One Step at a Time: Forget "Clouding Hopping"
In the startup world, there's often the hope, prayer, desire or even daydream that you'll be able to conquer the world. Hit a home run. Or even go from zero to 1 million subscribers overnight. I think we all know that its never that easy. What lies behind each and every seemingly overnight success, is in reality years of hard work, dedication and plain persistence and perseverance. (For those of you familiar with the Angry Birds case study, the team hit their home run on their 51 game! That is to say, they developed 50 other games before creating Angry Birds. These were seasoned pros who knew a thing or two about listening to customer feedback.)
I was reminded by a recent startup/VC breakfast that it's really about taking your venture one step at a time. That is to say, put one foot in front of the over and better not to daydream about scoring the big one. Take it a step at a time. A day at a time. That's how you build a steady and sustainable business.
At this same breakfast, I was reminded that even if young people today can only dream of starting a cafe or a small breakfast place that this isn't to be scoffed at or discouraged. Instead, these are indeed noble pursuits. After all, one of my mentors started in the bakery business some 28 years ago and now runs a 20+ bakery unit operation with approximately 400 employees. Each and every day they serve tens of thousands of customers one roll and coffee/tea at a time. It should be okay for an entrepreneur to start with selling 45 NTD (1.50 USD) breakfasts and know that there is nothing wrong with doing so. Where would the world be without these small business owners pouring our coffees and serving up eggs on a platter? In fact, its from these real "selling" experiences that one can learn the fundamentals of selling. (It really surprises me how many e-commerce teams who are intent on selling things on-line but have absolutely no selling experience at all. Never worked retail.)
One such team who's on this road of taking things one step at a time is Fable and their SmartBoss service. They've worked hard and cultivated their partnership with one of the top 3 human resource/job bank companies in Taiwan, www.1111.com.tw The result is now Fable's SmartBoss is now featured on their partner's website. See below image/link.
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| www.1111.com.tw |
The team worked tirelessly to educate their counterparts at 1111, whether it be their chief sponsor, head of business development or the sales management. They worked to promote themselves. Made technical resources available on site. Worked to understand their partners needs, goals and company structure. Provided marketing messaging and sales pitch decks. Finally, after months of work, the dividends are beginning to pay off for both parties. We look forward to the next steps that Fable will take with their channel partner, 1111.
Don't be such in a rush to "cloud hop" as they say in Chinese. Take it one step at a time. One day at a time.
Don't be such in a rush to "cloud hop" as they say in Chinese. Take it one step at a time. One day at a time.
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