The cloud industry is often portrayed as a race between Amazon’s AWS, Google’s Compute Engine, and Microsoft’s Windows Azure. However, the reality, at least to date, is more like AWS and the others. The lesson is the scale and the classroom is Walmart.

Despite all the recent announcements from Google and Microsoft, both still fall short of AWS in terms of available features and ecosystem. In fact, AWS not only offers products that match all of the latest features that its two competitors have made generally available, it outperforms them by a significant margin. Also, while Google and Microsoft have a few third-party companies that provide additional services on top of their cloud, neither is a match for the extensive third-party ecosystem that surrounds AWS.

Google’s strength in networking due to its global fiber footprint and Microsoft’s SSD-driven storage capabilities are formidable. So are the cash reserves of both companies. But they won’t be enough to catch AWS. Here’s why: While most customers use AWS for their core compute and storage services, as more businesses migrate more workloads to the cloud, they’ll likely want to buy as much capacity as possible from a single source. supplier. There are numerous motivations for this, ranging from cost and integration to security and governance. This gives AWS the kind of insurmountable advantage that Walmart still has.

Is there a goal for Walmart from AWS?

In the 1980s, Walmart invested more in technology than any of its competitors. This gave the company overwhelming advantages in warehousing and distribution. As it learned more about its customers, Walmart extended its advantages to sourcing and merchandising. The company then invested the cost advantages in discount prices that no other retailer could match. In fact, there were instances where Walmart was able to sell certain products for less than what it cost some of its competitors to buy the same product.

The result was a sad story of retail outrages. When Walmart opened new stores, scores of discount stores closed, while others unsuccessfully merged in an attempt to cut costs. When Walmart branched out into the supercenter format, dozens of supermarket and drugstore chains felt a similar pain.

Target was the only retailer with a comparable scale. It succeeded by keeping a strict focus on quality and fashion to set itself apart from the giant. It also followed this formula in the supercenters.

The point here is that in a commoditized business where scale is critical, the key to competing against the 800-pound gorilla is differentiation. And in the cloud, that will depend on the quality of the service, the service offer (variety or geographical), or the platform (read: OpenStack, but more on this in Part II). Joyent’s recently announced price cuts and server split to match AWS ring hollow and are likely to end in tears. To its credit, Joyent also offers a few dozen configurations that aren’t yet available on AWS.

But over time, trying to compete with AWS on price is like wrestling with a boa constrictor. With four data centers in total (three in the US and one in Amsterdam), Joyent will be crushed. Your plans for additional data centers in other regions won’t give you the scale you need.

And judging by the two most recent quarterly results reported by Rackspace, they, too, will suffer the same fate. On his conference call, the vice president of finance said, “Don’t be surprised if we’re continually lowering prices on certain products. We’re an extra-cost store.” That phrase could come back to haunt Rackspace in a big way. Because it’s crazy that cloud providers are trying to compete with AWS on raw compute prices.

Cloud providers can sell against AWS outages with higher reliability or they can try to distinguish themselves in service offerings. In the latter, it will probably require some specialization. An example would be allowing clients to scale processor, memory, disk, and flash threads independently of each other, depending on the needs of the workload.

That kind of flexibility would require excess infrastructure and breed more management complexity. But offering customers dynamic configurations would represent a value-added service that could command a premium price, especially for workloads that don’t scale as well horizontally across virtualized server segments as they do across a larger virtual footprint.

This would be similar to what category killers like Staples, AutoZone, PetSmart or Sports Authority did. Focus on one of the Walmart aisles and try to outdo the behemoth in selection or service. For Google and Microsoft, the alternative is the Target strategy. They both have the resources to try, even as the No. 2 and No. 3 players. The others can only hope they don’t end up like Kmart, which later merged with Sears.

A man is known by the company that organizes. -Ambrose Bierce

[Types of Businesses] – Owning your own business is an important part of having great economic success in a capitalist society. There are many types of businesses to choose from, so one of the first decisions you’ll make is what type of business to open. There are several options to explore for your business structure. This article will give you the definition of three of the most popular business types. These types of companies are: (1) Sole Proprietorship, (2) Corporation, and (3) Limited Liability Company.

(one) Single owner – individual ownership and operation of a business.

A sole proprietorship is not a separate organization and has no formal requirements for its formation. The individual simply begins to do business. Most sole proprietorships are small businesses and initially have small business capital needs. Usually the individual provides the funds. To obtain financing, a sole proprietor assumes a personal financial risk. Business income is the sole proprietor’s income and is reported on the individual’s income tax return. The owner is the manager of the business. The business can be transferred only if the owner allows it.

(two) Corporation – any entity formed by statute that has rights of a legal person along with limited liability for its shareholder owners.

A formal public filing is required to form a corporation. A corporation can use short-term financing or debt and equity financing. Limited liability for shareholders is one of the advantages of corporate organization. Companies have the tax consequences of double taxation. Many shareholders may own a corporation, but the board of directors controls the operations. Shareholders have the opportunity to express their views at the annual meeting by electing directors who represent their interests. A corporation can be dissolved voluntarily or involuntarily.

(3) limited liability company – newer form of business organization in which liability is limited except for illegal conduct.

An LLC is formed by filing the articles of organization with a centralized state agency. Members of an LLC make capital contributions in the same way that partners make capital contributions. Members of an LLC have limited liability; the most they can lose is their capital contributions. The LLC does not pay taxes; income and losses are transferred to members to be reported on their individual returns. Members of an LLC adopt an operating agreement that specifies voting rights, withdrawal rights, and issues. A member’s LLC interest is personal property and is transferable. Most LLC statutes state that the LLC is dissolved upon the retirement, death, or expulsion of a member.

Defining these business types is just the beginning of understanding how to fully utilize each structure. Because there are several types of businesses, it is important to know the advantages and disadvantages of each. The type of business you run will determine a lot about how you reduce liability, protect your assets, and pay your taxes. Defining the type of business for you is important to “Create Your Own Lane” in business success.

Yes, many people still want to have their own business offline, and a franchise may be perfect for them. There are so many out there, choosing one can be mind-boggling. Ranging from McDonalds to Blimpie’s Sub Sandwiches, the list is long. Many entrepreneurs want the hands-on experience of making money; they feel that they have achieved something in their lives and help others, in person. Don’t get me wrong, making money online is a great way to do it, but many like the personal feeling of buying a franchise.

Buying a franchise is not easy and please don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It takes dedication, not to mention the money involved. The work involved alone can kill it, but it may be worth the effort, knowing it’s yours and his personality is in it. Franchises make you go through a training period, depending on what type it is depends on how long you need the training.

They just don’t allow you to buy the franchise and let go, no they have very strict rules and regulations that you have to follow. The franchise you are looking to buy needs to be honest and upfront with you, telling you everything they know and information they have, if they don’t then start questioning the way they are not sharing with you.

Once you’ve decided which franchise you want to buy, do your homework before talking to the company. You can go online to find lots of information, as well as go and talk to the franchise owner you want. Get them on their own and pick their brains so to speak.

They should be honest and open with you, write down any questions you have and not be afraid to ask them, this could very well be your lifeline and you should know what it entails. Ask them if they are really making a profit or if they are losing money, they will usually tell you the truth. Look at where you would like to open your business, find a good location, one that has a lot of people coming and going.

Once you have your franchise and have gone through all the training, you will probably be on your own for the rest of the time you own it. Do not expect to be pampered or receive extra help, you must know what to do; you learned it in training.

However, there are those franchises that will usually help you, but try to do it on your own. Remember that you can make a lot of money and, again, you may not. Don’t give up, keep trying and maybe you’ll get it.

The organizational structure of a multinational company that reflects the “global” philosophy that the world is basically one homogeneous market is called the “global structure.” For example, under this philosophy, many large electronics and consulting firms, while allowing minor local adjustments in packaging and language, basically project the same types of products and services around the world. However, there are several differences in terminology and philosophy in this field.

First, a “global” philosophy is characterized by seeing the world as a more or less monolithic market with similar tastes and preferences. In contemporary parlance, this is opposed to a “multinational” (or multinational or multilocal) philosophy whereby one sees the world as made up of many more or less unique markets, each with its distinct tastes and preferences. A position between these two extremes is called regionalism, according to which one sees the world as made up of a small number of fairly homogeneous regions. These constructs can be applied to industries, companies, and organizational structures, and it is informative to understand how global thinking is applied at the industrial and strategic level.

For example, George Yip sees globalization as a function of the degrees to which the global market is fragmented, local customer needs are different, local sourcing imperatives exist, costs are heterogeneous, and trade barriers are significant to the market. cross-border trade. Therefore, Randall Schuler, Peter Dowling, Helen De Cieri, and other scholars refer to some industries, such as commercial aircraft, photocopiers, generic drugs, most electronic and computer equipment, as global industries; while retail trade, the food industry and most services are considered substantially multi-domestic.

Multinationals, and other large companies for that matter, are usually divided into various parts, units or divisions that reflect some aspect of their strategy. This link between structure and strategy was made famous in Alfred DuPont Chandler’s classic book Strategy and Structure. For example, a company with five product categories may have been structured into five divisions, each division mandated to manage one of the product categories. Chris Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal build on this logic by focusing on organizational responses to local and global forces; and describe four organizational types (or mindsets) for the global organization that represent organizational and strategic responses to various industry contingencies. For example, they describe the global company that sees the world as its market, assumes that national tastes are more similar than different, and believes in standardized products; and these strategic approaches require structural integrative mechanisms that coordinate activities, production, marketing, research and development (R&D), and planning around the world.

Therefore, it is these structural processes that are implicit in the term global structure. Mechanisms All large organizations need some structures that coordinate and integrate to some extent. However, the overall strategy depends on these structures for its implementation. There are three main aspects to this type of structure. The first is the locus of strategic responsibility. Second, the way the structure separates hierarchical relationships and determines how the company is divided. This aspect of structure can be called structuring. The final aspect is the types of coordination and integration systems, which can be called processes.

Locus of strategic responsibility: A crucial aspect of the organization’s structure is the extent to which decision-making autonomy is delegated from corporate headquarters to parts of the business. In the global enterprise there is a strategic imperative to centralize important strategic decisions. For example, decisions about product range, research and development, branding, and human resource management tend to be made at the corporate level rather than at the subsidiary level. Even customer service, which is the function that is likely to be located closest to the customer, may have its main policies and standards set at the corporate level. Structuring: One characteristic of the global structure is that it is relatively blind to geographic distance and instead focuses on one or more strategic dimensions, such as products or markets, that it considers more important (than geography) to its success in the business. implementation of a global strategy. .

Thus, a global structure commonly has a major top-level division into product categories (usually called a global product structure), markets (global market structure), or some matrix (global matrix structure). As an example of a global product structure, Procter & Gamble (P&G) has three global product divisions, namely Global Beauty, Global Home Care, and Global Health & Wellness. However, the distinction between product and market structures is likely to be blurred; For example, Boeing’s business units appear to be different product divisions (Commercial Airplanes, Integrated Defense Systems, and Boeing Capital Corporation), but in reality all three have the goal of marketing various aviation and aerospace products and services to different groups of customers. market, in this case, commercial airlines, governments and financial intermediaries.

The global matrix structure attempts to organize activities along two (or more) managerial dimensions, such as product, geography, and/or market. For example, HJ Heinz simultaneously has geographic divisions in North America, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and emerging markets (select countries in Asia and Eastern Europe); various product categories, namely ketchup/condiments/sauces, meals and snacks (including frozen foods), soups/beans and pasta, and baby food; and separate operations for retail and foodservice channels. In a global structure, these various departmental and business divisions may have necessary aspects of local focus, but they essentially work together to implement the company’s global strategy.

Processes: Finally, and very importantly, the structure implies processes such as coordination, integration and information systems. These processes tend to be pronounced in the global structure, and generally very common in contemporary organizations. Kwangsoo Kim and Jong-Hun Park identify four generic integration mechanisms: (1) people-based integration mechanisms that use people to coordinate business operations across borders, involving the transfer of managers, meetings, teams, committees and integrators; (2) information-based integration mechanisms use information systems such as databases, email, the Internet, intranet, and electronic data exchanges to integrate business operations across borders; (3) formalization-based integration mechanisms are based on the use of standardized or common work procedures, rules, policies and manuals in all units; and (4) centralization-based integration mechanisms retain decision-making authority at corporate headquarters, a similar concept to the previous section on “place of strategic responsibility.”

The more global the company, the more it uses these processes. Intel, for example, uses relatively few formal structural mechanisms, but several cross-functional teams, including information technology (IT), knowledge management, human resources, finance, legal, change control, data warehousing, information management teams. common directory and cost reduction. -as integrative processes that allow rapid adaptation to changing conditions. The integration of mechanisms can also have negative effects, perhaps by tying the hands of local administrators, imposing compliance costs (both in time and other resources), and creating unwanted bureaucratic barriers to efficient decision-making. A study by David Brock and Ilene Siscovick, for example, found that the effects of integration factors at the subsidiary level were often negative.

Medical transcriptionists are often paid based on their output. In most cases, compensation is based on how many lines a person can transcribe, which is multiplied by their rate per line. Sounds pretty simple, right? Of course, that first assumes you understand how a line is defined. We’ve had that discussion here many times, so we won’t go into it now.

A question that is often asked is when someone is paid for production, what about overtime pay? First, let’s be very clear, overtime is only something that is given to those who work as employees of a company. Does not apply if you are an independent contractor. If you are classified, as some MTs have been, as a “statutory employee” then it applies to you. In the past, there has been a misunderstanding that overtime laws do not apply to the category of statutory employees; This is incorrect.

So how does it work? If you are a paid production employee, are you entitled to overtime pay? In that same light, what other things might apply to compensation?

First, these issues are determined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Requires that a non-exempt employee be paid at least the minimum wage AND be entitled to overtime pay for all hours worked over 40 in a week. It would seem simple, right?

You might wonder why I also include the minimum wage in this discussion. When someone is just starting out in this profession, it is not uncommon for them to be slower than they will eventually be. If you get paid for production, that significantly lowers your income. However, at no time should your wages be less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. That means long gone are the days when new hires were told to just “work until they hit their line quota.” That doesn’t work without making sure you paid at least minimum wage and pay if the person works more than 40 hours in a workweek. Yes, that means you must keep a time sheet for yourself and your employer. It serves as verification of the hours worked. Also remember that your state laws may have a higher minimum wage. If that is the case, that is the rate that should be used as the standard. For example, the minimum wage in Oregon is $8.40, so if you live in Oregon, that’s the number you use. This applies based on where the employee lives and works, not where the employer is located.

Now let’s talk about overtime. You have all been there. The workload suddenly increases and everyone is asked to do a little more to meet client deadlines. In that case, if you are an employee, you are entitled to be paid overtime pay at one and one-half times your normal hourly rate.

I just heard you say, “hourly rate? I get paid per production!” Yes, and you still have an hourly rate. The way to arrive at your hourly rate is to take your total lines, multiply your pay rate, and divide by your total hours worked. That will give you your average hourly rate. Using that rate, you can calculate what you are owed in overtime pay. Let’s make an example for that:

Total lines for the week: 8,500

Pay rate per line: $0.08 per line

Total payment (line times fee): $680.00

Total Hours Worked: 50 (You have 10 hours overtime)

Your average hourly rate: $13.60

Remember that while overtime is paid at one and one-half times the hourly rate, your previous production pay already paid you for the hour, so you are missing “half” of the overtime pay. So, for every hour of overtime pay, you would receive an additional $6.80, for a total of $68.00 ($6.80 for the 10 hours of overtime).

Your Total Payment: $748.00

The law also says that it is not okay to “average” two weeks of hours, nor is it okay to use “compensated time” instead of paying overtime. It also specifically says that an agreement between the employer and the employee does not deny the employee’s right to overtime pay. Many times an employer will say that overtime is not allowed unless approved in advance. Even that does not negate the law. I’ve heard MTs talk about being the only person working a night shift where a statistical report came in and they had to do it, throwing that person into an overtime situation. What is OK is for your employer to ask you to take that extra time off on another day, as long as it is in the same week. If it happened to be the last day of your work week, then overtime applies.

While it is easy to say that employers are responsible here, I believe medical transcriptionists have a responsibility to know and understand what their rights are. When interviewing for a position as an employee, this is definitely a topic to cover! It’s part of fully understanding how you are compensated.

I hate taking meeting minutes.

Minutes are the instant written record of a meeting. They typically describe what happens at a meeting, including a list of attendees, key topics discussed, points raised on those topics, and resolutions (if any) on those topics. Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? So why do people hate being the one to take the minutes? In my experience, it is very difficult to take minutes objectively and participate in the discussion at the same time. Time is also needed after the meeting to take the minutes and distribute them. To top it off, there is a feeling that this is a pointless duty because to know Few people read them.

So my recommendation is to change the concept of minutes to one that people are willing and even eager to read. Unless you need traditional minutes for legal purposes, consider the following alternative to meeting minutes.

What do people want to know about a meeting? Essentially, people care about the decisions that are made in the meeting and what happens next. Therefore, create a “Decision Board”. This is a flipchart where you capture each item on the agenda (a short statement or headline, not a paragraph) and any decisions made on that item. For example:

Agenda Item #1: New Product Marketing Decision: Identify the appropriate target audience for this product and schedule three focus groups with them. prototype show. It must be finished in 60 days from now. Peg will spearhead this effort.

This captures the end result of any discussion you have had. This contains what happened at the meeting so that anyone who didn’t attend knows what will happen.

Note: A Decision Board may also include a decision to defer making a final decision until the next meeting.

For example, Agenda Item #2: Budget Reductions Decision: No decision was made. Have everyone review their estimated expenses through the end of the year and report this number at the next meeting on November 1 for further discussion.

The value of maintaining a decision board is that it reminds the group of what was decided and provides members with a specific set of instant minutes.

I recommend that the decision board be typed up and sent out after the meeting as a reminder of what was accomplished. It becomes easy and time efficient to review for both attendees and those who were not at the meeting.

Therefore, creating a decision board as an alternative to meeting minutes will improve participation and create more effective meetings.

While there are over a thousand companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, not all of them are in a strong financial position. Although at the time of listing, these listed companies must comply with Bursa Malaysia’s listing requirements, over time, the financial position and business direction of the company may change for better or worse.

There are many reasons for these changes, such as change in management, risk profile, management team experience, foresight, financial appetite, excessive leverage, etc.

In this article, I will talk about listed companies that are classified as PN17. PN17 stands for Practice Note 17/2005 and is issued by Bursa Malaysia; related to companies that are in financial difficulties. The companies that are within the definition of PN17 they must submit their proposal to the Approving Authority to restructure and reactivate the company in order to maintain the listed status.

Prior to 2005, listed companies that are in this PN17 condition are classified as PN4.

The criteria for a listed company to be classified as a PN17 company are as follows:-

1. The shareholders’ fund is equal to or less than 25% of the total issued and paid capital of the listed company; Prayed
2. Trustees and/or administrators have been appointed to take control of at least 50% of the total assets employed by the company on a consolidated basis; Prayed
3. Liquidation of a subsidiary or associated company that represents at least 50% of the total assets employed by the company on a consolidated basis; Prayed
4. The auditors have expressed an adverse opinion or a disclaimer on the last audited accounts of the listed company; Prayed
5. In the event of non-payment, the listed company must announce its inability to present a solvency declaration through Practical Note 1/2001 or PN1; Prayed
6. The listed company has suspended or ceased all or most of its operations.

There are many reasons and circumstances for a listed company to enter the PN17 classification. For example, some cases are classified as PN17 due to external factors such as currency fluctuation and economic forecasts.

Since the middle of 2008, we began to experience a series of economic problems, but many never expected that the situation and the impact would be so serious. Examples of some foreign giants that are severely affected by the “sudden” adverse change in world economic conditions are general motors Y Citi Group.

For other companies like AIG, their problems likely stem from high risk appetite as well as economic miscalculations.

In most areas of the country, both homeowners (who choose to sell their homes) and prospective home buyers would benefit from hiring and using the right real estate agent. Their CHOICE of, the person you decide to hire often makes a considerable difference. Since, for most, your home represents your greatest financial asset, doesn’t it make sense to take the time and effort to choose wisely and select the right person for you? With that in mind, this article will attempt to briefly consider, examine, review and discuss, using the mnemonic approach, what that means and represents, and why that is a smart way to proceed.

one. Intelligent; creative: What does being smart have to do with quality real estate representation? When we discuss this feature/resource, in this sense, it means the ability to see things as they can and should be, rather than simply as they appear. This is a form of positivity, which relieves the stresses and strains, and other tensions, associated with the period/process of the real estate transaction. Carefully interview and choose/select an agent who is able and willing to proceed in a creative way, rather than just the same-old-old ways. Each house, in each local market, is different in some way, and one is served, when its representative, proceeds with creativity, to emphasize strengths and minimize potential weaknesses.

two. Heart head: Only when agents use both their logical (knowledge, experience, negotiation skills, etc.) and emotional (people – skills, attitude, etc.) components do their customers benefit! This head/heart. balance invariably relieves stress and eases the process!

3. Options; organized; opportunities: Quality Agents explain your options and how each has potential ramifications and impacts. They must be organized and follow up on all inquiries, answer questions and make the necessary personal connections. Taking advantage of all the opportunities, it positions the client in the most beneficial way.

Four. Ideas; imagination; integrity: When you interview potential individuals to hire, will you consider and observe whether each possesses the relevant level of imagination to best serve your interests? Hopefully this will bring – forward the level of ideas, which could make a difference, for the better! Until, unless you feel convinced that someone will maintain absolute integrity, you will never be completely satisfied!

5. Character: Skills, attitude and experience are not enough, unless the experience is paired with someone with the highest level of personal character!

6. Energy; efficent effective; Excellence: High-energy agents inspire their clients and bring urgency to the process that often delivers extraordinary results! In the pursuit of personal excellence, never overlook the essence of being efficient and effective!

Choose your representation wisely, because the differences between agents vary and your needs are often unique. Take the time, initially, and make the overall process easy!

In the current economic crisis, everyone is struggling to earn some extra money. One of those ways to easily earn money while staying at home is through online business. eBay is one of the largest and most successful online shopping stores in the world. Not only is it easy and convenient, but it’s also a great way to start your business. To start your store, you must first create an account and register. This is how you become a seller. After that, you can start uploading all the items you want to sell to your eBay store.

eBay gives you specialized tools that are tailored to you by giving you the option to work offline to create listings for all of your products. Various templates are available online in free and paid forms that help you create lists that look neat and elegant and also help save a lot of time. Templates help you add images, their descriptions, and help customize your page to attract the most potential buyers. Once you are done with all the basic requirements of your store, you can easily start uploading items one by one.

Another set of tools that eBay provides is related to managing your sales. Once everything is set up, this tool helps manage your sections and listings. Apart from that, it manages all the emails that are sent, helps to re-list articles. All your sales are also kept track of through this manager. Another way to accommodate yourself is to choose an email template for all your emails, this prevents you from wasting your time writing each email individually.

All these managers are available for free, but the free versions are the ones that have to be processed manually, the automated versions are available for a fee. The biggest advantage of using automated builds is that everything is done by itself and you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Another thing to be noted is that you have to pay a certain amount of money in different steps on eBay. They seem less individually, but they add up to quite a bit of money. You have to pay to post your listings on eBay and then again to put them back up for sale and to put photos etc.

One thing about eBay is that you post your own prices on it. You set your own price after covering all your costs. You can also add different types of packages and you can also make it easy for buyers by giving them a shipping option when needed.

But the most used payment method on eBay is through PayPal. PayPal offers a lot of security for both the buyer and the seller as none of their bank statements would be exposed and would remain confidential. A verified bank account is required to open a PayPal account to make sure the person is genuine and not a fraud.

Branding is a must in online business and to enhance your branding you need to have a distinctive logo. This helps make your eBay store more effective. A good logo would not only attract more customers but also improve customer visits. No matter what you sell, the brand is important. The brand helps generate positive customer feedback which then attracts more customers.

There is no agreement among experts on the percentages of companies that fail. Forbes recently estimated that 80% of businesses fail, while Fortune claims it’s closer to 90%. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), about 50% fail in the first year. Of those who survive, the SBA tells us that only about 66% survive their second year.

Whatever the number, most small businesses don’t survive their first few years. Why is the survival rate so low?

Starting many businesses myself and working with small business owners as clients, I have come across five surprising reasons why small business owners struggle and fail. In this article, I will point out these reasons and by knowing them, you can avoid these pitfalls.

Reason #1 – I don’t know what product they are selling.

It’s hard to believe that most business owners don’t understand what product or service they’re selling. They say, “People come to me to buy flowers,” “I offer insurance,” or “I sell cupcakes.” But the truth is that they are not selling a product or a service, they are selling a feeling or an emotion.

Buying habits are based on feelings and emotions and are only justified through the use of logic. Let that sink in. People buy based on feelings and emotions and then defend it logically.

Let’s say you have a flower shop. People can buy flowers from many different sources these days. Supermarkets have flowers as do some convenience stores. Why should they buy from you?

What feelings or emotions can you promote that will set you up for success with your business?

Reason #2 – I don’t know who your ideal client is

Many business owners will say that they don’t care who their customers are. As long as they have customers, they are happy. They just want to have customers.

The truth is that it is essential that you know who your ideal clients are, and this has many benefits. When you work with your perfect client, you do your best work because you enjoy working with them. You will feel more inspired and fulfilled by what you do. You’ll connect with your customer on a deeper level and they’ll be more likely to recommend you to others.

So who is your ideal client?

Reason #3 – I don’t know what makes them unique.

I meet many business people who believe they will be successful just because they open their doors, have a website, or put up a sign saying they are open to the public. They think that the product they have will sell itself. Sometimes this can happen. However, it is a rare occurrence.

In this increasingly confusing world, information and products continually bombard your customers from all sides, and you need to stand alone to stand out. To do this, you need to be unique from all other companies doing the same thing as you. Being unique, your client will recognize you and come looking for you.

What makes you unique in the market?

Reason #4 – I don’t know how to market the business.

When a business doesn’t know what product they’re selling, what makes them unique, and who their ideal customer is, they have a hard time promoting their business. If you are trying to please and appeal to everyone, your message is too broad to appeal to anyone and you waste a lot of time and effort with your marketing.

If a company is clear about what and who it is, promotion is simpler and more direct. Advertising becomes more targeted and because of this, your success rate is higher.

In light of this, how can you now promote your business?

Reason #5 – You don’t know your ultimate goal.

So what game are you playing? Many of the companies I come across answer this question by saying that they want to be successful. But what does successful mean? The answer is different for everyone. A company that does not know what its ultimate goal of being in business is, has no direction to work towards, and because of this it gets overwhelmed and never achieves its goals.

Knowing what your end goal is is providing you with a direction to work towards. Is your ultimate goal to eventually sell your business for a profit? Or maybe it is to provide a comfortable life for you and your family? But understand if it is the latter, what does comfortable mean to you? What salary do you want to earn? Or do you want to spend more time with your family? Knowing the answers to these questions gives you direction and a goal.

So what is your ultimate goal?