6 Questions Every Startup Should Ask

1. What problem are we solving? 2. What need are we fulfilling? 3. Who are we solving the problem for? 4. How are we least like the competition? 5. How do we tell that story? 6. Why this, why us and why now? What questions have you asked yourself? Image by dasmart.

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The Story Is Your Advantage

“Whoever tells the best story wins.” —Annette Simons This is the whole truth, and it scares all kinds of people, from creators to scientists, fledgling entrepreneurs to established brands. The best man doesn’t always win. It’s not enough to be bigger or better, and that frightens us because our understanding of the world comes from…

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Speak Human

The new perspex sign in the toilets of fast food restaurant read… “It is our intent to provide you with the cleanest possible facility. If the room needs attention please notify a Manager.” I stood in the mirrorless bathroom looking at it for some time wondering how this was supposed to make me feel. There…

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What The Cold Caller Forgot

He forgot to think about you and not just him. He forgot you were busy. He forgot to work hard to add value and build an asset over time. He forgot to give before trying to take. He forgot that you don’t care about his emergency. He forgot that he can’t buy your permission. He…

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The Bottom Line

There’s an irony about entrepreneurship or starting a business and it’s this. When you begin you’re obsessed with the starting part. Just starting it seems is enough. You may have a vision for what could be, but there is not so much pressure to get there in the beginning. Once you’ve succeeded a little it…

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Practice The Art Of Making People Matter

Walk along any suburban street. Sit in any cafe. Listen to telephone conversations at the airport lounge. Here’s what you’ll find. Everyone is having the same conversation. The early morning gym junkies, the startup hub members, the mothers catching the train to work, the fathers in the book store and the teens glued to their…

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Stand Out By Telling A Better Brand Story

The summer of 1980 was a terrible time to own a hair salon on Sydney’s Queen Street. The mile long suburban street had over twenty salons to choose from, and haircuts that were once $20, had been steadily knocked down a dollar at a time by each salon in turn. The first salon to discount…

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Give Them A Reason

Half of the products in your pantry now have a ‘like us on Facebook’ icon on the label. Why should you like a brand of mass produced honey on Facebook? Why does the brand manager think you should care? Marketing is about doing great work that gets noticed. It’s about giving people a reason to…

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Make Your Idea Matter

Make Your Idea Matter is finally available to buy on Amazon. Thanks to the people who bought the book yesterday it bagged a Top 3 spot on the Amazon Bestsellers list overnight! It’s taken most of our Australian winter (or your summer), to simply get the book edited, formatted, designed and ready for publication. We’ve…

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