Entrepreneurs sometimes think it is great idea to claim that they have no competition. They suppose that investors will be impressed with the originality of their business idea and its potential to make money where there are no pesky competitors to take market share. Don’t ever write that in a business plan. Nothing could be […]
We have no Competition
Posted in Business Plan Tips, Entrepreneurship, strategyBy David Kaplan - August 10th, 2009 1 comment
The Ground Floor Trap
Posted in Entrepreneurship, strategyBy David Kaplan - July 1st, 2009 No comments
Entrepreneurs naturally look for growing markets. The opportunity to “get in on the ground floor” in a fast emerging market is certainly attractive. Still, fast emerging markets also present a set of predictable strategic risks that entrepreneurs will want to consider with care.
Best Practice for Online Marketing
Posted in Entrepreneurship, MarketingBy David Kaplan - March 29th, 2009 No comments
The fast-moving world of online marketing has taken giant strides with the advent of social networking. SEO and SEM are now the basics and MySpace, Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter are all the rage. As new tools come on line, I pay close attention to what Guy Kawasaki is saying and doing. He not only stays right on […]
Look at Your Venture as an Investor Would
Posted in Business Plan Tips, EntrepreneurshipBy David Kaplan - November 1st, 2008 No comments
When you buy candy, you think of it as something sweet. When you sell candy you think of it as a product. A similar dynamic is at play when entrepreneurs write business plans, except that all too often it works backwards. The seller (entrepreneur) sees the sweet upside and the potential investor views the risk […]