Comments on: The Business You Are Really In

By: Why I FAILED

Why I FAILED — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

You, Inc.’s Business
When I was a drummer, I played drums in the music business. My simple understanding of my reality was that I did something that a lot of other people did in a very large industry that was set in it’s ways. Simply put, I was a commodity – by defin…

By: Gary Bourgeault (bizofshowbiz.com)

Gary Bourgeault (bizofshowbiz.com) — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

As I was reading your post, Hollywood came to mind, as I thought about all the companies that are making deals etc. concerning video on demand.

Everyone of them are pretty much offering the same thing at the same price.

It seems there is an industry being born that is a commodity from birth. No one seems to be attempting to differentiate in any way.

By: EllenWeber

EllenWeber — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Interesting post. Your second bullet reminded me of a talk I attended by a Fortune 500 CEO. He seemed to be stating more and more how money could be made, and while the stories were engaging, there was no focus given to “community building.” So I asked him if he thought Fortune 500 leaders cared about community building as they build these businesses he inspired. His answer was a flat — “No, that is not part of what they care about.” That comment came back when I read your post. Thanks, for the insights here — wish that guy could read it too!

Brain Based Business

By: Cat Muldoon

Cat Muldoon — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Great post. I think this is good mentoring.

So many things are not about price. The saying,”You get what you pay for” comes to mind here. There are a few things for which “cheap” is ok, but not many. And when it comes to your business, I agree that your uniqueness is an important consideration. If you’re just one more bag of noodles, there’s nothing to make you stand out.

This post and the blog in general made me think of something I just recently read. Drew Miles has a book coming out called _Zero 2 Success_ and he gives out a couple of free chapters on the website. Chapter 2 is about mentors and coaches. It is wonderful to have good mentoring on this blog that canhelp me grow my business strongly.

thanks.

Oh, and if anyone wants the free chapters, you can go to http://www.zero2success.com

Cat

By: LLC formation CPA

LLC formation CPA — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I practice tax in the Seattle area doing returns and planning work for corps, partnerships, LLCs, etc.

Commonly, I get calls from prospective clients who start by asking, “how much will it cost to blah, blah, blah….” I respond (nicely), “Well, if you’re buying on price, you don’t want me. Call somebody at, say, H&R Block. There, someone who has been through a 10-week course will do your return for half the price I will.”

Some people say, “Hey, thanks for the tip.” (The commodity purchasers.)

Some people say, when faced with this reality, “Ah, I kinda want more than that… Hey, don’t you teach S corp and LLC tax and didn’t you write QuickBooks for Dummies? Guess I don’t care that much about price.”

My conclusion: Some people only shop on price. But some people want quality… (or let’s call them extra bells and whistles)… and that’s always going to cost more

By: Why I FAILED » You, Inc.’s Business

Why I FAILED » You, Inc.’s Business — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

…same way. In order to stand out, however, you need a new perspective, and here are four offered by Duct Tape Marketing. You are in: – the information business- the community buidling business- the experience business- the transformation business As an …

By: Simon Small (youngbusinessman.typepad.com)

Simon Small (youngbusinessman.typepad.com) — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m an advertising executive in Australia, and my job is this in a nutshell and two-fold. I need to promote ourselves to potential clients and when we win their busienss I then need to help them differentiate themselves in the market place.

Its amazing how many businesses don’t practise what you are discussing! I’d say about 70% of small business seem to miss the boat and 50% of large business have the wrong attitude.

My belief is that when someone starts a business, OR gets promoted through a company the people are very good at making the product/service, whatever the industry, but they are usually NOT good at understanding their customers, and don’t care that much about them, unless they’re not buying from them. They focus primarily on product developments and technical improvements, when ideally they should balance that with market, sales and customer research and development.

I love the fact that other people are posting about this and I hope the business community learns from your blog.