Great Gray Owl by Tom Haarman
Category: Amateur
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III with an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4 IS PRO lens and a Marumi 77mm DHG Lens Protect Filter; 1/640 second at f/4.0; ISO 2000
Behind the Shot: My buddy Rob and I were driving some range roads just out of town when we spotted the Great Gray Owl. As we slowly approached, we noticed that she was calling ever so softly. I was about to record a video when we saw another Great Gray Owl down the fence line. I quickly adjusted my camera, thinking there was going to be a territorial dispute. I started shooting as the new owl flew toward the one closer to me. I got goosebumps when I saw it had a vole in its beak. The second owl hovered on the fence post, passed it to the first, and left. Seeing this moment was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. When I look at this image, I see a love story. We should all be so lucky to have someone in our life who loves and cares for us as much as these two care for each other.
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Common Causes behind Start-Up Failure
Now more than ever, youngsters are choosing to abandon the long-going tradition of 8-hour workdays and are opting to work for themselves. Indeed, starting your own venture has a charm of its own. From exercising complete creative control, enjoying flexible work hours and increased authority, the benefits of being your own boss are endless. While an innovative proposal may get you started on your entrepreneurial journey, it takes much more than just an idea to keep you going. Paul Haarman said, lack of funding and investment, poor business strategy, and improper allocation of material or financial resources are all examples of reasons why newly launched brands fail. A few reasons why start-ups usually run out of steam are mentioned below:
Lack of Market Demand:
The success of a start-up depends directly on the market need for the product or service that your company is providing. No market means no customers leading to no cash. Satisfying an existing demand is much easier than creating one. Thus, the secret to growth lies in doing a thorough prior investigation of the market you’re setting foot into. Assess the various products competitor brands are selling, their attributes, and recognize the unmet needs in the market. Based on the fact of Paul Haarman’s evaluation, develop a product or a service that bridges this gap and provides a solution to the problems of your target audience. Nearly 42% of small businesses eventually file for bankruptcy due to a severe lack of market demand.
Insufficient Financial Resources:
Lack of capital resources is the second most common reason why start-ups fail. More often than you think, business owners underestimate the amount of cash needed to keep operations running. Funding the payroll, vendor payments, equipment, maintenance, rent, electricity, and other utilities add up to a significant amount. Financial trouble can also be caused when business owners miss the mark on pricing products adequately. Sometimes in an attempt to boost sales and attract customers, entrepreneurs price their products much lower than their competition. While this tactic encourages sales, it doesn’t generate enough revenue to keep the company afloat. The key is never to let the cash out-flow of your business exceed the cash in-flow.
Inadequate Business Plan:
No organization can thrive without purpose, direction, and control. A solid business plan is like a foolproof guideline that directs the company and its employees toward the ultimate goal. A business plan is vital for many reasons:
The plan thoroughly explains objectives and targets while distributing responsibilities amongst the workforce to ensure efficient and timely delivery of tasks. Without it, the team is left wondering what they have to do and why.
The plan sets realistic deadlines to accomplish desired targets. Unachievable deadlines can place urgency on delivering results and cause workers to compromise on the quality of the results.
The plan imposes a strict budget and monitors cash flow. Inability to adhere to the set financial targets and making decisions on the fly is another reason why start-ups fail.
Poor Marketing:
Marketing is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of a start-up. As a newly launched business, you have to compete with a myriad well-established brands and force your way up to the top. Companies often undermine the importance of marketing during the initial launch stages. Physical and digital marketing are critical to reaching out to your target audience and spreading the word about your brand. Only if consumers know what you have to offer and how it is different from the options already available in the market will they invest in your product.
Paul Haarman observed many business owners often miscalculate a company’s marketing needs in terms of capital required, prospect reach, and accurate conversion-ratio projections. To compensate for the lack of funds, the company then has to redirect cash from other departments, which causes them to stray from their budget and strains their financial goals.
Conclusion:
Nearly 20% of all start-ups fail within their initial stages. While this percentage can be quite intimidating, know that this doesn’t necessarily have to be true in your case. With thorough research, detailed planning, practical strategies, and wise decision-making, launching a start-up can be made a lot more seamless.
Originally Posted: https://paulhaarman.net/4-common-causes-behind-start-up-failure/
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How to Write Your Brand’s Marketing Message
What is brand messaging?
Often, people don’t know how to answer when asked this question says Paul Haarman. So, let us make it clear for you:
It’s the art of putting the right words together to communicate your brand’s essence to potential customers.
In a perfect marketing world, all brands could sit with their potential customers at a café, sip coffee, and do business. In reality, brands have only a few seconds to entice their audience with an ad or website.
This might come as a surprise, but brands too get stage fright. There are times when they know what they want to say, but as soon as they get the attention of their customers, they draw a blank. Brand messaging is more complex than “I’m lovin’ it” or “Just do it.” Those are just slogans.
The key to writing the perfect brand message is encapsulating your brand’s core elements emphasis Paul Haarman. Let’s take a look at them:
Write Your Mission and Vision
Your mission statement tells your customers why you created your business, and your vision statement describes your future goal. Put together both of them, and you’ve got your purpose.
Describe Your Values
We care for our customers.
Our imagination has no bounds.
Our designs break all the rules.
Your values tell your customers the reasons why you do your work.
Position Your Brand
Your positioning statement states the ‘how,’ ‘who,’ and ‘what’ of your business. For example, you are selling shoes, so your positioning statement will be:
For those who are on their feet all day long, Shoenique delivers comfort at its finest.
You have your brand name, product, and what it offers, all in one sentence.
Think About Your Target Audience
If your target audience is adults, you need to ensure that your message speaks to them, Paul Haarman says. For example, shoes by Shoenique are marketed as comfortable and cool that give you confidence. A campaign for Shoenique could be how wearing them can make a person walk taller and purposefully into an interview and ace it.
By speaking the language of your audience, you entice them to give you a chance, which is all you need to get started.
Pick Your Voice
Your brand’s voice can be professional, funny, casual, passionate, or something else, depending on what you sell. Keep in mind that it should represent the values of your service.
So, you have got your mission and vision, values, brand position, and voice. Now that you know where your brand stands, you can develop a message that best describes what you sell advice Paul Haarman. Taking the example of Shoenique, here are some ideas:
Celebrate Your Uniqueness.
Walk with Comfort and Confidence.
Walk the Walk Unlike Ever Before.
So, has your block cleared? We bet you give your brand’s details a once-over to make sure you hit all the marks mentioned above. If you are having trouble coming up with the right message, why not get in touch with John Doe to get help with the ideas. They will give you a new perspective on your brand and help you refine its core to make your message more meaningful.
Originally Posted: https://paulhaarman.wordpress.com/2022/04/16/how-write-brands-marketing-message/
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