The message must be right for the medium – and vice versa. The message and the medium must be in harmony. The “3 Ms of Marketing” are the Market, the Message and the Medium (in that order!). In other words, firstly be clear about the Market you are targeting, secondly decide the precise message for …
Tag: david parish
Your Creative Business Plan
Let’s make a distinction between planning for a successful creative business and ‘writing a business plan’. The two are not necessarily the same. In my own experience, many people write business plans purely because they are a requirement of investors or funders. These business plans tend to be written without conviction and are then quickly …
Ideas don’t make you rich
“Ideas don’t make you rich. The correct execution of ideas does.” So says Felix Dennis, poet, owner of Dennis Publishing, and one of the wealthiest self-made entrepreneurs in Britain. I met him several years ago when he gave generously to support a project I helped with at the National Library for the Blind, though he …
Let’s license works like George Lucas
We can devise business models in the creative industries by learning how to license works of creativity profitably, following the example of George Lucas – and a self-employed commercial illustrator in a small city in Brazil. In this way a business can be devised to transform the owner from a creative labourer to a true …
Be a Quitter
Forget the adage ‘Never Quit’. Instead, quit often! That’s one of the messages in Seth Godin’s new book ‘The Dip’. It links in to what I often write about ‘Saying No’. In order to focus on becoming highly successful in one field, you have to say no to distractions that don’t help you towards your …
Seven Steps to Business Success
There is a lot written about business success and business strategy, but in essence it can all be boiled down to seven simple steps: Be clear where you want to go – your Vision Know yourself and your current situation – internal analysis Understand customers’ needs, competition and external forces Carefully create your unique Business …
Creative Labourer – or Creative Entrepreneur?
Are you a true entrepreneur – or just a creative labourer? This was the question posed in my article about the E-Myth. Here’s a true story. Robert Altman was paid a cool $70,000 (US dollars) for directing the 1970 hit movie M*A*S*H. They needed a song for the movie so Robert Altman’s 14 year old …
The Long Tail
The Long Tail refers to the statistical phenomenon that represents the ‘trivial many’ of the Pareto Principle or ’80:20 Rule’ (see the “95:5 Rule“). Businesses operating in the physical world need to concentrate resources on the ‘important few’, ie the top 20% or even the top 5% that provide the bulk of sales or profits …
Say No to customers
Paradoxically, great art lies in what the painter chooses to leave out as much as what s/he decides to put in. Similarly, the art of business strategy is not just about deciding what you are going to do; just as important is deciding what you are not going to do. Having a ‘must not do’ …
‘Lateral-Thinking’ Leadership
The most effective leaders learn from other industries and sectors. “Most [executives] think they are in touch with the outside world if they play golf with the vice-president of another company in the same industry.” – Professor Peter Drucker. Management Guru. (Financial Times. London. 16 November 2004.) Research commissioned by the UK Government’s Department of …