Marketing Lessons for Potential Entrepreneurs

Why Good Contestants Can’t Win Food Network Contest
In 2011, the final two were narrowed to a man and woman who prepared demo tapes, one of which offered Mexican cooking with a twist, while the other specialized in creating sandwiches.

Some people seem to think it was a close call between the two, but I don’t believe that’s true. The judges are primarily in business to put original programming on the air that will expand their viewing audience. If you watch Food Channel regularly, you already know that they have Mexican cuisine covered, but they don’t have a program about sandwiches.

It was a foregone conclusion who would win and the sandwich king was crowned.

Last year, the winner was a charismatic contestant offering East Indian cuisine. There was no surprise about the judge’s decision in that case, either.

This year, there’s an interesting mix of talent, and the audience has the final vote. This may change the outcome.

Lesson: TV is an industry that survives on marketing to niche markets.
A cooking show based on a popular cuisine that is already covered extensively on the air is not competitive or profitable.

Reference
http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-next-food-network-star/index.html




Voice Power

Virtual Coaching
Each year more than 3 million people are injured and disabled on the job, according to government statistics. Many individuals are forced to change careers and some turn to self-employment. Assistive technology tools, such as voice-activated software, are enabling countless people to find new ways to work.

However, getting proper training can often be a problem, and many people buy the software but give up without learning of its many benefits and how to use it properly. Check out this site for useful tips and free YouTube demo videos.

Reference
http://www.voiceteach.com/home.html




Biz Quiz

 

Class Notes

Can You Guess the Answers?
In the Netherlands, you must study for four years if you want to become a florist. True or false?

Saran Wrap was successfully used in another industry before it was introduced to consumers as a food storage product. Do you know which industry?

Mecca is one of 12 places in the world where you won’t find a Kentucky fried chicken franchise. True or false?

                                                                    Answers  
*True
Beyond Flowers.  Gerd Verschoor.  Image, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, May 17, 1992, page 27.

*The military, during WW II, first used large, pliable sheets of translucent material to protect equipment shipped overseas for troops.
Freedom’s Forge:
How American Business Produced Victory in World War II
http://www.booktv.org/Program/13499/quotFreedoms+Forge+How+American

*False
According to a geography professor, if you travel toMecca, lo and behold, you will find a KFC outlet.

 




The Pitfalls of Vocational Tests

Beware of Experts
In What Color Is Your Parachute, author Richard Bolles’s cautions readers about the consequences of good and bad vocational testing.

He tells the story of a man who was given the Strong Inventory by a counselor then told that according to the test results he had no mechanical aptitude; zip, nada. Traumatized, test-taker was afraid to use a hammer, but several years later, he discovered that the counselor had misinterpreted the results of the test. The test-taker was understandably furious, especially after he discovered that he not only had mechanical ability, but he enjoyed the work.

Lesson: While many experts are competent, some are inept and sometimes just downright biased. But a major issue that wasn’t addressed in the story was that the test-taker little about the test other than what he was told. The counselor said the Strong Inventory measured aptitudes, but anyone who has investigated vocational testing know that this information is false. Strong Inventory only measures interests; interests and aptitudes are not synonymous.

If the test-taker had researched the Strong Inventory before taking the test, he would have known that the counselor was not knowledgeable about the material he was administering.

References
Bolles, R. (2011). What Color is your Parachute. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley,CA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_Interest_Inventory

 




The Help

When a Good Idea Doesn’t Sell
The international best-selling book The Help by Kathryn Stockett is now a movie with a lot of media buzz, yet it was rejected 60 times before gaining acceptance.

his latest literary piece about the civil rights era and the lives of black maids and their employers in the southernUnited Statesis only one of many successful works that have faced tremendous challenges in reaching the marketplace.

  The best-selling book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, racked up more than 120 rejections before publication, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Jack London received 600 rejection slips before he sold his first story.

And before landing a contract, Agatha Christie was rejected 500 times.

 Dr. Julianne Malveaux, a scholar with a Ph.D. in economics from MIT, is a nationally syndicated author, and the president of a woman’s college, but 15 publishers turned down her proposal for a book on the history of Black economics. Dr. Malveaux produced the project through her own production company.

In the literary industry, there are several strategies that authors use when rejections seem insurmountable. One is to self-publish, or two, switch genres, as authors like Mary Higgins Clark or Dan Mezrich of the Accidental Billionaire did. Others simply refuse to change course.

Lesson: Set a timeframe for desired results and have a plan B and plan C in place.

References
http://www.james-hughes.com/index.php/literary-rejections/

http://www.lastwordprod.com/upcoming-events.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Thinking Critically & Solving Problems

Logic in the Real World
The ability to evaluate arguments, claims, or situations and solve problems in one’s business and personal life is the most valuable skill that a potential entrepreneur can possess.

I grew interested in the issue once I realized my understanding of the subject was superficial. Furthermore, I found most of the online explanations were lengthy but lacked clear how- to instructions.

Then I discovered that I was required to take a class in the matter. The material below is an excerpt from two of my homework assignments.
Note: At times, the material seemed like one gigantic hairy, numerical tongue twister, but the class proved to be one of the most useful I’ve ever taken.

Excerpts
I am not hungry
~H

I am tired.
T

I am not tired.
~T

I am both hungry and tired.
H&T

I am hungry or I am tired.
HvT

It is not both the case that I am hungry and tired.
~ (H&T)

Generalizing from Incomplete Information
F 1 is a G
F2 is a G
F3 is a G
n) Fn is a G
————-
n+ 1) Thus, all F’s are G’s

1) Job Hunter #1 is a person who finds a job.
2) Job Hunter #2 is a person who finds a job.
3) Job Hunter #3 is a person who finds a job.
——————————————————
4) Thus, all job hunters find good jobs.

Analysis: The conclusion is a generalization based on the results of only three job hunters. Without a proper sample reflecting the employment outcome of the job hunting population, the conclusion is not supported by proper evidence and is therefore invalid.

Furthermore, depending on the location, industry, gender, and other socioeconomic factors, not all job hunters may find employment.

Overlooking Alternatives
1) E1 correlates with E2
——————————-
2) Thus, E1 causes E2

1) A windy day correlates with downed trees.
——————————————————-
2) Thus, windy days cause downed trees.

Analysis: The argument does not take into account that other factors may have weakened the roots of the trees or that the wind was merely a catalyst and not the actual cause. The claim does not present a definitive link or offer reliable data on the amount of wind force necessary to bring down trees.

Reference
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/




Shepard Fairey And Fair-Use Law

Using Presidential Images In Product Design
photo-1413787489051-bcbb6209ece1

Street artist Shepard Fairey created the now famous
Obama poster
and used a photo taken by an Associated
Press photographer for his illustration.

Fairey believed that he was legally entitled to use the AP photograph under
the concept of “fair use,” so he didn’t get permission from the actual owner of the photograph.

The Associated Press later asked Fairey for compensation for the use of their work, even though Fairey did not profit from any of the proceeds. Fairey begged to differ.

Lesson: Whether or not Fairey’s position is correct, he generated a lot of fees for several lawyers. The entire issue could have been avoided if Fairey had gotten written permission before proceeding with his idea.

References:

Ethics in Graphic Design.org
http://tinyurl.com/bjpen7q

Wall Street Journal Law Blog.com
http://tinyurl.com/mzdokc9

GigAom.com
Judge in AP-Fairey Case
Suggests Settlement
http://tinyurl.com/2urru4x

Note: Finding Your Niche includes colorful, real-life examples of
how budding entrepreneurs (and those with experience) overlook
simple steps in choosing ideas and, as a result, encounter costly problems.

Dee Adams is the author of
Finding Your Niche: Discover…
http://wp.me/P3Kr4S-Uz




Chesley Sullenberger

Smooth Sailing

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Sully Sullenberger knew he wanted to be a pilot from the time
he was five years old. He built model airplanes and read everything
about aviation that he could get his hands on. By his teens, he was flying.

When Sullenberger became an adult pilot, and later experienced cuts in his salary and pension as the airline industry underwent an upheaval, he did not give up on his original goal. He kept flying, but supplemented his income by using his expertise to start a safety consulting service.

Captain Sullenberger safely landed flight 1549 in the Hudson River in January 2009, then walked the plane twice to be sure all passengers had been evacuated, and we witnessed a human being who had perfected the art of his passion…aviation.

Reference
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/retired-pilot-capt-chesley-sullenberger/




Time Masters

Watching the Market
The Meylan Stopwatch Corporation started out selling ordinary watches via mail order in the 1920’s, until competition forced the company to venture into the stopwatch field, where they began selling their products to sports buffs and government workers.

The following decade, Meylan began supplying precision timepieces to the educational, scientific, and industrial engineering industries.
Today, the company supplies products from videos that measure worker productivity to digital watches for auto, horse, and human races.

Lesson: An excellent example of a company that stayed with its core idea, but continuously adapted their wares to reflect changes in demand and technology.

References
How to Start and Operate a Mail Order Business, 5th edition. Julian L. Simon. McGraw Hill, 1993.
http://www.meylan.com/about.html