Economy of Scale Example: How to Compete

Competing in the age of big box stores can be overwhelming. "Mom and Pop" stores have been run out of business by huge corporations like Walmart, Home Depot, Kroger, and yes, even Amazon. Yet, many consumers want to "shop local" and support business owners. But how can a small business compete with the big box giants of today? By applying strategic innovations to their businesses.

But first, we must understand why it is important to have an awareness of economies of scale.

I first learned of the concept of "economies of scale" in my high school business class. It was explained to me in basic terms that big businesses gain efficiencies from being large that make it difficult for small businesses to compete. While economies of scale include things like a knowledge base, expertise, distribution, partners, and advertising, one of the biggest challenges small business owners have in competing with giant retailers is price.

Several years ago, a friend of mine owned a game store where they sold all types of games, both common and unique. He was able to dig into a niche market and were experiencing success.

At the time, the game "Apples to Apples" was brand new and building momentum. My friend started offering this game early on before

Business HacksAdam WitmerMay 20, 2014Innovation, Strategy, Competitive Advantage

How to Design a Business Model

I recently met a fantastic artist. Scott Stearman is a sculptor who specializes in bronze work, such as life-size statues and memorials. The process he goes through to create the end product truly is amazing. Long story short, Scott actually starts his process with a very small clay model. This model is then magnified and processed to create a mold for the bronze, which is then finished. The part of this process that I found most intriguing is that the large finished product is being made from a very small model. This means that any errors that are made on the model are magnified multiple times when it is enlarged to create the bronze mold. Having a half inch error on a model can result in a four inch error when the model is magnified to become eight times larger.

I have found that the same is true with a business model. If a business does not fully refine their strategy on the small scale, it becomes magnified as the business grows. This is not always a bad thing, but how much more effective could a business be by being intentional? If a business model is not intentionally designed, the business will ultimately default on a business model that may, or may not be the most effective model for the business.

Regardless of the size of a business, any business owner can be intentional about the design of their business model by refining four strategies.

Pricing Hacks in Snow Removal; Innovating your Income Stream

This winter has been brutal. We have had more snow than the "blizzard of '78," which I have heard about for as long as I can remember. All kinds of records have been set this year: most snow, coldest days, most school days cancelled. But one thing I haven't heard about is how all of the trouble this winter has caused can be an opportunity for innovation. Innovation opportunities always exist, but when we experience something as extreme as this winter was, innovation opportunities are even more present; the extreme amount of snow that we saw this winter has provided a great opportunity for snow removal businesses to hack their pricing models.

The opportunity that exists is based on an innovative best practice from another industry. Specifically, the hack is to...

Business HacksAdam WitmerMarch 15, 2014Pricing, Hacks, Small Business, Business Hacks

Overcoming Fear Through Devotion

Everyone struggles with the fear of failure, especially when it comes to starting new endeavors. The thought of being unsuccessful often keeps us from heading down a new road. Failure wins before something is even conceived. How many inventions weren't invented because of self-doubt? How many businesses were never started due to this fear? How many people avoid following their passions and dreams because they worry they can't cut it? The answers to these question is, unfortunately: too many. The good news, however, is that the fear of failure can be overcome. Some believe that discipline is the easiest way to overcome this fear. While relying on disciple works for some, I have found something else: devotion. My devotion to the mission surpasses my fears.

The following are three practical ways to overcome our fears:

Change Management, Leadership HacksAdam WitmerMarch 8, 2014Fear, Devotion, Discipline, Mission

Leadership Challenges Today: The Leadership Attention Deficit Disorder

A Leader's primary role is to ensure that a group of people produce a desired outcome. To accomplish this goal, a leader must encourage their team by setting a clear vision. The vision may be a short-term goal, such as a meeting agenda, or a long-term goal such as a five year plan. No matter what the goal, the vision is essential for motivating a team and getting others on board. Some leaders, however, appear to suffer from LADD - Leadership Attention Deficit Disorder.

Leadership Attention Deficit Disorder often manifests itself in three different ares:

Leading Difficult People

Leading difficult people can be like herding cats. No matter what you do, they won't follow you. You have goals to accomplish but certain people just aren't interested in what you are trying to achieve. They want to do things their own way and often seem to just ignore you. We have all experienced this. The good news, however, is that people aren't cats. And, we don't have to just force people to comply with our wishes. There is an easier way. Casting a clear vision as leaders helps us facilitate team progress in the most challenging of circumstances.

Leadership HacksAdam WitmerFebruary 4, 2014herding cats, leading difficult people, leadership

Vision Casting; An Essential To Leadership

Vision casting is often viewed as the job of the CEO. Like a head coach, the CEO sets the direction of an organization and then spends a great amount of energy ensuring that their team also understands and works for the vision. Vision casting, however, isn't limited to CEOs. Great leadership, regardless of a title or position, involves effective vision casting.

You Are Your Primary Advocate

I once heard an author talking about all of the ideas he gets pitched by non-authors who want him

Change Management, Leadership HacksAdam WitmerJanuary 26, 2014vision casting, leadership

The Change Dilemma

Radical leaders understand that change isn't important for getting ahead, it's important for maintaining where we are at. There is often a hidden dilemma behind change; we have to get out of our comfort zone and immerse ourselves into uncertainty. Uncertainty that we will be able to get to the same comfort level that we just gave up. Uncertainty that the change will not be as effective as the method we just left. Uncertainty that we will be as competent in a new method as we previously were. Without change, however, one thing is certain; we will be left behind.

Here are some ways to ensure we are not left behind:

Change ManagementAdam WitmerDecember 11, 2013change, management, leadership

Radical Leadership: The 4 R's of a Radical Leader

Leadership looks different today than it did just a decade ago. In years past, a leader’s authority was often derived from his or her special skill or expertise. Because a leader had a special skill (or inside knowledge), he was able to take an authoritarian my-way-or-the-high-way leadership style. In just a few short decades, all of that has changed. No longer can leaders rely solely on special information or expertise as a leadership advantage. Thanks to Google, information is just too easy to come by. The internet has leveled the playing field so much that newer generations are demanding a radical new kind of leadership. Organizations need radical leaders.

There are four R's to radical leadership:

Change Management, Leadership HacksAdam WitmerDecember 4, 2013Leadership, Change, Innovation

Get Ahead With Business Street Smarts

Everywhere we go, we hear the message that to get ahead in life, we need to have a formal education. The more formal education we receive, the more we will excel in our professional careers. Unfortunately, this has become true in many industries that once allowed you to start a career and enter a new profession, regardless of your formal education.

With the costs of higher education spiraling out of control, many young adults are now finding that advanced education is not an option. The good news is that pursuing formal education is not the only thing that can get you ahead in a career.

Leadership HacksAdam WitmerNovember 25, 2013business, education, leadership

Premium Content - Why I Want to Pay for It

Content is everywhere. Products are available from many different sources. In the online information age we live, there is so much content available for free that you have to wonder why anyone would pay for it. One of the biggest hurdles for us content creators is to be able to justify to ourselves that our content has value. Why would someone want to pay for content when they can get so much for free? And, why would they want to pay for my content anyway?

Michael Hyatt recently published an excellent blog post on this topic where he explains why charging for your content is a good thing. The interesting thing about Michael, a person who makes a living on content creation, is that he also allocates a large budget for spending money on content. He has said that his budget is one of the largest content budgets he knows. While my budget isn't even close to Michael's, I too have placed a value on paying for content and paying for products. You have to understand that I am a "penny pincher" by nature, but I have come to realize that content is more valuable to me when I pay for it. Yes, I would rather pay for content than get it free. Here is why:

General Business StrategyAdam WitmerNovember 13, 2013content, innovation, strategy

How Rules Affect a Corporate Culture

The corporate culture of an organization is the difference between a great place to work and one that is constantly working to retain good talent. While the culture of an organization is something that is talked about quite a bit, I am always surprised how many organizations are not pro-actively creating a great culture that cultivates the type of employees they desire. While corporate culture is usually thought of as a top down initiative, it can be cultivated from within by middle management or even general employees. The challenge that businesses face is to ensure that the culture being created corresponds to the mission, vision, and strategic direction of the company.

Rules Rules Rules

I was recently talking to a friend that works in a call center environment and we were discussing the rigidness of expectations management has on employees. Call centers face some unique challenges in that employees must constantly be available to handle the never ending feed of incoming calls. Therefore, many call centers around the world have a set of defined rules their employees must stay within.

Adam WitmerNovember 11, 2013corporate, culture, leadership

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