8/09/2010
Internet Behavior of Auto Buyers: Analyzing influential studies | Wordpress Automatic Blog Content Plugin
Internet Behavior of Auto Buyers: Analyzing influential studies
Tags: Analyzing, Auto, Behavior, Buyers, influential, Internet, studies
The relationship between internet usage and car purchases have consistently increased over the last decade and have now become part of the car buying experience as consumers look for local car dealerships.
Auto manufacturers, dealerships and the auto industry in general have accepted this reality and incorporated the internet and related technology as part of their marketing and advertising efforts. Some of these business entities have embraced the power of the world wide web, while others are struggling to keep up with the constant upgrades, developments and latest trends. Becoming aware of internet behavior of auto buyers is important in developing and maintaining cost effective and money making marketing strategies.
Billions of dollars are spent on website development and maintenance, software, tools, gadgets, widgets, search engine optimization, social networking, on and on. This does not take into account time spent trying to figure out what works and more importantly, what does not work. Spend only a couple of hours online reading blogs and forums about online marketing and one quickly figures out that even the so called “experts” disagree and sometimes just can’t keep up themselves with the warp speed of technological developments, whims and algorithms of online corporate giants.
There is one way to tame the wild west of the online world and that is to become familiar with research findings regarding internet behavior of auto buyers. Being armed with this valuable knowledge will enable car related businesses such as auto dealers, insurance agents, lenders, and after market retailers to tailor not only their advertising budgets but time spent on understanding the multitude of marketing services. Here are some key findings and discussion about the data.
Research Findings
JD Power and Associates conducts annual surveys to measure online usage of auto buyers. In 2008, JD Power and Associates found that 75% of the public spend on the average close to seven hours on the internet when making a new vehicle purchase. They also found that consumers focused on three types of websites for information.
1. Third party auto websites were used for referrals and recommendations.
2. Auto manufacturing websites were used for product information.
3. Auto dealer websites were used to search for inventory. (source: theautochannelnews)
This same trend is also seen when it comes to used car purchases and other auto related servies such as insurance and loans.
Web Rides TV in 2008 conducted a survey of their users titled “User Attitudes Toward Cars and Automotive Content” which found that consumers were most likely to turn to third party reviews over other information sources when it came to auto products. The findings showed that there was a decrease in using auto manufacturer websites as a primary source in one’s decision making (source: emdiawire).
Another interesting statistic is the amount of time the average consumer takes to make a vehicle purchase. According to a study by Kelly Blue Book, these figures range anywhere from six months or longer to less than a month. Embedded within this time frame are the different stages of decision making. In the same study, Kelly Blue Book found three groups of car buyers:
1. “Just looking” group consisted of consumers planning to make a purchase within a two to six month range
2. “Ready but undecided” group consisted of consumers planning to make a purchase within one month and
3. “Ready and decided” group consisted of consumers planning to make a purchase within one week
Kelly Blue Book concluded that “vehicle shoppers look to the third-party sites as a relevant and necessary source of objective information that spans across all makes and models. While consumers seek information and opinions, what they really come to the third-party sites for is confidence– that they are making a good choice, that they won’t have ‘buyers’ remorse’ after their purchase, that they won’t pay too much, that they are buying a safe vehicle, that they have weighed all their options” (source:imediaconnection).
Keynote Systems, a company that studies attitudes and behaviors on the internet, found that auto buyers prefered to conduct research about vehicle capabilities over price comparisons. In fact they found that price comparison ranked the lowest in online satisfaction. In addition, only 20% of participants in this particular study reported a willingness to request an online quote. Frustration over uncertainty about the end user of submitted information was a main concern of the 80% of respondents who declined an auto quote request (source: Keynote Systems).
Comscore, another company that measures consumer behavior and attitudes conducted the first study of blog readers back in 2005. While this study is now dated, we can assume that blog usage is even more influential today due to their growing popularity. One of their key findings were demographics of the average blog reader. Blog readers tended to have above average incomes, shopped online, and spend almost twice as much time online over regular internet users. “The fact that we found 30 percent of the online population to have visited blogs clearly underscores the commercial importance of consumer generated and driven media” (source: comscore.com).
Looking toward the future in trying to predict trends on the horizon, KRC Research and Microsoft conducted a study that focused on the “millennial generation.” The eldest of the millennials are now becoming established in their professions making them a sought after consumer. Who are these millennials? Consider these statistics:
“Millennials are born from 1982 to 2003. They are the largest generation in U.S. history; they are also the most ethnically diverse generation. Forty percent are African-American, Asian, Latino or mixed race. One in five has an immigrant parent. There’s a million more Millennials than boomers. Though no more Millennials are being born, some are immigrating, so the generation keeps getting bigger. Boomers are leaving us and Millennials are still gaining in size” (source: Mercury News).
This generation has already transformed our society. If you doubt their awesome power just ponder the immense popularity of social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. The millennials do not know life without the cell phone, internet or MP3s. We can predict that their social behaviors will carry over to consumer behaviors. Microsoft found that this group of consumers want an interactive online shopping experience. This includes interaction through blogs, instant messaging, and social networks. While over 90% still want to visit a showroom in person, once there they expect an automated rather then in-person experience. Additionally, “large percentages of millennials were open to seek advice from third-party consumer website (65 percent), third-party consumer blogs (45 percent), friends or colleagues via social networking sites (61 percent), and friends and family (87 percent).” (source: CXO Today).
Discussion
In examining the above findings, we can see a few patterns emerge. Whether due to the overwhelming presence of the internet in our daily lives or current economic conditions, the traditional print media is fading and may even become extinct in the not so distant future. An overwhelming percentage of consumers rely on a combination of online resources for information. This means that auto dealers who network with a variety of websites can expect positive returns since the data shows a trend toward third party websites such as All About Cars Online.
The data also suggests that instead of spending resources on third party sales leads, dealerships might focus on developing technology that captures sales leads from their own websites since consumers find third party quotes less then trustworthy and actually visit dealer websites to find inventory.
Another significant trend is the emergence of social networking through a variety of online tools. As more millennials come of age, this trend will quickly become a norm in the world of business and sales. One of the greatest advantages of social networking websites and blogs is that they are free and easy to start. However, this is also the downside for companies. Trying to keep up with maintaining blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Squidoo, Digg, Youtube, wikis, and one’s own website is overwhelming to say the least.
Marketing Strategies
With all of this in mind, it is clear that auto dealers must have an online strategy that takes into account internet behaviors of auto buyers. Through the analysis of the above influential studies, one can use the data to develop effective marketing strategies. Using Kelly Blue Book’s stages of decision making can also be helpful in targeting specific groups of consumers:
1. Just Looking – since this consumer has no immediate plans to make a purchase, this group will most likely not be interested in viewing the dealer’s website. They are however most likely seeking information and conducting research on makes, models, and options. Older consumers are more likely to want to read (blogs) and younger consumers are more like want to view (videos).
2. Ready But Not Decided – This consumer is actively seeking referrals and recommendations. They have their antenna up for reviews on makes and models and are asking questions. Older consumers are more likely to interact in forums (blogs) and younger consumers are more likely to twit (twitter, facebook). Both age groups are also seeking information from third party websites.
3. Ready and Decided – This consumer is ready to make a purchase. They are actively searching for dealerships that offer their chosen make and model. This group will go back to third party websites, online directories and search engines. Once they find a number of dealerships, consumers in this stage will then visit these dealers’ websites to view inventories. Car dealers should have a reliable system in capturing visitors and use live chat software to satisfy the need for instant messaging behaviors of the millennial generation.
Car dealers and other auto related businesses measure the effectiveness of advertising strategies through sales and leads. However one thing to keep in mind is that leads and sales only come once the consumer is in the third stage of decision making. By not investing in websites that capture the “Just Looking” and “Undecided” groups, one ends up with a shortsighted strategy. According to a study conducted by cars.com and Synovate in 2008, “”tracking email and phone leads alone gives dealers an incomplete picture of how their internet initiatives perform” and “one-third of car buyers cited independent websites as a significant influencer affecting their decision to visit a dealership.” The study also found that a third of these consumers do not contact dealers prior to visiting showrooms (source: cars.com).
Furthermore, investing and networking with third party websites also has a hidden advantage. Investing in a multitude of third party websites that publish links to dealer’s website will increase that dealer’s search engine rank. This becomes immensely valuable when the consumer is ready to make the purchase in stage three. The rule is to get as many different websites to link to dealer’s website. Even if the third party website may not necessarily be the perfect fit for targeted audience, links play an important role in search engine ranking.
Blogs definitely are also valuable because they serve as an important source for education and information. Posts are usually set up with forums allowing visitors to comment and ask questions. An ideal situation would be to create multi-blogs with different URL’s (different website locations and names) all linked to the dealer’s main website. This increases one’s presence on the internet, improving one’s ranking with search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing as well as increasing the odds that a consumer will find the dealership. Creating multiple blogs is a much more cost effective method compared to microsites. Microsites are generally used for the same purpose, come with contracts and have significantly higher fees that when compared to blogs seem unrealistic. Automotive consultants advise that “every dealership should have one or more blog focusing on current dealership happenings, service specials, seasonal car care tips, car buying tips, customer testimonals and highlighted inventory” (Paul Rushing).
Blogs and multi-blogs are a cost effective marketing strategy although very time consuming. Many entities start blogs but quickly abandon efforts because one has to make regular updates. Anywhere between 60% to 80% of blogs are abonded within one month of creation (source: Caslon Analytics). Software exists that automatically generates multiple blogs, but search engines recognize this as “splogs” which are frowned upon like spamming is in the world of e-mail. Multi-blogs have to be maintained by humans.
Analyzing internet behavior of auto buyers is imperative in today’s economy because this knowledge goes a long way in saving valuable advertising and marketing monies and increasing sales.
All About Cars Online includes detailed information, links and articles for consumers who are in the research stages of purchase. http://www.allaboutcarsonline.com includes links to all auto manufacturers, nonbiased reviews, consumer rating reports, government data, purchasing tips and much more. Dealer contacts and recommended referrals to dealerships are useful to consumers who are in the final stage of vehicle purchase. The website does does not generate sales leads to protect the privacy of its users but rather directs consumers to selected reputable dealer websites.
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Tags: Analyzing, Auto, Behavior, Buyers, influential, Internet, studies
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Why No One Under 30 Answers Your Voicemail
DiversityInc held a webinar July 27 on 4 Generations in the Workplace.
Also read: generations at work, boomers, mythbusting
To understand the generational divide that exists between older and younger workers in today's workplace, consider the simple case of voicemail. Try leaving a Gen Y employee or colleague a voicemail message, and see what happens. They're not going to hear it. Gen Y members tune out practically any communication effort they perceive as unsolicited or spam.
"If you send a message on voicemail or send an e-mail, they are likely to ignore it," says Jeff Schwartz, U.S. and global talent leader at Deloitte, No. 25 in The 2010 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity®. "It's very frustrating to our leaders, most of whom are boomers [and] some of whom are Gen X'ers. When they broadcast voicemail messages, big swaths of their organization are not hearing it. They're not even listening to it and they're not even sure it's directed to them because they don't think about being communicated with in that way. CEOs or HR leaders or business leaders think they're sending a direct message, but that is not the most effective way to communicate across the generations."
Deloitte's solution: Instead of leaders sending broadcast voicemail messages on the telephone system, employees now get a digital recording of the message embedded in an e-mail.
Sound complicated? It is. Welcome to the modern-day workplace 2.0.
This is the first time in American history that four different generations are working side-by-side in the workplace, bringing their own values, goals and communication approaches to the workplace. What's the biggest difference between Generation Y (born between 1980 and 2000) and baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964)? And how do those in Generation X/millennials (born between 1965 and 1979) fit in?
"Millennials grew up with computers and cell phones the way baby boomers and Gen X'ers grew up with typewriters and corded telephones," according to a recent Deloitte report, "Decoding Generational Differences: Fact, fiction ... or should we just get back to work?" "The implications of this technological disparity are profound: Baby boomers see technology as a tool, or even a toy, while younger workers see it as an extension of themselves. These millennials see themselves as 'technology natives,' moderate multi-taskers who get a lot done. Most of them mix entertainment and work."
Who Are These Employees & What Is Their Preferred Mode of Communication?
Depending upon which resource one is perusing, the generations are roughly represented as:
Veterans, also known as traditionalists, the silent generation or radio babies: Born 1927–1945, "Radio Babies grew up with the least amount of technology, which makes it no surprise that they reported that they prefer to communicate face-to-face about problems, concerns and suggestions," say authors Linda Gravett and Robin Throckmorton in their book "Bridging the Generation Gap." "Their second option for communication might be a phone call; however, they get very frustrated when they call someone and continually get a recording—or worse yet, no return phone call."
Baby boomers: The U.S. Census Bureau defines baby boomers (hereinafter "boomers") as individuals born between 1946 and 1964. "They are used to having lots of people around," say Gravett and Throckmorton. Their preferred mode of communication is to have meetings—lots of meetings—to tackle problems and concerns … Consensus building is important for many boomers, and face-to-face discussion is their preferred way to make this happen. A conference phone call is a second option, as long as everyone has an opportunity to participate."
Generation X: The U.S. Census Bureau defines this segment of the population as people born between 1968 and 1979. However, the upper limit of Generation X in some cases has been as high as 1982. They tend to value time and have grown up with more technology than the previous two generations. They prefer to communicate via e-mail because it's efficient and in-the-moment; they don't like to waste time or energy. Meetings are for rare occasions when no other option is available, and you may find them checking their e-mail or sending e-mails to others while sitting in a meeting.
Generation Y, also known as millennials: This generation is people born between 1980 and 1999, although some sources place the lower limit as low as 1978 or the higher limit as high as 2002. This generation has always been surrounded by technology. "Games, music, mail and data have almost always been digital. They came of age in a world of interconnections, even hyperconnections," according to a new IBM report, "Inheriting a Complex World." "To find information for school reports, they learned to follow links instead of directions from librarians. They used Facebook instead of phone books to connect with friends—and friends of friends." IBM is No. 8 in the DiversityInc Top 50.
How Can Companies Minimize Communication Conflicts?
Accommodate employee differences: Treat your employees as you do your customers. Learn all you can about them, work to meet their specific needs and serve them according to their unique preferences.
"We can learn a lot from what we are doing on the customer side because on the customer side we have become very sophisticated as organizations dealing with very complex differences among our customer groups," says Deloitte's Schwartz. "In the same way that it's extremely common for customer strategies to have multi-channels of communications and interactions, I think we as professionals need … to increase our sophistication in terms of how we use multi-channels … in order to effectively communicate with generations and help them communicate with each other. On one level that may look like redundancy, but on another level it's recognizing that the same message delivered through four or five or six types of media will reach different parts of your organization and different generations in different ways."
Provide flexibility around media choice in the communication process: "One of the things that we have started to do much more deliberately is figure out based on what it is we're trying to communicate and want to communicate: What's the best medium to do it? Is it podcast? Is it through the iPod? Is it through e-mail? Is it through the blog?" says LaMae Allen deJongh, U.S. human capital and diversity leader at Accenture, No. 22 in the DiversityInc Top 50. Accenture received DiversityInc's Generational Communications award at our November 2010 event. "[This way,] it's not just the traditional styles of communication all of the time. Even on our project teams while we're on client sites, IM has become much more the norm in terms of communication than even e-mail."
Gen Y'ers want to stay in complete control of the information that makes its way onto their computer or handheld device. Instead of just blasting news about their new community to an e-mail list, a fair number of large companies are creating platforms that look like Facebook or MySpace within the firewall of the company. At Deloitte, for example, it's called D-Street, an internal version of Facebook.
"We built it to be similar to Facebook, but it's a business system. Surprisingly, we saw very seasoned partners who were very quick to log on and create their own communities," Schwartz says.
Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente, No. 4 in the DiversityInc Top 50, is using social media to help its 160,000+ employees connect and collaborate through blogs and online communities, says James E. Taylor, senior director of diversity strategy execution and workplace inclusion. The company built an internal networking site called KP IdeaBook, an interactive site where employees can create detailed professional profiles, find and connect with colleagues via search and browsing capabilities, establish groups and provide status updates on work projects. Once they establish a profile and connections, users can initiate and participate in discussions; create and share documents, blogs and announcements; and even create and conduct polls.
Consider implementing inter-generational mentoring and generational employee-resource groups: In the modern-day workplace, mentoring across generations and knowledge transfer is critical to maximizing individual and organizational talent, experts say. Five years ago, none of The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity had generational employee-resource groups. This year, 44 percent do.
"We have a Generation Y resource group and I use it for great data, especially about education and learning," says Cal Jackson, senior diversity practitioner at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, No. 38 in the DiversityInc Top 50. "This group provides a great reverse-mentoring opportunity. You prep the baby boomers or veterans that they will be receiving information about Gen Y, their job ethics and how they work."
While researching their book, Gravett and Throckmorton asked 500 people in each of the generations what their preferred communication method was in order to learn more about the different communication styles. They came up with a few basic tips to help organizations to bridge the generational divide:
Utilize the experiences of everyone: "Engage everyone in the conversation," they write. "Someone younger has a great deal to offer, including fresh new perspectives that you may not have even thought about. And someone older has typically 'been there' and 'done that' and you can benefit from the expertise and experience they bring."
Focus on job-related common ground: "Keep your conversations focused so you don't drift off and make a mistaken comment such as 'you probably don't understand because you are too old/too young' or 'you may not know about this because it is before your time...' or 'I have grandkids older than you.' These types of comments only create friction and don't foster cooperation."
Share opportunities to lead: "Don't always assume that the most senior person should lead the discussion or project. If you are working on a team, don't hesitate to let a younger team member take the lead. The older team member may not want to be the leader again; been there and done that. And, the younger team member may want the leadership experience and appreciate some mentoring."
Time for a Change - Atlanta Business Chronicle
Remember when we were neck-deep in the Great Recession and the common mantra was “don’t let a good crisis go to waste”? The application of that wise counsel meant different things for different companies, but the shared thread for the forward-thinking companies was “there are no sacred cows” – any and all ideas that can strengthen the organization are on the table. How can we come out of this recession stronger, smarter and with increased market-share? What chess moves can we make today that will enable us to leapfrog the competition tomorrow? Cut the fat out but don’t cut too deep…we need to be positioned for the recovery. Sound familiar?
I love the Charles Darwin quote. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.” What is fascinating about recessions is how they test a company’s leadership team – who rises to the occasion, embraces the challenges and who panics, folds under pressure.
We’ve been fortunate to work with many talented leadership teams that have taken full advantage of this downturn. Yes, they’re capitalizing on the soft real estate market but it’s going well beyond cost structure and into how they work – remember, no sacred cows. The workplace environment transformation is in full force – not just a cool white paper anymore…..we’re in implementation mode; therefore, I called up one of the best in the business, Stephen Swicegood, principal and managing director of Gensler’s Atlanta office to discuss what he’s seeing.
O'Neill: “What factors are driving changes in the workplace today?”
Swicegood: “Most business people today would say that this is one of the most challenging, volatile economies in memory. And it’s not just sluggish markets. Even before the downturn, we were in a period of dramatic change due to globalization, changing workforce demographics and new technologies. Companies are reinventing their business processes, so it’s no surprise that their workplaces need to be part of those changes.”
“With the fast pace of change, there’s no ‘magic bullet’ solution that will ensure sustained success. Companies have to become more adaptable, and that’s why people are the key to success today. More than ever, companies are focused on recruiting, retaining and engaging their people, because anything less than full discretionary effort just doesn’t cut it these days.”
O'Neill: “How are workplaces changing in response to these challenges?”
Swicegood: “Daniel Pink, in his book Drive, says that people today are seeking three key things in their work experience: autonomy, mastery, belief. We can use these three factors to better understand how and why the workplace is changing."
“Technology has made it possible for workers to have an unprecedented degree of autonomy with regard to where they work. It could be at home, in a coffee shop or on an airplane as easily as in the office. So it’s not surprising that people aren’t interested in parking themselves in a “Dilbert” cube all day. Today, we’re providing work settings to support all work modes, including focusing, collaborating, learning and socializing.”
“Mastery means having the opportunities and tools that enable you to do your best work. We’re creating “agile” workplaces that weave video conference and “smart” board technologies throughout work areas. People in these workplaces are collaborating with colleagues in New Zealand and India the way they used to collaborate with people on the next floor.”
“Belief means feeling that you’re part of something special. It’s the key to having employees go beyond enrollment to engagement. When we’re designing a workplace, we devote tremendous attention to understanding the underlying attributes of our client’s brand and we make sure those qualities are reinforced in the workplace design.”
O'Neill: “How is the Millennial generation affecting workplace design?”
Swicegood: “So far, we’ve only seen the tip of this generation’s iceberg in the workplace. But we have to realize that if you’re designing space now for a ten-year lease term, by the end of that term the Millennials will make up the majority of your workforce! The big difference in how this generation sees the world is their attitude towards collaboration, which is that ALL work is collaborative. Some people argue that the Millennials will become “conditioned” to more conventional attitudes as they mature, but as an aging Boomer I still follow the spirit of change that I remember from the 1970’s, so maybe the Millennials will remember the spirit of the 2000’s?”
O'Neill: Thank you, Stephen for taking the time to share your wisdom.
Tiflisi.info » Blog Archive » Entrepreneurship is Not for Everyone…5 Myths and Realities of Entrepreneurship
With the economy in shambles, talk of self-employment is on the rise. Americans are beginning to realize that dedication and loyalty to someone else’s business is no guarantee of security, and working for themselves is sounding better and better. However, many people harbor significant misperceptions about what entrepreneurship really means. The myths and realities of entrepreneurship should be well understood by anyone thinking about going out on their own.
Reality: For most startups to succeed, the entrepreneur must put in extraordinary hours, especially during the early stages. Every detail of the business requires attention from you and your to-do list will grow faster than it does at a 9 to 5 job. Carving out time for yourself will be necessary, but difficult because you will forever be thinking of the thousand things that should already be done, but aren’t. If you are looking to build a thriving company, don’t count on spending lots of time on the golf course, at least not in the first year or two.
Reality: While it is true that business ownership is the only way to dramatically increase personal wealth (besides winning the Lottery), it does not happen overnight. After months of work to get your venture to the break-even point, your next objective is ramen-profitability. That is, a successful startup will keep you and your family in ramen noodles until the next sales growth spurt. Plan to sink every dime you can into your startup for at least the first year. It might be tough, but the payoff is significant — and one you aren’t likely to find crawling up someone else’s corporate ladder.
Reality: No, it won’t. Building sales requires time, money, effort, and planning, no matter what you are selling. Even if you are starting with a great client ready to buy, you must always be looking for the next great client. Marketing is at the heart of all businesses — no marketing, no sales.
Reality: Working for yourself is far more demanding than any job. The business begins and ends with you. Sick days, hour lunches, and leaving work at work are perks reserved for employees, not the boss. Until you have grown your venture to the point of having a trustworthy staff to cover all critical tasks, it is on you. However, successful entrepreneurs are driven by the control and autonomy that come with self-employment and enjoy the feeling of being responsible for every outcome — good or bad. If entrepreneurship were easy, more people would be on board. As it is, only 7.2% of Americans are self-employed — far fewer than most other industrialized nations.
Reality: It’s true! You do get to be your own boss, as well as your own accountant, your own lawyer, your own marketing department, your own support staff — the list goes on. While entrepreneurs do have more control over what they do and when and how they do it, they also have the added pressure of all the responsibility for the success and failure of the business. Entrepreneurs also trade in a single boss at a regular job and receive hundreds or thousands of bosses — your customers. Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. It is your responsibility to provide a product that benefits them and offer customer service that keeps them satisfied and coming back for more.
As your business grows, your responsibilities expand to include keeping your employees happy as well. No longer stuck with a boss? Now you have thousands of them.
Tiflisi.info » Blog Archive » Entrepreneurship is Not for Everyone…5 Myths and Realities of Entrepreneurship
With the economy in shambles, talk of self-employment is on the rise. Americans are beginning to realize that dedication and loyalty to someone else’s business is no guarantee of security, and working for themselves is sounding better and better. However, many people harbor significant misperceptions about what entrepreneurship really means. The myths and realities of entrepreneurship should be well understood by anyone thinking about going out on their own.
Reality: For most startups to succeed, the entrepreneur must put in extraordinary hours, especially during the early stages. Every detail of the business requires attention from you and your to-do list will grow faster than it does at a 9 to 5 job. Carving out time for yourself will be necessary, but difficult because you will forever be thinking of the thousand things that should already be done, but aren’t. If you are looking to build a thriving company, don’t count on spending lots of time on the golf course, at least not in the first year or two.
Reality: While it is true that business ownership is the only way to dramatically increase personal wealth (besides winning the Lottery), it does not happen overnight. After months of work to get your venture to the break-even point, your next objective is ramen-profitability. That is, a successful startup will keep you and your family in ramen noodles until the next sales growth spurt. Plan to sink every dime you can into your startup for at least the first year. It might be tough, but the payoff is significant — and one you aren’t likely to find crawling up someone else’s corporate ladder.
Reality: No, it won’t. Building sales requires time, money, effort, and planning, no matter what you are selling. Even if you are starting with a great client ready to buy, you must always be looking for the next great client. Marketing is at the heart of all businesses — no marketing, no sales.
Reality: Working for yourself is far more demanding than any job. The business begins and ends with you. Sick days, hour lunches, and leaving work at work are perks reserved for employees, not the boss. Until you have grown your venture to the point of having a trustworthy staff to cover all critical tasks, it is on you. However, successful entrepreneurs are driven by the control and autonomy that come with self-employment and enjoy the feeling of being responsible for every outcome — good or bad. If entrepreneurship were easy, more people would be on board. As it is, only 7.2% of Americans are self-employed — far fewer than most other industrialized nations.
Reality: It’s true! You do get to be your own boss, as well as your own accountant, your own lawyer, your own marketing department, your own support staff — the list goes on. While entrepreneurs do have more control over what they do and when and how they do it, they also have the added pressure of all the responsibility for the success and failure of the business. Entrepreneurs also trade in a single boss at a regular job and receive hundreds or thousands of bosses — your customers. Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. It is your responsibility to provide a product that benefits them and offer customer service that keeps them satisfied and coming back for more.
As your business grows, your responsibilities expand to include keeping your employees happy as well. No longer stuck with a boss? Now you have thousands of them.
Cases in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management :Core Business Strategies
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Zoos: Lots of entrepreneurship, but how are the animals doing? |
David Hancocks brought revolutionary ideas about natural settings for the animals to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. As the zoo's online history puts it, when Hancocks, an architect, helped redesign the zoo and then became director in the 1970s, he made profound changes.
"He brought with him," the zoo's site says, "his revolutionary ideas on zoo design and zoo management. Once implemented, those ideas would not only stand the test of time, but would bring WPZ to the forefront of world zoos."
So, how does Hancocks, who went on to direct the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for eight years and then to to hold major zoo responsibilities in Australia after leaving Woodland Park in the mid-1980s, look at the state of zoos today? He was asked that question when he stopped by a gathering of Crosscut writers and editors while in Seattle recently. Perhaps befitting a leader who brought visionary changes, he made it clear there and in a follow-up e-mail correspondence, that he is not all that happy with the overall trends.
In the U.S., Hancocks said, there has been a "big shift to zoos being managed by private societies" rather than as government entities supported largely by tax dollars. As a result, considerable emphasis goes to weddings, birthday parties, and other activities that generate money. "The marketers have risen to the top of the decision making structure," he said.
All that makes it challenging to even consider anything like putting "animals' needs ahead of visitors', or at least on par with the visitors."
In most places, zoos have picked up ideas about naturalistic settings comfortable to the animals that Woodland Park helped pioneer, but designers have fatally manipulated the scenarios, in his view. "What is happening now, not only in the U.S. but around the world," he said, "is that zoo managers have figured out how to create merely the visual illusion of naturalness for the visitors."
"But the basic philosophy behind Woodland Park's innovations was to provide a richer and more natural environment for the animals. The new exhibits typically look green, but for the animals, there is very little in it." While animals may be surrounded by lush landscaping, they have no contact with living plants, and are all too often confined by electric wires to narrow and dusty sterile walkways, he said.
Hancocks has long been a critic of many zoo practices in keeping elephants in close confinement, including at Woodland Park. And, as he noted in a Seattle Post-Intelligencer guest editorial a few years ago, he has always said zoos should aim to put themselves out of business. But he hasn't given up on the importance of acquainting people with wildlife in urban settings. "As we become an increasingly urbanized population, we need places that reveal the complexity and diversity of nature, and remind people of the importance of the natural world, recognizing both its intrinsic value, and our complete dependance upon it for survival."
Hancocks also believes that zoos "should restrict themselves to keeping only animal species that do well in captivity." He pointing out that this would require a greater focus on small life forms, adding that this in turn would help them to demonstrate the complexity and inter-connectedness of eco-systems. The modern zoo, in his view, is essentially unchanged from the 19th century menageries, focusing mostly on just displaying big mammals that are active in the daytime. "It is," he says, "a self-serving and upside down view of the natural world."
Tiflisi.info » Blog Archive » Thoughts About Entrepreneurship
Central to being an entrepreneur is the question of what truly is an entrepreneur and what makes one.If you asked business experts some decades ago, the very thing that makes an entrepreneurs would be given on a capsule-like definition. This person must be a male, an only child in the family, should atleast be35 to 45 years old at the time of venturing into the business, must have a masters degree in business courses, must be a Protestant, a son of a poor family and must have worked in his childhood days. They’re right, entrepreneurs truly must be developed and raised in certain environments that would elicit responses applicable for becoming a risk taker, an organizer and a team builder. Add some touches of good character and faith in himself, his people and his Overseer, the person is sure to go up the ladder of businesses. And never forget, he must have some good streak of luck and fortune that would push him to brave the risks.Now, if you do not fit in this stereotypical representation, should you get worried? Of course you must not. Hardly any of these are true factors to becoming an effective entrepreneur. Nonetheless, recent research and keen observations in the lives of successful entrepreneurs indicate that they seem to have some common denominators that make them successful. If you are worried that you lack any of them then you can make ways in acquiring some of those factors and get the advantage of many things. Though arguments may present various contradictions to the indicators, the fact is, we never can actually give exact measurements on what would work and what would not. Well, other people choose to focus more on the qualities that the entrepreneur don’t have and those that do not apply. Others find links from those that are commonly present in many and those that are exceptionally effective for most. On whatever grounds we delve, there should always be some hints that we can gather. The common denominatorsHandworkers- people in entrepreneurship are almost always the hard workers unless they stand up and work some things out, they can never become entrepreneurs. Not only should they be prepared on what lays their grounds in staring their own business, they must also have the good training prior to staring their company. It his is critical since no lazy oafs can become tycoons overnight.Motivators- entrepreneurs are normally characterized by their ability to build team spirit and to become effective organizers. Thus, they have to have the power to motivate both his team and himself. They must carry motivation to achieve which is almost similar to believing and hoping for something better. This fall to be one of the most common quality entrepreneurs have. They never aim for the third rank nor the second. Their place, they believe is the first.Leadership- staring a business entail the risk of falling to uncertainties and failures. Going through all these require much of leadership skills. The group can’t go anywhere without a good leader to tap them when they fall.The lack to fillExcessive risk taker- though entrepreneurship demands that one should be willing to take risks, overestimating one’s potentials in taking risks can prove to be very destructive. Optimism is good but overly positive people die early in the world of starting businesses. Compulsive gambling- gambling is part of entrepreneurship but most people know that risk taking must be based on good decisions and not on impulses, chances of succeeding must be equated to the chances of failures. Thus conscious decisions are vital with every roll of the dice.The things that don’t matterBiological factors- this group includes age, sex, marital status, and education level are all irrelevant factors in making it through the entrepreneurial world. They may provide some good contributions to things yet they don’t normally dictate where the ball would fall. Often, we see obscure people winning the game. Obscure, meaning they are not among the stereotypical. School drop outs like most of the successful men and women in the world normally stand on toe (or even above) most businessmen who have doctorate’s and master’s degrees.
Entrepreneurship and Education | Business44.Com - Business Site
Entrepreneurship and Education
By admin on Aug 08, 2010 with Comments 0
Entrepreneurship and Education
There has always been a question in the minds of budding entrepreneurship as to what the role of education is, especially if everything they do is something which they learn on the job. There have always been numerous fables where the budding entrepreneur has been a high school or a college dropout, and has then gone on to make an empire of the very nerds, geeks and other learned mortals that he left behind.
So the question is why does an entrepreneur need any education? The answer though highly debatable still lies largely in the fact that there is always a gray area that any flag bearer goes through. The techniques to surmount the insurmountable may be many, but it is always good to have some well-honed skills that are taught by the leading management course. After all, aren’t the entrepreneurs a jack of all trades and a master of 1?
Just to have a peek at what a management course could teach an entrepreneur, you can go through the syllabus of some of the leading management programs attuned towards entrepreneurship, let us see the subjects in general for one such course, but be ready to be surprised that normal management subjects like branding and macroeconomics take a backseat as compared to crucial subjects like Business Ethics, Leadership and change management, Social entrepreneurship, Enterprise establishment and management.
These unique subjects are unique and stand out, as an entrepreneur isn’t just another manager, he is more than that, he not only has to understand the concepts well, but also has to understand how his decisions affect the entire firm that he is running, it is as if a simple management degree will NOT be enough for ensuring that the entrepreneur will succeed.
Such niche courses are not many in our country, where entrepreneurs are still viewed to be people without proper jobs; this feeling in people is however slowly changing. More and more people are looking out for opportunities to be entrepreneurs, and education is one way to ensure that you learn from other’s mistakes first, and allow you to be more confident while you are running your own business.
Such courses are not just for budding entrepreneurs, such courses also form as a healthy breeding ground for people who believe they have it in them to start out afresh, and more importantly for second generation business men who are currently running a family run business. Such courses can help people to tread boldly in the grey areas where other mortals fear.
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Help for women to secure U.S. government contracts
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is helping local San Francisco-based female business owners access the resources and assistance they need in order to win federal government contracts. Renaissance – which has sites in San Francisco and East Palo Alto – is… San Francisco – East Palo Alto California – San Francisco Bay Area – United States – California
Read more on San Francisco ChronicleBabson College Entrepreneurs Among Finalists Of MassChallenge Entrepreneurship Competition
Babson College student and graduate entrepreneurs are among the finalists in the 2010 MassChallenge entrepreneurship competition.
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Commentary: Maryland governor outlines plans for recovery and growth
While we still have a ways to go, Maryland is better positioned than other states to recover from the national recession stronger and sooner. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks Maryland one of the two best states in America for innovation and entrepreneurship, and since January we have created 40,000 jobs -- at a rate that is more than double the national growth rate (with the key sectors of construction and retail gaining 5,500 jobs this year).
To continue moving Maryland forward, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) and I have been fighting to expand opportunities for Maryland families, to create jobs and to create the conditions for economic growth in our state.
Every family and every small business in Maryland has felt the impact of this global downturn.
Throughout, our administration has remained laser-focused on creating and saving jobs. At the same time, we have protected our priorities and strengthened our core industries like bioscience, cybersecurity and information technology. We've made record investments in the skills and education of our people and made college more affordable.
To restore fiscal responsibility to Annapolis, we've engaged our business community and cut state spending by $5.6 billion, making state government more effective and efficient. Today our state government is spending less than it was four years ago. And because of our sound fiscal policies, Maryland is one of just eight states that earns a Triple A bond rating, saving taxpayers millions and allowing us to invest record amounts to build and renovate Maryland's public schools.
To put Marylanders back to work, we created the Job Creation and Recovery Tax Credit, which provides $5,000 for every Marylander a business hires off unemployment rolls. More and more small businesses are taking advantage of the tax credit.
And we have been able to guarantee nearly $6 million in small-business loans, helping to save and create nearly 400 jobs through the Maryland Small Business Credit Recovery Program, which we created to provide state-funded guarantees of privately financed small-business loans. We know access to credit is the lifeline for any small business, and we've been working with banks in Maryland, large and small, to increase lending to Maryland businesses.
To strengthen our key growth sectors, we launched BioMaryland 2020, a 10-year, $1.3 billion investment in our life sciences industry, and we expanded the Biotech Tax Credit. Additionally, we launched CyberMaryland, which outlines a strategic plan for making Maryland the nation's epicenter for cybersecurity. In fact, in May the federal government announced that the nation's Cyber Command will be located in Maryland, bringing 21,000 new jobs to the region.
Our foundation is strong, but we must continue to move Maryland forward and we must remain focused on creating jobs for today and tomorrow. That is why, earlier this year, I announced InvestMaryland, which is aimed at creating a public-private partnership to fuel venture capital investment in our innovation economy, such as Maryland bioscience companies.
There is no more powerful place in our state than a family's home and nothing more important for protecting that home than a job. To move Maryland forward, we are fighting hard to create and save jobs and to protect our middle class families.
Martin O'Malley (D) is governor of Maryland.
Shanghai Express: China and Africa: entrepreneurship and business
Female Entrepreneurs on the Rise - DealBook Blog
A new wave of female entrepreneurs is moving into position to break down the historic gender imbalance in high-tech entrepreneurship, The Silicon Valley Mercury News wrote.
Carol Realini, chief executive of Obopay, a mobile payment company, said that things are getting better for women — even compared with just 10 years ago.
Ms. Realini said she no longer hears that women can’t be chief executives or that they can’t raise money, though raising venture capital is apparently still tougher for women than men.
In 2010, one of the challenges of being a female chief, said Ms. Realini, is that “you’ve got to get in the game. So, you have to be willing to try…and it’s intimidating, especially if you’ve never done it before.”
Further, added the Web site, a recent paper by venture capitalist Cindy Padnos shows that women are increasingly positioning themselves in the same way men have historically.
In the paper, Ms. Padnos argues that many more women are starting companies, taking them public and providing investors with bigger returns on smaller investments.
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Ten Junior Achievement Operations Win International Awards for Innovation and Entrepreneurship -- COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ --
See more news releases in: Banking & Financial Services, Education, Children-related News, Corporate Social Responsibility
Ten Junior Achievement Operations Win International Awards for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
MetLife Foundation and Junior Achievement Celebrate Decade of Innovation through 10th Annual Entrepreneurial Award
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- At Junior Achievement USA's (JA's) recent National Leadership Conference, 10 JA operations were each presented with a 2010 MetLife Foundation Entrepreneurial Award and a $25,000 grant for demonstrating outstanding innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. Junior Achievement and MetLife Foundation have teamed up for the past 10 years to honor the exemplary practice of these two key JA concepts at the local office level and to provide funds to expand those efforts.
"MetLife Foundation and JA share a commitment to preparing young people to succeed in the global economy," said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "We are pleased to support JA's exemplary work in putting young people on the path to success."
Eight JA offices worldwide -- five U.S. and three international offices -- each received a $25,000 grant from MetLife Foundation for demonstrating the entrepreneurial spirit and delivering innovation in current JA programs.
The winning programs are:
Junior Achievement of Arizona, "You're Hired"
This initiative coupled Junior Achievement's work-readiness curricula with real-life opportunities for students to practice the skills they had learned. Students had the opportunity to hone their job-interview skills and to develop their writing, language, math, and critical thinking skills in a relevant context. In addition, students learned the relevance of their class work to real life and participated in meaningful work experiences.
Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa, "STEM Career Fair"
This event introduces local students to leading local employers, illustrating the career opportunities available in their home communities while inspiring them to acquire the skills they need to be successful in these industries. These students, in preparation for writing their high school career plans, will have an opportunity to speak to real businesses about the skills and attributes required to be a successful employee in today's workforce.
Junior Achievement of Northern California, "Regional Evaluations"
Some funders were hesitant to support JA of Northern California without quantitative evaluation data on student impact of JA programs in their local market. Leveraging a board relationship to implement the evaluation allowed JA of Northern California to demonstrate the efficacy of JA programs. As a result, the office generated seven percent of its operating budget in new donations from corporations and foundations.
Junior Achievement of the Heartland, "Trade Careers Expo"
JA of the Heartland worked with local businesses to provide students with vocational training, with the notion that not all high-school graduates go on to attend a college or university. The program aimed to strengthen Heartland-area businesses by bolstering the work-readiness skills of its future talent pool.
Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, "JAzz Night"
Area high school students marketed their bands' CDs using concepts learned from JA Be Entrepreneurial™, a Junior Achievement program in which students start and run a real enterprise with the mentorship of a volunteer from the local business community. The program provided band students with enhanced business and work-readiness skills.
Junior Achievement Chile, "Innovative Solutions Challenge"
JA Chile will leverage the intellectual capital of its students to devise solutions to the devastation caused by the February 2010 earthquake in a one-day intensive workshop. Teams of students will collaborate to solve different challenges presented by the quake damage.
Junior Achievement Romania, "Online Innovation Tournament"
Building on its successful Innovation Camp, in which teams of students collaborate for more than 24 hours to devise solutions to business challenges, JA Romania adapted the Camp to an online environment by leveraging web conferencing technology.
Prestasi Junior Indonesia (PJI), "SLB Program for the Hearing Disabled"
Working to address the stigma applied in Indonesian culture to the hearing-impaired, PJI targeted this segment with specially adapted Junior Achievement programs so they could have expanded access to career opportunities and entrepreneurship education.
"The innovation and creativity that these JA operations have demonstrated show that core JA concepts really do translate to the business world," said Sean C. Rush, president and chief executive officer of JA Worldwide. "The winners of this year's awards have proven that JA does indeed practice what it preaches in terms of driving innovation in program delivery and business processes."
In addition, two special 10th Anniversary MetLife Foundation Awards, with a $25,000 grant each, were presented to two previous recipients whose award-winning initiatives have grown and had the greatest impact in their communities and on their organizations. The two Anniversary Awards were presented to:
Junior Achievement of Georgia, "Hispanic Initiative"
JA Georgia worked with Hispanic business leaders to deliver JA programs and mentor Hispanic youth with a goal of countering significant high school drop-out rates.
Junior Achievement of South Dakota, "Distance Learning"
Seeking to reduce the amount of staff time required to keep 21 local boards of directors engaged and energized, JA South Dakota worked with the state to leverage its distance learning network to conduct board meetings and volunteer trainings.
The MetLife Foundation Entrepreneurial Award is a significant way to recognize—and inspire—innovation across JA through funding those programs exemplifying entrepreneurship. MetLife has been a JA partner since 1972 and also supports JA at the local level through volunteer engagement and board leadership. Building on its 91-year legacy, Junior Achievement continues to deliver innovation and empower young people to own their future economic success.
About MetLife Foundation
MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 by MetLife to carry on its longstanding tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Grants support health, education, civic and cultural programs. The Foundation has supported JA programs since 1979. In addition to sponsoring the Entrepreneurial Award since 2001, the Foundation has provided major funding for development and implementation of JA Exploring Economics™, a program that teaches high school students fundamental economic concepts. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.metlife.org.
About Junior Achievement® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 126 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional 5.7 million students served by operations in 122 other countries worldwide.
Contact:
Stephanie Bell
JA Worldwide®
(719) 540-6171
Twitter: @jaworldwide
SOURCE Junior Achievement
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2 contracts signed with entrepreneurship center - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
The new 501(c)3 sister organization of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council, Rockford Area Strategic Initiatives, signed contracts with Rockford Area Ventures and Rock Valley College to collaborate in building successful entrepreneurship opportunities in the Rockford region.
RAV’s assets were transferred to RASI (equipment and programs). RVC will manage programming and operate the entrepreneurship center, including incubation, rapid prototyping and TECHWORKS Training Center, previously done by RAV. EIGERlab, the entrepreneurship center for advanced technology, directed and marketed by the RAEDC (rockfordil.com), has space for nine more startup companies in its new incubator program.
EIGERlab programs are now certified by the National Business Incubator Association (nbia.org).
