Starting A New Business? 5 Tips To Strategically Position For Success

Business News

Starting a new business is exciting, yet challenging. While passion and a great idea are critical, they aren’t enough on their own to ensure success. If you want your business to grow, thrive, and eventually become profitable, you must strategically position yourself from the start.

The marketplace is competitive and standing out requires deliberate action.

Let’s explore key steps to help you position your new business strategically:
1. Identify a Profitable Niche
One of the most important steps when starting a business is choosing the right niche. It’s not enough to simply have a great product or service idea. You must ensure that there is demand for your offering.

You must research your target market and confirm that there is demand for your offer. Think about who the people are that you want to serve. Are they actively seeking solutions to the problem your business solves? And most importantly, will they pay for your solution?

How to find your niche:
Assess your expertise: What do you bring to the table that sets you apart? Is there a specific problem or pain point you can solve better than others?

Research the competition: Look at what others in your industry are offering. Are there gaps in the market that you could fill? When you understand your competitors, this will allow you to position your business in a different way.

Analyze demand: Use tools like Google Trends or surveys to measure demand for your product or service. Focus on finding a niche with enough demand but not so much competition that the market is saturated.

2. Define Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
Once you’ve found your niche, you need to clearly define your unique value proposition (UVP). This is how you stand out and differentiate yourself from your competitors and shows potential customers why they should choose you. Your UVP isn’t just about having a better product; it’s about communicating the specific value that your business offers.
Questions to answer when crafting your UVP:

What makes your offer different from the others in the market?
What problem do you solve for your customers that others can’t or won’t?
How does your solution improve your customers’ lives or businesses?

Your UVP should be at the core of your marketing, sales, and branding efforts. It’s how you show your audience the unique benefits of choosing your business over others.
3. Understand Your Ideal Customer
Understanding your ideal customer is key to crafting effective marketing strategies and growing your business. Who are you trying to reach, and what do they care about?
Knowing your audience will help you tailor your messaging, marketing channels, and even product features to align with their needs.
Steps to define your ideal customer:
Create a customer persona: This includes demographic details like age, gender, occupation, and income, as well as psychographic details like goals, challenges, and buying behavior.
Focus on pain points: What problems do your customers face that your product or service solves? The better you understand the pain they’re experiencing, the better you position your solution.
Customer research: Conduct surveys, interviews, and social media monitoring to learn directly from your audience. This real-time feedback will be invaluable for refining your messaging and product offering.
4. Focus on Building Relationships, Not Just Sales
In the early stages of a business, it’s tempting to focus solely on sales. While revenue is important, building long-lasting relationships with your customers will lead to sustainable growth.
How to build strong customer relationships:
Engage with your audience: When you respond to comments, questions, and feedback on social media it shows that you care about them.
Provide value beyond the sale: Whether through educational content, freebies, or exceptional customer service, show your customers that you care about their success.
Develop a community: Create a space where your customers can connect with you, each other and your brand. Whether through a Facebook group or a newsletter, building a community will increase loyalty.
5. Start Lean, but Plan for Growth
Many new entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to do too much too soon. While it’s essential to have a big vision for your business, start with a lean approach to avoid wasting time and resources.
How to start lean:
Test your idea: Before fully committing, test your product or service with a small audience. Gather feedback, refine your offering, and ensure there’s demand.
Prioritize spending: Focus on investing in areas that will have the highest return, such as marketing and customer acquisition. Don’t overspend on things like office space or fancy equipment until you have steady revenue.
Be adaptable: As you grow, be prepared to pivot based on customer feedback, market conditions, and new opportunities. A flexible approach will allow you to scale more efficiently.
The bottom line is that starting a new business can feel overwhelming, but with the right strategic positioning, you can increase your chances of success. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to creating a sustainable and profitable business. Remember, success doesn’t happen overnight—focus on building relationships, adapting to feedback, and marketing strategically to ensure your new business thrives in the long term.

No need to ban books: 7 ways to find out what your child is reading

Arts & Culture, Books

In honor of Banned Books Week, it’s a good time to look at ways to curate your child’s reading without taking books away from other children, something happening with increasing frequency around Florida and the country.Book bans have been surging the past couple of years, and the number of challenged books has doubled to more than 10,000 incidents nationwide according to preliminary reports from nonprofit organization PEN America. That’s compared to the surge last year, when there were more book bans in Florida — over 40% of all public school book bans — than in any other state in the 2022-2023 school year.About 8,000 of the reported book bans were in Florida and Iowa, PEN America said, largely “books featuring romance, books about women’s sexual experiences, and books about rape or sexual abuse as well as continued attacks on books with LGBTQ+ characters or themes, or books about race or racism and featuring characters of color.””I believe that censorship is the enemy of freedom,” said filmmaker and honorary Banned Books Week chair Ava DuVernay in a release. “By banning books, we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn from the past and to envision a braver future. Books have the power to open minds and build bridges. This is why certain forces do not want the masses to engage with books.”“If you’re a white kid who only sees and reads about white kids, you can get an inflated sense of how important whiteness is,” Maryland school librarian Melissa McDonald told the National Education Association.Banned Books Week:How to get your hands on free banned or challenged books in FloridaProponents say the restrictions are meant to protect children from sexually graphic and explicit stories and provide parents with control over what their children see. PEN America and other advocates claim that the growing book-banning movement is meant to erase narratives that might make white children uncomfortable while whitewashing American history.A 2023 study by the nonprofit organization First Book found that students spent more time reading after teachers added more diverse books to their classroom libraries, and reading scores improved.As a parent, it’s natural to want to make sure that the books your child is reading are suitable for their age and development level. Still, there are several ways to track and guide your children’s education without pulling books off the shelves so that no other child can see them either, even if they might benefit from them.1. Talk to your children about what they’re readingRegularly talk to your child about what they’re reading and what they think about it. If you don’t agree with parts of the book, use that as a chance to talk about why.2. Talk to your child’s teacher about what they’re readingYour child’s teacher can provide the year’s curriculum and reading list, and you can raise any objections with them about what your child will be assigned. The teacher will be able to tell you why these books were chosen and what value and perspective they bring to your kid’s education.3. Talk to librarians about book suggestionsNo one knows more about books than librarians, and they can be an invaluable resource. Librarians can recommend age-appropriate books and help you find lists and reading programs tailored to your child’s age group or make suggestions if your child is reading above their age.Florida book bans:These 5 books banned from Florida school shelves might surprise you4. Read the books yourselfThe best way to judge whether a book is suitable for your child is to read it. Each child’s development and maturity level is different and your child may be more sensitive than most, or more open to deeper themes.5. Check online reviews of booksIf you don’t have time to read yourself, websites such as Common Sense Media and Goodreads provide reviews and recommendations for books suitable for various age groups and maturity levels. Common Sense Media doesn’t shy away from telling you what potentially sensitive or even objectionable material may be in the book and you can search for suggestions using customizable content limits.Unlike sites favored by people banning books that focus on single objectionable passages to eliminate entire books, Common Sense Media also looks at positive messages, positive role models, how characters are represented, and the educational and literary value of the entire work.Banned books:Why you should read these 51 banned books now6. Talk to other parents about booksCheck with friends and neighbors, or other parents you know. You also can join online parenting forums or Facebook groups where parents discuss age-appropriate books for valuable insights and recommendations.7. See which books are winning awardsThere are multiple honors awarded for excellence in children’s literature, and they can make a good start for a parent looking for well-written, age-appropriate books. Here are a few:Newberry Medal: Every year since 1922 the Association for Library Service to Children has awarded the John Newbery Medal for Best Children’s Book of the Year. You can see a list of previous winners here.Caldecott Medal: This award, established by the American Library Association in 1938, honors artists with the Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year.Hans Christian Andersen Award: This international award recognizes a body of work with “lasting contribution” for writers and artists. Awarded every two years by the International Board on Books for Children since 1956.National Book Award – Young People’s Literature: This annual award, voted on by writers, chooses the best in Young People’s Literature, and Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry.By staying aware and investigating the books your child is reading or is expected to read, you can actively engage with your child’s reading choices and help them discover books that are both enjoyable and suitable for their age and maturity level.

Uber, Chinese self-driving tech startup announce partnership to launch robotaxis in UAE

Technology

(Reuters) – Uber Technologies and WeRide announced a partnership on Wednesday to bring the Chinese self-driving technology firm’s vehicles to the rideshare platform, starting in the United Arab Emirates.WeRide’s first collaboration with a global ride-hailing platform will help the company expand its reach beyond China, while Uber takes another towards incorporating robotaxis into its platform.Uber expanded its partnership with Alphabet’s Waymo to bring robotaxis to Austin and Atlanta in the United States earlier this month.In August, Uber tied up with General Motors’ robotaxi unit Cruise, which will offer its autonomous vehicles on the platform starting next year.The ride-hailing firm’s partnership with WeRide is set to launch in Abu Dhabi later this year.WeRide was granted UAE’s first and only national license for self-driving vehicles, which allows the Chinese firm to test and operate robotaxis on public roads throughout the country.WeRide was expected to list its shares in the United States, valuing the firm up to $5 billion, but its initial public offering has been delayed and the firm said it was working to complete documentation to go ahead with the listing.The Biden administration on Monday proposed prohibitions that would prevent testing of self-driving cars on U.S. roads by Chinese automakers and which would extend to vehicle software and hardware produced by other U.S. foreign adversaries, including Russia.(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

San Francisco Travel Association appoints Anna Marie Presutti as CEO

Travel

San Francisco Travel Association, the official destination marketing organization for the City and County of San Francisco, has appointed Anna Marie Presutti as president and CEO, effective immediately.

Presutti had been serving as San Francisco Travel’s interim president and CEO since mid-May.

Presutti will oversee one of the country’s oldest and largest membership-based tourism promotion organizations.

San Francisco Travel markets and sells the destination globally to attract conventions, meetings and leisure travellers. Tourism is one of the leading industries in San Francisco and is the top generator of outside revenue into the city’s economy. In 2023, tourism accounted for $9.3 billion in total visitor spending and generated nearly $610 million in tax revenues.

“After an extensive search that spanned the country, the Executive Search Committee realized the best candidate was already in the job. Anna Marie is the ultimate champion of San Francisco and a bold, experienced leader,” said San Francisco Travel Board Chair John Anderson. “As a two-time SF Travel Board Chair, Anna Marie is deeply familiar with the organization, its customers and its culture, and her continued leadership will drive the marketing and awareness of this destination.”

“I am passionate about this city and have been a part of San Francisco’s tourism industry for over twenty years. As we emerge from this challenging time, we have much to look forward to,” said Presutti. “My priority is to lean into the momentum building and return our convention business to a healthy level. We will invest in marketing San Francisco’s great strengths, including its culinary scene and arts and culture, and collaborate with other organizations, such as the Bay Area Host Committee, to bring more world-class events here.”
About Presutti
Prior to accepting her new role, Presutti was Vice President and General Manager of Hotel Nikko San Francisco. She made history there in 2006 when she was appointed the first female vice-president for Tokyo-based Nikko Hotels International. (Presutti made history again this year; she is San Francisco’s Travel’s first female CEO.)

Before joining Hotel Nikko San Francisco in 2004, Presutti served as area director of sales and marketing for Kimpton Hotels in San Francisco. Her experience also includes leadership positions with ITT Sheraton, Hilton Hotels and Sunstone Hotel Properties.

Presutti currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Travel Association and the Hotel Council of San Francisco. She also sits on Okura Nikko Management Company’s board of directors and Missouri State University Foundation’s board of trustees.

Drew Stevens ‘actually reading now,’ two books boosted Iowa’s kicker’s confidence

Arts & Culture, Books

IOWA CITY — A wry smile spread across LeVar Woods’s face.“He is actually reading now,” Woods said. “I never thought I would get Drew Stevens to read, but he is reading. I am sure his mom will be pleased to hear that. It is probably a page or two a day, but he is working on it.“I think that has helped him.”

Iowa kicker Drew Stevens (18) boots an extra point during their game against Troy on Sept. 17.

NIKOS FRAZIER

The Iowa special teams coordinator’s mischievous grin shifted to a more sincere beam as he discussed Stevens’s evolution as the Hawkeyes’ kicker.“Drew had confidence last year,” Woods said. “I think it was false confidence. I think he would be one of the first to tell you that last year. We talk about, in our room, confidence being a feeling and an emotion. Whereas, conviction is like you know it. There is no other way to see it.“Drew, now, is convicted with his routine in practice. He is convicted with his routine away from the building. He is much more mature, (has) a much clearer head.”

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After connecting on just six of his final 11 field goal attempts of 2023, Stevens started the 2024 campaign 6-for-6 with a long of 46 yards.Prior to the start of his junior campaign, Stevens told the Quad-City Times in August that he no longer defined himself as a “feel” kicker.Instead, the third-year starter sought to become more precise with his approach after discussing his craft with NFL kickers during the offseason.“None of them were ‘feel’ guys,” Stevens said. “I was like, ‘Who am I to think I am going to be the first one to do this?’ And, I tried to be a ‘feel’ guy last season and that did not work out percentage-wise to where I wanted to be.“So, I focused on noticing the details.”According to the Noth Augusta, South Carolina native, a quote from The Twin Thieves: How Great Leaders Build Great Teams, a book the Hawkeye specialist read during the offseason, stuck with him during the process.“’Amateurs practice until they get it right,’” Stevens said. “’Pros practice until they get it wrong.’”The quote helped Stevens establish a routine of visualizing his kick before the snap to clear his mind and improve his field goal percentage.Asked about Stevens’s reading material, Woods’s gave another smile.“He went that far, huh?” Woods said. “Did he tell you about the other book?“The other book that we read was a book called Golf’s Sacred Journey. It talks about a pilot and his checklist that he goes through right before he tries to put the plane up in the air.”To Woods, Golf’s Sacred Journey made an equally noticeable difference in Stevens’s game.“As a kicker, as a specialist, you have to go through your checklist and make sure everything is buttoned up and ready to go before you actually approach and try to hit the ball,” Woods said. “Kicking and punting is a lot like golf … If a guy goes through a checklist and he has checked all the boxes and he has the confidence and the conviction to go after the kick, the results usually turn out.“Drew is doing that right now. It took us awhile to get him to that point, to believe in that, but he is doing well and believing in that.”Woods said he was glad to hear that Stevens no longer saw himself as a “feel” kicker.“You cannot just do everything off feel because emotions get involved,” Woods said. “Things like that cloud your judgement. Drew has definitely become more systematic with what he does.”In addition to his field goal execution, Stevens’s kickoff numbers improved to start 2024 compared to his stats in 2023.“His numbers are up, his hang time is up,” Woods said. “It goes back to what he has been doing. He is kicking the ball really well and the hang time is up. Guys are returning it. They have been paying for it.”According to Woods, the impact of the improvement on kickoffs possesses a clear and obvious impact on the outcome of games and on the Hawkeyes as a whole.“If you go back to the game last week, six kickoffs, Drew had, and four of them were returned,” Woods said. “None of them got passed the 21(-yard line).“It has been helping us psychologically as a football team. It has also been helping us with field position. Field position and special teams turns into points for us. That is part of our game plan each week.”Woods was all smiles during his Tuesday media availability while discussing Stevens’s body of work in 2024 — even though the best may still be to come.“A lot of it for Drew is between the ears,” Woods said. “I have just seen this kid grow and mature every single day. Coach (Ferentz) referenced it the other day. I am like, ‘This kid is playing lights out right now.’“On the national scope, I think it is very quiet, but I think there is a tiger in there getting ready to let loose.”

Iowa placekicker Drew Stevens turned into a “a whole different person” during offseason as he works to find more success in his junior season with the Hawkeyes.

An early interception, a disappointing touchdown and two third quarter passes helped turning momentum in Iowa’s favor in a win over Minnesota on Saturday.

Kaleb Johnson’s hot streak continues and Floyd of Rosedale returns to Iowa City. Plus, three more stand-out storylines from Saturday.

“I am not sure I remember anybody in four games doing what he has done,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He just continues to run really well.”

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