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The entrepreneurial edge is a term that isn't easy for many to understand, much less to define within the frame of words. But, the basic concept of having an edge, or the slightest of advantages, over your competitors through a select few practices that only you live by, or workplace values only implemented at your company, is one that resonates with almost every thriving entrepreneur. Therefore, here are a few observations about practices that have been responsible for catapulting many a successful businessperson to prosperity for educational purposes targeted at budding entrepreneurs. Possessing an edge is almost always achieved with clarity of vision by an entrepreneur's side, and it's the daily performance of tasks such as prioritisation of one's workload that can often alleviate much of the angst associated with growing a personal venture. But prioritisation of one activity over another can only be seen through if an entrepreneur has sufficient information about both, and the consequences lying in wait if one is delayed in favour of the other. Thus, an entrepreneur must always stay atop the flow of information circulating through their venture, and satisfactorily recognise the advantages or disadvantages each option on their to-do list entails before proceeding forward with any of the myriad of tasks necessary for their business' growth. This prioritisation in question must be balanced on two, very distinct levels - daily and long-term, for the concerns relative to both can often be diametrically opposed to one another, and its the job of a successful entrepreneur to make sure none of their decisions contradict each other and thus create a problem for either of the timelines. Equally important as prioritisation is the sufficient communication of the same to one's subordinate employees, if any, for such an approach not only greatly reduces the workload in the particular department the entrepreneur deems in need of their attention, but brings, both, employer and employee on the same page and gear for the achievement of the company's objectives together. Moreover, the consistent communication by the entrepreneur of their priorities aids employees in dedicating an added amount of effort toward the facets their superior desires results and recognisable yields in, while, at some point, they can thus be capable of identifying for themselves what their firm requires at any given period in time. Vision and clarity, in context to their personal career and the venture they're currently dedicating themselves toward, can also aid entrepreneurs in the adoption of strategies for their ventures. As retrospective successes of fabled entrepreneurs entail, businesses can require a re-incarnation of sorts, through the changing of their business plans and strategies, during almost every large shake-up that might affect the financial sector they thrive within. The reverberations of a period of either considerable gain or loss within the greater regional market reach all businesses, and handling these effectively and without losing much of the value their venture has managed to garner requires entrepreneurs to drop even the practices that have worked for their business in the past and adapt to their current environment. An example would be a particular company shifting its primary objective as a business from achieving profits to growing at a rapid rate in a market that is perhaps favourable to their product and offers them an opportunity for capturing a greater share within it. The identification of times like these when their venture requires a makeover can only ever be done by an entrepreneur who possess significant knowledge about the sector surrounding them and the competitors they constantly are at loggerheads with. Though many businesses can often be catapulted to success despite their owners only being educated upon the value of their own product, long-term success can only be built upon an entrepreneur who has an edge over the others with their extensive knowledge, and it's therefore essential that any businessperson first and foremost dedicate themselves to gaining all available education about the field they're about to dive into. The so-called edge also can be found with those willing to constantly learn about even those facets in which they've achieved prosperity in, and an open-minded approach is thus invaluable. Those capable of keeping their entrepreneurial pride at side and receive all the information coming toward their way simply through working toward their own success are better suited to handling tough times as a businessperson and have the resources necessary to emerge over them unscathed. Mentors can be found in abundance today, with some of the most noted entrepreneurs too lapping in the advice of those belonging to the previous generations of their trade, and its the understanding that taking lessons of knowledge from those with more experience when finding oneself at a dead-end that aids many a professional find solutions even when most options seem exhausted. The traditional litmus tests of an entrepreneur's fibre, their dedication toward their craft and the hours they're willing to put into it for the sake of its growth, remain effective in identifying those capable of gaining success from the rest, but the entrepreneurs indulging in some of the above stated aspects and possessing an eternal thirst for growth through learning can almost always be guaranteed of standing head and shoulders above the rest and therefore be seen as those wielding the "entrepreneurial edge".

Scaling almost always involves bringing on new talent, but proceed with caution. Hiring a mediocre employee is worse than hiring no employees at all, so take your time and consider the following tips to be sure your new hires come with rockstar-level skills: “The secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world.” – Marc Benioff, Salesforce, CEO “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” – Bill Gates “Make your team feel respected, empowered and genuinely excited about the company’s mission.” – Tim Westergen, Founder, Pandora “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” – Stephen R. Covey, Author “If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large.” – Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon “There’s nothing wrong with staying small. You can do big things with a small team.” – Jason Fried, Founder, 37signals

In the beginning, John Paul DeJoria ran his business from his car. According to a recent Entrepreneur article, “DeJoria was born in Los Angeles, a first-generation American. He started out his business life selling Christmas cards and newspapers before he even turned 10. He also spent time in a gang. The path ahead looked like a disastrous one for DeJoria. But, instead, he created John Paul Mitchell Systems using a $700 loan. He lived out of his car and sold shampoo door to door.” Motivational Sales Story Lesson: We could all use some of Paul Dejoria’s determination and positivity. This is such a motivational sales story, because Dejoria didn’t make any excuses. He easily could have used his homelessness as a reason not to start a business, but he didn’t let anything stop him—and you shouldn’t either. While your case may not be as extreme as his, we all suffer through times where we feel like everything is against us. This story gives me the faith that if you continue to push yourself through hard times (or a rough quarter or two) you will reap the rewards.

Adore or detest his politics, it doesn’t really matter for the point of this story. Ross Perot’s biography includes an incredibly inspiring sales story. According to Sam Wyle, Perot quickly became a top employee at IBM. In fact, one year he fulfilled his annual sales quota in a mere two weeks. Yet, when he tried to pitch his ideas to supervisors he was largely ignored. This led him to leave IBM in 1962 to found Electronic Data Systems (EDS). To get the business going, he attempted to sell the products to large corporations for his data processing services. “Perot was refused seventy-seven times before he was given his first contract.” Motivational Sales Lesson: Never give up! You may have been turned down by ten prospects in one day, but that eleventh phone call could be the one that helps you score your biggest deal of the quarter. In Sales, the ability to develop tough skin and pick yourself up after losses or disappointments is critical.

Ryanair is Europe's most profitable airline ( about $400 million in profit so far this year). In the past 12 months Ryanair has flown 35 million passengers at an average ticket price of of just over $50. And, get this, 25% of its flights are free. Seriously. Billing itself as " The Wal-Mart of Flying". Ryanair's goal is to one day (soon) make Flying absolutely free. So how does it make money? By charging for other services. Advertising revenue comes from commercials on the back seats. Checked luggage costs $3.50 per piece. Food is always extra. By reinventing the business model for winning in their industry, Ryanair is doing just that. And showing us what innovation and imagination is all about in the change-crazy economy we find ourselves operating within IDEATION WITHOUT EXECUTION IS DELUSION. Source : Book - Stunning Sucess - Robin Sharma

Suitmedia is a company engaged in the field of integrated digital technology and marketing consultant . Suitmedia business activities include digital strategy ( digital strategy ), the design and development of websites ( web design & development ), development ofapplication cellular ( mobile application development ), marketing social media ( social media marketing ), as well as advertising digital (digital advertising ). Suitmedia is headquartered in Jakarta and has branches in Bandung , and has more than 50 creative workers including designers, web developers and mobile developers. Suitmedia also actively conducts research and development , and has produced several new Internet companies in the field of electronic commerce ( e-commerce ), namely BukaLapak.com and HijUp.com. How does the model work? They have 4 pillars DIGITAL STRATEGY business consulting marketing strategy online advertising performance marketing DESIGN & CONTENT creative concept UX & UI DESIGN content marketing video & multimedia TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION web development mobile app development e-commerce & crm new product / startup SOCIAL MEDIA social media campaign content & engagement influencer marketing online media monitoring What makes it so special? As a Creative Digital Lab, they have their own way to create amazing things for the customers. With four unique formulae: Insight-Driven, User Experience, 360-Degree View, and ROI-Oriented, they help in boosting the customer’s power to succeed. Action oriented insights Web design and app development is a promising sector for a new generation of college graduates in Indonesia. But because the local market is upping its competitive game, businesses like Suitmedia are now facing challenges. The barrier to entry in this industry is quite low, so fresh graduates or new small companies can offer a few similar services with a very low price. In this case, their advantage is that they have an experienced team that has handled many projects from SMEs to big corporations.” Two biggest challenges in Jakarta are an increasingly crowded market and what is referred to as “talent wars.” With the rise of digital startups ,it is quite challenging to find great talent. The demand of digital talent increasingly exceeds the supply. Also Suitmedia is not the only business in Jakarta feeling the digital talent bottleneck.

The key questions you need to answer to develop a successful customer segmentation strategy for your business 1. Who do we want to talk to? Customers Lapsed customers Potential customers 2. What do we know about these groups? Name Address Phone number, email address Purchase history Profitability Contact history 3. Where do we hold this information? 4. How up to date is it? 5. Does it comply with data protection rules? 6. Have we checked the Telephone Preference Service? 7. Are email addresses opt-in? The same Regulations say you can only email individuals who have specifically consented to receive marketing messages from you - although there's an exception made for your own previous customers. 8. What is the buying history of customers? Are they: big spenders; specialist buyers; occasional shoppers; old customers. 9. Have we grouped customers into different types? 10. Have we developed profiles of each type of customer? 11. Is our marketing communication targeted? 12. Are there some easy wins? 13. In cold contact, what is our response rate? 14. What is our conversion rate?

Engagement doesn’t happen by accident. Smart companies design programs to cultivate these interactions. Here are a handful of examples from the book, “What’s Your Green Goldfish?” that highlight similar types of activities: 1. GameTime At McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds, the employees take the time to just crack open a board game and play. “Maybe it’s because we’re a game development firm, but we find on a Friday afternoon, nothing beats playing a game,” says CEO Donald W. McNeill. “We check out the competition and have a little healthy competition. We typically get a pizza and throw in a prize for the grand winner of the afternoon.” Prizes vary from a “late morning start pass” to “party money.” 2. Hit them with your best shot. When things get hectic and she gets that “I just want to scream feeling” about something or someone, Jennifer Callies of Shazaaam! Public Relations simply opens fire. Granted it’s with a Nerf gun, but the release is very gratifying. “We have a pretty small office and everyone gets along well and has a fun-loving spirit, so it was no surprise when our creative director went out one day and brought back Nerf guns for everyone,” Callies says. “We take our frustrations out via Nerf wars.” They shoot at walls, computers, phones, the damn copy machine and “from time to time, when the urge becomes contagious, we have it all out,” she says. “It’s an ‘everyone for themselves’ kind of war, using cubicles as hideouts and chairs as shields until all of our foam darts run out. After five to 10 minutes of heated battle with Nerf guns and childish fun, we are refreshed and ready to get back to work.” 3. Beer & Tell. According to Rob White, CEO and Co-founder, Zeus Jones, "Most Fridays, we have what we call ‘Beer and Tell,’ where one or more people share what they have been doing with everyone on staff. The beauty of being a small company is that we can still all fit in a room, and celebrate the work, and the little or big successes of colleagues. In addition to our work for clients, these successes include new staff welcomes, engagements, pregnancies, babies, new pets and even winning debates with AT&T over cell phone bills. Big successes are celebrated with champagne— we write the occasion on the cork and keep all these marked corks in a jar." 4. Employees that play (music) together, stay together. Harmonix Music Systems, maker of the game series Rock Band, goes the extra mile to support the company's bands by providing practice space. Down in the basement of their Cambridge headquarters, there's a hidden sanctuary where employee bands can rock out. The dedicated practice space is equipped with stage lights, music equipment and Christmas lights for mood. 5. Healthy competition. At Virginia company Snagajob, the Culture Squad organizes the annual Office Olympics, during which employees [Snaggers] are divided into competing nations—and dress the part. www.emparm.com

InnoCentive is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based crowdsourcing company that accepts by commission research and development problems in engineering, computer science, math, chemistry, life sciences, physical sciences and business. The company frames these as "challenge problems" for anyone to solve. It gives cash awards for the best solutions to solvers who meet the challenge criteria. How does the model work? InnoCentive adopts the electronic marketplace business model. Innocentive earns through- Subscription fees paid by seekers. A commission of reward given to the solver. Through consultancy services that it offers. Through Partnerships like Rockefeller It’s business model can be divided into- The seeker-Has access to a large database of innovative thinkers. They do not have to hire specialised staff to find solutions. The solver-Gets access to a large database of companies in the desired field. He does not need any fee to post his ideas and earns money if his solution is selected. The owner-Earns money through rewards and fees. He also gets money in order to help non-profit organizations and recognition. What makes it special? The Value Proposition that the business model offers is two-fold: Firstly, InnoCentive allows Seeker organizations to reduce their R&D budget by tapping into the wisdom and innovative capacity of a network of more than 200,000 Solvers in order to find solutions to their difficult problems (Challenges). Secondly, InnoCentive gives the opportunity to Solvers to focus on a range of challenging problems of their interest with the hope of receiving a financial reward. Action Oriented insights How can InnoCentive improve it’s business model? Opening a more visible platform for consultancy in improving efficiency of innovation process in organizations. Online selling platform for books and seminars. Diversifying and making the website available in a wide variety of languages. Invest more in advertising and PR. Letting companies hire solvers on a short term basis.

Burger King (BK) is an American global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in the unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain. After Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties in 1954, its two Miami-based franchisees David Edgerton and James McLamore purchased the company and renamed it "Burger King". Over the next half-century, the company would change hands four times, with its third set of owners, a partnership of TPG Capital, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, taking it public in 2002. In late 2010, 3G Capital of Brazil acquired a majority stake in the company, in a deal valued at US$3.26 billion. The new owners promptly initiated a restructuring of the company to reverse its fortunes. 3G, along with partner Berkshire Hathaway, eventually merged the company with the Canadian-based doughnut chain Tim Hortons, under the auspices of a new Canadian-based parent company named Restaurant Brands International. How does the model work? Burger King follows the Franchise Business Model. Burger King Corporation (BKC), the franchisor, offers franchises in the United States. Burger King franchisees operate quick-service hamburger restaurants using certain trademarks, service marks and trade names, and a recognized design, equipment system, color scheme and styles of buildings and facilities, signs, certain standards, specifications and procedures of operation, quality and consistency standards for products and services offered, and procedures for inventory control and management. BKC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Burger King Worldwide, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International. What makes it so special? The reason was Burger King is special is because it provides family friendly dining experiences to the customers. The USP is it’s premium ingredients and signature recipes. Also Burger King is cost efficient as there is no extra delivery charge and there is a minimum service charge. They have competitive pricing. Action Oriented insights How did Burger King restructure it’s strategy? Here's the basic gist of the four-pillar strategy they came up with: Menu —It redid the menu, adding smoothies, salads, wraps and much more to broaden its consumer base. Operations — Burger King changed the way it dealt with franchisees, adding liaisons and committees so that they could work much more closely together. Renovations — Thousands of Burger King restaurants are getting enhancements like digital menu boards, new uniforms and new packaging. Marketing — The Burger King mascot is gone. He has been replaced with a bunch of celebrities like Sofia Vergara and Salma Hayek to appeal to a wider range of people.