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Articles from Geoff Ficke | Selfgrowth.com
- Have You Been Downsized? Consider the Options for a Better Life - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2009 from Geoff FickeA friend was effectively eliminated from the traditional corporate work force in the early 1990’s. It was traumatic. He was a college graduate. He had climbed the corporate ladder, rapidly, inexorably. He enjoyed a six-figure income, a second home, club memberships, prosperous investment ...
Views: 1200(3 votes) - Make a Friend Everyday, Network! - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2009 from Geoff FickeHave you ever noticed how successful people always seem to have a very wide net of friends and acquaintances? Howard Hughes became an infamous recluse only after he was fabulously wealthy. His network of business associations enabled him to excel in aviation, manufacturing, heavy industry, oil, ...
Views: 1350(13 votes) - A Novel Way to Get An Innovative Product to Market - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke This week I had the opportunity to launch a new product at the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association’s annual trade show in Orlando. This is an annual fair that brings together the manufacturers of all size to present and introduce new wares for the youth market. As in ...
Views: 1176(4 votes) - Energy Independence? Yes We Can! - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke My Company routinely reviews more than 600 new product ideas, concepts, prototypes and models during most years. During a soft economy, such as today’s, we see even more as people become more desperate to chase a dream. Pursuit of the “American Dream” almost always involves ...
Views: 1449(4 votes) - Essential Lessons for Today From a 13th Century Friar - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke One of the greatest literary and science works of the ancient world, rarely studied today, was the Opus Majus. The amazingly futuristic content of the Opus Majus was virtually a modern tutorial, written in the 13th century, on an array of literary, scientific and philosophical ...
Views: 1444(4 votes) - Is Now the Best Time to Start a New Business? - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2009 from Geoff FickeI am often asked if these are good times for new enterprise opportunities? Should I wait? Is the economy down? Is it a good funding market? Is competition too intense? These, and dozens more stated concerns are nothing more than self-imposed hurdles to movement. Now is the best time in ...
Views: 1288(4 votes) - A Business Model That Keeps on Giving - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2009 from Geoff FickeIf there were an Entrepreneur’s Hall of Fame, Wayne Huizenga would be a charter member. Most people recognize the Wayne Huizenga as being the former owner of the Florida Marlins baseball team, and the current owner of the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins. These are the types of gaudy ...
Views: 1569(1 vote) - A Poem to Inspire Every Aspiring Marketer & Entrepreneur - by Submitted on Aug 15, 2009 from Geoff FickeToday poetry is not a culturally prevalent or popular art form utilized to convey deep thought or the meaning of ideas. To be sure, there are contemporary poets, published works of poetry are available and the United States still recognizes a living “poet laureate”. However, for vast swaths of ...
Views: 2818(1 vote) - A Professional Demeanor Screams Success - by Submitted on Aug 20, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe importance of a professional business presentation can not be overstated in determining the fate of a new business opportunity. Nevertheless, it is amazing how many times the presenter does not apply these same essential professional requirements to their own person. You only get one chance ...
Views: 5216(1 vote) - A Simple 20-Step Test That Will Confirm Whether or Not a Product Development Project Is Market-Ready - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke A Simple 20-Step Test That Will Confirm Whether or Not a Product Development Project Is Market-Ready For almost four decades my Consulting firm has worked with entrepreneur’s to design, develop, package, Brand, Market and Sell a vast range of Consumer Products. Our job is ...
Views: 1376(1 vote) - A Strong Sales Model Underlies Every Assumption In a Business Plan - by Submitted on Aug 21, 2009 from Geoff FickeOne of the most difficult tasks a new prospective entrepreneur faces is the construction of a Sales Model. Many books devoted to instruction for writing a business plan devote little or no attention to this vital exercise. The knowledge needed to assemble a quantified, qualified and clearly ...
Views: 2163(1 vote) - A “Wanna Be” Entrepreneur in Reality Is a“Wantrepreneur” and Will Never Be Successful - by Submitted on May 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke A “Wanna Be” Entrepreneur in Reality Is a“Wantrepreneur” and Will Never Be Successful Very few of the hundreds of Consumer Product projects that my Branding and Marketing Consulting firm review each year ever go much beyond the talking stage. Talk is cheap. Dreamers dream. ...
Views: 1543(2 votes) - America’s Great Advantage Creating Divergent Industries - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe American economy is the growth engine of the industrial world and will continue to be so, as long a steady stream of innovative, divergent products is successfully created. The history of capitalism is replete with cycles of unique, needed product and technology advances that exponentially ...
Views: 2045(1 vote) - An Alternative, Inexpensive Way to Penetrate the Market For a New Product - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2009 from Geoff FickeAn Alternative, Inexpensive Way to Penetrate the Market For a New Product My consulting firm receives an average of 2 new product submissions from entrepreneur’s each day. Last year we viewed almost 700 such offerings. They ranged from the silly to the spectacular. The majority of these ...
Views: 1396(2 votes) - Bootstrapping Your Way to Success - by Submitted on Aug 20, 2009 from Geoff FickeThere is no more accurate American descriptive phrase of the rags to riches success then: “He pulled himself up by his bootstraps”. The pioneers, backwoodsmen, cowboys, whalers and other prototypical American hero classes all possessed an air of courage, self-reliance, and belief that they could ...
Views: 1327(1 vote) - Brand Extension Can Be a Key to Growing and Evolving a Consumer Product Line or Service - by Submitted on May 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Brand Extension Can Be a Key to Growing and Evolving a Consumer Product Line or Service Switzerland is the couture watch capital of the world. A visit to Geneva and its surrounding cantons exposes the traveler to the hundreds of exotic watch brands made in this famous ...
Views: 2280(2 votes) - Competition Keeps Successful Entrepreneurs Sharp - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2009 from Geoff FickeEvery sports fan knows the story of a sports team competitively peaking at the right time on the road to winning a championship. The Pittsburgh Steelers won the 2006 Super Bowl even though they only had the second best record in their division. In addition, they had to overcome the huge hurdle ...
Views: 1524(2 votes) - Consumer Product Market Penetration is Much Easier If Exclusivity Is Key to the Lines Branding Strategy - by Submitted on May 05, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Consumer Product Market Penetration is Much Easier If Exclusivity Is Key to the Lines Branding Strategy Recently I had the opportunity to visit and work several Trade Shows while on an extended business trip through Europe. One was a huge Beauty Product expo in Italy, ...
Views: 1846(2 votes) - Consumer Product Marketing Success Depends Much More on Being First and Executing than Simply Being First - by Submitted on May 05, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Consumer Product Marketing Success Depends Much More on Being First and Executing than Simply Being First Recently I had the opportunity to review a new beverage concept submitted for consideration by an entrepreneur. This young chap had collected reams of information, ...
Views: 1133(2 votes) - Differentiation for a Small Brand Is Essential - Consider Organic Tea - by Submitted on Aug 17, 2009 from Geoff FickeRecently my marketing consulting firm was approached by the owners of a young organic tea company seeking guidance in piercing the retail product distribution channel. The entrepreneur’s behind the venture were hard working, passionate and fully committed; both personally and financially. They ...
Views: 1330(2 votes) - Hit the Prospects Hot Buttons to Close More Sales - by Submitted on Aug 25, 2009 from Geoff FickeAt the conclusion of every sales presentation the salesman will have achieved one of three results: a sale is made, a sale is lost or valuable information is gleaned that can result in building a relationship. The third result can be called identifying the “hot button”. Obviously, the purpose of ...
Views: 5511(3 votes) - How an Ingenious Footwear Idea Snatched Defeat from the Jaws of Victory! - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2009 from Geoff FickeSeveral years ago my marketing consulting firm reviewed a most clever, novel, exceedingly commercial concept in casual footwear. We met with the designer who had created the collection and were excited by everything we saw in the initial presentation. The footwear possessed a universality of use ...
Views: 1180(1 vote) - How Do Investors Read Business Plans? - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2009 from Geoff FickeThere are hundreds of thousands of business plans floating around and attempting to find a funding home. I receive hundreds of business plans annually myself, and can definitely state that 99% of these documents are laughable as presentations of an exciting investment opportunity. I am not ...
Views: 1379(3 votes) - How Exclusivity Makes a Premium Liquor Brand a Cultural Phenomenon - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2009 from Geoff FickeAs in so many consumer product categories, it would seem that there is little room left for innovation in mature businesses like liquor. Most of the world’s best selling alcohol brands have pedigrees that extend back for generations, if not centuries. Johnnie Walker scotch, Jack Daniels whiskey, ...
Views: 3628(1 vote) - How Lack of Foresight Doomed An Early Auto Manufacturing Pioneer - by Submitted on Aug 17, 2009 from Geoff FickeWhatever happened to the Stanley Steamer automobile? From the production of Stanley’s first model in 1897, the Company outsold every other firm that produced internal combustion powered vehicles until the brands demise in 1924. The Steamers were safe, durable and easily maintained. So what ...
Views: 1723(2 votes) - How to Fail at Launching a Clever, Novel Consumer Product! - by Submitted on Jun 19, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke How to Fail at Launching a Clever, Novel Consumer Product! The current economic malaise has created a surprising level of interest from entrepreneurs keen to launch a bevy of assorted consumer products. Our Marketing Consulting and Product Development firm is reviewing more ...
Views: 1056(1 vote) - How to Make a Single Mall Kiosk Into a Multi-National Company - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2009 from Geoff FickeOne of the bigger mistakes we see new entrepreneurs and startup businesses make is to try to hit a home run right out of the box. My experience in the days when I played baseball, and in building a solid business foundation, is that when purposely trying to hit home runs, you usually strike out. ...
Views: 4993(1 vote) - I Can’t Find Funding. Is My Idea Dead? No, Consider a Campaign to License! - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2009 from Geoff FickeMost inexperienced entrepreneurs are unaware of the many options and alternative strategies available to push a new idea or invention to market. The most common approach they seek to implement is a classic funding round. When this avenue fails, and with overwhelming frequency it does, the idea ...
Views: 1737(1 vote) - Innovative Design Is Essential To Contemporary Consumer Product Success - by Submitted on Aug 17, 2009 from Geoff FickeI have often written and referred to the difference between convergent and divergent products. Convergent products are simple design improvements on existing models already being marketed. The push button radio, the car radio or a clock radio are examples of convergent products. These examples ...
Views: 1839(1 vote) - Is an Invention Service Company the Solution? Very Few Inventors Ever See Successful Results - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2009 from Geoff FickeEvery television viewer has seen the infomercial spot showing the forlorn, wanna-be inventor, crushed, their idea being successfully marketed by another party. He did not get a patent. The answer offered in the commercial, contact an Invention Submission Company, get a patent, market your ...
Views: 1161(1 vote) - Make Your Business Plan Read Like An Action Novel - You Are Guaranteed to Receive A Stronger Response - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2009 from Geoff FickeLet’s face it, nobody confuses writing or reading a Business Plan with a Bruce Willis action movie or a Tom Clancy novel. A Business Plan is a serious presentation that details an economic opportunity being offered for funding, licensing or sales consideration. Detail, research, financials and ...
Views: 1065(1 vote) - Make Your Passion for Fun A Key Part When Seeking New Product Opportunities - by Submitted on Aug 27, 2009 from Geoff FickeMost people lead rather ordinary lives, built around family, job, church and hobbies. This is fine for most. The need to pay the bills leads many to engage in work that is unfulfilling, boring and stifling. That so many people work at energy sapping employment should be a motivating factor in ...
Views: 999(4 votes) - Making Hobbies Profitable A Boating Enthusiast Invents a Fun Job - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2009 from Geoff FickeWe have all heard some version of the old saying, “find something you enjoy doing and make your living in that field”. For most people that would seem to be easier said than done. Millions of these working Jane’s and Joe’s go to employment that is not physically, psychologically or financially ...
Views: 1289(1 vote) - Making Public Relations Work for Your Business - by Submitted on Aug 21, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe magic word that every consumer loves to hear more than any other is, FREE! Sales promotions offering a free sample or product inducement are always exceedingly popular. Human nature being what it is, the opportunity to obtain something of perceived value for nothing is usually very ...
Views: 1462(1 vote) - Marketing and Selling Are Crucial to Success...and Very Different Tasks - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2009 from Geoff Ficke“an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer” – Webster’s Dictionary, definition of “marketing” “to give up property to another for money or other valuable consideration” Webster’s Dictionary, definition of “selling” Many new entrepreneurs do not ...
Views: 1867(2 votes) - Measurement of Time Is One Of History’s Important Achievements - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke In the modern world we take for granted the availability of innumerable sources providing accurate measurements of time. Telling current time is so readily available that we have lost sight of the profound importance of knowing time, to the hour and minute. For most of human ...
Views: 717(2 votes) - Need or Want: Your New Product or Service Will Succeed if it Addresses Need - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2009 from Geoff FickeI have always tried to teach my children the difference between needing and wanting a product. This is a value judgement that applies to every human, many times in surprisingly differing ways. People born to great wealth view need far differently than those of us born to the lower classes. I ...
Views: 1907(3 votes) - New Commercial Opportunities Require a Crisply Polished Elevator Pitch - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2009 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Each week we receive a number of unsolicited business proposals in our marketing consulting business. Some are submitted by mail, some by e-mail and a number are the result of phone contacts. We have developed a methodology of quickly weighing the commercial viability of each. ...
Views: 1133(2 votes) - Organize the Business Structure That Is Right for Your New Enterprise - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2009 from Geoff FickeEvery business requires a structure that will withstand necessary legal and governmental scrutiny. The choice of how to organize a new enterprise should be made based on the needs and capacity of the owner(s) to maintain and detail the records, history and finances of the business. Many ...
Views: 2742(3 votes) - Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets Protect Your Invention! - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2009 from Geoff FickePatent numbers are issued sequentially, beginning with the number one. Patent number one was issued to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790. It took 75 years for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to issue patent number 1,000,000. Patent number 7,000,000 was issued February 14, ...
Views: 1923(3 votes) - Persistence Pays Off For Driven Product Marketers and Inventors of WD-40 - by Submitted on Aug 15, 2009 from Geoff FickePersistence Pays Off For Driven Product Marketers and Inventors of WD-40 Along with duct tape, probably the most common product handymen keep in the garage for tackling household chores and repairs is the ubiquitous lubricant spray WD-40. I am a mechanical klutz. But when something needs ...
Views: 1522(1 vote) - Seek Out Honest Criticism of Your Business Plan And Learn to Accept and Act on It! - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Seek Out Honest Criticism of Your Business Plan And Learn to Accept and Act on It! Four decades ago I studied a college course in English Literature. W. Somerset Maugham’s famous novel “Of Human Bondage” was required reading. It was a bit of a slow go, but one line has ...
Views: 1224(1 vote) - Selling Is the Most Important Job For Every Entrepreneur - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2009 from Geoff FickeLet’s consider the example of an entrepreneurial inventor attempting to market his newest creation: a portable hydrostatic body fat test appliance. Design is complete, testing is finished and results exceeded initial assumptions, several working prototypes have been built, UL Approval is in ...
Views: 1395(2 votes) - Sourcing and Defining Volume Pricing Is an Absolute Must for Aspiring Consumer Product Entrepreneurs - by Submitted on May 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Sourcing and Defining Volume Pricing Is an Absolute Must for Aspiring Consumer Product Entrepreneurs I have been mentoring a young female entrepreneur for several months. She is not a client of my Consumer Product Branding and Marketing Consulting firm. This earnest lady ...
Views: 1275(2 votes) - Strategic Alliance - The Underused Option - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2009 from Geoff FickeYou are an entrepreneurial inventor with marvelous ideas in your area of expertise. The ability to create models, prototypes and concepts flows easily from your fertile brain. Nevertheless, all you have to show for your creative efforts is a garage full of dead end stuff, despite all of your ...
Views: 1076(2 votes) - Successful Entrepreneurs are Doer’s - Not Dreamers Too Many Inventors Are Confused About the Difference - by Submitted on Aug 07, 2009 from Geoff FickeFor many years I felt that if you scratched any American you were scratching an entrepreneur. This is the country where entrepreneurial activity is most possible and seemingly every citizen has an idea with commercial potential. Sadly, over time, I realized I was wrong. If you scratch most ...
Views: 4714(2 votes) - Successfully Approaching Marketing Professionals - How to Market a New Consumer Product or Idea - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Successfully Approaching Marketing Professionals - How to Market a New Consumer Product or Idea Many inventors and entrepreneurs are so excited about their concept that they neglect to learn, or practice proper business etiquette when soliciting marketing or investment ...
Views: 1095(1 vote) - The 10 Commandments of Selling - by Submitted on Aug 21, 2009 from Geoff FickeThe 10 Commandments of Selling Every successful entrepreneur must achieve a level of sales competence. Short of spending valuable capital on hiring sales professionals, there is no alternative. Selling is to business as fertilizer is to agriculture. Nothing happens in a company until ...
Views: 2551(1 vote) - The 5 Absolutely Essential Personal Traits Needed to Become a Successful Entrepreneur - by Submitted on May 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The 5 Absolutely Essential Personal Traits Needed to Become a Successful Entrepreneur I am often asked by media interviewers, prospective entrepreneurs and college students I mentor to identify the most important qualities that are present in successful small business ...
Views: 1633(2 votes) - The 5 Most Important Items to Fully Address For Entrepreneurs When Writing Business Plans - by Submitted on Jun 26, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The 5 Most Important Items to Fully Address For Entrepreneurs When Writing Business Plans A good portion of my work is devoted to writing and reading Business Plans. My Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm works extensively with small businesses, ...
Views: 916(1 vote)