It is my belief that the most successful have found their “Why” they know how to communicate their why and are doing it. What is a Why and why is it important? In the past it may have been referred to as your passion. “Find your passion and make it your business model.” If you find your Why and start a business, people that share your Why will also find you and want to do business with you since your passions are the same.
During this Covid 19 shutdown many people are looking to find a business that they can start from home to supplement or replace their regular income. So how does someone start a business during a pandemic shutdown? An online business platform may be the answer.
Let’s look at a couple of examples of a business that was saved from failure during the shutdown and one that started up.
Robbie’s Piano Lessons
Robbie loves music and has been teaching others for several years how to play the piano. The love of music and his desire to work with primarily kids easily defined his Why and he built a business around his Why.
In most cases when someone takes musical instruments or voice lessons they go to a music teacher or vice versa. The Covid 19 shutdown made it impossible to conduct business.
Robbie decided that he needed to go online with his business. He found tools that can be implemented through any smartphone to help him visually demonstrate to the student how a chord was played and then watch the student play.
Robbie then implemented a new payment method so he could receive electronic funds.
His next task was to market his service online. Now instead of relying on bandit signs on busy street corners he advertises online and his students are now from all over the country rather than just the neighborhood.
Nafariti improves her online business model
Nafariti is a successful Amazon marketer but she needed to find a better way to sell products in a crowded market platform such as Amazon. In the past, she would find trending products to sell and she didn’t always want to offer the trending demands. Following the trends meant more competition and higher advertising costs. She began to follow influences which led to unanticipated trends. For example, she discovered that the Covid sheltering had opened up a need for home entertainment and leisure demands. She was able to catch a trend before it became a trend by simply deducing what leisure activities and products people would have in their homes. Inflatable pools became the obvious solution for every Mom to keep their sanity over the summer months. Along with pools outdoor games became a product in demand.
What will an online enterprise that does business based on their why experience? W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne wrote about businesses that thrived in highly competitive markets by attracting customers to a model that shared their values. This model was called the Blue Ocean Strategy. Many companies adopted the strategy Apple Computer, Southwest Airlines, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-a are all very good examples that rather than competing in a red swirl of bloody business with small margins and marginal customer loyalty.
In conclusion
Discover your why. Learn to communicate your why. Develop your marketing campaign so that your values find their values. Today an online business platform allows you to create, build and reinvent yourself.