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Articles by Geoff Ficke

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216 articles by Geoff Ficke · showing 50

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By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Why Students Make Excellent Entrepreneurs

by: 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 willing to forego a corporate job right out of school; a job that for so many has been a pre-occupation (and the dream of tuition strapped parents).

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,227 views3/5 (5)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Most Under-Utilized Resource Entrepreneurs Neglect to Take Advantage of Is Local Universities

by:Geoff Ficke The Most Under-Utilized Resource Entrepreneurs Neglect to Take Advantage of Is Local Universities

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,500 views1/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Historic Link Between Tulips and The Sub-Prime Mortgage Debacle

by: Geoff Ficke Almost every living individual is being effected adversely in some way by the international economic meltdown we are experiencing today. The genesis of this severe financial downtu is attributed to the United States government encouraging the expansion of homeownership to people who would have historically been deemed unworthy of obtaining credit.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,068 views

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

A Real Time Case Study On How to Fail

I 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, cultured and harvested. Taking shortcuts always results in failure. My consulting firm reviews hundreds of new product ideas, inventions and small business projects each and every year. We have been doing so for over two decades. Very few of the deals we review ever become commercial realities.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,285 views2.7/5 (3)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

How to Make a Single Mall Kiosk Into a Multi-National Company

One 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. The homer usually comes when you just try to make contact with the ball and put it in play. My consumer product marketing consulting firm counsels dozens of entrepreneurs every year. Very often, these admirable, ambitious go-getters are driven to be as big as they can be, as fast as they can be.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

5,077 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Before Asking Others to Invest in Your Project Prepare to Answer the Question That Always Comes

by: Geoff Ficke Before Asking Others to Invest in Your Project Prepare to Answer the Question That Always Comes Recently I reviewed a Business Plan that was submitted with a goal of raising a $2 million angel funding round. The product was a Hair Care Accessory that had real commercial potential. If I were grading the plan in one of my classes I would have given it a solid B. I was smitten with most of the assumptions that the document detailed to support the projects viability, except one.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,256 views2/5 (3)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Make Your Passion for Fun A Key Part When Seeking New Product Opportunities

Most 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 seeking entrepreneurial opportunity. Sadly, most people are totally risk averse and eliminate themselves from the potential rewards available almost exclusively to entrepreneurs. The perceived risk taker (the entrepreneur) is, in actuality, not the real risk taker.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,075 views3/5 (4)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Invention of Interchangeable Parts Terrified Government 200 Years Ago-and Today

by: Geoff Ficke Since the beginning of time, until the middle of the 19th century the production of goods was conducted on an artisan, piece by piece basis. Over these many centuries the center of the individual’s universe was the local environ where commerce and enterprise were conducted on a small scale, often bartered basis. The idea of mass production was impossible to fathom.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,285 views1/5 (2)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Securing Professional Help - How to Market a New Consumer Product Idea

by: Geoff Ficke Securing Professional Help - How to Market a New Consumer Product Idea The last article in this series considered the mindset and attitudes required to be a successful marketer of consumer products and services. We discussed whether to utilize professional Consulting firms or to take the plunge and self-market your project. Here are some ideas on securing talent on a local, regional, and possibly pro-bono basis.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

951 views2/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Importance of the Unreasonable Man

Almost 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 reward benefits. You are expected to pay your bills. Pay your taxes. Drive responsibly. Not yell fire in a theatre. Doing these things nets you no special extras. All of the great ideas or advances in history have evolved from unsafe, unconventional ideas.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,519 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

How to Self-Analyze Your Consumer Product Idea To Facilitate Bringing It to Life

by: Geoff Ficke How to Self-Analyze Your Consumer Product Idea To Facilitate Bringing It to Life Today I was approached by a person with an interesting Consumer Product concept they hoped to bring to market. The idea potentially has considerable utility. I say “potentially” because it is still only an idea. I am often asked how to gauge whether a new Consumer Product idea, service or concept has real viability to be successful in the contemporary volcanic Retail Marketplace. Here are three rules to use to self-screen your concept before attempting to build and market the idea.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,198 views2/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

10 Bullet Point Options for Bootstrapping Your Small Business or Consumer Product Opportunity

by: Geoff Ficke 10 Bullet Point Options for Bootstrapping Your Small Business or Consumer Product Opportunity Almost every small or micro-business, entrepreneur or inventor faces a harsh financial reality when starting out. They have little or no access to venture capital, financing or grant money. The funding source that is realistically available to them is family, friends and their own ability to bootstrap their business.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,786 views1/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

How to Snatch Commercial Failure From the Jaws of Victory

by: Geoff Ficke As readers of my articles well know, I run a marketing and product development-consulting firm. We review hundreds of novel consumer products, new service concepts and prototypes each year. The level of creativity contained in some of these offerings is truly stunning and always amazes. Entrepreneurs have always found the United States to be the mother lode of places to birth ideas and bring them to successful fruition in the worlds most aggressive, cluttered marketplace.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,364 views

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

An Eccentric Lifestyle Popular in the Early 19th Century Has Left Us the Simple Graham Cracker and More!

by: Geoff Ficke An Eccentric Lifestyle Popular in the Early 19th Century Has Left Us the Simple Graham Cracker and More! The Presbyterian Reverend Sylvester Graham, an early 19th century proponent of an extreme, aesthetic lifestyle, is largely forgotten today. During his life, however, he was amazingly popular and many of the theories he espoused are actually popular to this day, though he is rarely credited with their acceptance. He was also widely reviled and a controversial figure of derision.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,500 views

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Having a “Better Mousetrap” Is Not Enough to Propel a New Consumer Product to Success

by: Geoff Ficke Having a “Better Mousetrap” Is Not Enough to Propel a New Consumer Product to Success This past week I reviewed a new Skin Care concept. My Product Development and Consumer Product Marketing Consulting firm reviews hundreds of projects in numerous categories each year. Many are presented in ways similar to this Anti-Aging range of topical creams and lotions: incomplete and poorly.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,295 views1/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

A Baseball Player as an Entrepreneurial Role Model

Watching the Chicago White Sox win the World Series for the first time since 1917, I was struck again how wondrous this beautiful sport still can be. The purest American game, baseball teaches so many of the values we appreciate in all areas of life. Hard work, doing the little things, hustle, overcoming adversity and never quitting are lessons we learn playing Little League baseball. My firm specializes in small business development and boot strapping entrepreneurs. The virtues we see in every baseball game are directly applicable to success or failure for inventors and companies.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,369 views

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The 10 Commandments of Selling

The 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 alte ative. Selling is to business as fertilizer is to agriculture. Nothing happens in a company until somebody sells something. There are natural born salesmen. However, with application, practice and determination, anyone can hone selling skills and develop a style compatible with their personality. As an old sales manager, I have had the opportunity to work with every level of sales talent.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,642 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Hit the Prospects Hot Buttons to Close More Sales

At 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 every sales presentation is to close the sale, and this is the only acceptable outcome any good salesman expects.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

5,633 views3/5 (3)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

5 Questions That Must Be Answered Before Attempting to Fund or Launch Your Consumer Product

5 Questions That Must Be Answered Before Attempting to Fund or Launch Your Consumer Product I am constantly amazed at the naivety of first time entrepreneurs and inventors when it comes to the due diligence they must conduct in order to get their idea, concept or prototype to market. Even with the amazing information tools at hand in the 21st century, so many still try to fake out the marketplace by taking shortcuts. This is the equivalent of death by neglect.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,458 views2/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

How Modern Gastronomy Has Been Influenced by The Commercialization of Ancient Condiments

by: Geoff Ficke How Modern Gastronomy Has Been Influenced by The Commercialization of Ancient Condiments Several years ago I had the good fortune to re-visit the ruins at Pompeii near Naples, Italy with my family. I had been to the ancient site some 30 years before, but the excavation of the volcano shrouded city had progressed a great deal in the interim and there was much that had not yet been discovered on my earlier visit. Our very informative guide advised us that archaeological work and discoveries would be ongoing for many decades still.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,581 views

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Converting an Idea to Income Is a Process That Requires Planting and Fertilization, Not Hope and Dreaming

by: Geoff Ficke Converting an Idea to Income Is a Process That Requires Planting and Fertilization, Not Hope and Dreaming Under the category of inexperienced blind hope, a surprising number of people that approach my Consumer Product Development group with a new business idea want us to find someone who will buy the concept in its undeveloped form. This always amazes, even after so many years of hearing these vapid elevator pitches. A person has an idea, they have performed little or no due diligence, and they believe it has commercial value. Daffy!

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,468 views2/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

5 Tips for Small Businesses and Start-ups to Use To Appear Bigger tha They Really Are

by: Geoff Ficke 5 Tips for Small Businesses and Start-ups to User To Appear Bigger tha They Really Are For many years I have worked almost exclusively with entrepreneurs, inventors and small businesses seeking to start, or grow a business against daunting odds and competitive disadvantages. We specialize in Consumer Products, packaged goods that are marketed in every category and sales channel. Despite the deck seemingly being so stacked against these micro-enterprises it is amazing how many succeed.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,421 views2/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

An Exclusivity Strategy Can Be Crucial To Successful Brand Marketing

by: Geoff Ficke Many of the inventors and entrepreneurs we deal with in our consumer product marketing business approach us with dreams of selling product to the masses. This can be lucrative and a proper launch strategy in cases where all of the stars in the galaxy line up properly. How often does that happen? Mass marketing success is contingent on economies of scale, production advantages and large budgets for penetrating a clamorous commercial environment.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

5,208 views

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Great Entrepreneurs Build Strong International Brand Names

Their Successors Often Lose Focus And Greatly Damage These Franchises If you are of a certain age you will vividly remember the following names: Helena Rubenstein, Faberge, Germain Monteil, Trigere, Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Max Factor, Schwinn, W. T. Grant, Montgomery Ward and Chuck Taylor. Each name represented a hugely successful consumer product brand. Each of these brands was grown from the entrepreneurial seed of a visionary. Unfortunately, each was subsequently abused, in several cases terminally, by non-visionary corporate bean counters. A classic example is Revlon.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,133 views1.3/5 (3)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Did a Fragrance Really Trigger the Events That Led to the Infamous Beheading of Marie Antoinette?

by: Geoff Ficke Did a Fragrance Really Trigger the Events That Led to the Infamous Beheading of Marie Antoinette? Jean-Francois Houbigant launched his famous Perfume atelier and shop on the Fauborg St. Honore in Paris in 1775. This was during the gilded age of French royalty and of the elite that that parasitically clung to the Court. Luxury, hedonism and sensuality were the cornerstones of life for these denizens of hedonism.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,288 views2/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Business Model Must Be Innovative and Flexible

What does the following list of companies have in common? A&P Hudson Motor Car Co. Montgomery Ward TWA Horn and Hardart Studebakerr Indian Motorcycler Bonwit Teller Woolworthr Bethlehem Steelr Polaroid LTV These Companies were successful, recognizable brands in their respective categories. They were publicly traded and a number were in the Nifty Fifty in the 1970’s and/or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The element they all have in common (and with hundreds of other equally recognizable names) is that they did not innovate.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,333 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Our Demise is Greatly Overstated The United States’ Future is Incandescent

by: Geoff Ficke As we slog along under the full weight of the current financial calamity, there is much weeping and gnashing of teeth about the future of the United States. Many of our countries fiercest enemies and critics are gloating over their perception that our wave has crested and we have entered a period of steep decline as an economic, military and cultural power. Amongst the citizenry, there is a palpable sense that the country is on the wrong track.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,441 views2/5 (3)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

A Simple 20-Step Test That Will Confirm Whether or Not a Product Development Project Is Market-Ready

by: 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 to save clients time, money and mistakes. This goal is best achieved when we are involved in a nascent project from inception. Unfortunately this is not always the case.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,457 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Which Business Structure Is Best For Your New Enterprise?

The 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 economy. It is estimated that the underground economy consists of about 10% of all commercial activity in the United States. This includes legal and illegal activities. A kid cutting your grass for $20 is technically working black. The handyman that repairs your patio for cash might be working black.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,494 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Strategic Alliance - The Underused Option

You 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 efforts. Many creative people have an area of knowledge in which they excel. They are in their comfort zone there and can appear to be a master of this precise universe. However, taken just a bit outside the protective lines of this tight little planet, they are lost souls.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,174 views3/5 (2)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Seek Out Honest Criticism of Your Business Plan And Learn to Accept and Act on It!

by: 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 stuck in my cranium and been of particular use in my business career; “People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise”.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,299 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Human Genome Project Is One Of The Worlds Great Scientific Achievements

It Also Offers Entrepreneurs an Amazingr Lesson About Competition Mapping the human genome had been a goal that modern bio-scientists yearned to conquer for decades. Human genome, basically a map of each humans cell make-up, if properly researched and documented, could provide the answer to myriad mysteries, including: why we age, genetic markers, causes and cures for diseases and many more questions previously thought unobtainable. The drive to chart this monumentally complex scientific puzzle lead to an interesting competition.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,226 views1/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Opportunity and Innovation - The Power of Weird Thinking

“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 serial inventors repeat success, again and again. Entrepreneurs are born, not made. Thomas Edison performed over 1000 experiments before perfecting the electric light bulb. Think of that fact, and apply it to people in general. He failed 1000 times before getting it right.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,223 views2.5/5 (2)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Competition Keeps Successful Entrepreneurs Sharp

Every 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 of playing three straight playoff games on the road in front of hostile crowds. Entering the tou ament, the Steelers were not favorites to win a championship. But they did.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,609 views3/5 (2)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

How a Pre-Sell Campaign Will Mitigate Financial Risk and Confirm Market Acceptance for New Consumer Products

How a Pre-Sell Campaign Will Mitigate Financial Risk andr Confirm Market Acceptance for New Consumer Products by: Geoff Ficke Our Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm typically works with two types of clients. One is a startup requiring total support and guidance from conception through market launch. The other is to provide re-boot services for already existing product that has been unsuccessful in the marketplace. The startup is a far easier project to control and nurture.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,429 views2/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Lesson of “I, Pencil” An Essay on Economic Freedom for the Ages

The 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 founded the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in 1948. As I conducted my sophomore research I noted that the thoughts and articles of Leonard Read were inevitably intertwined with the ideas of the capitalist pioneer Mr. Smith. At that time I stumbled upon an essay that Mr.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

9,464 views2.7/5 (3)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Taking Shortcuts in Order to Secure Investment Funds Is the Pursuit of Fools Gold and Insures Failure

Taking Shortcuts in Order to Secure Investment Funds Is the Pursuit of Fools Gold and Insures Failure by: Geoff Ficke Just today, on a single Linked-In group I visit, I have seen at least five naked pitches seeking funding for a new consumer product, concept or invention. This occurs almost every day on these sites. The efforts are always clumsy, transparent, sophomoric, and can only lead to futility.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,496 views1/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Essential Lessons for Today From a 13th Century Friar

by: 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 topics. The writer was the eclectic, brilliant Franciscan friar, Roger Bacon. Bacon was born to a prosperous English family in the 13th century, attended Oxford University at the age of 13 and soon commenced a career as a teacher at Britain’s most famous university.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,549 views3.3/5 (4)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

How An Immigrant With Just a Few Canaries Builds a Vast Fortune

In the 1920’s Germany was in tatters. The formerly great empire was dismantled, the powerful army humiliated by its defeat in World War I and the population starved, cold and living in despair. Businesses that had been successful before the war were decimated by the outcome. There was no way to earn a living. For many Germans the only reasonable option available to pursue a better life was to immigrate to America. Before the outbreak of World War I, Max Ste had operated a successful textile business.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,433 views2/5 (2)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

A Strong Sales Model Underlies Every Assumption In a Business Plan

One 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 narrated Sales Model is essential to convey the scope and validity of an opportunity. The most elemental data point required to commence assembling a strong sales proposition is the Cost of Goods (COG).

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,237 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Occam’s Razor Offers a 700 Year Old Rule of Great Import to Modern Inventors

KISS Is Just A New Turn On An Ancient Theorem Most of us are familiar with the colloquial term “keep it simple stupid” or KISS. The phrase, often used derisively to pan a complex over-analysis of a problem, is part of the current idiom. The assumption that simplicity is the preferred route to successfully discovering the answer to a particularly complex problem is actually grounded on a 700-year old philosophical theorem: Occam’s Razor. William of Occam was a 14th century Franciscan friar from England.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,206 views2/5 (2)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Ten Commandments for Entrepreneurs

I 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 taking projects. Trying to short-circuit the list is a death knell for any start-up. The Ten Commandments for Entrepreneurs #1 Never Take Shortcuts! The market is unforgiving. You only get one shot at making a GREAT First Impression!

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

3,132 views3/5 (3)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

Marketing and Selling Are Crucial to Success...and Very Different Tasks

“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 understand the difference between selling and marketing. In mature businesses, sales and marketing departments often are competitive with each other. The marketing department creates advertising, sales promotion, sales collateral, display and branding strategies applicable to a product.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,934 views3/5 (2)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

10 Reasons to Be Passionate About Your New Business Idea

by: 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 palpable, easily identifiable and crucial to success. The following are 10 benefits that every inventor or entrepreneur should consider when evaluating the passion they bring to their project.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,519 views2.5/5 (2)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The 4000 Year Old Egyptian Mystery That Teaches To This Day

One of the great entertainment values available to almost anyone with a cable television service is the History Channel. The volume and quality of wonderfully instructive and entertaining programming on offer is amazing. I have never watched a reality show, or a celebrity dancing display, but I rarely miss the exciting offerings of the History Channel. Recently the channel has been immersed in the subject of Egyptian antiquities.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,288 views1/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

I Can’t Find Funding. Is My Idea Dead? No, Consider a Campaign to License!

Most inexperienced entrepreneurs are unaware of the many options and alte ative 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 often is dropped. Driven inventors attend invention trade fairs, venture capital conferences, small business incubators, and network at every possible opportunity in search of funding and working capital for their invention.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,813 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The First Commercially Sold Mouthwash Actually Invented a Malady for the Product to Cure

The 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 Lister, the pioneer of antiseptic surgery. In distilled form, Listerine was sold in the early years of the 20th century as a floor cleaner and gonorrhea treatment. However, it was only in the 1920’s that the product started to sell in great volume, and only because of a clever marketing strategy.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,546 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

How an Ingenious Footwear Idea Snatched Defeat from the Jaws of Victory!

Several 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 and amazing styling cues that would make them a “must own” for every woman interested in shoes, meaning every woman everywhere.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,260 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Prolific Inventor That the World Has Mostly Forgotten

The 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 few others, are well remembered and honored for their spectacular achievements. Their legacies are tribute to their genius and the possibilities available to any American willing to exploit our capitalist system that honors and rewards innovation.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,288 views3/5 (1)

By Geoff FickeRecently published1 topic

The Origins of Modern Banking Are Inter-twined With an Ancient Military Order

The world is currently fixated on the international credit crisis and the role banking has played in this debacle. We take it for granted that commerce flows quickly and accurately across borders and frontiers. A resident of Maine can purchase a tank of gas at home, or in Italy with the same credit card. The purchase will be accurately debited to their account, their credit limit will be adjusted and the merchant will receive an electronic transfer of the charge into their account almost simultaneously.

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

2,762 views2/5 (2)

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