by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
While plenty of people start a small business from their basement or garage all on their own, most great successes start with a great team. Even start-ups that begin as a sole proprietorship typically need to bring others on board once they start to grow and need specialized skills and experience.
Putting together the right team can be challenging. But there are some tips that might help: (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
At first glance, it might seem like a ridiculous strategy to price a product below its cost. Wouldn’t you just be losing money? While this is true, many companies do just that, and they do lose money. On that specific offering. This is part of a strategy known as loss leader pricing. As defined by Inc., “loss leader pricing is an aggressive pricing strategy in which a store sells selected goods below cost in order to attract customers who will, according to the loss leader philosophy, make up for the losses on highlighted products with additional purchases of profitable goods.”
A great example of a loss leader is razors. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Disruptive innovation refers to new advances within an industry that fundamentally reshape or even completely replace an industry. Consider, for example, the impact of the personal computer on the typewriter industry, or the impact of the automobile on the horse-drawn carriage industry. Disruptive innovation is a boon to consumers and society in general, because new products, new services and new ways of serving customers add value to individuals and the economy as a whole. At the same time, disruptive innovation can be devastating to companies that are too slow to recognize the impending impact of disruptive innovation or too slow to react once they have recognized that potential impact.
In a post for Vertafore, Ben Deda, VP of Marketing, lists several examples of companies that failed to adapt to disruptive innovation. You’ve likely heard of them: (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
One of the most difficult aspects of starting a new business is raising some start-up capital. It’s great if you have sufficient savings built up to keep you going for a few years – yes, it often takes at least that long to start turning a profit – but that isn’t the reality for many entrepreneurs. In addition to the costs of running the business itself – which could include rent, marketing, utilities, raw materials, staff wages, etc. – entrepreneurs are often leaving an existing job, foregoing a steady paycheck.
Traditionally, start-ups are frequently funded by one or more of the “3Fs”: family, friends and fools. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Entrepreneurs are typically very passionate about the companies they found. Some even take on a quasi-parental mentality. This is understandable. After all, many of these entrepreneurs pour their life savings and countless hours of work into getting their businesses off the ground.
But the skills that make a good entrepreneur are not always the same skills that help guide an established company. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Few things can be as effective at generating sales as positive customer reviews. Similarly, and conversely, few things can be as damaging to sales as negative customer reviews. In terms of online retail, a recent survey found that positive reviews influence the purchase decisions of 90 percent of respondents, while negative reviews influence around 86 percent. But that’s in the B2C (business-to-consumer) world. In B2C, there are a relatively large number of customer interactions compared to B2B (business-to-business). This means that while B2B has fewer potential customer reviews to base a purchase decision on, each one is that much more impactful. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
We often hear narratives about how online retail is replacing traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. Online is more convenient and has much lower overhead. At the same time, others point out that brick-and-mortar still makes up a strong majority of overall retail sales. Customers prefer the tactile experience, the ability to talk to sales representatives and being able to take their purchases home when they walk out of the store instead of waiting for packages to arrive by mail.
The truth is that both sides of this debate are right. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
We keep hearing about how the growth in online retail represents the ultimate demise of the brick-and-mortar retail store. We hear how online retail giants like Amazon are killing Main Streets across the country, and we hear anecdotes of local brick-and-mortar businesses closing their doors, blaming the rise in online retail. But does that common sentiment assign blame where it belongs? (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
When we hear news stories about a local brick-and-mortar business closing its doors after being in operation for generations, the presumed culprit is often the growth of online retail, which grew by 16 percent between 2016 and 2017. People just don’t want to go to a store to make purchases anymore, the logic goes. Online shopping offers far more choices than can be offered in a physical location — which can’t store infinite inventory — and it’s so much more convenient to shop online instead of going to a store.
But don’t make the mistake of writing off in-store shopping. You may be surprised to learn that consumers still predominantly favor the in-store experience! (more…)
Sales professionals will be quick to tell you that a positive customer review goes a long way toward converting prospects into eventual customers. What better way to convince the market that you can walk the walk than to have satisfied customers tell your story for you? Conversely, negative reviews can be quite damaging. Data suggests that positive reviews influence the purchase decisions of 90 percent of respondents, while negative reviews influence around 86 percent.
But negative reviews and customer complaints can actually be good for business. Let’s look at some potentially counter-intuitive reasons why. (more…)
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