KACHARAGADLA

For many retailers, the thought of going up against Amazon is daunting. One strategy is to embrace the “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” mentality — and build a brand as an Amazon seller. But using Amazon as a commerce platform is not as straightforward as one might think, according to James Thomson. Thomson is a Partner at  Buy Box Experts  and co-author of  The Amazon Marketplace Dilemma . He believes that a company looking to win on Amazon must understand 5 specific concepts if they want to succeed: Amazon is not your partner – start behaving accordingly. “Too many brands appear to believe that when Amazon Retail reaches out to buy product, somehow a partnership is being formed between your brand and Amazon. It is critical to realize that in fact, Amazon’s incentives rarely align with the incentives of your brand.” Amazon is committed to building a marketplace with the largest selection at the lowest prices. “While a brand may be attracted to the customer base of

Asking yourself the right questions early on can lead to greater profits and productivity down the line. Congratulations! You’ve decided to start a business and  become an entrepreneur . You’ve made your mind up, which is good. But, now you’ve probably got a million questions. That’s a good thing. At this stage in the game, it’s all about asking yourself the right questions. Asking yourself which color your business card should be is not a good question. Instead, you want to ask yourself questions that will provide clarity of purpose on a day-to-day basis, because a day of uncertainty is a day wasted. Another major benefit of asking yourself the right questions is that the answers will lead you to greater productivity and quicker cash flow. These are the same questions I asked myself back in late 2013 when I first started selling grillz,  men's gold chains  and other hip-hop jewelry. And remember, without cash flow, you don’t have a business. You have a hobby. The

Princeton University lecturers John Danner and Chris Kuenne explain what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Every wonder if there was one type of entrepreneur who is the most successful? I have. So when two Princeton University lecturers came to the Greatness Studio to talk about their new book (about personality types of entrepreneurs), I had to ask. And they told me no, there’s not one. In fact, they’ve identified four successful entrepreneur types, and according to their research, each is equally effective -- but for different reasons. Of course I had to know more, and both John Danner and Chris Kuenne fascinated me with their explanations of these personality types. They identified which one I am right away and gave me great coaching on how I can improve my business strategy. They pointed out that it’s not enough to know your strengths in business -- you need to act on that knowledge, hire people who compliment you in those areas and build your team wisely. We talked

Many cash-strapped startups abandon the "superfluous" investment of marketing. Big mistake, because marketing can actually provide that cash. Startups face many challenges, but none as precarious or life-threatening as the struggle to remain cash positive. The  Minority Business Development Agency  (MBDA) estimates the average cost to start a business to be  in the neighborhood of $30,000 ; and there’s significant variance in this figure, with some businesses starting out for just a few hundred dollars and others requiring upwards of millions. But, remember: These numbers are only startup costs. In addition, new companies have to pay thousands a month in team salaries, office-leasing fees, raw materials and other ongoing operational costs -- all while struggling to secure enough revenue to stay afloat. Caught in this dire financial balancing act, most entrepreneurs end up abandoning investments they come to view as superfluous, such as marketing and advertisi

Here are the things I have always kept in mind in continually working to evolve the companies I've run. There is a long simmering, rather interesting argument around the notion of "nurture vs. nature" as it relates to human beings and their abilities. The Eddie Murphy film  Trading Places  was actually based on it, with a bet revolving around whether he could learn the commodities business without being born a blue blood. I’m often asked whether entrepreneurs are born or made, and I firmly believe that entrepreneurs are born. Why? Because the mark of a good entrepreneur is that you’re never satisfied, you’re not OK with the status quo and you’re out to change the world no matter how large or small. Even looking back to my youth, I was always the kid in school to ask “why?” and I’m sure that rings true for many of us. It’s that energy -- the unwillingness to stand pat and let that “why” vanish from the back of your mind -- that drives  successful  entrepren

Opportunity will find you and your business when you have a strong brand. If you don't have a powerful and visible personal brand, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage in almost every aspect of your professional, business and personal life. Personal branding has become a requirement for anyone looking to grow their business, get a better job, get noticed by the press, take their career to the next level or meet new, high quality friends. Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands -- the ongoing process of establishing a prescribed image or impression in the mind of others about an individual. Everyone has a unique personal brand, whether they know it or not. But what we should all be striving for is a powerful, attractive and visible personal brand. I define that as an online and in-person authentic display of the engaging aspects of your professional and personal activities and interests. In my previous artic

What you can learn from my experience. In my lifestyle business, I generate income in several different ways. I write for publications (for exposure and pay) and books, coach clients, speak at events, consult at and for large multinational corporations and sell digital information products. To run a half-million-dollar-a-year business, I have been using a team of four virtual assistants for administrative tasks and two freelancers for the technical parts.  A few weeks ago, I walked away from a consulting deal that I was negotiating with a company here in Asia (I'm writing this article to you from Seoul, South Korea). The deal fell apart because the company wanted to own all of my content after I presented it. They offered a six-figure consulting contract for the intellectual property rights.  My attorney and I tried to offer many other options, but they were adamant. They wanted to own the content so they could repackage it and sell it as their own. I walked away f

Quality sleep, big dreams and meaningful conversations are all part of the mix for those lucky enough to call themselves "happy." What's the secret to happiness? That can differ according to the person involved. But we do know that happy people have different habits and think differently than those who are miserable. So, the good news is, if you're trying to be one of those happy people, recognize that that desired emotion comes from within and that you have the power to literally turn that frown upside down by mastering some simple habits. Here's what happy people do and don't do . . . 1. They savor the moment. Do old cliches like "stopping to smell the roses" and "it's the little things in life" really lead to happiness? Yep. Researchers  call this "savoring," which is all about paying attention to the moment. Instead of multitasking and being focused on the past and future and on the present ne