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Articles from Geoff Ficke | Selfgrowth.com
- Taking Shortcuts in Order to Secure Investment Funds Is the Pursuit of Fools Gold and Insures Failure - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2013 from Geoff FickeTaking 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 ...
Views: 1354(1 vote) - How a Pre-Sell Campaign Will Mitigate Financial Risk and Confirm Market Acceptance for New Consumer Products - by Submitted on May 06, 2013 from Geoff FickeHow a Pre-Sell Campaign Will Mitigate Financial Risk and 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 ...
Views: 1278(1 vote) - College Campuses Are Amazing Resources for Entrepreneurs to Utilize When Launching a Business - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke College Campuses Are Amazing Resources for Entrepreneurs to Utilize When Launching a Business Recently I read about a new cosmetic product that was launched on a college campus. This bootstrapped product was taking advantage of a resource that can be available to all, but ...
Views: 1124(3 votes) - Drop the Dreams and Establish Solid Goals and Plans In Order to Succeed in Start-up Business - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Drop the Dreams and Establish Solid Goals and Plans In Order to Succeed in Start-up Business Recently I watched a television show which featured Inventions, Small Business Start-ups and Entrepreneurship as central program topics. A panel of experts reviewed product ...
Views: 1197(3 votes) - Consider the Menu of Services a Project Will Require Before Interviewing Professional Consultants - by Submitted on May 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Consider the Menu of Services a Project Will Require Before Interviewing Professional Consultants Google the word “Consultant” and millions of links immediately pop on to your computer screen. Refine the search term and a smaller, but still massive army of sites will ...
Views: 1045(3 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: 1232(2 votes) - 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: 2225(2 votes) - 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: 1498(2 votes) - 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: 1570(2 votes) - The Most Useful Funding Technique for Funding a Business Startup Is the Oldest: Bootstrapping - by Submitted on May 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Most Useful Funding Technique for Funding a Business Startup Is the Oldest: Bootstrapping My Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm is approached almost daily by entrepreneurs seeking to launch a new enterprise. For many of these aspiring business ...
Views: 1316(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: 1803(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: 1085(2 votes) - 10 Bullet Point Options for Bootstrapping Your Small Business or Consumer Product Opportunity - by Submitted on May 05, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: 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 ...
Views: 2642(1 vote) - Words Used to Present Your Business Proposition Must be Carefully Chosen - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Words Used to Present Your Business Proposition Must be Carefully Chosen This week I was forwarded a Business Plan from a Venture Capital principal for whom I perform consulting services. This gentleman had read the elevator pitch for the product and had initial interest in ...
Views: 1283(1 vote) - Business Plan Mills Turn Out Documents That Are Expensive--and—Mostly Useless to Entrepreneurs! - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Business Plan Mills Turn Out Documents That Are Expensive--and—Mostly Useless to Entrepreneurs! The Business Plan, and the process involved in crafting these essential documents, is one of the most maligned areas in all of small business. Many start-up firms and ...
Views: 1329(1 vote) - Converting an Idea to Income Is a Process That Requires Planting and Fertilization, Not Hope and Dreaming - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: 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 ...
Views: 1314(1 vote) - 5 Tips for Small Businesses and Start-ups to Use To Appear Bigger than They Really Are - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke 5 Tips for Small Businesses and Start-ups to Use To Appear Bigger than 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 ...
Views: 1267(1 vote) - Adopt a Pre-Sell Strategy to Drive Interest in Your Project Before Seeking to Attract Investment Funding - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Adopt a Pre-Sell Strategy to Drive Interest in Your Project Before Seeking to Attract Investment Funding Recently I met with a prospective client who presented my Consumer Product Marketing and Branding Consulting firm with an overview of his project, its development ...
Views: 2136(1 vote) - The Most Under-Utilized Resource Entrepreneurs Neglect to Take Advantage of Is Local Universities - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby:Geoff Ficke The Most Under-Utilized Resource Entrepreneurs Neglect to Take Advantage of Is Local Universities Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Artisans and Small Businesses are very often bereft of funds needed to secure professional help that would be beneficial in leveraging their projects ...
Views: 1348(1 vote) - What Is 3-F Funding and Why Do Entrepreneurs Need to Understand the Vetting Process for Securing Funding? - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke What Is 3-F Funding and Why Do Entrepreneurs Need to Understand the Vetting Process for Securing Funding? Many years ago, when I was a young, ambitious, aspiring entrepreneur I was imbued with the conceit that venture capitalists, investment banks or angel investors would ...
Views: 1779(1 vote) - 5 Questions That Must Be Answered Before Attempting to Fund or Launch Your Consumer Product - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2012 from Geoff Ficke5 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 ...
Views: 1324(1 vote) - Customizing Products and Services Presents Entrepreneurs a Great Way to Bootstrap a Business - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Customizing Products and Services Presents Entrepreneurs a Great Way to Bootstrap a Business We live in a world where mass production and scalability have enabled consumers around the world the opportunity to enjoy a wider range of Consumer Products and Services than ever ...
Views: 1470(1 vote) - Why Is Laser-Like Focus So Crucial and Yet So Difficult for Entrepreneurs to Maintain - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2012 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Why Is Laser-Like Focus So Crucial and Yet So Difficult for Entrepreneurs to Maintain When we work with small businesses, entrepreneurs and inventors in our Consumer Product Marketing and Branding Consulting group we constantly find ourselves using and reinforcing the ...
Views: 1454(1 vote) - The Old Adage “You Get What You Pay For” Is Especially Important to Service Providers in Today’s Economy - by Submitted on Oct 27, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Old Adage “You Get What You Pay For” Is Especially Important to Service Providers in Today’s Economy The 19th century British essayist John Ruskin once presciently stated, “There is scarcely a thing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a ...
Views: 1400 - One Mans Junk Creates Another Mans Fortune - Similar Opportunities Exist Almost Everywhere for the Ambitious - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke One Mans Junk Creates Another Mans Fortune - Similar Opportunities Exist Almost Everywhere for the Ambitious In 1989 a Canadian college dropout named Brian Scudamore stopped at a McDonalds to grab a cheeseburger. While waiting for his food order he noticed a dented, beat up ...
Views: 1730(1 vote) - How a Simple Box Concept Changed World Trade And Fostered the Rise of a 3rd World Middle Class - by Submitted on Oct 14, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke How a Simple Box Concept Changed World Trade And Fostered the Rise of a 3rd World Middle Class For almost 4000 years the methodology used to ship finished goods, raw materials and minerals between distant points on the globe did not change. A transport ship pulled into a ...
Views: 1476(2 votes) - Want to Kill a New Business Opportunity? Avoid These 5 Often Repeated Mistakes - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Want to Kill a New Business Opportunity? Avoid These 5 Often Repeated Mistakes I review new Business Opportunities for a living. My Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm is besieged with presentations, Executive Summaries, product prototypes and ...
Views: 1122(1 vote) - The Importance of Focus Groups and Their Alternatives To Consumer Product Marketers and Entrepreneurs - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Importance of Focus Groups and Their Alternatives To Consumer Product Marketers and Entrepreneurs My Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm offers a variety of services to clients. One that we frequently utilize, and is often misunderstood is the ...
Views: 2308(1 vote) - Unique Small Businesses Have Become Highly Desirable to Multi-National Companies - by Submitted on Sep 18, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Unique Small Businesses Have Become Highly Desirable to Multi-National Companies For over 50 years Estee Lauder has been the pre-eminent luxury Cosmetic, Fragrance and Skin Care Company in the Beauty Product world. Since the founding of the firm by Mrs. Lauder in the early ...
Views: 1386(1 vote) - Having a “Better Mousetrap” Is Not Enough to Propel a New Consumer Product to Success - by Submitted on Sep 12, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: 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 ...
Views: 1150(1 vote) - A Case Study in Very Bright Successful People Making Really Bad Product Marketing Decisions - by Submitted on Sep 12, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke A Case Study in Very Bright Successful People Making Really Bad Product Marketing Decisions As my readers know I run a Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting Company. We review hundreds of Inventions, Innovations and New Product Concepts each year. These are ...
Views: 1341(1 vote) - A Great Example of Building a Successful Start-up Gift Marketing Business from a Nice Personal Habit - by Submitted on Sep 12, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke A Great Example of Building a Successful Start-up Gift Marketing Business from a Nice Personal Habit Recently my Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm was engaged by a client seeking to leverage a Small Business opportunity from a personal habit she ...
Views: 1175(1 vote) - In a Jobless Economic Recovery Why Not Create Your Own Job? - by Submitted on Sep 11, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke In a Jobless Economic Recovery Why Not Create Your Own Job? These are troubling economic times in the United States and in Europe. Even the least informed citizen instinctively understands this fact. Government debt is piling up, countries are bankrupt, companies are ...
Views: 1533(2 votes) - Why Is It Immigrants Are So Successful as Entrepreneurs While Fewer & Fewer Americans Even Try? - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2011 from Geoff FickeWhy Are Immigrants So Successful as Entrepreneurs While Fewer & Fewer Americans Even Try? This week I had a Speaking Engagement scheduled in Jackson, TN. Upon arrival I settled into my hotel and it being early evening I asked the front desk attendant what restaurants he would recommend for ...
Views: 1685(1 vote) - The Nearly Forgotten Fashion Pioneer Who Changed the Way Women Dressed - by Submitted on Jul 22, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Nearly Forgotten Fashion Pioneer Who Changed the Way Women Dressed Mention the name Chanel and virtually every woman, and most men immediately have a mental picture of the famous logo, eponymous boutiques, couture fashion and famous Fragrances created several ...
Views: 3096(1 vote) - Before Asking Others to Invest in Your Project Prepare to Answer the Question That Always Comes - by Submitted on Jul 15, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: 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 ...
Views: 1109(3 votes) - Make Color & Style Indispensible Elements to Sell More Products - by Submitted on Jul 15, 2011 from Geoff FickeMake Color & Style Indispensible Elements to Sell More Products Have you never visited a Williams Sonoma store? Notice how the toaster they sell for $300 per unit is always displayed so prominently. Have you ever asked yourself who needs a $300 toaster when a perfectly acceptable bread ...
Views: 1296(2 votes) - The Simple Mundane Product Invention that Changed a Sport and Created a Fortune - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Simple Mundane Product Invention that Changed a Sport and Created a Fortune When I was a young boy growing up in Kentucky almost every town of any size had a drug store, a dry goods store, a grocer, a gas station and a billiards parlor. At any time of the day local men ...
Views: 1824(1 vote) - Why Don’t Business Schools Produce more Entrepreneurs? - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Why Don’t Business Schools Produce more Entrepreneurs? For most of my life I have been a serial Entrepreneur. Even as a kid growing up I knew I wanted to control my own destiny. In order to be free and self-supporting I was constantly seeking opportunity in every way ...
Views: 1236(2 votes) - An Example of Remora Marketing That Launched the National Chain Drug Store Boom - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke An Example of Remora Marketing That Launched the National Chain Drug Store Boom Before the middle of the 20th century there were no national chain drug stores. The neighborhood pharmacy was typically owned by a local druggist. There were multi-door local groups of stores ...
Views: 1948(1 vote) - The Cincinnati Native Who Created the Pet Food Industry in the Mid-19th Century - by Submitted on Jul 13, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Cincinnati Native Who Created the Pet Food Industry in the Mid-19th Century Since the domestication of the dog some 10,000 years ago, man’s best friend enjoyed a very limited diet of table scraps, grains and scrounged bits and pieces scoured from fields and city streets ...
Views: 1335(1 vote) - Time Is Never on the Entrepreneur’s Side - by Submitted on Jul 10, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Time Is Never on the Entrepreneur’s Side In the early 1960’s, when the Rolling Stones were trying to become successful as a “blues band”, their first commercially successful recording was a ballad called “Time is on my side”. For the Rolling Stones time certainly has been ...
Views: 1142(1 vote) - The Pioneer of Personal Success Literature Should Be Required Reading for Today’s Leaders - by Submitted on Jul 10, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Pioneer of Personal Success Literature Should Be Required Reading for Today’s Leaders When I was a young chap just out of college in 1969 and about to start a business career I was very fortunate to have had a mentor. This gentleman was a successful manufacturer in ...
Views: 1833(1 vote) - The 5 Personal Traits Essential for Achieving Entrepreneurial Success - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The 5 Personal Traits Essential for Achieving Entrepreneurial Success I have worked with Entrepreneurs, Inventors and businesses large and small all over the world in my career as a Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consultant. For every 20 opportunities we review, ...
Views: 1247(1 vote) - The Simple Wisdom We Learn from Studying Ancient Greek Rhetorical Form Chiasmus - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke The Simple Wisdom We Learn from Studying Ancient Greek Rhetorical Form Chiasmus The ancient Greeks perfected and gifted to us the unique rhetorical form known as chiasmus. Simply stated, chiasmus is a figure of speech in which two phrases are inverted to display a ...
Views: 1298(1 vote) - Business Should Offer More than Just a Product They Should Try to Offer a Buying Experience - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Business Should Offer More than Just a Product They Should Try to Offer a Buying Experience The hugely successful entrepreneur Debbi Fields was once asked what it felt like to be a winner in the cookie business; she replied, “I never felt like I was in the cookie business. ...
Views: 1177(1 vote) - Classic French Milled Soap Offers a Lesson in Creating A Proprietary Marketing Niche for Common Products - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Classic French Milled Soap Offers a Lesson in Creating A Proprietary Marketing Niche for Common Products One of the most difficult realities an aspiring Consumer Product Marketer must confront is how to present their Brand as a fresh, original, worthwhile counter-offering ...
Views: 2018(1 vote) - Making a Minor Product Usage Change Can Propel Major Sales Advances - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke Making a Minor Product Usage Change Can Propel Major Sales Advances In the middle of the 20th century pre-packaged foods and mixes were not as ubiquitous as they are today. Typically, a middle class home had a housewife present and preparing her families meals from scratch. ...
Views: 1303(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: 1329(1 vote) - 4 Crucial Elements to Include in Your Consumer Product Branding Strategy - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2011 from Geoff Fickeby: Geoff Ficke 4 Crucial Elements to Include in Your Consumer Product Branding Strategy When I started to Market Consumer Products 40 years ago the term “Branding” was one I never heard. The term was not one that enjoyed the currency it enjoys today. In the years since formal Branding ...
Views: 1483(1 vote)