Tag Archive

In the eyes of many, “gazelles” are coveted.

Gazelles is the name adopted in the 1980s by researcher David Birch of Cognetics, to describe fast growing companies. According to Inc magazine:

‘Some years back, David Birch of the research company Cognetics conferred that name on fast-growing companies, thereby distinguishing them from the “mice” on Main Street and the “elephants” on the Fortune 500. The name stuck.‘

Economic development organizations, non-profit entrepreneurship programs, venture capitalists and other groups jumped on the bandwagon. Gazelles were in. If you wanted to see jobs, economic growth and high investment returns, gazelles were what you had to focus on.

On one level, that’s pretty obvious, right? Fast growing businesses are the ones that are going to bring the biggest returns, presumably add the most jobs, become a larger part of the economy, faster — when compared with slower growing companies.

It’s hard to argue with that.

But one thing that’s always bothered me with the focus on gazelles to the exclusion of slower-growing small businesses, is that it ignores the life cycle of so many smaller companies and startups.

You see, it simply takes time for most businesses to grow.

In my experience a lot of startups are not fast growers immediately out of the gate. Many businesses remain small for years until they reach some critical mass, the business matures and becomes efficient, and growth explodes. Read entire article.

Posted in Planning & Strategy

How do you take advantage of social media sites without them eating up your entire day, like the attack of the killer tomatoes?

You know what I’m talking about … those social media sites where you can network with other people, make valuable business contacts, and spread the word about your business. Everything from blogs to Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn to ….

Social media sites can put punch into your marketing and PR at little or no cost. The price is definitely right — the price in dollar terms, that is. For some small businesses social media has become a cost effective and crucial part of the marketing mix.

Only problem is … 4 hours into it you’re flitting from site to site reading everything in your path, leaving comments and voting on your favorite articles, and making new connections along the way. With no end in sight! It’s social media marketing gone amuck.

Meanwhile your phone goes unanswered. Your email inbox is reaching crisis proportions. And work keeps piling up. Read entire article.

Posted in Planning & Strategy, Sales & Marketing