Design Thinking For All Things New

Design Thinking

A good place to look for further information on this is the SIE website, details of which can be found here:

SIE Website

The Innovation Process has a few steps these are;

• Hunch
• Stronger
• Observant
• watch someone do a task
• immerse yourself in a task
• 1-1 meetings or group forums 
• record facts and don't interpret them at the same time
• Insight
• you can start to interpret the facts you recorded
• understand the pain and pressure points
• Opportunities
• Here you are starting to create ideas
• Consider how might we or how might I?
• Customer Empathy
• Who are you designing for?
• Your idea needs to have impact and value
• Idea
• Develop ideas from your insights and opportunity spaces
• The quantity of ideas is important
• Some ideas will be spaced out, other blue sky and others grounded
• Spaced out, unachievable for the moment, illegal or cost prohibitive
• Blue sky- could really make a difference and change behaviour
• Grounded- safe, incremental changes, could already exist
• Develop a couple of viable options
• Communicating your idea is important remember the problem, the solution, the benefit, viability and the feasibility

And don't, make a television/ toaster :P

Developing a Business Idea- Where to start

 Where to start

 

When you think you have an idea for a business it can be hard to know where to go from here. Some people develop a business idea over night, some people think about and develop a business idea over time. There are three stages that all ideas will go through, these are;

 

• The Discovery stage, in this stage you will have spotted an opportunity, a "gap" in the market
• The Planning stage follows- looking at the implementation of an idea
• The Launch stage- including growing and sustaining a business

This blog post will look at the discovery stage in a little more detail, as this is the starting point for all business ideas.

 

 

 

There are two approaches that can be taken to develop an idea the "Inside Out" approach and the "Outside In"

 

 

Inside Out

• Problem solving
• Skills and expertise
• Good communication
• Collaboration
• Dealing with limited information
• Team Player

 

Outside In

•  Market trends
• Changes in technology
• Friends and Family
• Things that annoy you
• Social trends
• Political Trends

A Good Idea

 

A good idea will have three interlinked characteristics, viability, feasibility and desirability

 

 

 

 

Desirability

• what someone wants and will pay for
• something that solves a problem
• provides a customer gain
• something they don't know they need yet. provides a "nudge"
• solve it well and customers will pay a premium for it

Feasibility

 

• technically and operationally possible
• Someone who wants it can get their hands on it

Viability

 

• what can you do financially?
• is there a revenue stream to be made from it?
• Can you afford to implement it?

All this might sound like it requires a great deal of work...don't let it put you off and join us next time where we will look at Design thinking for all things new  

 

 

 

   

 

 



What tv show do Katie Hopkins and Donald Trump have in common?

Reality TV

 

Have you ever watched The Apprentice? or Dragons Den?

These shows seek to foster the entrepreneurial spirit, competition is fierce in The Apprentice over many weeks. Dragons Den offers the chance to pitch an idea to the dragons for investment.

 

When I watched The Apprentice, before I attended university, or had any inclination to be entrepreneurial, I suppose I enjoyed watching it. It was like other reality programs...moderately entertaining. As time as progressed though I found it less entertaining and didn't even watch the last series at all.

 

Look at this video for one of the worst ever Dragons Den Pitches

 

Now is that because its ran its course as far as entertaining goes? After all Big Brother, Xfactor, Britains Got Talent, The Voice they have all suffered a similar fate with viewing numbers plummeting. Or is it because I began to see it in a different light, rather than inspiring for entrepreneurs I found it edited in such a manner that we were left feeling sorry for the unfortunate person who stumbled through their pitch in "the den" and never made anything make any sense. Then theres the rise of the media celebrities, such as Katie Hopkins of Apprentice fame.

 

I despise Katie Hopkins she has made a name for herself, I would argue through her inability to keep her stupid opinions to herself. She rides on waves of contrives and gains more "followers" in doing so. Like Marmite, people either love her or they hate her. I digress, however an individual that generates more bad press than good is not a good advertisement for entrepreneurial television shows.

 

 

Worse still, Donald Trump?

 Is when you consider that the American version of the show is hosted by Donald Trump (now if anyone was looking for controversy personified then here it is. Trump is a millionaire by default, his empire is huge. his campaign to be President of The USA though, well it will have two camps the lovers and the haters.

 

 

 

Personally I would love to see a documentary  that featured real life entrepreneurs that didn't create overnight  celebrities  or media monsters. I don't think its the way to inspire anyone through bad television. Although Levi Roots of Dragons Den Fame is worth a look in my opinion, its more of a business success than Kate Hopkins.      

                  

 

Lanarkshire Business Week, will we see a change?

Its been running how long???

Following on from my previous posts about The Lanarkshire Business Week that is in its 5th Year. In that time I have only just heard that such an events week existed.

This is disappointing as the chooselanarkshire website boasts of Lanarkshire having two colleges and a university. Why do the promoters not take this to the colleges and university to the students? They would surely gain more support and momentum? South Lanarkshire College for example offers a lot of practical courses such as plumbing. Now whilst there course will focus on the practical skills for their trade- could more not be done to encourage these students to become entrepreneurs and start their own business? It frustrates and disappoints me in equal measures.

Reinvented?

Lanarkshire is not without its unemployment problems, many struggle to find work. Why is this event not opened to job seekers and the unemployed? They could gain valuable skills and networking opportunities.  Chooselanarkshire speaks of a Lanarkshire that had industry but has now reinvented itself. It fails to say what it has reinvented itself into? I live in Lanarkshire and I fail to see what we have been reinvented into?

Maybe the answer will become clear once the M74 is fixed

 

South Lanarkshire's High Street

The high streets (or what sorry states remain of them) . Where once we had family businesses we now have only the shell like remains.

Lanarkshire chooselanarkshire tells us has good connectivity links. There is both the blessing and the curse of the situation. Lanarkshire is an ideal area to commute from. This is what the residents do on a daily basis, they get up, they travel to work. Like creatures of habit, they will also now head to retail parks and shopping centre, all within their reach for the price of a small commute and they leave the high streets in droves.

A big criticism of mine, would be that the choose Lanarkshire website mentions that that Lanarkshire has a university (UWS) but does nothing to promote the business week directly to the students. Despite UWS offering business courses. I cant help but feel let down by Lanarkshire Business Week.

Has it helped you? or anyone you know? Please pop your comments in the box and let me know.

Apply for a Start Up Loan? The Business Plan: Finance (Part 6/6)

Finance, the numbers game

One of the critical parts of any business plan is the numbers, if they don't add up to a profit then there is a critical problem. It has been known for people assessing a business plan to move straight to the numbers section, so be warned that this area needs plenty of time spent on it.

What to include

All financial considerations in the business plan should include:

• Best case sales/ worst case sales
• Average spend per customer
• Start- up adjustment
• Seasonality
• Payment terms
• Funding package

 All of this will be demonstrated through the production of some key documents, which are:

• The cash flow- it tells you the flow of cash in and out of your business
• The Profit and Loss- it tells you if you are making a profit
• The Balance Sheet- it tells you where the money is in your business at a given moment in time  

There are a number of places that start-ups can look for financial assistance, try these as a starting point.

Start Up Loans
Banking, start up account 
Start Up Information
Scottish Institute for Enterprise

Lastly

You will also need to consider other information such as;

• Premises- location, lease, purchase, costs, business rates
• Assets- vehicles, equipment and other assets required to trade
• Inventory- list of what you own (market value)
• Shopping list- list of what you need to buy for the business (get quotes)
• Legal- issues, insurances, compliances etc.
• CV's of management and key employees may be provided (Appendices)
• Market Research- any surveys conducted (Appendices)
• Letters of intent- any correspondence between customers and suppliers (Appendices)
• Property Lease- copy for any premises to be rented (Appendices)
• Highly technical info- for example product specifications and blueprints (Appendices)

And now its time to give it a go and create your first business plan with the help of this business plan template: Business Plan Template  (Good Luck!)

Looking for more content? Check out this YouTube Video

 

The Business Plan: Promotion (Part 5/6)

The Market: Promotion

The marketing section of your business plan is extremely important as it will help persuade the reader that you have a viable business model. In general terms this should cover;

Message: Other than telling the world that you exist what message do you want to give the about your business?

Audience: What are your various customers profiles?

Channels: What different methods of promotion will you use to attract these customers?

Budget: How much will this cost? (obtain quotes if possible) and will you have a dedicated marketing budget?

 

The Market- SWOT Analysis

It may also be a good idea to carry out a SWOT Analysis of the Market. This is similar to SWOT analysis discussed in previous posts. Some example pointers that you may find in your market.

Strengths

• Expanding Sector
• Your experience in the sector
• lower overheads
• keen pricing structure
• your enthusiasm

Weaknesses

• others see opportunities
• new skills to learn
• no trading history
• limited capital
• no customer base

Opportunities

• to become leading provider
• to expand business
• to develop new markets
• to employ others
• to franchise the business

Threats

• competitors undercutting
• running out of cash
• not enough customers
• too many customers
• changes in the market
• emerging technologies

It is really important to get to grips with the market that you want to be active in.

Join us next time for the conclusion to the business plan, the finance part. I will also provide a template for the business plan, which might be an ideal starting point to write your first business plan.

Looking for more content? Check out this YouTube Video

The Business Plan: Products and Services And The Market (Part 4/6)

 

Products and Services

When writing the section of your business plan that considers products and services, you will want to consider things like:

• Price
• Quality
• Distribution
• Range
• Service
• Design and Packaging

This section should be written by the person who has the most knowledge about the business. You will need to think clearly about what makes your business different to everyone else- what is your unique selling point (USP) more information on unique selling points can be found here:

Looking at each of the above points in a little more detail. 

 

Price

Give examples of what you will charge customers for your products

explain how you arrived at this price

state how your costs and margins compare with your sector

 

Distribution

Explain how you will get your goods and services to customers

Design and packaging

Describe your logo, branding, design ideas etc

if packaging is required, how will you package your product

Range   

How many different products will you have?

 

Service

How do you interact with your customers?

 
 




Quality

What level of quality will you offer and how will you ensure quality is maintained?

The Market

When considering all of these points, it is more than likely that you will start to think about the market that you are trying to break into. At this point you should start to undertake some market research. 

You many for example:

• Read journal articles
• Read industry reports
• Speak to potential customers
• Mystery shopping
• Talk to friends and family
• Watch competitors at work
• Test trade
• Get a job in the sector
• Look at competitors promo material
• Use social media
• Read articles in the media
• Speak to potential suppliers      

You may find that the market research aspect will be quite time consuming, Be prepared and plan for this, Taking the time to know the market will strengthen your business plan. Please join us next time for further Market exploration in The Business Plan: Promotion (Part 5)

Looking for more content? Check out this YouTube Video

 

The Business Plan: Goals And People (Part 3/6)

 

Goals

So, you have your business details and your executive summary. Next you will want to start considering your company's goals. What does that mean?

Generally you will want to develop three different sets of goals. These goals should be:

Short term goals: goals that you would want to achieve in the next 0-12 months
Medium term goals: goals that you want to achieve in 12-36 months
Long term goals: goals that you want to achieve in 36 months onwards

Some examples of goals:

My short term goal is to acquire a reasonable share of the market and to have 2 long term contracts in place by the end of the first year of trading. I also hope to be leasing my own premises and generating a turnover of over £80,000

My medium term goal is to expand the business in year 2. At the end of year 3 my target is to have a turnover of at least £180,000

My long term goal is to have a strong management team in place to allow me to have time to develop new products and markets

Resources

Further examples of company goals can be found here: Goals and Objectives
further information on goal setting can be found here: How To Set Business Goals

Management and Staff

Now a look at the people that will make this all work for you, your management and staff.

For staff it will be important to record in your business plan:

• Key information
• Explanation of everyone's role in the business
• Details of relent experience within the business
• Details of any skills gaps
• Details of any additional training required

SWOT Analysis

To make it easier to find skills gaps analyse your:

• Strenghts
• Weaknesses
• Oppotunities
• Threats  

This process is often referred to as a SWOT analysis. More information on SWOT analysis can be found here: How To Do A SWOT Analysis  and example SWOT analysis are included here: Example SWOT's

That's all for this section, but please look out for the next blog post where I look at products, services and market research.

Looking for more content? Check out this YouTube Video

The Rise Of The Facebook Entrepreneur

Facebook is 12 years old!

Facebook  celebrated its 10th anniversary on February 3rd 2014. It is a massive network with well over a billion users. As Facebook has gotten older it has steadily gained more users. Developments in mobile phones and easier access to the internet have fuelled its use. We have came a long way from the days of MSN Messenger and Nokia 3310's

 

(these were the essential items in my teenage days, lol) Nowadays its an IPhone, a Selfie stick and SnapChat that no teen can be without.

 

As more people have become connected on Facebook, we moved from being able to complete simple profiles to group pages and pages that could take different forms- for interests, for business, for group projects. There's most likely a Facebook page for everything! What it also brought was an opportunity.

 

An Opportunity

This opportunity was that essentially anyone could create a page, and could get a great deal of coverage and exposure without ever leaving their house. For those aspiring to create a business this was an ideal tool to run a business. No premises, no advertising costs, but a platforms to reach millions and a direct way to interact with customers and for them to be able to interact with you for no cost! Perfect, right?

 

All was going well

It was perfect, until Facebook realised that this service that they provided, could make them some easy money. Facebook deny this is the only reason for the changes in the service offered. Que Facebook changing how posts where shown- the decline of organic reach https://www.facebook.com/business/news/Organic-Reach-on-Facebook. This had the effect of cutting the exposure that the page creators had, that was unless they wanted to pay by the post and by the dollar for their posts to obtain a bigger reach.

The result

A wrath of people who refused to pay for a service that was once free and unhappy Facebookers tried to find their way around the reach problem. However it would appear these tactics have made little difference. Join me again next time when we will look at some of my favourite Facebook Entrepreneurs .    

Looking for more content? Check out this YouTube Video 

Time Is Ticking... Quick Look At Lanarshire Business Week

Don't miss out...Last Chance

This week,is your last chance to get involved in some free events, well from 29th February to the 4th of March is Lanarkshire Business Week. More information on this week of events can be found here:  http://chooselanarkshire.com/business/lanarkshire-business-week/

Who is it for?

Targeting itself as for established businesses, start ups or growing business- it aims to support
all business real in the Lanarkshire Area. The event is in its 5th year!

What's on offer?

With two full days left of this event, you might wonder what is on offer. On Thursday and Friday workshops are available on the following topics:

• Managing Health and Safety: The Basics
• Business Start Up: Finance
• Is The Public Sector for You?
• How To Improve Your Visit Scotland Website Rating
• What The Buyer Looks For In A Tender
• Creating A Social Buzz
• Trading Online

Events are held at various times and locations throughout Lanarkshire and booking for each event is required via the website. chooselanarkshire

Why Lanarkshire?

You may wonder why Lanarkshire would be a good location to do business. The chooselanarkshire website says that Lanarkshire:

- Has great connectivity to the rest of Scotland, UK and the world.

- The area is cultural and boosts a number of registered museums and entertainment venues

 

- Education the website says is valued in Lanarkshire, with colleges and a University in the area.

 

- The area has entrepreneurial heritage, profiting from coal and steel engineering, Lanarkshire   has "reinvented itself to meet the challenges of the future" 

 

- Location is again listed as being important.

 -Lanarkshire has a large working age population.

 

- An unrivalled quality of life that offers an idyllic country lifestyle to raise a family"

- A sporting lifestyle.

 

.

 So with a limited time left to get involved, you may want to get booking. The website also holds valuable information on a wider understanding of Lanarkshire and provides information on the businesses that operate in Lanarkshire and the sectors that they operate in Lanarkshire Business Week, Will We See A Change? 

 

Looking for more content? A Short Youtube Video

 

 

 

The Business Plan: The Devil Is In The Details (Part 2/6)

So back to the Business Plan...

 

      Details

• You will need a Business Name (even in a working title)

• Try generating one here: Business Name Generator 

• It can be helpful to use the internet to see if your intended name is already in use (and where in the world) Avoid anything that could be seen as stealing another companies identity. You cant for example be Apple and sell Mobile Phones.



Apple watch anyone?

     Don't forget...

• A Contact Name
• A Business Address
• Social Media platforms, for example Facebook, Twitter, Pin Interest, Google+, Instagram (some research is required here to see which platforms will work best for your business idea)

 

• Legal Status (you will have to know what you have chosen and why)
• Name of Owners
• Telephone contact details
• Email Address
• Start Date (for when trading shall commence)

 

      Executive Summary

• The Executive Summary is the whole plan, but shorter
• The Summary should be a vision of what you want to achieve
• In pages aim for half a page to one page depending on the complexity of the business
• Write the Executive Summary Last (by the time the rest of the plan is complete you should know your business idea inside out and the summary will be easier to write)

Example Executive Summary

Mugs is a unique spot for not only commuters but also for locals and coffee lovers. Our café introduces a warm and comfortable atmosphere for people to relax and take a sip of our delicious coffee in a setting designed with elements of Scottish traditional art and music.

The aim of our business plan is to open a unique Scottish Artesian Coffee House that supplies up to 5 different roasts and blends from around Scotland that provide a unique taste and coffee experience. It will include (the feel of home) baking, cakes and sandwiches from locally sourced produce and a ‘light’ menu for brunch/lunch type food based around traditional Scottish fayre which will be our Unique Selling Point.

Our unique selling point is to provide and supply Scottish produce (only) of both a unique blend of coffee and food from a uniquely designed coffee house in the iconic Heilanman’s Umbrella in Glasgow, which is known for its historic import to Scotland and it's Highland heritage, direct to our customer demographic and local business community while supporting the local economy.

On a highly visible and high footfall corner site on the junction of Hope Street and Argyle Street beside Central Station the premises are fitted to a very high standard and comprise a large open plan ground floor seating/ serving area with disabled toilet, additional mezzanine seating area with ladies & gents toilets and store.

As you have probably gathered business plans can become quite wordy!, more of the Business Plan explored next time in Part 3

Looking for more content? A short YouTube Video

 



The Business Plan: Getting Started (Part 1/6)

 

So you have an Idea, the next stage is the Business Plan

Once you have an idea for a business to take it to the next stage you will need to do some considerable work. This work will take the form of a Business Plan. Before you rush in though, you should consider the viability of your idea.

 

One way to do this is to use an Opportunity Screening Checklist. These can be quite detailed and varied in their approach. An example of an opportunity screening checklist can be found by following this link:

 

 http://mba6601-entrepreneurialmanagement.wiki.usfca.edu/file/view/Screening+of+New+Venture+Opportunities.pdf

 

Using a tool like this can be helpful in identifying a good idea from a bad one. With a good idea in place the next stage is a business plan.

 So what is a business plan?

" A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a new business is going to achieve its goals. A business plan will lay out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational viewpoint"

Build your plan, piece by Lego piece:

The building blocks of the plan start here;

Functions of the Plan

• To assess viability
• To bring the project together
• To prove your idea has been thought out
• To support funding or award application
• To lay out how you will achieve your objectives

Top Tips

• The plan should use normal language and avoid unnecessary jargon
• Be professionally presented
• Be written for an outsider
• Be focused
• Be based on reality 

Structure and Layout of the Business Plan

• Details of the business
• Executive Summary
• Vision for the future
• Management and staff
• Products and services
• The Market
• Finance
• Other Information
• Appendices

In short...

Business Plans can be quite detailed (as you by now will have gathered) if the thought of this hasn't put you off, then you are ready to take your idea forward. Next time I'll start to look at each section of the Business Plan to provide some more info and advice/ examples where possible.   

Looking for more content? A short YouTube Video

Spotlight On...What Makes An Entrepreneur?

Dear Google,

Statistically according to Google, the average UK entrepreneur is a 36-year-old white male working in the construction industry.

So your average working entrepreneur...

The image below is what you get when you Google "statistically the average UK entrepreneur is a 36-year-old white male working in the construction industry"

 

Doesn't exactly add up does it?

Many people would say that managers and leaders are born, you either have the skills or you don't. The flip side to that argument is that people will argue that a manager can be trained in the skills required. So are entrepreneurs the same? Are you born or an entrepreneur? Or can you be taught how to be one?

 

To be an entrepreneur, you might need to have the skills listed here in Entrepreneur DNA So what do you need?

• Tenacity
• Street Smart
• Ability to Pivot
• Resilience
• Inspiration
• Perspiration
• Willingness to accept risk
• Attention to detail
• Competitiveness
• Decisiveness
• Domain Experience
• Integrity

Listing the skills needed is a good starting point...but surely to be an entrepreneur you need well an idea. An ability to see an opportunity and capitalise on it. Is it all about making money?...what about social enterprise? and would you need all of the listed skills to generate ideas? or could generate a hundred new ideas a month but lack the skills to take them forward.

 

The topic I feel is vast, and the definitions are many.

 

So, you have an idea, what next?

 

Any idea would need to be thrashed out in a Business Plan, to assess its viability and potential to make hard cold cash. As a student I have had some experience in producing business plans and was a runner up in an Enterprise Competition with my idea for a Social Enterprise- a not for profit organisation. Does that make me a typical entrepreneur or a student entrepreneur? The issue of enterprise and student engagement in enterprise is one which is gaining momentum in universities. What though does it all mean? and what are the resources available for business start ups?  

 

Through my blog I aim to answer the questions posed around entrepreneurship and explore the resources that are available to help turn business ideas into reality.  

 

Looking for more content? A short YouTube Video