Prentzz
BuSo Pro
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2015
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Note: This is nothing groundbreaking, but it is cool imo.
Another note: I'm not Oscar Wilde or CCarter so don't talk smack about my writing m8.
I've been quite fortunate (read: proactive) with regards to who I've been able to meet and discuss business with over the past year or so.
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Josephine Fairley who founded Green & Blacks chocolate (the coolest food brand, and officially cooler than Chanel), which was sold to Cadbury's (Kraft then Mondelez) for a reported £130 million. I got to talk to her one on one for a while and picked up a bunch of advice that I though I'd share.
Story Time:
Jo told a funny story about how they managed to get G&B's stocked in a top supermarket retailer by an odd turn of luck. Because of their efforts to improve farmer conditions abroad they were the FIRST EVER product to be marked "Fairtrade". This meant that all across the nation local vicars and priests were calling up supermarkets and DEMANDING that G&B's be stocked on their shelves, as to try and promote Fairtrade and better working conditions. It worked, and this was their first major supermarket.
1. "Doing good is good for business" - Filling a need
So for those of you who don't know, G&B was founded under the premise of selling an ethical chocolate that was organic. Jo is pretty much a hippy, in a good way. She made a key point that doing good is good for business, from day 1 and still to this day, they use the same farmers who are paid large sums in comparison to other cocoa farmers.
How can this be related to online business? I guess the key thing is that she provided real value, SHOCK. G&B was started because Jo herself wanted an organic chocolate and saw an opportunity in the market for the product. She gave her customers exactly what they wanted, the feeling that they were doing something good. Make sure that what you're putting out there addresses an ACTUAL issue that your consumers have. eg; SerpWoo has been successful because Jason created a product that he wanted to use, which has real value and actually HELPS it's users to overcome a problem they face.
It's also key to note that a large amount of SUPER successful businesses are ones that people are passionate about, not always the case, but often. Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, G&B... If people are really passionate about something they'll do a lot of promotion for you. Tesla has spent $0 on advertising (as far as I'm aware), but by creating a great product that people are passionate and excited about, they've grown rapidly.
2. Design is crucial
One point which she focused in on was that there is no way she would have been successful had the design not been amazing. This is particularly important in retail because obviously to catch someones eye and have them take it off the shelf, design plays a crucial part. But this is the same online, a good design is #1 for me when i'm purely scrolling the web. If I go onto a site and it doesn't LOOK great then I instantly click back, we are spoiled for choice as consumers, there are plenty of sites which have awesome designs, so we become picky. If you're building a site that you want to keep and build as a real asset then please make it look great. If we look at Buzzfeed, the design is pretty great imo, it's not going to win any awards but it looks attractive. How are you going to try and compete against that with your small viral site when I can clearly see which WP theme your using. That's not to say you can't get loads of visitors and make money with your crappy site, it's just that to build up a momentum and consistent reader base you need to have a great design imo.
3. Know when to ask for help
If you haven't read "Think and grow rich" by Napolean Hill then upgrade your life. What Jo said about getting outside assistance was so reminiscent of Hill's discussion of the 'master-mind group'. Jo was previously a journalist and was able to use her previous experience to get significant exposure in national news. Leverage your assets!
Make sure that you're networking with others and build up your 'master-mind group', if you haven't PM'd anyone on forums to discuss IM and growing your knowledge then what are you doing. Waiting for golden nuggets? Go out there and learn from people who know more than you. @Ryuzaki will attest to me annoying him with PM's, but we have had some conversations that have been extremely beneficial to me. Be proactive but make sure that it's mutually beneficial.
Another Story:
Lady Sainsbury, wife to the founder of Sainsburys (top supermarket), attended a dinner party where the host gave her some G&B's chocolate. She went home and encouraged her husband to stock it in their stores. Shortly after it was stocked nationally. Right place, right time.
No groundbreaking news here, but I thought it was cool and hopefully made for a slightly interesting read.
Another note: I'm not Oscar Wilde or CCarter so don't talk smack about my writing m8.
I've been quite fortunate (read: proactive) with regards to who I've been able to meet and discuss business with over the past year or so.
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Josephine Fairley who founded Green & Blacks chocolate (the coolest food brand, and officially cooler than Chanel), which was sold to Cadbury's (Kraft then Mondelez) for a reported £130 million. I got to talk to her one on one for a while and picked up a bunch of advice that I though I'd share.
Story Time:
Jo told a funny story about how they managed to get G&B's stocked in a top supermarket retailer by an odd turn of luck. Because of their efforts to improve farmer conditions abroad they were the FIRST EVER product to be marked "Fairtrade". This meant that all across the nation local vicars and priests were calling up supermarkets and DEMANDING that G&B's be stocked on their shelves, as to try and promote Fairtrade and better working conditions. It worked, and this was their first major supermarket.
1. "Doing good is good for business" - Filling a need
So for those of you who don't know, G&B was founded under the premise of selling an ethical chocolate that was organic. Jo is pretty much a hippy, in a good way. She made a key point that doing good is good for business, from day 1 and still to this day, they use the same farmers who are paid large sums in comparison to other cocoa farmers.
How can this be related to online business? I guess the key thing is that she provided real value, SHOCK. G&B was started because Jo herself wanted an organic chocolate and saw an opportunity in the market for the product. She gave her customers exactly what they wanted, the feeling that they were doing something good. Make sure that what you're putting out there addresses an ACTUAL issue that your consumers have. eg; SerpWoo has been successful because Jason created a product that he wanted to use, which has real value and actually HELPS it's users to overcome a problem they face.
It's also key to note that a large amount of SUPER successful businesses are ones that people are passionate about, not always the case, but often. Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, G&B... If people are really passionate about something they'll do a lot of promotion for you. Tesla has spent $0 on advertising (as far as I'm aware), but by creating a great product that people are passionate and excited about, they've grown rapidly.
2. Design is crucial
One point which she focused in on was that there is no way she would have been successful had the design not been amazing. This is particularly important in retail because obviously to catch someones eye and have them take it off the shelf, design plays a crucial part. But this is the same online, a good design is #1 for me when i'm purely scrolling the web. If I go onto a site and it doesn't LOOK great then I instantly click back, we are spoiled for choice as consumers, there are plenty of sites which have awesome designs, so we become picky. If you're building a site that you want to keep and build as a real asset then please make it look great. If we look at Buzzfeed, the design is pretty great imo, it's not going to win any awards but it looks attractive. How are you going to try and compete against that with your small viral site when I can clearly see which WP theme your using. That's not to say you can't get loads of visitors and make money with your crappy site, it's just that to build up a momentum and consistent reader base you need to have a great design imo.
3. Know when to ask for help
If you haven't read "Think and grow rich" by Napolean Hill then upgrade your life. What Jo said about getting outside assistance was so reminiscent of Hill's discussion of the 'master-mind group'. Jo was previously a journalist and was able to use her previous experience to get significant exposure in national news. Leverage your assets!
Make sure that you're networking with others and build up your 'master-mind group', if you haven't PM'd anyone on forums to discuss IM and growing your knowledge then what are you doing. Waiting for golden nuggets? Go out there and learn from people who know more than you. @Ryuzaki will attest to me annoying him with PM's, but we have had some conversations that have been extremely beneficial to me. Be proactive but make sure that it's mutually beneficial.
Another Story:
Lady Sainsbury, wife to the founder of Sainsburys (top supermarket), attended a dinner party where the host gave her some G&B's chocolate. She went home and encouraged her husband to stock it in their stores. Shortly after it was stocked nationally. Right place, right time.
No groundbreaking news here, but I thought it was cool and hopefully made for a slightly interesting read.
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