Competing on Analytics

By Andrew Ekwang

If you have noticed the biggest discussions in the finance and business operations functions of leading businesses is on the areas of Customer Relations management, lean operations expenses to drive value and ways boost customer loyalty, these discussions only points to one direction Business Analytics and high performing forms have already taken this direction and are reaping the benefits. Our discussion today is on how best Start-ups and SMEs can reap from this turn of events.

Differentiating your company based on products or cost is near impossible these days, especially in crowded industries. Brands have all along mastered the art of cultivating in many ways buy staying visible, relevant and building a lasting relationship with its clients. For young start-ups and SMEs these strategies sometimes dig so deep into the pocket and make competing with the big boys very hard, but not all hopes is lost since customers are still willing to buy from creative and dependable smaller firms due to their customer centric approach to providing solutions and ability to listen and module the right product for their clients. Thus to pull ahead of the pack SMEs should now more than ever use data-collection technology and analysis to get value from all of your business processes. Business solutions providers like SAP, SAS, IBM and Microsoft are leading the way in providing these tools.  For firms not in position to afford these technologies, modeling spreadsheet tools like Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access to help gather data at point of sale and format to relevant dashboards that can be relevant and accessible for timely decision making is the right way to go.  

Analytics let you discern not only what your customers want, but also who you customers actually are, how much they're willing to pay and what keeps them loyal. It also arms your employees with the evidence and tools they need to make sound decisions fast. Start by championing a culture where employees love and respect data, they will then be willing to collect it and turn it into relevant information. Acknowledge and endorse the changes in culture, process, and skills that analytics competition requires. Be sure that you understand the theory behind various quantitative methods so you can recognize their limitations. If necessary, bring in experts who can advise on how to best apply analytics to your business.

Lessons from a Master: Jay-Z's Advice to Dreamers

By Andrew Ekwang

By now you must have heard that Oprah launched her own television network called OWN on January 1. One of the shows featured on this new network is called Oprah Presents Master Class where famous people who are “masters” of their craft share their stories.

The first one featured Jay-Z sharing his story from childhood to his rise to stardom. Being a dedicated fan of Jay-Z, I watch is all ears and believe me there was a lot Businesses should learn from this man. I was inspired by his Master Class and could not help but share some of the lessons.

“Grind harder than the next man.”

What does that mean? Work harder, smarter and faster than your competition. Jay-Z talked about how he pushed out new albums one after the other. He exceeded his competition in creating new music. How can you do the same? Create better content, offer better customer service, create a smarter business model or simply work longer hours. On New Year’s Eve when many of my friends and family were out partying, I was working on my business. Sometimes it just comes down to wanting it more and working harder. By the way, if you don’t think you have competitors, you need to do more research. You absolutely do have competitors. Everyone does.

“Set goals for yourself.”

Jay-Z’s first goal was to create an album that went Gold. Everything he did was for the purpose of achieving that goal. Once he reached that goal, he set a new one. The next one? He wanted to show the rap world that an artist can become an executive in the music industry. So he became the CEO of Def Jam Records. Be goal oriented. Set clear, actionable goals for yourself. Once you have achieved them, set new, bigger ones. Achieving your first goal will motivate you to climb the next mountain.

“Be true to yourself.”

Jay-Z discussed how his second album didn’t do very well because he wasn’t true to himself and his style of creating music. He said, “Don’t do what someone else does. Do what you do and do it well. Do it better than you can imagine yourself doing it.” In business its so easy to look at someone else’s success and think you need to do what they are doing to achieve your own goals. In fact, the opposite is usually true. You need to do something different. Phoniness is obvious and a huge turn off. So to shine be true! It may take a while to learn how to express your own voice. In the meantime, David Siteman Garland suggests that you emulate the people you admire. Allow a mentor to influence your style in the very beginning and slowly but surely you will begin to discover your own voice.

“Picture the pinnacle.”

When he first started out, Jay-Z imagined himself being a millionaire at 30 years old. That vision motivated him to keep going when he faced challenges. Jay-Z had trouble getting signed to a recording label so he created his own recording label. When you envision your success it feels so close that you have no choice but to keep going, find creative ways to reach your goals and pretty much do the so-called impossible. Don’t picture a little success, dream BIG! Picture it, see it, and believe it.

You are in control.

None of this advice is necessarily new but that’s because good, old-fashioned hard work, goal-setting, honesty and believing is a tried and true formula for success. The best part of Jay-Z’s Master Class was when he shared memories of being a young boy sitting at the kitchen table, writing rhymes and dreaming. How many of us can relate to that experience? My point: Jay-Z is just a regular guy who didn’t quit. Recognize that you are in control of your destiny. You get to decide whether you will achieve your dreams or not. Make a decision never to quit and you can count on accomplishing them.

What do you think? Was Jay-Z’s advice any good? Do you believe that you can accomplish your wildest dreams?

Hope you enjoyed this article, if so follow us so you can never miss our frequent updates. Don’t forget to make our friendship official by joining us on Facebook.

Putting up a fair Ownership agreement or Venture Partnership agreement

By Andrew Ekwang

After the our series on formalizing Family businesses  to foster growth, many have quietly hinting to me the fear and challenges they foresee with business formalization and assuring themselves that their business and their stake in that business is safe for now and for the future. thinking about this for a while and I guess the biggest worry our Entrepreneurs now have in pulling out resources either from Partners, Venture capitalist or even Banks rotate around the issue of Ownership: Do I risk diluting my stake and control, or even worse losing the all business? This is sometimes the biggest questions in most entrepreneurs’ minds, let’s try and look few ways you can safe guard your business and still acquire the required funds to grow your business.

Initial Agreements

Business Ownership agreements is one of the most essential contracts that  you should  formalized between  you and any other parties you partner with prior to the registration and start of the business, so that there will be a smooth and effective operation of the business.  Sit and take time to discuss this and reach agreements that are acceptable by all parties, if possible invite the presence of you legal advisers You will discover that this will be best decision you will have made for the both for smooth start, running, growth and business life. Accordingly, ownership agreements must be able to achieve three important aspects namely, ownership protection, business continuity and sharing scheme among business owners.

In addition, vital points should be sufficiently covered which range from the remuneration of owners to conflict mechanisms. Once these points are satisfied, then it would minimize potential disagreements among business partners. In order to make sure that you have a fair ownership agreement, it is advisable that you employ the services of corporate lawyers before finalizing such agreement.

Register the Business or formalize the Agreed position/partnership through attorneys to make the agreements official and binding

(Am working with a friend of mind – Legal Practitioner to bring you the step by step advice on this in the next article soon)