iAdviz

Companies can put their information to work by teasing out novel patterns, driving productivity, and creating new solutions. In an increasingly customer-centric world, the ability to capture and use customer insights to shape products, solutions, and the buying experience as a whole is critically important. Research tells us that organizations that leverage customer behavioral insightsoutperform peers by 85 percent in sales growth and more than 25 percent in gross margin. Customer data must be seen as strategic.

Starting a business can be both exhilarating and challenging. It requires your full attention and energy. It all begins with an idea, an observation that there is a problem and the belief that you have a new solution – or a better one. Starting a new business can be an adventure  … hang on and enjoy the ride

Often people think that you need to raise a lot of money to build a successful online business. In this day and age, that’s not true. You don’t need venture capital money to get your startup off the ground. You can do it with little to no money. Let’s take a look at how you can start a business with little to no funding.

Starting a business is no small feat. It requires a lot of planning, organisation and plenty of perseverance to turn your idea into a reality. Even after you’ve done that, there’s no guarantee you’ll succeed. That said, if it all goes well, the rewards you reap are immeasurable. If you’re looking to start your own business, but you’re not quite sure how to get the ball rolling, perhaps these six tips could help you.

As Business owners, we need to regularly keep track of how our business is doing; keep an eye on the various activities and processes of our business; find out which areas are performing well and grow them; figure out which areas are not doing well and fix them. But, how do we constantly monitor the various aspects of our business? How do we identify new growth opportunities and respond quickly? Logging into various systems and pulling out the required information may be fine, once in a while. But doing it every day or week can be time-consuming. On the other hand, without this information, you have to simply rely on gut instincts and guesswork. That’s where business dashboards come in.

You have a powerful idea for the next big thing, but before you sell it to anyone, you have to get it all down on paper. It’s time to make a business plan. How do you know if you’re headed in the right direction? Washington State University created an infographic that provides 10 guidelines to help prospective entrepreneurs organize their thoughts and wow potential investors. The infographic details some major questions that aspiring CEOS need to ask themselves like, what problem is my business going to solve, what’s my company’s mission, and what do we do better than anyone else in the market? But you aren’t quite done yet. A thorough business plan includes who your target demographic is, the conditions of the market you’re entering into and accounts for worst-case scenarios. And of course, there’s the money: how much you need to get going, and where it’s going to come from once your business is up and running. For more information, like how much funding you’ll need be

Do you have trouble identifying new markets to enter? This process can help you uncover and prioritize the best opportunities for business growth.

The success secrets of entrepreneurs actually aren't as secret as you think. In order to be successful as an entrepreneur, you first need to understand what type of entrepreneur you are. There are two primary types of entrepreneurs – those that have created their own businesses in reaction to their life and those that create business from inspired vision and action. Reactionary entrepreneurs got fed-up with working for someone else. They are dollars driven and fear-based. They want to have their own business because they're tired of reporting to someone else and fantasize about making more money than they could in their day job. Then there are inspired entrepreneurs. They have an inspired vision, are fearless in negotiating unchartered territory, and love the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Risk-taking comes naturally to them, they know how to be in the unknown, and the more they integrate themselves with their businesses the more success they experience.

In today's ever changing business climate, an entrepreneur can easily become overwhelmed. It's vital, though, to stay focused on your goals for the company. Even with a firm strategy in place, every entrepreneur should do these six things to clear a path to success:

We live in an era of swooshes, calendar reminder beeps, vibrating incoming emails, and rings every waking moment of the working day. It’s tough to stay 100 percent productive as an owner at times. We have ADD (attention deficit disorder) as a culture. Sometimes, I long for the peace and quiet I had during the first year of business, back when my office was the guest bedroom of our apartment. Ah, those were the days. For all of us, it may sometimes seem like our office is a revolving door of questions and issues. Aside from the impromptu Q&A sessions, managerial follow-up, the check-in meetings, and the pep talks, you also have to finish your list of things to do. Here’s what I’ve learned about being productive: