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Launching a Business? Here Are 5 Proven Business Models for You to Consider

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Do you already have a service in mind, or are you working on entrepreneurial spirit alone? Both are a great starting point from which you can build a lucrative business. But if you want to inspire investors and customers alike, you need a compelling business model that fits well with what you’re offering. Here are five potential models to choose from.

1. Offer personalization.

Tech and the internet have comfortably reassured consumers that they can easily get exactly what they need. Get your business in on the action with personalization. Customized, tailor-made, bespoke, exclusive – these are all words that can attract certain groups.

Essentially, we want options, and it’s even better when the customer feels like they invented that option. From clothing to home goods to software, allowing people to build their own product carries a lot of promise.

2. Join the sharing economy.

Is your business a viable platform that allows people to get together and exchange good and services? From Craigslist to Airbnb to Uber, it’s possible that your new venture will involve taking a step back and allowing the community at large to decide what they want, and who they want to buy it from.

Relative to other models, there’s little investment risk here. Just ensure there’s a real need for your type of platform, and that you have ironed out issues of liability beforehand.

3. Let a buyer name their price.

Before procuring funding from Unsecured Finance Australia, consider a model that makes buyers feel like they’re practically stealing from you; or at least, very satisfied with the deal they got. Known as a reverse auction, this model lets the buyer name their price or budget.

It won’t work for every business, but it could be profitable if you have a great deal of inventory you can let go for cheap, or if your business has a ton of competition.

4. Offer subscriptions.

One model that has absolutely exploded in popularity in the last several years would be subscription-based services. Here, consumers pay a reasonable weekly, monthly, or annual fee to continue doing business with you.

But it’s not all Netflix. This model translates well offline, as we see millions subscribing to receive beauty and personal care items, food, lifestyle goods, and even cars to drive for a limited period of time. A subscription business model is one you certainly need to consider for your company.

5. Integrate internet and in-store.

The major challenge many physical stores face is competing with online shopping. Fortunately, the “bricks and clicks” business model has helped keep many physical locations in operation.

When you spread your efforts between both bricks and clicks, you’re supplementing your foot traffic with online shoppers. You can allow local consumers to purchase something on your website to be picked up at your store nearby, or simply sell inventory online and ship it in addition to offering it in person.

There are many more models to choose from than the ones presented here. No matter which you choose for your business, bear in mind that your model can become as much a part of the story as the product or service itself. Therefore, you want yours to not only speak to the modern consumer, but the consumer of the future.

The Big Picture of Business – Wisdom From the Disasters, Recovery Through Compassion and Resilience

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleThe month of September saw natural disasters. In times of crisis, people came together to help each other.

Forces of nature: from disasters came citizens with noble hearts and a willingness to serve others. Young people sought to help, thus inspiring lifelong commitments to community stewardship. The beacons of light came from caring people, corporate contributors and a spirit of goodwill.

Wisdom from hurricanes and natural disasters: Bring your hearts and your hands. The worst disasters bring out the best in caring, compassionate people.

Hurricane storms do not redefine who communities are… they make communities stronger. Volunteers are the glue to resilient communities. In rebuilding after hurricanes, don’t just build the way it was. When there are tragedies, there will always be helpers. Heroism emerging from Harvey and Irma.

The more we do for others, the more we feel the “potlache” of giving to others. Natural disaster stages: Warning, hit, search and rescue, recovery, rebounding, analysis, flood prevention planning, learning from crisis, community development.

Commit to a program of volunteering. Heart warming scenes of neighbors helping each other in disaster spark the passion of citizens to contribute further. Ongoing community needs for volunteers are supplied by Volunteer Houston: http://www.volunteerhou.org. This is the central contact, as they work with hundreds of non-profit organizations in the greater Houston area, ascertaining needs and scheduling volunteers. Volunteer Houston gave me their Lifetime Achievement Award two years ago. To volunteer statewide in Texas, OneStar Foundation is the coordinating entity: http://onestarfoundation.org.

Houston Strong motivational campaign launched. It embodies resilience, rebounding from disaster, teamwork and volunteer spirit. Other memorable campaigns have included: Houston Proud, Texas Cares, Clutch City, H-Town, The City With No Limits, Houston’s Hot, Magnolia City, Bayou City, Energy Capitol, Space City, Texas Sesquicentennial, Texas State of Mind, Don’t Mess With Texas, Spirit of Texas. There were classic radio jingles: “My Home Town” and “Sounds of the City.” And there was “Houston Legends,” my seventh book, a comprehensive city history that inspired community forums, volunteer recognition and nostalgia.

George R. Brown would be so proud that the convention center bearing his name would temporarily house flood victims. He was a community leader and would be warmly greeting the citizens if he were here today. I knew Mr. Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, first as friends of President Lyndon B. Johnson, then later serving together on charity boards. His favorite accomplishments included the establishment of intercity educational and daycare programs. He was born in Belton, TX, joined the U.S. Marines in World War I and co-founded the construction firm Brown and Root. Pictured, GRB and brother Herman Brown. GRB and LBJ.

There are 23,000 non-profit organizations in the greater Houston area, in action to assist flood victims and citizens in need. Many other cities are sending rescue vehicles, supplies and volunteers. Kudos to friends and community supporters. Volunteers are always to be thanked for their service. In crises and other times, neighbors help each other.

In recovery from the disaster weather crisis, it is important to honor volunteers for their service. The more we do, the more we feel the “potlache” of giving to others.

Realities of giving and charity:

  • Ego charities benefit the organizers.
  • Celebrities often get duped into promoting causes.
  • Charitable involvement is not a game or contest.
  • Most companies give to communities.
  • Cause-related marketing is a good thing.
  • Some companies use “philanthropy” as a marketing scam.

Best advice to You, the Humanitarian:

  • Give generously.
  • Pick causes about which you are passionate.
  • Serve causes which serve many.
  • Your time is your most valuable commodity.

We’re a very giving society and want to make a difference. Companies making donations should be recognized. Human caring and hours of their volunteer service are what matters most. After the crisis, many unsung heroes render glorious service behind the scenes, where it matters.

Love and respect to the humanitarians.

About the Author

Hank MoorePower Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame is now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.

How to Launch an eCommerce Business

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Among the business areas seeing the most success in recent years is eCommerce. People who own their own online store can specialize in anything from fashion to beauty, from health to home. For many, it is a dream come true, but that doesn’t mean it comes without its drawbacks. Starting an eCommerce business requires a lot of time and money, which many people don’t expect before they make the leap. However, it is not an impossible task to begin to see success in your venture, but you must have a great lunch to get you started on the right foot. To help you on your path to success, make sure you make a note of some important tips.

Make a business plan

Every business must have a thorough business plan written before they launch, and eCommerce is no exception. In this plan, you should detail your goals and expected profits in the years to come, as well as information on how you are funding your business endeavor. For many people, funding their eCommerce plans can be done through personal savings, but most need to apply for funding from a bank or seek it from alternative sources.

Don’t forget the paperwork

Owning an eCommerce business is not as easy as just selling a product. There is a lot of paperwork and practical information you must comply with if you are to keep your business legal. For example, adhering to trade finance is the key to success, but this can be a tricky topic to understand if you are not an expert. Thankfully, you can find the Trade Finance guide by TFG online to help.

Assess your market

Every eCommerce business owner must decide on a target market before they begin designing their store and perfecting products. Though some products can reach a universal audience, this is highly unlikely. Instead, you should conduct market research to see who your product will see the most sales with. Over the course of market research sessions and online research, an answer should begin to present itself.

Cover all marketing bases

Marketing cannot start properly until you know your target market inside and out. Only then can you start creating a marketing campaign for both your product and your brand. It is essential for your marketing to cover all bases, such as email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, and even marketing over instant messenger. Doing this will allow you to promote product awareness over a larger group of people, which will in turn increase sales over time.

Use the right platform

Unfortunately, you can’t just use a simple website hosting platform to sell your products on. There are some platforms designed specifically for eCommerce, where they make it easy for you to design and run your own store, and there is a lot of information around on ecommerce trade. You should remember that the customer experience here is the most important part of choosing a platform. Most customers want a sleek, professional website, where they can see products clearly, and where the checkout process is quick and easy.

Launching Your Business: How To Organize Your Operation

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When you have a business idea, it’s only natural that you may sit on it for a while. Maybe you’re frightened of failure, or of going after your dreams and not really getting what you want? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. But if you have always wanted to run your own business, and you love the idea of making it work, then you have to jump in with both feet (or head first!). If your mind still isn’t convinced and you feel held back, then you may want to focus on organizing your way there. Because when you have the right plans in place and you really work to keep things organized, launching can seem so much easier. So here’s what you need to do.

1. Find The Right Location

So first of all, you need to think about your location. And finding the right business location really does matter. If you need a manufacturing unit, you’ll want to make sure that you have enough space, and that you’re in the best possible position to create. You may even want to just start small and clear out your garage space for this. Either way, you need the best possible place to work from.

2. Decide Between Managed Or Self-Service

If you’re setting up an office, one thing to keep in mind is where you want to have a serviced space or somewhere that juts your own. Managed offices mean that you have all of the bills and services included, even the cleaning! But if you rent a space yourself, you may need to set up all of the utilities, internet, and look after the place yourself. So it’s worth considering which will work out best for you.


 
3. Setup The Space

Then, you need to set up the space. Again, if you are going with an office, why not think about going with used equipment to get the price down? Even if you need an industrial or manufacturing space, you may be able to go for used equipment to get a better price too. But just be sure that the quality is where you need it to be to get the job done.

4. Invest In Your Machinery

However, if you do want to make sure that you can do the best possible job from the beginning, investing in the right machinery and manufacturing equipment is just so important. From niche specific unites to counting scales to quality control conveyors, make sure you’re happy with what you have. These are the things you need to run your business and create your product, so they have to be right.

5. Stick To Systems

Finally, one thing you may find, is that systems help you out tremendously here. When you’re working on a large scale and you have products to manufacture, or an operation line to set up, things need to run like clockwork. So, it’s going to be in your benefit to get processes that allow your production to be as efficient as possible, and ensure that you have a good quality control check in place. When this is all organized, you should find that launching is so much easier.

5 Problems Construction Businesses Will Inevitably Face

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Of all the business sectors in the world, none are quite so tangible as construction. If you open a construction business, then your everyday life will be governed by a very physical reality. Unlike many modern businesses, which involve moving words and numbers on computers, construction is something that you can reach out and touch – and it’s inherently rewarding as a result.

Unfortunately, the many, benefits of working in construction are often somewhat weighed down by non-tangible, metaphysical problems. Thankfully, there are ways and means of navigating these issues, but you do need to be aware of the almost-inevitability that you will experience them. This is due to the fact that construction business owners may produce work that is inherently physical, but they will face a number of threats that are far less concrete – and it will be your job to navigate each of these situations when they occur.

So, without further ado, let’s examine the theoretical problems that your very practical construction business will inevitably experience at some point.

1) High employee turnover

Unfortunately, the construction industry is infamous for the high rate of employee turnover it tends to produce. There is no single reason for this high turnover rate, but it is a simple fact of life for construction businesses.

It would be wonderful to suggest that there are incredible solutions to ensure your business does not experience high turnover but, in truth, this would be misleading. There are, of course, things you can do to help reduce employee turnover, but these measures alone are unlikely to be sufficient. Instead, it is usually best to opt for a two-pronged approach: improve existing conditions, but also exist in a state of perpetual hiring, continually accepting applications for positions and building a list of potential future employees that you keep on file. Working together, these two measures should allow you to control the problem as best you can, and ensure you always have the staff you need to complete projects.

2) Unsuitable ground conditions

At the beginning of history, construction was incredibly simple: the earth was how it had been for millennia, and construction companies could trust the soundness and cleanliness of the soil. Unfortunately, thousands of years of human habitation has changed that, and modern construction companies will often find themselves facing issues with poor or even contaminated soil.

It is inevitable that, at some point in your time at the helm of a construction company, you will have to deal with problematic soil. Your best option is usually to work with a ground improvement specialist such as those at the Helitech Civil Construction Division and similar companies; these experts have a variety of techniques that can mean even the most difficult of soil can eventually be used for construction. While hiring a subcontractor for this work will lengthen the process somewhat, it can make possible building on soil you would usually dismiss, which opens up your possibilities for future development.

In anticipation of this inevitable issue, it may be worth fostering a relationship with a ground and soil improvement specialist from the start of your business. This ensures that when you inevitably encounter difficult ground conditions, you know exactly where to turn for the expert assistance that can allow you to continue a project as quickly and efficiently as possible.

3) Public discontent

The longer your business is in operation, the higher your chances of working on a project that draws the ire of the public. We have all seen activists demonstrating against the construction of a new building or shopping mall, and it is inevitable that your company will at some point be involved in a project that activists dislike.

In terms of managing this issue, realistically, there’s very little that is within your control. The best bet is to always work on projects that have full authorization and that have passed impact studies with flying colors, and it may also be worth checking social media to see if there is planned opposition to a construction project prior to agreeing to undertake the work.

However, even with these precautions, you may well find that you still find yourself working on a site that is subject to demonstrations. If (or when) this happens, your best plan of action is to leave the matter to the police. Engaging with activists will rarely end well, even if you’re in the right, so advise your employees to refuse to enter into conversations and seek appropriate help from the authorities.

Alternatively, if you suspect that fightback against a project you were intending to work on has become so fierce it will negatively impact your company, then you may want to consider withdrawal. The penalties for doing this will depend on your contract, but it’s worth examining this possibility, especially if you suspect the activists may well have a point – the negative publicity from continuing to work on the project could greatly outweigh the penalties you will face for walking away.

4) Workplace accidents

Construction is an inherently dangerous industry. From people working at height to the movement of heavy plant machinery, the risk of accidents is ever-present – and to an extent, this is something that you will need to accept.

However, accepting that accidents can happen does not mean that you are completely powerless in the situation. You do have an element of control when it comes to reducing and mitigating the risks involved in the industry, and examining your options in this regard can help to ensure your business – and your workers – are fully protected at all times.

First and foremost, prioritizing safety at all times is a must for construction companies. It’s important you trust that workers understand the risks of what they are doing, and that their health and safety awareness and training is also up-to-date. Regular meetings to refresh guidelines is a good way to do this, and helps to ensure that even the most experienced of workers is always aware of the risks of their occupation.

Secondly, it’s worth going above and beyond to ensure that your working practices align with regulatory requirements. Unfortunately, many business owners of all types tend to see health and safety rules as something of a bind, and will satisfy the minimum requirement and then move on. However, it’s worth noting that these rules are there for a reason, and if you seek to adhere to them, the chances are you will have a much safer working environment as a result. Ideally, you should seek to exceed the basic regulatory requirements, and also continually check back to ensure these are being adhered to by workers at all times.

Finally, there is an additional health and safety component that is often overlooked by construction business owners: stress. The more stressed your workers are, the more likely they are to experience an accident – and even the very best health and safety practices cannot help in this regard. It is therefore well worth considering implementing measures that are designed to keep workplace stress at a minimum. This should ideally involve a dual approach of managing stress on-site and also learning to identify the signs of stress in an employee.

5) Theft

Finally, theft is a constant threat in the construction industry. This is largely due to the nature of the work; sites are often left unattended for hours or even days at a time, and contain expensive equipment that is an all-too-tempting target for thieves.

Controlling this problem primarily involves ensuring site security at all times, but this alone is unlikely to fully solve the problem. As we have already discovered, a double-approach is often best, and the same applies to the theft issue: you should seek to protect your site, but also ensure you are fully insured for any losses that you do experience.

Unfortunately, obtaining insurance as a construction company is often easier said than done, and premiums can be incredibly expensive. In an effort to keep costs down, work with a broker to ensure you are only insured as far as you need to be – avoid comprehensive, catch-all policies that may provide coverage for instances that are irrelevant to your business. By ensuring you find the right policy for your company, the cost of the premium should be justified, and you’ll enjoy the peace of mind of knowing that your valuable equipment is protected if your on-site security measures fail.

In conclusion

The issue presented above can be uniquely challenging to a construction business, due in no small part to their constancy and their changeability. This can be difficult for construction business owners to cope with, as so much of their prior working life has focused on physical problems with absolute physical answers. Learning to adapt to more theoretical and conceptual challenges can be far more difficult – but it is, ultimately, well worth doing. Construction is a thriving, essential sector, and if you believe you can navigate the inevitability of the problems as mentioned above, it could be the perfect choice for your entrepreneurial ambition.