How can I scale up my business?
We are start up company providing multimedia educational content to content owners/publishers.
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Sep 9, 2014
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Mar 13, 2014
I shall try to answer it because I don't know what you already did and tried.
You can share your knowledge on free events you organize yourself. Invite owners/publishers on topics that is hot and of which you know a lot. Share you're knowledge with them and make an experience of it. Try to make a good connection with them. And make sure that they will start to like you. It is the marketingprinciple that will start t work; turning strengers info friends, turning friends into clients, running clients into ambassadors.
Mar 13, 2014
I am a facilitator / mentor of the lean startup methods and if we refer to the methods, before scaling any business you should be sure you have product - market fit. If you scale prematurely before this stage you are bound to fail.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanfurr/2011/09/02/1-cause-of-startup-death-premature-scaling/
if you would like some consulting or mentoring I am willing to help you. Feel free to contact me at binkplus.pl or pm me or email ian @ binkplus.pl
Mar 12, 2014
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Mar 9, 2014
We have a client that we helped advise in the early '00s, they provide multimedia educational content to companies and organizations in a very specific industry, talking with them now about selling their company, let me know if you need our help. Thank you. Dave Cochran, Cochran Edwards Capital Partners, Seattle
Mar 7, 2014
A 2012 Harvard Business article revealed a study of 300 successful businesses. The two common elements in all of them were basically: 1. Better before cheaper (QUALITY) and 2. Income before cost (GROW THE TOP LINE FIRST). Your strategic focus, therefore, should be on providing the best service and products AND increasing revenues through a clear sales and marketing plan.
Mar 7, 2014
Thanks Gerald for your comments! Very interesting & valuable comments and I agree. Thanks again.
Mar 7, 2014
Lalit - based on your following statement from below:
"Yes, we are getting good response from our existing customers but having issues in acquiring new clients."..... you should look at your sales messaging, value proposition and overall solution - as the only reason people don't buy is that you did not create a demand for your product OR you are not painting the value and WIIFM (whats in it for me) in your sales discussions.
As far as this statement: " Delivery set up is small and like any other start up the challenge is to whether strengthen the delivery and production system first or invest in building the sales team. ".... as someone else asked, go back to your business plan as that should be able to tell you what you can be working on..... I am not who believes you have to have a completed product to sell it - as many will consider being 'beta' at a reduced cost. And before you spend any money on a team, be sure that what the current team has to sell (messaging, value proposition, etc.) is effective. Evaluate why you have not been able to sell to new clients - ask your current clients.
Mar 7, 2014
Thanks Bernadette for your inputs, very valuable indeed! Yes, we may have to re-look at our sales message and pitch document for better results. As far as new customer acquisition is concerned, i think i should have articulated better in my comments. We as a start up are (limited sales resources) not able to reach as many potential customers as we should have . Your inputs are surely valuable and i will share them with my team for their understanding. Thanks again!
Mar 7, 2014
Here are my questions to you.
1.what is your value proposition?
2.what is your customer segment?
3..what are your revenue streams?
Mar 7, 2014
Thanks Thomas for raising valid points. See my response -
1.what is your value proposition? Content re-purposing and publishing capabilities across multi-platform ( print, online and mobile) under single roof with high level of efficiency.
2.what is your customer segment? Content owners, publishers and corporate
3..what are your revenue streams? Through print production, online and mobile apps development.
I hope I am clear in my articulation!
Mar 6, 2014
I'd start with additional research on content owners/publishers. Who are they? What content are they looking for? What are they willing to pay? With the answers to these questions you will be in a better position to provide content that has value. I suspect that the specific multimedia educational content you choose to create will have a significant impact on your business growth. Providing valuable content to satisfied owners/publishers will enable you to scale up your business.
Mar 6, 2014
Lalit, I should have illustrated my point better. WordPress, a favorite topic of mine, is an over-saturated market. By contrast, there is still a strong demand for HTML5, PHP and CSS3 content. Picking the right content can make a big difference.
Mar 6, 2014
Your question can be interpreted in different ways. If you mean simply, "How can I grow my business?" it is best to start with clear goals which will enable you to then plan the actions that will work best for your business.
If your question relates to how to create a scalable company, you would also start with clear goals, but your actions would focus on how to systematize the business so that, as it grows, your people are able to keep up.
For example, one of my tech clients was keen on doubling the size of their business but created chaos and angry customers when they sold more services than they could deliver. Once they began clarifying roles and systematizing key functions, they've reached their goals and gained customers who are not just satisfied, but are loyal!
Mar 6, 2014
Thanks Jack for your inputs. You are right we should focus on having few happy customers than many angry customers.
Mar 6, 2014
Lalit: Since you are providing multimedia educational content to publishers (B2B) (and not to consumers (B2C)), you need to decide how you want to be compensated for this content. That decision will drive the means of interaction and the scalability of your model.
Examples:
1) If you are looking to drive traffic in exchange for the content you would negotiate placing your brand and related article headlines around the content you provide. These links would drive traffic back to your site.
2) If you want to drive adoption of a mobile app you would secure promotion for one or more of your mobile applications in exchange for the content with links driving to the sales page on the appropriate mobile storefronts.
3) If you are looking for newsletter signups/list building activities or product registration in exchange for the content you would need to negotiate deals that comply with a partner's privacy policy restrictions - typically this is very difficult.
4) Maybe you want traditional advertising placements (display or video) promoting your offerings in exchange for the content
Then again,
5) there is always traditional licensing fees.
In all of the examples given above, you or someone in your organization would need to reach out to the appropriate partners and engage in business development discussions.
Mar 6, 2014
Thanks Scott for your inputs. You are right, we should look at monetizing content by partnering with the content owners and just not focus on a one time delivery projects based on service model. We are seeing a lot of excitement in mobile space for having the content published in multimedia format across multiple platforms including mobile & TV. We do help content owners in multi-channel publishing but as you rightly pointed out we should look at better deals.
Mar 6, 2014
If you are asking this question I assume:
1. Your business model is validated
2. You have achieved Product-Market Fit
Therefore scaling is about reaching and serving customers outside the current scope of your business. Depending on the type of product you will need resources for capacity building. Moreover, you need to establish the structure of the enterprise in order to manage the operational processes that support your business.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution and it might be very different if your company is a web services company or a physical product company.
In any case you need to design the necessary operational processes that will make your business model repeatable on a larger scale.
Mar 6, 2014
Thanks Vincenzo for your thoughts. Yes, i agree with you. Having a robust operational process will not only help in scaling but will also help us in bringing efficiency in the system!
Mar 6, 2014
The most effective means today to expand your business and sales in in digital branding and marketing. This requires an adept and technically successful person with accomplishments in this area of sales and branding. many such experts are found both on mosaicHUB and Linked in. They keyword is "digital Branding".
Another more traditional method is expansion of sales staff, whether as reps or as staff members. This requires very competitive resources and expertise in talent acquisition. The little known problem that faces employers or talent seekers now is the massively reduced available talent pool. Gen-X is 1/2 the numbers of Baby-Boomers. Gen-X is your target talent pool.
finally, I suggest that you look at retired baby-boomers who are still very active and bring a past career of sales expertise. they are widely a dependable and effective source of sales talent mistakenly overlooked by many of today's employers.
Mar 6, 2014
Thanks Dough for your inputs. I agree, we should look at retired people for sales support. Indeed a great thought! We will try to explore it.
Mar 6, 2014
This question just can't be answered without being able to ask several questions some of which have already been asked here. But here is one way to maybe achieve clarity through self-exploration.
Might seem to be a little weird but try to imagine you and I were together having this same conversation a year from now. And as you look back over that year what would you have had to accomplish both professionally and personally over that year for you to be happy with the progress you have made to that point.
More specifically
What immediate obstacles would you have overcome?
What immediate opportunities would you have seized?
And what strengths and assets do you currently have that would you have capitalized upon to achieve that progress?
Write those down and then prioritize and start taking action. Sometimes it is best to look at things from a different perspective and this exercise often helps my clients think differently and feel less overwhelmed.
Hope this helps and best of luck Lalit.
- Jack
Mar 6, 2014
Lait, that's a good question. Scaling the business means analyzing your current business and then deciding how scaling up will affect your current business model. Can your current business model sustain a ramp up of business?. Even if you don't complete another full business plan, you need to budget for the increased business and explore if you have the right people and processes in place to support additional business efficiently without diluting your existing business.. If you do some financial modeling you will know what your cash flow will look like for the ramp up and additional expenses you will incur for the higher revenue expectations. It's best to get organized up front and look at it from a strategic point of view.
Mar 6, 2014
Thanks Jack for your points. Yes, you are right we should prioritize things and have a strong action plan in place without losing focus.
Mar 6, 2014
Lalit,
Good question and scaling your company is a delicate balancing act no matter what the growth stage of your company. You must learn how to evaluate and determine where you will need to increase your resources next within your company. This may be marketing, sales, operation, or administration. If you don't know where you are nearly at capacity when you begin growing then your business will break at a point when you need to work the most.
I would recommend checking out a concept that we use call Tuning Your Revenue Engine which will help you figure out where the chokepoint exist in your business and what needs your attention 1st, then 2nd, and so on. You can see a short video in to Portfolio of my MosaicHUB profile. I hope it helps! - Dino
Mar 6, 2014
Thanks Dino for your inputs! Let me check the video and the T Y R E concept.
Mar 6, 2014
"Proof" that you can provide significant value to your potential clients is key to your marketing strategy. I suggest that you select one of the key publishers/content providers and prepare an example of your offering that would be convincing and immediately usable by the prospect. Visibility (Will they use it?) and credibility (getting your first customer who is a key player in the market) will form the basis for your scaling. Then, yes, solid marketing & sales, original material and relationship building will support your growth ambitions.. Good luck.
Mar 6, 2014
Thanks Gary! I agree with you, we should create a strong case study for better impact during the sales.
Mar 6, 2014
Hello Lalit,. You need the building blocks in place. The business plan and marketing plan go without saying as they help you plan a bit more of the detail. I'm not sure if you need to inject funds into the business, but injecting money into the business without definite plans is like pouring water into a basket. Up scaling also doesn't just mean getting more customers\clients as again you risk over trading and cash flow challenges if you don't plan. Get the building blocks in place - your plans (business and Marketing), management systems, CRM systems and then start to walk before you run. Sustainable growth is the word. All the best.
Mar 6, 2014
Hello Remi, Thanks for your comments. Yes, i think we should re -look at the business plan and modify/expand it based on our experiences at this stage of our business! A lot still have to go in building management systems and I am sure it will be a continue process to build and upgrade it. Right now focus is to have happy customers and regular cash flow to sustain in the business! Thanks again!
Mar 6, 2014
Adding to the good comments (and questions) already made:
1) Do you have a specific Knowledge niche supported by qualified content creators or are you trying to be all things to all people
2) Is your business model platform-based with a shared revenue model with contributors
Scaling requires company leadership to facilitate expansion without compromising goals
Mar 6, 2014
Thanks Bernie for your inputs! We are working towards building a propriety platform for multichannel publishing! We are also exploring partnership with third party tools to enhance the platform capabilities!
Thanks Paul. Indeed good thoughts!