The difference between a startup and a small business

An article inspired by smart company - (which is in my Spark collection on #keynected ) http://keynect.me/2j

Download keynected - it's like a flipboard on steroids! 

“Startups have two important defining characteristics: Potential for high growth and disruptive innovation. Small businesses, on the other hand, lack those defining characteristics.”

– Alan Noble, head of engineering Google

“A startup isn't a business yet. It's a guess that if you build X product that Y customer will value it. When that changes from a guess to a reality, you're a business. For a new business, they already know the product is valued by customers, it's just a question of whether they can find enough of them and deliver it efficiently.”

– Mick Liubinskas, entrepreneur in residence Muru-D

“A startup is a temporary organisation that is still discovering its purpose and intends to grow very large when it finds it. A small business knows what it is and will probably stay comfortably small forever.

“For example, YouTube was a dating site in its days as a startup but discovered it needed to be a video-sharing product. When it knew this, and understood how to make money, it ceased to be a startup and began scaling. In contrast, a web development agency has a well-understood business model that can immediately be executed. But it is unlikely to be a massive business.”

– Phil Morle, CEO Pollenizer

“Startups are high-growth, high-risk ventures that set out to find a scalable business model in a large market. They almost always have a strong technology component in order to facilitate the ambitions of rapid growth. At the very beginning of a startup, it is usually unclear who the customer is and how they will obtain value from the product.

“Over time, startups have the capacity to make economic and cultural contributions that are disproportionate to their modest beginnings.”

– Scott Handsaker, co-founder Startup Victoria

Keynected: the mobile app for brand engagement, loyalty and revenue

Social is not so social. ‘Friend’ does not mean a friend, and ‘like’ – who really cares? We each accept the calls and texts from our inner circle of family and friends. Beyond this, communication is the noisy, impersonal interruption of eDM and social media. Volume gets bigger and louder, but relevance is lost.

Every brand wants relevant communication with their customers. They use social media but cannot measure its ROI nor customize their message to each customer’s preference, in order to increase engagement and revenue. Every brand knows it is all about mobile today.

Keynected helps customers and their favorite brands connect, meaningfully. Keynected creates a second circle, after family and friends.  Keynected provides a mobile platform for customers to consolidate all social messaging from their chosen brands, select the feeds and notification prominence they want, receive exclusive offers based on their preference and customer status; all on their mobile phone and all without surrendering their personal data. Keynected is a spam-killer.

Keynected cuts through the noise by giving brands a second circle to reach the 20% of customers who drive 80% of their business. Keynected allows brands to segment customers for targeted messages based on meaningful web-style analytics including user engagement rankings.  Keynected provides rich, mobile messaging and track-able content with click-to-book/-buy capability.

Customers cannot have an app for every favorite brand, nor keep up with every message on every social media site. Keynected aggregates all the brand messages customers choose in one place, on their mobile phone, and gives brands an accurate tool to understand how customers interact with these messages. With Keynected, brands can segment their audience to target a specific message to the correct customers - without infringing customers’ data privacy.  

Traditionally, brands communicated for presence, not for relevance. Social media networks are designed for whoever has the loudest megaphone. It’s a shotgun, not a rifle shot.  Social media is not truly social. And friends are not friends. Companies like Facebook and LinkedIn have cast huge, powerful nets but brands are realizing when they reel them in there are very few fish.

Keynected is going against the grain. We are on a quest for relevance: what truly matters to people who today get bombarded with interruption marketing.
Keynected is permission based – customers choose what is relevant to them.
Keynected is the death of spam.  Keynected is where customers and their favorite brands connect, on purpose and with purpose.

Keynected version 0.9.1 is available on the App Store with the enhanced Version 1.0 (including Category-based landing page) due for delivery at the beginning of April 2014.

Join Wayne Schwass and me at an evening on how you can Maximise Government Grants available to you

To my Victorian Subscribers.... join us at  an evening where you can find out how to maximise government grants that may be available to you including .

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

• the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG scheme administered by Austrade)
• The R&D Tax Rebate
• Commercialisation Australia
• Various State and Federal Training Programmes
• The new Victorian Innovation Vouchers Programme

What is the new Victorian Innovation Vouchers Programme?  – As a business owner you could be entitled to up to $10,000 toward Business Coaching, enhancing your own knowledge, leadership and skill base to increase productivity, improve your marketing, sales, innovation and profits and bring about positive change across your entire business.

In other words, if you are committed to significantly improving your business, innovating for growth and you qualify, the Government may assist you for it to the tune of $10,000 to do so!

Further, the Victorian Business Research and Development Voucher Program connects companies with Universities, CSIRO and research institutes and can fund your business up to $25,000.


Find out if you qualify for Government Funded Dollars for the Growth of your Business on the evening on Monday April 15.

Attend this Seminar, hear from the experts and find out more about these grants and if your business is eligible for assistance. Specifically, Michael, Ivan and Brendan will provide key insights, essential knowledge and strategic advice on:

• What grants are available
• How to access these funds;
• Your eligibility criteria;
• How you can qualify;
• Explore different options of maximising your return.

We are delighted to have the legendary Wayne Schwass host this event  - Wayne is one of the most highly rated performers in the AFL history, playing 282 AFL games over 14 years with the North Melbourne Football Club (1988-1997) and the Sydney Swans (1998-2002).

Wayne is an awesome  AFL Broadcaster on TV, radio and online with AFL.com, AFL Live, Triple M Footy and AFL Central- hosting such shows as Off The Bench TV, Footy Feast and calling AF on the AFL Live.

Wayne will share with us the challenges about trying to secure funding from his experiences raising $1M for the charity he founded (thee Sunrise Foundation, and the importance of fundraising, how to do it, why and whose responsible.  This insight will be both motivating and beneficial for all SME's on their journey to secure funding for their businesses.
There are only 20 seats left for this event, so you’ll need to book NOW by simply clicking here to register or calling 02 9262 3333 and asking for Rachael.

• Where: Melbourne Parkview Hotel, 2 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
• Date: Tuesday, 14 May
• Time: 6.30pm
• Expert Presenters: Michael Lynch, Ivan Kaye & Brendan Hook
• Your Hosts & Sponsors: 10X & BSI
• Single Ticket: $45, tax deductible

• Multiple Tickets: 2 for $60, Of course, tickets include comprehensive reference materials and refreshments.

I look forward to discovering what’s potentially available for your business at this special event.
I will keep an eye out for your registration to attend.

7 Steps for SEO Success

By Norann Oleson   •  02/07/2013

It might be true that some sites are “winning” the search engines simply by existing and being well-known reputable sources, like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal.
But it’s even more true that most of us have to work at it.
Don calls SEO “the new direct mail.” Keyword research and implementation are perhaps the most complex, yet effective ways to drive  more search traffic to your website.

The basic strategy of good SEO is that you can research your keywords, optimize your content, track your progress, and then repeat the whole process.

SEO success isn’t entirely dependent on keyword research though. It also involves good content (the stuff people want to read), and link-building through social media and reputable sites. The days of blog comment link-building have gotten tough, but thankfully we have social media on our side!

To fully illustrate the whole SEO process, we came up with the above diagram, but here’s the breakdown:

for full article click here

Be the Change you want to see in the World!

It's amazing how you can achieve change with encouragement, fun, inspiration and a great teacher! What a treat at Manly Corso

BSI Connect - Leadership and Network Breakfast

Check out our last 2 networking breakfast



If you want to come to the next network event click here and , fill in your details and type "brekkas" in the message!!

The Power Of Words

Check out this inspiring video which clearly illustrates the power of words.

• What do you think? 
• What’s the most powerful thing (good or bad) someone told you?
• What do you tell yourself? 
• It's not what you say, its how you say it!!

Leave a comment or ask a question 

5 bad habits that prevent you to listen effectively and the 6 things you can do to improve your listening skills!

A great article By

Mary Goodman and Rich Russakoff - I can really benefit from this!!

Listening is a skill that will make you more successful.... It seems as if some people are just naturally good listeners... the truth is, it is not a gift, its an acquired skill!! (Thank the lord - as I need to do a lot more of it!!!!)

Its interesting that "Listen" and "silent" has the same letters!!

The better you listen, the more others appreciate you and, in turn, the more they listen to you. By listening better, you learn more and misinterpret others less. 

5 Bad habits that get in the way of effective listening. 

1. Multi-tasking - Do you ever look at your phone or check emails during a conversation? If you think you can multi-task while listening, then you don't know what you're missing. It's also painfully obvious to the other person when we are distracted.
2. Me, Me, Me - If your major concern is how others perceive you, or what you'll say next, then you can't focus on what is being said.  Listen with a view to understand - not with a view to respond!! 
3. Brain Speed - If your thoughts outpace the speaking style of the person you are talking with, do you let your mind wander? Do you  interrupt the other person because we believe we know what the person is trying to say but taking too long to say it.
4. What did you Say? - Hearing loss can adversely affect every conversation, from missing out on a pleasant exchange to serious safety issues. If you suspect you have a hearing problem, get tested. If you know you have a hearing problem, get hearing aids. If you own hearing aids, wear them.
5. Line Butting - You're bored with the subject so you interrupt and introduce a new topic. Or worse, you start talking about yourself.

Which ones are you guilty of? 

6 things that you can do that will dramatically improve your listening skills.

1. Paying attention - give the other person your undivided attention. In the words of Gandhi, "Wherever you are - Be there."
2. Listen with your voice -  Practice "Active Listening". Say "no kidding", "um hmm", "go on", or by paraphrasing, which, by definition, is the act of restating or rewording what others say.  Say, "So what your saying is..." Or simply repeat the last thought the other person said. There is no better skill for effective listening then paraphrasing. If you've heard correctly, the other person will generally respond with an enthusiastic yes or nod. If you've heard it wrong, they'll know they need to clarify. Paraphrasing gives them the opportunity to restate what they said so accurate and meaningful communications take place.
3. Listen with your body - Lean forward, put your hands on your chin, or listen with open arms. When your body conveys a listening posture, others become more comfortable and open. If appropriate, take notes. In a business meeting, it shows your interest and helps you stay focused. Nodding is also a key component of your listening posture. And smiling. Smiles are contagious and make others feel comfortable, and the more comfortable we are, the better we communicate. Establish and maintain eye contact. Not only is this reassuring to the other person, but it enables you to read their body language which can convey more than their words. As Yogi Berra said, "You can observe a lot by just watching."
4. Button up!! - Don't interrupt. You hate it. So do others. It's rude. Unless you're seeing a fire erupt behind the person speaking, let them finish. Encourage them to fill out their thoughts by saying, "tell me more." When we interrupt, the other person loses their focus and we lose the opportunity to fully understand what they're trying to convey. Make a conscious effort to see how often you interrupt others over the course of a day. Hopefully, it won't be a rude awakening.
5. Ask questions - In the words of Stephen Covey, "Seek first to understand, then be understood. This involves a very deep paradigm shift. We typically seek first to be understood. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. They are either speaking or preparing to speak."
6. Talk less - A good philosophy is that conversations should not just be about you, but about we. As the Greek sage, Epictetus, observed: "Most of us were born with two ears and one mouth." That's a pretty good ratio between listening and talking.

really - listen up and listen better!!