March 12, 2012 Information, Tips & Strategies

BriefCase Radio Workshop

March 12, 2012 Radio Workshop

Biztechinsider:  where innovation, technology and business intersect

Resource: Tech News Impact on Entrepreneurs

William Mapp, III
www.basystemsllc.com 
#biztechinsider

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Diversitech:  aims to provide platforms to bring minorities to the forefront of the tech BOOM! and dialogue on innovation

Resources:

Christine Johnson
Founder, Diversitech

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The Entrepreneur's Game Plan

Next Week's BriefCase Radio Workshop includes strategies and information from our segments:   BizTechInsider and Diversitech

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Click to listen to the March 11, 2012  Radio Workshop

Idea Bank for the Week

Testing your product using a focus group

How do you know if your product is right for customers? One way to find out is conducting a focus group. Many large corporations spend large sums of money determining how customers view their product. However, small businesses that are prepared and budget conscious can conduct focus groups too. Get started by:

1. Define your Purpose.  Write a clear, specific purpose statement.  This will help determine the right questions to ask and the right people to invite to the focus group.
2. The Focus Group.  Determine the profile of individuals who you believe will buy your product. Develop a good list of attributes to seek in participates. Brainstorm about possible participants. Narrow the list to a manageable number of people and send out your invitations.
3. The Focus Group Activity. Now you are ready to develop the activities for the focus group including determining open-ended questions, writing a script, identifying a facilitator and location, identifying materials to use during the focus group, time frame and an agenda for the day.   Conduct the focus group.
4. Results into actions. Review your purpose statement again. Summarize the focus group data and apply the results.  Thank those that participated.
5. Read The Focus Group Guidebook by David L. Morgan

On the Web

http://prezi.com/

Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides. The zoomable canvas makes it fun to explore ideas and the connections between them. The result: visually captivating presentations that lead your audience down a path of discovery.

 

BookShelf

 

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard  

  Chip Heath&  Dan Heath  

 In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people—employees and managers, parents and nurses—have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results: 

• The lowly medical interns who managed to defeat an entrenched, decades-old medical practice that was endangering patients.
• The home-organizing guru who developed a simple technique for overcoming the dread of housekeeping.
• The manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots by removing a standard tool of customer service