Episode 51: GRIT...Doing the Dirty Not-So-Sexy Work of Entrepreneurship w/David Simmons

SHOW NOTES:

This week next level entrepreneur David Simmons and I took the conversation to another level as we chatted about the dirty work of entrepreneurship.

Highlights from the conversation:

David Simmons

● Business consulting with entrepreneurs.

● Started in advertising as a research analyst, then switched to sales analyst, to manufacturing, to business analyst. After moving with a competitor as a global brand manager, accumulating 15 years of experience.

The dirty work of entrepreneurship: The things that entrepreneurs want to avoid in the process of starting a business.

● Costs to sell: Entrepreneurs and , surprisingly even companies, avoid spending before being able to sell.

● Research: Sometimes because of fear or the product not being good enough or because of lack of time. It could also be because of receiving too much feedback, provoking analysis paralysis. Analysis paralysis can stop entrepreneurs from launching a great product because they are questioning every decision and element from the product.

● Behavior flexibility: It’s easier to follow your own ways and strategies, but they probably won’t work in every venture you take in life. It’s necessary to be able to adapt to the results of a market research, a new brand, or a product flop.

● Testing: Tweaking products is an extra step that few people actually enjoy, but it’s the final wall before a successful product release.

The importance of research

● It has always been important, but COVID-19 made it even more essential. It’s necessary to figure out the state of the industry and the product. Is it viable nowadays, or not anymore? Are people buying?

● Checking out what competitors and doing and how they are doing it. Price point analysis, marketing strategies, checking if they are leaving space for other competitors to enter the market, etc. After completing research, there will be a clear picture of how competitors overlap between each other, and what blank spaces they are leaving for someone else to fill. “The point of differentiation”.

● Research helps find what your own product is missing. A lot of entrepreneurs are scared of this because they don’t want to be wrong, but it’s necessary to present the best version of the product and correctly satisfy the needs of your clients.

● Understanding clients, their pain points, and needs. You will never succeed unless you can 100% get what your clients value and what they don’t. Without research is like being blindfolded.

● Doing research BEFORE crafting the product will save you a lot of time. No need to re-do, only to apply the knowledge.

See you on the next one!

Hosted by: Dr. Maiysha Clairborne

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