I bet the title of this article sounds familiar to you. Yes, it's my version of Wil Schroter's "Go Big or Go Home". Wil, a serial entrepreneur and nationally syndicated startup guru, reveals how the next generation of startup companies think BIGGER, grow FASTER and dominate new markets virtually overnight.
Bear with me for a minute and let's have a closer look on his key points:
- Vision - Think BIG, the way companies like Google, PayPal and Skype do
- Growth - Learn how to compress time to grow faster than your competition
- Marketing - Position your company as Number One right from Day One
- Capital - Forget raising capital, learn how to create capital and leverage what you have today
- Management - Leverage your smaller size to run circles around your larger competitors.
Now let me ask you one simple question: do you really believe you can tackle all these four key business growth elements without INTERNET? If your answer is "yes", I would really be interested in finding out how. I would be more than glad to offer you my editorial space in the next newsletter to share your wisdom and knowledge with all our members. But since I'm not that keen to quit my opportunity to look smart, I would assume your answer is "no". Or, you might not have an answer at all and this would be a good time for me to explain why I think a business, no, let me rephrase: any business should include internet in their recipe of success. I'll try to be short. Some things speak for themselves so here are a couple of ideas:- You are in the selling business. The more you sell, the better you do. So you need to find customers, lots of customers. You need to reach them, to present them your offer and let them understand why you are better then your competition. You can print flyers and brochures (oh, printing it's so expensive!) and you can travel all over the state or to the surrounding states to get to your customers (Oh, I haven't checked yet, how much is the gas today?). Or you can sit and wait for the customers to come to you. But there is a better alternative: build and promote your website. You will have more space then a flyer to present your offer and "virtual traveling" is not expensive. Local and out-of-state customers will find and contact you easier.
- If you are a restaurant, a florist or a boat rental, just imagine how many customers you might lose just because they either cannot remember your business name or they want to find a little bit more details or prices before they decide to choose someone. Reaching toward a keyboard is oftentimes easier than finding a lost business card, and search engines have a much better memory than humans.
- If you are in insurance business, how do you make it easier for the people to find you or to choose you instead of your competition? Posting your name on a long list on the "mother" company flyer or even website does not help too much. Build your own website and be creative. Advertise your website, stand out from the crowd and let people know you have something of value to offer. It's cheaper and more effective than other marketing tools.
I can go on with my list forever. I think you already have the idea. Make sure you run an effective marketing campaign and don't ignore the power of INTERNET. It might be cheaper and more effective than many other classic tools. Of course, you can ignore internet and continue to do business "the old way" (what the heck, the world survived thousands of years without internet, right?). But if you make this decision, picture this: you will be just riding a bicycle on a super-highway crowded with powerful and fast cars and trucks.Beep-Beep, move aside please, I'm in a hurry!
