meet the specific research and research and development needs of the Federal Government.”(That is their emphasis, not mine)
Curious about the “specific needs”?
Eesh! Maybe we don’t want to eat here.
Go For It
Ok, now it seems like I’m bagging on government grants. Sorry, I’m not. It’s great if you can get in on it, but it isn’t the easy river of money some people make it sound like. I should know. I’m a freelance writer and some of my work is writing grant proposals. Generally these gigs start off with gleeful clients because the have FINALLY found a government grant they can apply for. They tend to get grumpier as we go along and I keep coming back and asking for the things the application requires. “But, we don’t have a three-year audited business history…”
The truth is if you are willing to do your research on a regular basis (not just this one time, but monthly or quarterly) you might come across a grant that would fit your business well enough to apply for. But, with dozens of government agencies running dozens of grant programs isn’t easy, and that is just to FIND the grant. Then you have to apply. Here is the 62 page Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF (National Science Foundation) Applications via Grants.gov. And, that is just for NSF grants. There are dozens of these things and these are the GENERAL guides, not the actual requirements for specific grants.
As my friend who gets the grant money says, “Anybody can apply for these things so they make it a pain in the a@@ so that they won’t get too many applications.” This is a true statement. The grant process is kept streamlined by quick rejection of most applications via computer. Not registered as a small business in the proper database? Application Rejected by computer before anyone looks at it. Improper attachments? Rejected. And so on. This is why you can make money in grant writing. No one pays you to write the grant, they pay so that you write the grant while complying with all of the tiny details that make it so difficult.
So, you want to try out the government grant route for yourself? Good for you. Adversity should be no barrier to achievement. (I made that one up too! I think I’ll make a poster…) Just make sure you are doing your real work first. This is your spare time project, Skippy, because the odds here are a lot lower than getting out there to do some networking and finding some new clients. Here is where to start off:
Between these 2 sites you’ll find most available government grants:
THE Site: www.zyn.com (Private company tracks and posts government grants)
THE Government Site: www.grants.gov (Official U.S. government grant site; not all agencies use this site)
Other More Specific Sites:
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance — Business Programs
afterschool.gov — for running an after school program for children
Stay Away from Google! This is one of those areas where the scammers work triple-overtime to make sure their legitimate-looking-but-completely-garbage websites show up on the top of the results. Take a look and prepare to be bombarded with offers to sell you “Secrets” or “Inside Tips” or whatever. DO NOT PAY FOR ANYTHING!!!! If you do (sucker) expect it to not be anything special.
The truth can be a little bit of a bummer, but despite the fact that the government loves small business (well, supposedly anyway, wait until my next post about the taxes…grumble!) you can’t expect a free handout from the Feds just because you have a small business. Not, at least, until you dish out some bigger campaign contributions (too cynical?)