70 Business Spotlight 6/2019 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT
assumption
[E(sVmpS&n]
, Annahme
billionaire
[)bIljE(ne&r*]
, Milliardär(in)
canvas [(kÄnvEs]
, Leinwand
chairman
[(tSermEn*]
, Vorsitzender
competition
[)kA:mpE(tIS&n*]
, Konkurrenz
competitor
[kEm(petEt&r*]
, Konkurrent(in)
concisely [kEn(saIsli]
, präzise
defensive: get ~
[di(fensIv]
, in die Defensive gehen;
hier: beleidigt sein
distinguish oneself from
sb./sth. [dI(stINgwIS
wVn)self frVm*]
, sich von jmdm./etw.
unterscheiden
down-home
[)daUn (hoUm*] US
, bodenständig
faux name
[)foU (neIm*]
, Kunstname
founder [(faUnd&r*]
, Gründer(in)
gas station
[(gÄs )steIS&n] US
, Tankstelle
high-end [)haI (end]
, hochwertig
inappropriate
[)InE(proUpriEt*]
, unpassend
industry [(IndEstri]
, Branche
initial [I(nIS&l]
, anfänglich;
hier: am Anfang
research sth. [ri(s§:tS]
, etw. recherchieren
target [(tA:rgEt*]
, Ziel
unique value proposition
(UVP) [ju)ni:k (vÄlju:
prA:pE)zIS&n*]
, Alleinstellungsmerkmal
unreliable
[)Vnri(laIEb&l]
, nicht verlässlich
wholesomeness
[(hoUlsEmnEs*]
, Bekömmlichkeitto the founder or team, a description of the products
or services the business will offer, a description of
the target market, and an estimate of how much
money you will need to get your company up and
running. It also includes an examination of the
competition and explains how your new company
will distinguish itself from them.
Your business plan is your most powerful tool for
convincing investors to give or lend you money. If
you are starting a company in an established indus-
try, finding data to support your estimation of costs
will be easier. If you’re starting something new, you
may have to seek advice from experts.
Your business plan will change as you go along;
however, a realistic and well-researched business
plan based on facts rather than assumptions will give
you a solid basis with which to start.- Not knowing the customer
Many new business owners fail to understand the
wants and needs of their potential customers. First,
know who your customers are. Many entrepreneurs
have difficulty formulating a clear picture of their
ideal customers, especially those starting online
businesses in which their contact with customers
is limited to the virtual world. If you can’t identify
your customers, you will struggle to find them, and
they will struggle to find you. The more clearly you
can imagine your target customer, the more focused
your marketing can be.
Second, seek out your customers personally. Sam
Altman is an American entrepreneur and chairman
of Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley firm that supports
start-up companies. In a YouTube speech to young
entrepreneurs, he encourages them to “go find
[customers] by hand.” Altman describes how Ben
Silbermann, American billionaire and co-founder
of the social media platform Pinterest, found initial
users by walking around Palo Alto, California, ask-
ing strangers, “Will you please use my product?” In
other words, don’t depend on data you find on the
Internet, which may be unreliable or contextually
inappropriate.
Third, be sure to ask — often — what your cus-
tomers want (see the interview with Pieter Venter
on page 71). Welcome your initial customers’ feed-
back as an opportunity to improve. If they give you
negative feedback, don’t get defensive: Learn from it. - No differentiation from competitors
Many new businesses close because they don’t pro-
vide a benefit or solution that differentiates their
product or service from that of the competition.
A company’s unique value proposition (UVP) de-
scribes the qualities, products, or services that dif-
ferentiate it from the competition. Even if you have
an excellent product or service, without a UVP, you
won’t be able to establish your company as the best
option on the market. Tools
such as the Value Proposition
Canvas, developed by Alex-
ander Osterwalder, a Swiss
business theorist, are availa-
ble online to help you identify
and develop your UVP. Once
you have done this, your UVP
should be clearly and concise-
ly communicated to your customers, employees, and
investors.
In 1978, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who had
taken a $5 correspondence course in ice-cream mak-
ing, started Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in a renovated gas
station in Vermont. They made ice creams with un-
usual flavors and fun names such as “Chunky Mon-
key” and “New York Super Fudge Chunk.” While
the market leader at the time, Häagen-Dazs, used a
faux Scandinavian name to try to add to their high-
end image, Cohen and Greenfield “tried to create an
image of simple down-home wholesomeness,” TIME
magazine wrote in 1985. Cohen and Greenfield’sTurning failure into success
The lights dim, and the first speaker walks onto
the stage to enthusiastic applause. Breaking
into a smile, the speaker begins to explain, in
detail, how and why the business he tried to
get off the ground crashed and burned.
This is a Fuckup Night, a global event series
with chapters in over 300 cities, where poten-
tial entrepreneurs and new business owners
come to hear about and learn from others’ mis-
takes and misfortunes. Steffan Bankier, who
started the NYC division of Fuckup Nights,
told HuffPost.com that “Fuckup Nights [are]
meant to encourage genuine conversation.
That failure is part of any venture. Whether it
be a business, an art project, whatever, it’s all
about failing intelligently, and learning from
it.” Fun and instructive, these events are just
one of the many resources that can help you
build success from failure.
https://fuckupnights.comcrash and burn
[)krÄS En (b§:n] ifml.
, etwa: vollkommen scheitern
entrepreneur
[)A:ntrEprE(n§:*]
, Unternehmer(in)
fuck (sth.) up
[)fVk (Vp] vulg. , (etw.)
vermasseln, Scheiße bauengenuine [(dZenjuIn]
, echt; hier: ernsthaft
get sth. off the ground
[get )O:f DE (graUnd*]
, etw. auf den Weg bringen
resources [(risO:rsIz*]
, Mittel
venture [(ventS&r*]
, Unternehmung, ProjektNew business
owners often
underestimate
the value
of a solid
business plan