Entrepreneurship Archives

Is Managing Rental Properties Right For You?

Are you considering managing your own rental properties? What are the pros and cons of being a self-manager? If you’re looking into renting your properties, you’ll need to decide if you want to manage them yourself or hire someone else to do it. In Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat, real estate agent David M. Greene states the pros and cons of each option, plus the responsibilities you’ll face if you decide to manage rental properties yourself. Continue reading to get a better sense of what it’s like managing rental properties.

Playing to Win: Book Review and Critical Reception

Is Lafley and Martin’s Playing to Win worth reading? Are the tips in the book still relevant today? In their book Playing to Win, former CEO A.G. Lafley and consultant Roger Martin explain the steps for developing a successful business strategy. When the two worked together at Procter & Gamble, they used this approach to double the company’s sales and market capitalization. Here’s our Playing to Win book review, including background and critical reception by the readers.

Making the Most of Real Estate Networking

How to Communicate Effectively in 11 Steps

What are the connections you can make out of real estate networking? How can meeting other real estate professionals improve your business? In his book, Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat, real estate agent David M. Greene says that in order to build your investment “Dream Team,” you need to start by doing some real estate networking. By putting your name out there, you’ll make connections with real estate agents, lenders, contractors, property managers, and vendors. Keep reading to learn how to start real estate networking and how you can build a team from it.

Playing to Win: Cascade Strategy Overview

Companies With Successful Business Strategies

What is the Strategic Choice Cascade strategy from Playing to Win? Why do companies struggle to employ this strategy in practice? In Playing to Win, the cascade strategy involves answering five questions, each leading to the next like a cascading waterfall. If used properly, the cascade strategy can help your business succeed. However, there are many misconceptions about this strategy that prevent businesses from adopting it. Keep reading to learn about Lafley and Martin’s Cascade Strategy, how it works, and some common misconceptions around it.

A Guide to Finding Your Target Audience in Marketing

Are you trying to find your target audience in marketing? How do you choose the demographic that fits you the best? In their book Playing to Win, former CEO A.G. Lafley and consultant Roger Martin explain that there are five questions you should ask yourself when choosing your target market. They also share the most common pitfalls and advice on how to avoid them. Here’s how to choose the right target market for your business.

Company Vision Statement: Charting the Future

Do you want to make a company vision statement? How do you envision the ideal future of your company? When putting together a vision statement for your company, you need to consider not only what purpose your company serves, but also what winning would look like for your business. You need to think about more than what your company does, but why you do it. Here’s how to chart the future of your company.

How to Beat Your Competitors and Win the Market

Is your business part of a competitive market? How can you beat your competitors and become the market leader? There are two main strategies for winning your chosen market: cost leadership and differentiation. Different companies have different strengths that contribute to their ability to excel in unique ways. For instance, small companies can often provide a more targeted, boutique service (differentiation) while larger companies can often deliver quality products at a more competitive price point (cost leadership). Let’s take a look at each strategy in more detail.

The Flywheel Effect: A Guide to Unstoppable Growth

What is the flywheel effect? How does it affect a business’s growth in success and revenue? Coined by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great, the term flywheel effect comes from an actual flywheel—a giant metal wheel that takes a lot of work to get moving, but once it does, very little work has to be put into keeping it spinning. The same explanation can be applied to businesses that are built through six essential steps. Continue reading to learn more about how to ensure your company’s success by using the flywheel effect.

Business Capabilities: What Do You Need to Win?

What is a business capability? What capabilities does your company need in order to win? In simple terms, business capabilities are what a company does and is able to do. If you run a business, it’s important to determine and map your capabilities so you can figure out how to reach your goals. Here’s how to identify, map, and implement your business’ capabilities.

How to Approach Business as a Poker Game

Have you ever considered poker as a business strategy? Are you struggling to focus on your long-term goals, rather than your short-term ones? Former CEO of Zappos Tony Hsieh claims that starting a business is like playing a game of poker. As a business manager, you must focus on the long-term planning for your company’s success, just as you would pre-plan how you’re going to bet or switch tables in poker. Learn how looking at poker as a business may aid you in improving your business strategies and planning.