In fact, they’re the only sensible option.
Some people say that custom-built computer systems involve too much cost, time and risk. They say that it is better to take pre-existing, off-the-shelf products from software companies, and then adapt your business to make use of them. I disagree. In this current technological environment, custom-built applications are not just feasible, but they are more beneficial than ever. Read More »
Oh Lifehacker, sometimes you totally shit me, other times you rock my bocks. In this case, you hit something better than the middle.
It’s so important to stay in touch with clients! I know from experience at my company that letting clients go for months without any interaction leads to nothing. And you want something from your clients, not nothing!
For some reason, there are tools out there who think that just because something is written down, it is true. This is especially prevalent when it comes to things written on paper. It’s even stranger when some folks act as if electronic records are unreliable, but paper records cannot possibly lie. The truth is, not all written records are checked for accuracy by Jesus. If someone will lie verbally, they will lie on paper too.
I’ve found that in my office, there’s an irrational tendency to believe that anything written down on paper is automatically undeniably true, just because it is written down.
For example, one clever monkey wrote an email, making it look like it contained an email forwarded from a high-ranking executive, authorising something which the executive would never have actually authorised. But the people who saw the “authorisation notice” just looked at the time stamp and the fact that it looked like a forwarded email, and accepted it.
What a ridiculous belief to hold. Because of tools who think like this, we live in a world where you can print off a letter on your home PC, make it look like government letterhead, and successfully ask a bank to mail you a cheque from someone else’s account.
What is piece-rate pay? Have you even heard the term? I hadn’t, before tonight. It’s basically any system where you are paid in proportion to your output, rather than by the hour. For example, telemarketers who are paid per call, salesmen paid by commission, and bloggers paid per affiliate sale.
Employees are often scared of being shifted off hourly rates, on to piece-rate pay. Yet there are sometimes opportunities to earn far more through piece-rate systems. So let’s look at why they might be scared.
Fear of piece-rate pay comes from two sources:
It occurred to me that Al Gore is a fantastic example for people who want to make money through Internet marketing. Here’s my hypothesis, let me know what you think:
He’s become the master speaker on global warming. The go-to guy for that market. Like a niche blogger, he attracts crowds every time he opens his mouth about his specialist topic. His job is to jet-set around the globe, light a hot fire under people’s butts, and get the word out about the inconvenient truth of global warming.
So what, he’s an effective public speaker, a former vice-president of his country, and he wants to make a difference in the world. What’s that got to do with Internet Marketing? Or even internet marketing, for that matter.
Well, here’s my idea:
Credibility. Al Gore has credibility. Whether you’re a pot-smoking Democrat, a baby-eating Republican, or simply not an American, people all over the globe take Al Gore seriously. Sure, not everybody does. Not everybody takes Ed Dale seriously. And not everybody takes the Chaser boys seriously. But, like a good niche blogger, Al Gore does have credibility: that means that when he opens his mouth and talks about global warming, people listen. If Al Gore had a blog about global warming, people would subscribe to it. (I think he does, but I couldn’t find it.)
Frequent communication, without explicit selling. How many check moves do you personally get every week from Al Gore. Well, if you’re me, he rings up every second night crying for me to come back to him. But even you probably still get all kinds of communications from him. You watched his movie. You saw him in the newspaper. If you’re in the US of A, you listened to his campaigns and decided not to vote for him. But in any case, you still hear Al Gore’s message all the time. But does he say things like “buy my book”, “I sell carbon credits”, or “HOW I HALVED MY CARBON FOOTPRINT IN TEN DAYS”?
Products. Did you even notice, or did he sneak it past you too? Al Gore, and his companies, sell seminars, movies, carbon offsets, consulting services, and who knows what else. He has commercial relationships with hybrid car manufacturers. Every time Al Gore promotes his climate change cause, he also promotes these products. It’s a big conversation with the world, and every time he communicates, it gives the world a chance to buy his products.
Profits from not only the products, but also the communications themselves. This point is where Al Gore is like a blogger with Adsense on their blog. See, Al Gore’s speaking tours are great for the cause, and great for promoting his products. But they also provide for him financially. He makes money in the process of encouraging people up to make money off them… even if the people at the seminars and cinemas don’t end up buying carbon credits or hybrid cars… a true money machine.
Oh yeah, and YouTube. Everybody loves YouTube, even if the YouTube data centres are just big blocks of carbon-burping electricity-guzzling non-recyclable something-something I need beer! My rants are lame, but this video is funny.
Well, wouldn’t anyone agree that Al Gore is the ultimate (hybrid-fuel) Internet-marketing idol?
Pat! Put your capital back in your business before you get hurt!
But Mum! I can run a business without any capital.
No you can’t, you won’t be able to produce a decent product, plus in this analogy you might fall off ad graze your knee!
Hey Mum have some flowers I bought with profits.
<3
One approach to starting a business is to set up your own infrastructure for plying your own trade, then expand and hire labour to assist you.
But how does a business person found a business in an industry he does not personally work in?
Back in the day, a businessman who was not a baker could start a bakery by putting up the capital to buy a shop and some equipment, and then hiring a baker and shop assistants. His work would be to design and market the brand, handle administrative business things, and manage the staff. And collect profits.
Nowadays, a businessman who is not an English tutor can start an English tutoring school without putting up any capital; he simply hires tutors. His work is to design and market the brand, handle administrative business things, and manage the staff. And collect profits.
The key difference is the relevance of capital. People don’t even need capital; they can use near-free technology to recruit and coordinate the network of staff needed to generate profits.
I should probably go swipe some buckets of money now, goodnight.
Glen Boreham, Power and the Digital Age, Business Review Weekly, 5 April 2007. Large companies became multinationals to gain economies of scale greater than their native country’s market. Now technology allows individuals to run global businesses. What is the value of the infrastructure provided by an institution like the employer?
Technology made infrastructure so cheap that an employee doesn’t need the business’ help. The employee might as well hire sales staff and manufacturing staff, interpose himself in-between, and collect his salary as a cut of sales.
Technology has freed up communication to enable global networks of people (e.g. Wikipedia, eBay) to cooperate. The new business model is about drawing together suppliers and buyers to a common purpose.
“Outsourcing is about costs. Global integration is about creating greater value.” says Mr Boreham. So finally the business world is progressing past simply minimising costs (and slashing quality where possible) and starting to look at fundamental business model innovations that will actually increase the benefits to all involved. w00t!
