Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 17, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 21 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . … Public relations By Victor Cruz Victor Cruz is principal of MediaPR, plying his trade in Massachusetts for 25 years. Contact him at vcruz@mediapr.net. 10) Know thyself. Comedians must know their audience. Public relations people must know their readers and audience, depending on the target publication. 9) Know the press. Don't pitch your products/services to an editor. Pitch your CEO, customer success stories and expertise. Publishers look for stories to educate and entertain readers, not for companies looking to sell products. 8) Press releases. Most press releases are not newsworthy unless money is at stake (e.g., acquisitions, mergers, venture capital funding). Survey findings can be newsworthy. Announce proprietary news relevant to your customers. 7) SEC compliance. To stay in compliance with U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission rules, public companies must use a wire service to dissemination news of material value. 6) Content marketing. So-called content marketing is a relatively new trend. The lesson here is companies must write their own content to promote messages in a way to inform the audience. 5) External blogs. These offer a platform for the CEO's vision. Select a handful and contribute vendor-neutral, advisory articles repeatedly. 4) Interviews. If you land a coveted press interview, be aware your role is to help that reporter write the best story they can. Don't make it all about you. 3) Case studies. Customer success stories pointing to return-on-investment gains are your best kind of testimonial and make for excellent follow-up sales material. 2) Company blog. Use your blog and social media to share information of relevance to your community, not primarily to toot your own horn by solely touting your products/services. 1) Social media. Use Facebook to support company culture (e.g., ugly sweater day), allow access to employees under limited policies. Use LinkedIn for joining vertical groups. K N O W H O W Funding a startup begins with the basics 10 1: B R A N D G R O W T H I nc. magazine's annual 5000 issue introduces the newest crop of America's 5,000 fastest-growing companies. e magazine has a pullout list – longer than your arm – including little-known companies such as SwanLeap, PopSockets, Ship- Monk, SnackNation and Fundrise. e fastest-growing company is Swan- Leap. is business saves large compa- nies money on shipping and manages logistics. Started in 2013, its three-year growth rate is 75,660 percent with $99 million in revenue in 2017. Long before a startup gets its first customer, the founders are thinking about solving a problem and dominating their market by releasing their disruptive product into the world. ey want to create the next big thing, autonomous driving cars, artificial intelligence soware, or a way to revo- lutionize the foods we eat. is message is music to the ears of investors seeking to hitch their money to a fast-moving startup, with the goal of a large payout in return. Start with reality Before you start a business, think about why you're doing it. e best advice I ever received was don't do it because you're running away from something, do it because you're running toward something. Start a business because you want to have control over your destiny, you love the work, or to provide a better solution. Always keep customers in the forefront of your thoughts by solving their hair- on-fire problems. When you do, your chances of success increase. Know the difference between a small-business owner looking to open a neighborhood pizza restaurant and an entrepreneur who dreams of opening the next great pizza chain. ere's room for McDonald's, Five Guys and e Boynton Restaurant & Spirits. e world needs entrepreneurs tackling Mount Everest-size problems and small businesses providing solutions now; knowing which one you are will help you build and fund your vision. Match capital to your needs If your aim is to build a fast-growing business in a large market, investors may be the way to go. Fast-growing companies solving large problems will attract angel investors and venture capitalists. Investors are investing in the man- agement team's vision. In Dave Berkus' book "Raising Money" he says entrepre- neurs need three things when it comes to raising capital: 1) A large potential market, 2) an easy-to-understand story to communicate to potential customers, suppliers and investors, and 3) a secret sauce – a unique factor assuring success. Small businesses don't have access to wealthy investors or bank funding, but that doesn't preclude other capital resources. Your first option is to bootstrap it. Use your savings, retirement account, home equity line of credit, credit cards, cash in your life insurance, or sell your valuable possessions. Family and friends may be an option to invest, but contact a securities lawyer to ensure no laws are broken. Another option is a microloan from a community development organiza- tion. Look for local and state economic development funds or grants. e City of Worcester has a microloan program, grants and other incentives. Crowdfunding – raising small amounts on the internet – may be an option. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are great ways to test how the public may view your offering. Learn about investment crowdfunding: visit Wefunder, Indiego- go or SeedInvest. In the end, know your options, and leave no stone unturned. BY ANTHONY PRICE Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal G rowing a brand into other markets or strengthening its performance in core markets means a crystal-clear look at what makes your product or service sell and using that as a jumping-off point. Here are some ideas on growing your company's brand. Know brand growth doesn't mean reinventing the wheel. Dan Lansman, president of Site Impact, told Entre- preneur.com some companies, with good intentions to grow their brand, overcomplicate things. is can result in a loss of value to the customer. "Sometimes the best way … is to take a traditional product or an old-school way of doing business … and use modern technology or a creative new perspective to improve it and give it a fresh approach for modern times," he said, maybe in the form of an app, rewards program or other means. Know your company's key per- formance indicators. is can help reverse-engineer ways to boost growth, says Joe Worth at Entrepreneur.com. And they need to be specific. For exam- ple, measuring customer satisfaction is too vague, but measuring the amount of customers referring your company to others is valuable. Net profit can be a misleading indicator; better to track gross margin by product to hone in on low-selling products or services. Consider brand licensing options. Brand-expansion expert Pete Canali- chio told Forbes.com brand licensing might work for your company if: You understand your company and thrive off what it's good at; you have a growth plan; you can expand where it makes sense (diversifying but not diluting); and your company aims to be part of something bigger. "Every brand that is looking to go beyond what it is currently known for, regardless of the mechanism it intends to use, needs an expansion point," he writes. "Coca-Co- la has taken its message of happiness to the Olympics for almost 30 years through their lapel-pin program be- cause that particular emotion translates perfectly to such a huge global event." Anthony Price is founder and CEO of LootScout, which held a seminar Sept. 15 in Worcester to help entrepreneurs raise mon- ey. He is the author of the book, "Get the Loot and Run: Find Money for Your Business." Reach him at anthony@lootscout.com. W W W

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