“Down any road, there’s always a left or a right turn. You just can’t see it from the starting line” – Robert Greenberg, CEO of Sketchers

If you can anticipate that there will be difficulty in your business then you will be able to overcome a roadblock that much faster. A
boxer taking an out of nowhere haymaker will go down, but the prepared fighter can roll with the punches.

In the context of business; a well rounded and sound business plan will be able to accommodate those “out of the blue” dilemmas much better than one that never considered the possibility of an economic downturn, a strike or a natural disaster.

Are you prepared for all of the possible scenarios that could affect your business?  If so, how?

Daymond was the Keynote Speaker at the 2010 Early Stage East Venture Conference which showcases early stage companies drawn from the Information Technology, Enterprise Software, Internet Technology, Manufacturing Technology, Electronic Materials, Financial Services, Telecommunications and other fields.

It’s harder to gain new customers than it is to retain current ones. Similarly, it costs more to develop new customers than is takes to maintain current ones. The trick in all of this is to put out something so original and appealing that the die-hard fans help you to bring new followers in to the fold.

I’ve talked before about making the customer believe you, but your goal is to build such a brand loyalty that the believers spread the message. Word of mouth about a product will provide a more lasting interest than any retweet, interactive ad or athlete sponsor ever could.

If you don’t know about QR Codes yet, then you haven’t been doing your homework because as of last week just about all of New York City was seeing them flash across Times Square.

To honor all things innovative during Internet Week 2010, the Thomson Reuters building displayed QR codes for agencies like NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Business Express, and City of New York Parks, which then directed users to websites for more info.

Mashable reported that even though the QR codes received prominent placement, they lacked in “exciting and mobile-friendly content.” While that might be true, at least it was a step in a mainstream direction, and I hope all of you are gearing up your cell phones for the QR Code invasion.

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