SMART THINKING
SAIL TOWARDS SUCCESS When practically all the major phones and tablets already support Wi-Fi 6, why would you design for anything less?
32 MARCH 2021
A 30-year veteran of the AV/Installation business and Essential Install regular, Pete Baker, President of The BIG Corp, Global Sales Rep and Business Development agency, asks; are you ready to pivot? In 1884 in a small town in Hassroun, Lebanon an eleven-year-old boy, Thannous Michael Saadi made the brave decision to leave his beloved country with his uncle to work in a soap factory in Egypt. Having lost his mother at the age of nine, he had been living with his father. While Thannous loved his father, a spirit of adventure began to stir. At 17, Thannous got word that a group of Lebanese people were heading to the US, he decided to set off to explore the world and boarded a ship. Over the course of the next few years, he travelled across the country, visiting 45 of the then 48 states. At the age of 19, he again boarded a ship and cruised the Caribbean; eventually arriving in the Bahamas. He briefly returned to Lebanon to marry his childhood sweetheart and soon returned with her to the Bahamas. One of their sons, Useph Baker, was my father. Thannous would eventually change his surname from Saadi to Baker and adopt the English version of his first name Anthony. At the time of his death, Anthony Baker had created a successful empire in the Bahamas including numerous commercial real estate properties and a popular hotel. His original store, founded in 1894, is still in operation. His ability to pivot and adapt, not only to a new country, culture and lifestyle, but also regularly exploring new business opportunities was integral to his success. In business there have been countless famous ‘pivots’ that have successfully changed the trajectory of a company. One example is Airbnb. The initial concept behind Airbnb was to provide a housing solution for conferences; air mattresses were used for beds (hence the name). The trio behind Airbnb soon discovered it was not sustainable. However, when they
changed their focus to travelers looking for a cheap authentic place to stay, the wheels started to turn on something much bigger. Airbnb is now valued at 30 Billion US dollars. As we now embark on a new year ahead, what changes will you make in your life and business to create future prosperity? Maybe you won’t leave your country, although I know many friends worldwide who consider this option daily for economic, political or safety concerns. You more than likely will not be changing your name either. However, we are all challenged to consider, how can we grow? How can we depart from the comfort of the status quo? What are the changes we can make to pivot? The entrepreneur in me is regularly considering what changes I should make to my business to remain relevant, create future opportunities and generate further success. Here I will offer some smart and practical ways to pivot in the year ahead.
1) CLEAN UP YOUR IMAGE
Companies with good ideas and poor branding go nowhere. Your brand clean up can start with your logo, tagline, and business cards. It should be clear and resonate across ALL marketing related to your business. This is especially important on your website. Consider the fact that the average click off rate for first time visitors to a website is seven seconds! If someone visits your website for seven seconds, will they know why they should work with you instead of your competitor? The website should be visually pleasing, responsive, and very direct about who you are, what you do and why a prospective customer should work with you.
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