Entrepreneurs think a lot about marketing. But, in many ways, marketing is just the short-game. The long-game is technology. Ultimately, tech is what decides whether a company is successful or not.
3D printing is arguably the most exciting technology in the manufacturing space right now. It has the potential to completely change the way the world’s production systems operate, providing consumers with better products at lower prices.
Strangely, though, industry as a whole is skeptical about what it can achieve. Entrepreneurs in the segment know that additive manufacturing has been around since the mid-1980s. And it hasn’t – as they see it – had a massive impact on their operations.
Advances in technology, however, are changing things. In 2021, we’re seeing a step-change in capabilities similar to what happened when Apple released the original iPhone back in 2007. A whole new space of possibilities is opening up. And only companies that prepare now stand any chance of thriving.
In this post, we take a look at some of the weird ways 3D printing is going to disrupt business and help to create a better world.
Non-Mass Production
Mass production was one of the greatest inventions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Industrialists saw that they could produce products in bulk and lower the unit cost. It was great for consumers.
Unfortunately, though, it led to product homogenization. Everyone had to accept virtually identical models and there was a lack of customization.
3D printing promises to change all that. Today, it’s possible for customers to order the exact product they want and then have a machine print it out for them.
What’s more, there’s virtually no limit to the level of customization that’s possible. Users can even upload their own designs or get professional agencies to create them for them. It means that the production of one-of-a-kind goods is going to explode.
Prototyping
As industries learn more about 3D printing, they are realizing that it can help bring costs down.
In aerospace, for instance, companies are now using additive technologies to create new prototypes that replace the need to individually manufacture separate parts. Companies can simply print and test parts all day long, without having to go to the trouble of creating separate molds.
Spares
It’s a similar story when it comes to parts and repairs. It’s now easier than ever for companies to simply order a new replacement part freshly printed, instead of having to rely on supplier inventory.
Imagine if, in the future, your spare parts inventory could be just a lump of raw material and some designs stored on a cloud server. It would massively reduce your costs and improve your efficiency because you could create the parts you need instantly onsite without having to wait for delivery. It sounds futuristic, but that’s the world that’s coming.
It’s clear that 3D printing is going to be a disruptive tool for companies. And that’s why it’s imperative to begin preparing now. You want to have a strategy in place before compelling mass-market products arrive.
This is a contributed post
Featured image courtesy of: Photo by Mushroom from Pexels
Running a small business can be a highly rewarding experience. It can also be filled with hassle, struggle, and stress! The good news is that by outsourcing certain tasks, you can reduce some of this stress, and still run an effective and profitable business. Keep reading to find out more.
Marketing
Could you do a reasonable job marketing your business to potential customers? Probably, if you were motivated enough and had enough time. However, whether it makes sense for you to spend all that time and effort on something that is regarded as a specialist subject is the real question you should be asking here.
After all, marketing will be one of the many tasks on your to-do list. Although if you outsource it to a professional firm you can ensure it will be handled by experts. These will be specialists that not only know how best to market your business, but also the latest trends and developments in marketing as well. Something that means they can offer your business a substantial advantage against your competition.
IT Management
News flash! Being able to reboot a PC by switching it off, and then on again doesn’t make you an IT expert! Indeed, because the field of IT is moving so quickly right now, anyone that isn’t dedicating their entire working life to it will struggle to stay abreast of the latest developments.
This can become a massive problem, what with nearly every business relying on IT to function! What this means is outsourcing your IT problems to specialists will ensure they are resolved as fast as possible and your business is up and running again with a minimum of downtime.
You may even want to circumvent dealing with such issues altogether. That is where outsourcing the whole of your IT and network management comes in. After all, a good management company will be constantly monitoring your service with a view to spotting issues before they become serious enough to stop work.
Accounting
If you adore numbers, spreadsheets, and brushing up on the latest regulations then you may want to deal with your accounting, in-house. However, if these things are not your strengths, finding an expert accounting agency to help you is often well worth the investment.
There are many accounting and financial tasks that can be outsourced, such as preparing periodic accounts for accurate reports on your business’s performance, as well as budgets, cash flow, and forecast work. Indeed by handing off these jobs to experts you can concentrate on other issues in your business that will help it thrive.
Shipping and Logistics
Running a business with its own logistics arm is a complicated and expensive feat. Also, because there are so many shipping companies, covering so much of the world in a fast and reliable way, controlling your own logistics is largely unnecessary for most businesses.
Of course, when choosing whom to outsource this function to it is important to consider several things. Price is essential, but the quality of service is also important. Remember that clients like to be able to track their package’s progress, and change the delivery location and date at will. Therefore choosing an outsourcer that can offer this is important to your long-term success.
Launching a small business is much easier today than it used to be. The internet is a flexible environment where entrepreneurs of all sizes can bring their dreams to life.
However, just because there’s a lower barrier to entry for would-be business owners, doesn’t mean that all companies will be successful.
According to research from the Small Business Administration, only around half of all new businesses will survive their first five years.
Some studies report even bleaker statistics, saying that many businesses fail before reaching the end of their first year.
Figuring out how to avoid problems as a small business owner means learning about the most common reasons that small businesses fail and discovering what you can do to prevent those issues.
Here are a few insights to get you started.
Leadership Failure
Poor management is more of a problem for your business than you’d think. If you don’t have the right management skills to keep your team members motivated and moving in the right direction, you’ll struggle to accomplish much.
To avoid leadership problems, stop and think about how you inspire your team and help them achieve their goals.
Are you supportive when your employees need extra help? Can you provide the guidance that your team members need, or is your door always closed? Do you invest in the tools that your staff need to do their best work?
It might be worth investing in some leadership training to help you and the other supervisors in your team come out on top. There are plenty of courses out there that teach people how to master leadership in a way that boosts employee satisfaction and productivity.
Lack of Sales
Before you do anything in your company, make sure to plan exactly how you’re going to make a profit.
Start by evaluating your marketplace and choosing your target audience. You’ll need a complete buyer persona that describes the person most likely to respond to your business model and strategy.
Once you know who your target customer is, you can start building a strategy that addresses those people’s needs and expectations.
It’s also worth analyzing your competition from time to time too. Knowing who your competitors are will help you figure out where you need to strengthen your strategies to compete on a bigger scale.
There are few things more critical to any business than sales. You need to be constantly generating income if you want your organization to succeed.
Without a solid financial foundation, you won’t be able to sustain your current operations, and neither will you be able to grow over time.
Refusal to pivot
It’s important to have a plan that you can stick with as a business owner. This will prevent you from going on track whenever a new trend emerges in your industry.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should stick to one strategy no matter what.
Sometimes, trends in your landscape will come and go. But knowing how to keep track of what’s happening in your marketplace will make it easier to see what really affects your customers and your chances of sales.
It’s important to avoid getting so deeply entrenched in your plan for success that you fail to recognize when your strategies aren’t working.
Keep checking your marketing and sales methods to ensure that you’re moving in the right direction to suit the needs of your target audience. Reporting tools and marketing software will help you see which of your efforts are yielding the best results.
If you notice something that indicates you need to change track for a while, be ready to pivot.
Remember that the business world is always changing. Knowing how to change with it will improve your professional profile, and help your company to thrive.
Poor planning
There’s a lot more planning involved in running a successful company than most people realize. A business plan forces you to think more carefully about what you want to accomplish as a growing brand, for instance.
With your business plan, you can define your Unique Value Proposition and encourage investors to take notice of your business.
Planning out your marketing campaigns before you invest too heavily in them can help you spot any gaps in your strategy. This means that you don’t over-spend on an idea that may not generate results in the long-term.
Sadly, you can’t plan and prepare for every disaster that might strike your business. You can, however, set your business up for faster recovery and cushion unexpected losses at least a bit.
One of the essential documents you’ll need to create for your company is a disaster recovery plan. No matter what kind of business you run, there’s always a risk that something could go wrong.
Having a disaster recovery plan ensures that you can respond quickly to issues like lost data or damaged tools. This means that you can spring into action faster before losing too many customers.
Marketing Mishaps
Finally, business owners often underestimate just how valuable their marketing campaigns are. Remember, there are hundreds of thousands of other businesses out there. Many of those companies will be competing to attract the same audience as you.
Start by identifying what kind of marketing efforts are going to resonate best with your target audience. You could conduct polls so that you can add more information to your user personas.
Also, track the results of your promotional efforts so you can see which works best.
Remember to have a list of critical metrics in place that you need to keep an eye on too.
For instance, what’s your return on investment for different marketing strategies? Do you know how much budget you have to spend in each area, and how much reach you get from each platform?
Don’t Become Another Failed Business
There are many amazing opportunities available today for ambitious entrepreneurs.
However, the path to success is littered with challenges to overcome.
Making sure that you’re properly prepared can help you avoid some of the mistakes mentioned above.
Contributed post by Ashely Wilson
Ashley Wilson is a content creator, writing about business and tech. She has been known to reference movies in casual conversation and enjoys baking homemade treats for her husband and their two felines, Lady and Gaga. You can get in touch with Ashley via Twitter.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on all of us. In some ways, entrepreneurs have had it easier than many. You might have always worked from home, you might be safe, away from the risks of infection, and if you’ve had to move things around to take care of family or home school your children, it might have been easier than it would have been if you were an employee.
In other ways, life might have been far more difficult. You may have struggled to keep your business going. You might have lost customers, and so money, and you might have had to find new suppliers and providers. Working from home, without being able to see your team might have been tricky, and juggling everything while worrying about your health and wellbeing might have seemed impossible.
If you are feeling burnt out, you aren’t alone. This year has been harder than most, so here’s a look at some ways to cope with pandemic burnout.
Take a Break
If you haven’t had a day off since march, you certainly aren’t alone. Many of us haven’t felt able to step away from our businesses for more than a few hours since all of this started. But, you need a break. Your business will suffer more if you are too tired to give it your best. Take at least one day off, and rest whenever you can.
Get Some Help
If you are struggling to take care of your staff from home, get help with HR and Payroll from hris systems you could also hire freelancers for specific tasks, or a VA to give yourself a break.
If you work alone, even asking a family member to help out around the house can give you a bit more time during the day.
Celebrate Your Successes
After such a stressful time it can be hard to see any positives. But, if your business is still going, you have done fantastically well, and you are sure to have learned an awful lot about your business and yourself in the process.
Take Care of Yourself
The last thing that you want right now is to be ill. Practicing social distancing is a great start, but you should also make sure you get plenty of rest, you eat well and you exercise, to give your immune system all of the support that it needs.
Understand Your Stressors
Often the best way to avoid stress is to understand what it is that is stressing you out. Learn more about your triggers and you’ll have a better chance of avoiding them.
Accept Your Limitations
You can’t do it all. This might not be the best time to push yourself hard. Accept your limitations, and prioritize what you can do.
Unfortunately, the only thing that we know right now, is that we don’t know what is going to happen in the coming weeks and months. We’re still surrounded by uncertainty, and while in many ways, life is carrying on, who knows what restrictions and changes we may yet face? Stop your burnout in its tracks, and you’ll be fine!
Many companies have had business disrupted by Covid-19 this year. As a result, they have had to adapt their ways in order to keep making revenue. While some businesses have managed to adapt successfully, others have made costly mistakes. Here are some of the mistakes your business doesn’t want to be making during Covid-19.
Raising your prices
To help cover the costs of covid-19, some businesses have responded by hiking up their prices. It makes sense to try and earn some extra money this way (it’s certainly easier than trying to sell more products), but consider the impact that it may have on you current loyal customers. Those that are already financially struggling due the impact of the virus could see this as an extra kick in the teeth – which could have a negative impact on your customer satisfaction. If your competitors choose not to raise their prices, you could see a lot of your customers abandoning your service to try out that offered by competitors. Try to focus on reducing costs and finding new income streams rather than upping your prices.
Cutting back on marketing
When considering cutbacks, you should avoid cutting back on marketing. In fact, now is the time to spend more money on marketing. With less people mingling, you’ll find it harder to attract customers via old-fashioned word of mouth – which means that you have to advertise and promote your brand yourself. Cut back on marketing, and you could see a dramatic reduction in the amount of new customers you receive. Unless you really don’t want to attract new customers at this moment in time, refrain from cutting back.
Investing in offline marketing
Now is not the time for offline marketing tactics. With social distancing laws in place, marketing events are generally not feasible. Meanwhile, billboards and posters are less likely to get spotted due to less crowds on the street. You’re much better off pouring your time, energy and money into digital marketing during Covid-19. Strategies such as social media marketing, SEO and email marketing are likely to have a much bigger impact given that people are spending more time indoors and more time on digital devices. Allow yourself to get creative when pursuing digital marketing strategies.
Arranging in-person meetings
In-person meetings are also not practical in a pandemic. This could be a team meeting with employees or a meeting with clients. Unless the task can only be carried out as a group in person, you may as well conduct the meeting via video call or phone call – or you could simply have an email exchange. Some clients may be put off if you insist on having an in-person meeting. Some employees may also feel that you are putting them in unnecessary danger and could possibly sue. If you do have to arrange large meetings in person, make sure that everyone has PPE.
Reducing staff, but not reducing the workload
As a way of saving costs, some companies have furloughed or even laid off staff members. This can sometimes be a necessary cut back, however you need to be sure that the workload is also cut back. If you demand the same workload from your remaining employees, they will likely struggle to get it all done. You need to have a team that’s large enough to take on all the day-to-day roles. If employees are having to take on responsibilities on top of their existing responsibilities, they’ll get overly stressed and likely hand in their notice. This is something that you definitely don’t want to happen.
Micromanaging remote employees
Many companies have allowed employees to work from home. While this has helped to keep people socially distanced, it has made team communication a little harder. Less trusting employees may feel that they have to keep communicating with employees to check that they are still on target. This style of remote micromanaging could be stressing out your employees and may be something that you want to limit. So long as employees are meeting targets and deadlines, there’s no need to keep checking up on them. Your employees are likely to be more productive if you’re not constantly trying to have conversations with them.
Not supervising remote employees at all
While you shouldn’t micromanage remote employees, you also don’t want to ignore them completely. Some of your employees may realise that they’re not being monitored and may take advantage of this. This could result in corners being cut and certain work not being done. Using some form of software for tracking employee activity will allow you to see how far projects are coming along without having to constantly chase up employees via phone or email. There are lots of software solutions out there that can do this.
Ignoring the pandemic altogether
The worst thing you can do is ignore the entire pandemic and try to continue on as usual. You’ll likely get into legal trouble and it could negatively affect your reputation. For instance, if you run a restaurant and decide to put absolutely no measures in place, you can expect a lot of customers to not feel safe and some may report you to the police (especially if there’s no attempts to abide by social distancing rules or supply hand soap). Employees may even leave if they feel that you are not taking the virus and their health seriously.
Conclusion
If you want your business to keep making money through the remainder of Covid-19, you need to make the right changes to your business model. Anything that involves or inspires social gatherings cannot go underway. If you choose to take on a remote workforce, you need to understand how to manage them without micromanaging or being too relaxed. You also need to resist increasing your prices, instead finding other ways to recover from the costs.
