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Articles from Geoff Ficke | Selfgrowth.com
- The Business Model Must Be Innovative and Flexible - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2009 from Geoff FickeWhat does the following list of companies have in common? A&P Hudson Motor Car Co. Montgomery Ward TWA Horn and Hardart Studebaker Indian Motorcycle Bonwit Teller Woolworth Bethlehem Steel Polaroid LTV These Companies were successful, recognizable brands in their respective ...
Views: 1246(1 vote) - The First Commercially Sold Mouthwash Actually Invented a Malady for the Product to Cure - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe first commercially successful mouthwash product is still one of the most famous: Listerine. First marketed in the late 19th century as a surgical antiseptic, the product enjoyed modest success. Listerine was created by Dr. Joseph Lawrence and Jordan Lambert and named in honor of Dr. Joseph ...
Views: 2470(1 vote) - The Flight Delay That Resulted in Launching a $100 Million Gift Business - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2009 from Geoff FickeAnyone that flies regularly knows the blank feeling that sweeps over us as we hear that our flight has been delayed, or worse, canceled. Minds race while reviewing how to kill time, are there alternative travel options, can I reset the meeting I had scheduled on the other end of the flight? As ...
Views: 1250(1 vote) - The Importance of the Unreasonable Man - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2009 from Geoff FickeAlmost every person in the world takes a certain pride in being a reasonable person. They will make prudent choices based on their background and attitudes. The safe decision minimizes the chances of being wrong. No one likes to be wrong. The safe decision, however, carries little upside ...
Views: 1416(1 vote) - The Most Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make And Why Markets Tolerate No Shortcuts - by Submitted on Aug 07, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe question I receive more often than any other is: “What is the mistake you most frequently observe inventors or entrepreneurs making?” The answer is an easy one. Most unsuccessful entrepreneurs try to get to market by taking shortcuts. We live in a commercial maelstrom. The marketplace is ...
Views: 1309(1 vote) - The Most Useful Funding Technique for Funding a Business Startup Is the Oldest: Bootstrapping - by Submitted on May 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Most Useful Funding Technique for Funding a Business Startup Is the Oldest: Bootstrapping My Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm is approached almost daily by entrepreneurs seeking to launch a new enterprise. For many of these aspiring business ...
Views: 1369(2 votes) - The Oldest Tea Merchant in the World Is Still a Marketing & Branding Phenomenon - by Submitted on Aug 15, 2009 from Geoff FickeAny traveler to London is naturally overwhelmed with the many sites, sounds, history and majesty of this glorious ancient capital, especially first time visitors. Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Thames, Big Ben the Horse Guards, 10 Downing Street, St. James Park, St. Paul’s Cathedral, ...
Views: 4664(1 vote) - The Prolific Inventor That the World Has Mostly Forgotten - by Submitted on Aug 15, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe Prolific Inventor That the World Has Mostly Forgotten We learn at an early age that Ben Franklin was America’s first great inventor; Henry Ford invented mass production, Thomas Edison the light bulb and the phonograph and the Wright Brothers invented the first airplane. These men, and a ...
Views: 1204(1 vote) - The Ten Commandments for Entrepreneurs - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2009 from Geoff FickeI am often asked by aspiring entrepreneurs for tips that are essential to being successful in launching a new commercial venture. Below I have assembled the big 10, something like the 10 Commandments, only for entrepreneurial success. The items covered below are not negotiable in the process of ...
Views: 3034(3 votes) - Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla - The Difference’s Between Fame and Forgotten - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke I recently saw the movie “The Prestige”. The story is about two ferociously rival magicians and is set in the 1890’s. A sub-plot in the movie concerns the largely forgotten rivalry between scientists and inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. Entrepreneurs today can learn ...
Views: 5235(6 votes) - Use Affinity Licensing to Jump Start New Product Sales - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2009 from Geoff FickeI recently met a bank executive who had been laid off in a corporate downsizing. The man was understandably concerned about his and his family’s future. He lived in an area that was experiencing exceptionally stark economic circumstances. This gentleman had received a modest severance package, ...
Views: 1178(1 vote) - We Plan Exact Vacation Routes But Often Start a New Business with No Road Map - by Submitted on Aug 20, 2009 from Geoff FickeSeneca “The Younger”, the great ancient Roman philosopher famously observed, “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable”. The intent of his words is clear. Knowing where you want to go is the essential prelude to planning how to get there. Unfortunately, many people ...
Views: 1024(2 votes) - What Is 3-F Funding and Why Do Entrepreneurs Need to Understand the Vetting Process for Securing Funding? - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke What Is 3-F Funding and Why Do Entrepreneurs Need to Understand the Vetting Process for Securing Funding? Many years ago, when I was a young, ambitious, aspiring entrepreneur I was imbued with the conceit that venture capitalists, investment banks or angel investors would ...
Views: 1848(1 vote) - What Is a Business Plan? And Why Do I Need One? - by Submitted on Aug 07, 2009 from Geoff FickeFor many entrepreneurs the creation of a business plan is the biggest hurdle in the development process of their fledgling enterprise. There is a mystery, almost a dread in many people when discussion of a business plan requirement is first broached. They conceptualize a boring, dry, painful ...
Views: 1095(1 vote) - What Makes an Entrepreneur Different - by Submitted on Aug 20, 2009 from Geoff FickeStudies indicate that entrepreneurs are born, not made. As a serial entrepreneur myself, having worked with dozens of successful entrepreneurs, I can confirm that this is a truism. No two are exactly alike, but they are different from those who fail, or worse, never try. I am often asked what ...
Views: 1636(1 vote) - When Selling Do Not Confuse Objections and Conditions - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2009 from Geoff FickeMy first sales manager, a grizzled old veteran with a no excuses allowed attitude used to tell me, “there are no lousy products, just lousy salesmen”. As a rookie salesman I thought the comment surely a strange one. Of course, there are bad products I thought. I know a bad product when I see ...
Views: 1621(1 vote) - Where Does the Money Come From? - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2009 from Geoff FickeFact: In 2005 over 500,000 new business incorporations were organized in the United States. Fact: Of these 500,000 new businesses less than 1,000 received venture capital funding. There are vastly more entrepreneurs seeking start-up funding than there are available funding sources and ...
Views: 1422(3 votes) - Which Business Structure Is Best For Your New Enterprise? - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe type of business structure you organize for your new enterprise is greatly determined by your personality, realities, needs and experience. Millions of people in the United States never enter into any type of formal business structure. This includes the bulk of the black or underground ...
Views: 1414(1 vote) - Why Are Successful Entrepreneurs So Darn Lucky? - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Geoff FickeWhat is your definition of the word “luck”? Not the Webster’s Dictionary definition, your definition. Is it being in the right place at the right time? Picking the right dealer in a casino? Turning up at a party where you meet your current wife (could be good or bad luck)? Entrepreneurs seem ...
Views: 1520(2 votes) - Why Is the Right To Fail So Important?...and, Why It is Mostly Unique To America - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe American economic system of capitalism is unique in the industrialized world. Forms of capitalism exist in many countries, and the one general statement that applies to its usage is that capitalist countries are always more prosperous than non-capitalist states. That being stated, why is ...
Views: 1336(1 vote) - Why Students Make Excellent Entrepreneurs - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke During my many years of lecturing university business school students on entrepreneurial topics I have been pleased, and surprised, at the relatively large numbers willing to take the plunge and pursue new business opportunities. The surprise is that modern students are ...
Views: 1129(5 votes) - You Can Only Succeed at Life or Business If You Keep Moving - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke You Can Only Succeed at Life or Business If You Keep Moving Robert Goizueta, the former Chief-Executive of Coca-Cola was once quoted in Fortune Magazine, saying: “The moment you let avoiding failure become your motivator, you are down the path of inactivity. You can stumble ...
Views: 1371(1 vote) - A Real Time Case Study On How to Fail - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2009 from Geoff FickeI am going to relate this true story out of a sense of frustration. Hopefully, my experience, and disappointment at seeing a wonderful opportunity torched by sloppiness, will enlighten others to maximize the chance to succeed in their chosen endeavor. Great ideas need to be properly fertilized, ...
Views: 1201(3 votes) - College Campuses Are Amazing Resources for Entrepreneurs to Utilize When Launching a Business - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke College Campuses Are Amazing Resources for Entrepreneurs to Utilize When Launching a Business Recently I read about a new cosmetic product that was launched on a college campus. This bootstrapped product was taking advantage of a resource that can be available to all, but ...
Views: 1176(3 votes) - Consider the Menu of Services a Project Will Require Before Interviewing Professional Consultants - by Submitted on May 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Consider the Menu of Services a Project Will Require Before Interviewing Professional Consultants Google the word “Consultant” and millions of links immediately pop on to your computer screen. Refine the search term and a smaller, but still massive army of sites will ...
Views: 1104(3 votes) - Drop the Dreams and Establish Solid Goals and Plans In Order to Succeed in Start-up Business - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Drop the Dreams and Establish Solid Goals and Plans In Order to Succeed in Start-up Business Recently I watched a television show which featured Inventions, Small Business Start-ups and Entrepreneurship as central program topics. A panel of experts reviewed product ...
Views: 1249(3 votes) - The Lesson of “I, Pencil” An Essay on Economic Freedom for the Ages - by Submitted on Oct 27, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe Lesson of “I, Pencil” An Essay on Economic Freedom for the Ages As a young college student studying economics in the 1960’s I was exposed to the writings and philosophy of Leonard Read while researching a paper on Adam Smith’s enlightened principle of the “Invisible Hand”. Mr. Read had ...
Views: 9369(3 votes) - The Man Who Invented Modern Athletic Shoes Inadvertently Revolutionized Commerce and Sports - by Submitted on Aug 20, 2009 from Geoff FickeI grew up in the 1950’s playing basketball hour after hour on city playgrounds. The public courts of the day were nothing like those found today in most American towns. There were no lights, a steel, kidney-shaped backboard (ugh!) with bent rims, occasionally a steel chain net and no lines ...
Views: 5593(3 votes) - Why Trade Shows Are Crucial When Introducing A New Product or Service-Make Expo’s Work for You! - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Our consumer product marketing and product development group just returned from launching two new products at a large trade show in Bologna, Italy. This was a cosmetic-beauty product show, the largest in the world. There were over 3000 vendors displaying their wares, from the ...
Views: 1085(3 votes) - The World’s Oldest Watch Manufacturer Stays on Top by Constantly Innovating - by Submitted on Aug 17, 2009 from Geoff FickeOne of life’s great pleasures is travel. The opportunity to view distant lands, experience new food and drink, sample exotic cultures and meet local citizens is always rewarding. One of my most prized experiences when I visit any new land is to sample local produce, manufactured goods and learn ...
Views: 5640(5 votes) - “What Is Our Aim? Victory, Victory at all Costs..! - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff FickeWinston Churchill’s Famous War Cry Is Fully Applicable for Today’s Entrepreneurs Arguably, the courage and moral leadership provided to the western world by Winston Churchill was the key instrument essential to keeping World War 2 from ending early, and ever so badly for the cause of ...
Views: 2228(5 votes) - 10 Reasons to Be Passionate About Your New Business Idea - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke One of the qualities that we look for when evaluating prospective clients for our consumer product marketing consulting firm is PASSION. If an entrepreneur is not passionate about the product or business idea they are attempting to commercialize we cannot help them. Passion is ...
Views: 1428(2 votes) - An Old Mustard Brand Teaches the Power of Marketing Exclusivity - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke An Old Mustard Brand Teaches the Power of Marketing Exclusivity The practice of Brand Exclusivity is one that consumers associate with Luxury Goods categories such as Cosmetics, Perfumery, Jewelry, Fashion or Automobiles. The Marketing Strategy utilized to keep product ...
Views: 1270(2 votes) - Eric Hoffer: The Obstacles We Face Daily Present Our Greatest Opportunities - by Submitted on Sep 06, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke As a young, struggling college student in the 1960’s I became entranced with the life, philosophy and writings of the great American thinker Eric Hoffer. Hoffer’s life story was almost mystical, his thinking so lucid and the concepts he presented were so fresh that I could not ...
Views: 2215(2 votes) - How a Cool Food Product Lost an Important Marketing Advantage - and Died - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2009 from Geoff FickeHow a Cool Food Product Lost an Important Marketing Advantage - and Died Recently I was interviewed by a national small business magazine about a topic that is all too real; and very problematic for small businessmen. The author of the story was trying to solve a simple problem that many of ...
Views: 1389(2 votes) - How a Simple Box Concept Changed World Trade And Fostered the Rise of a 3rd World Middle Class - by Submitted on Oct 14, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke How a Simple Box Concept Changed World Trade And Fostered the Rise of a 3rd World Middle Class For almost 4000 years the methodology used to ship finished goods, raw materials and minerals between distant points on the globe did not change. A transport ship pulled into a ...
Views: 1528(2 votes) - In a Jobless Economic Recovery Why Not Create Your Own Job? - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke In a Jobless Economic Recovery Why Not Create Your Own Job? These are troubling economic times in the United States and in Europe. Even the least informed citizen instinctively understands this fact. Government debt is piling up, countries are bankrupt, companies are ...
Views: 1588(2 votes) - Make Color & Style Indispensible Elements to Sell More Products - by Submitted on Jul 15, 2011 from Geoff FickeMake Color & Style Indispensible Elements to Sell More Products Have you never visited a Williams Sonoma store? Notice how the toaster they sell for $300 per unit is always displayed so prominently. Have you ever asked yourself who needs a $300 toaster when a perfectly acceptable bread ...
Views: 1349(2 votes) - Opportunity and Innovation - The Power of Weird Thinking - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2009 from Geoff Ficke“The Big Idea” that will make an entrepreneur successful is not obtainable by filling in the blanks on a magic invention template. Where do ‘The Big Ideas” come from? Why are some people able to develop exciting concepts and others, though constantly scheming, achieve nothing of value? How do ...
Views: 2111(2 votes) - The 16th Century Entrepreneur Who Created the Concept of the Taxi - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe 16th century was a time of amazing transformation in Europe. The Dark Ages were gone, the Black Plague had run it course and Middle Age fears and superstitions were slowly disappearing. The printing press had been invented and it was completely revamping the way people communicated. Columbus ...
Views: 1612(2 votes) - Why Don’t Business Schools Produce more Entrepreneurs? - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Why Don’t Business Schools Produce more Entrepreneurs? For most of my life I have been a serial Entrepreneur. Even as a kid growing up I knew I wanted to control my own destiny. In order to be free and self-supporting I was constantly seeking opportunity in every way ...
Views: 1287(2 votes) - Why First World Entrepreneurs Are the Third Worlds Best Friend - by Submitted on Sep 01, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Many years ago I watched a television news interviewer allow Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, the de-facto dictator of Ghana at that time, to rant about the absolute rape of his tiny, poverty stricken west African nation, by multi-national companies like Nestle. Ghana’s major ...
Views: 1206(2 votes) - “Mad Men” Provides a Market Concept Tutorial on Television Each Week - by Submitted on Aug 26, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe hit television drama “Mad Men” recently began its third season to rave critical reviews and spectacular viewer ratings. The program, which is focused on the professional and personal lives of the associates of a New York City advertising agency in the early 1960’s is a magnetic period piece, ...
Views: 1503(4 votes) - If When - Two Often Crippling Words - by Submitted on May 14, 2010 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Words matter. How we express ourselves is the most important indicator of the type of person we are and the type of life we lead. In my work as a marketing consultant I have the opportunity to meet hundreds of people each year. They are usually attempting to bring a product, ...
Views: 1620(3 votes) - Napoleon and Alexander the Great Are Innovative Role Models Even Today - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2009 from Geoff FickeDuring the 18th century the royal courts of Europe were starved for exciting and fresh entertainment formats. The staid choral recital, piano concerto, plays and opera had been standard fare in all of the great palaces for centuries. Each court strove to offer something more modern, more cutting ...
Views: 2870(3 votes) - The Art and Modern Importance Of Roman Cement - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Cement is the most widely used building material in the world and has been for thousands of years. The historical record confirms that the ancient Persians, Assyrians and Babylonians used cement in the binding and affixing of mud bricks. The Egyptians also used cement in ...
Views: 2109(3 votes) - The Sales Theory of Relativity:ABC = Always Be Closing! - by Submitted on Sep 01, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Albert Einstein’s famous “Theory of Relativity” (e = mc2) is as familiar to many millions of people as a popular modern commercial limerick for a soft drink or a jingle for a candy bar. Even though very few amongst these millions actually understand the scientific premise of ...
Views: 2128(3 votes) - …And We Want the Government To Do What? - by Submitted on Sep 06, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke I am always amazed when I see well educated, seemingly worldly people make themselves look and sound silly by promoting ever more aggressive expansion of government. We are currently in our national election cycle, admittedly the silly season for politicians. This year, ...
Views: 1338(3 votes) - How Not to Choose a Professional Consultant - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2010 from Geoff FickeSeveral years ago I wrote an article entitled “How Do You Choose the Best Marketing Consultant”. The article was posted on my website - www.DuquesaMarketing.com - and on numerous print and internet links. The content was written to advise layman of the many options and obstacles that should be ...
Views: 1170(6 votes) - How to Turn an Ancient Scottish Peat Bog into Marketing Gold - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff FickeHow to Turn an Ancient Scottish Peat Bog into Marketing Gold Many years ago, as a young entrepreneur seeking to launch my very first consumer product, I discovered the importance of having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to establish my brand’s niche. My partner and I had developed a very ...
Views: 2663(6 votes)