Success Advice
How To Build A Business Like Oprah
Nearly 5,000 shows aired, Oprah Winfrey has made an exit at the right time closing the set down with an array of celebrities to end her final show to move on to even bigger and better things! She is one of the most successful women in daytime Television helping thousands in person and inspiring millions all over the world.
Having the utmost respect from world class celebrities such as President Obama, Tom Hanks, Beyonce’, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith and dozens more, you’d say Oprah knows her way around the business and entertainment world.
Here’s a few takeaways tips you can learn from Oprah’s international success.
1. Give back to your fans. Like any great brand, Oprah has made her fans feel valued. In her “Oprah’s Favorite Things” segment, Winfrey has given away everything from camcorders, to croissants, to cars. A good lesson to businesses that an unexpected surprise for your customers can go a long way to gaining loyalty.
2. Take risks and get attention. In 1988, Winfrey invited a group of neo-Nazis from California to Chicago to appear on her show. Although Winfrey later said she regretted the controversial decision, the move vaunted her into the national spotlight and showed her viewers that she was not afraid to take risks.
3. Find your calling. Oprah said in her final show that every day she walked on stage she felt that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. If you have no life plan, you are most likely following someone else’s agenda for your life. Live on purpose! Don’t be one of these entrepreneurs with an endless to do list, exhausted at the end of day– getting nowhere fast and not making any money. Oprah urged us to follow our own truth. God speaks to us though visions and dreams. Pay attention to what he is showing you about your destiny and build a business around that.
4. Explore new verticals. Winfrey started her career in 1983 with a gig hosting Chicago’s low-rated WLS-TV’s half-hour morning talk show, AM Chicago. Since then, Oprah has scaled her business into new media verticals including her eponymous TV show, O: The Oprah Magazine (which launched in 2000), the OWN television network (founded in 2011), as well as apps for both her magazine and TV show.
5. Know that you are worthy of success. Often times we know what we deserve, but the thing that keeps us from truly capturing it is internalizing that we are worthy of all God has for us in our lives and businesses.
6. Reveal your personal story. Some companies put up a shield to hide the entrepreneur from the brand: not Oprah. The talk show host has made a number of very personal revelations, most notably that she was sexually assaulted when she was nine. Though not every entrepreneur needs to share their entire life story, the message is clear: transparency between you and your business offers a sense of trust to your customers.
7. People show you who they are the first time. If a prospective customer approaches you, acting like an impossible nightmare, that is exactly who they are and how they will behave if you move forward in business. Do not allow your need for money or a contract force you to tolerate someone who does not value your professional expertise. You will never be paid enough money to make it worth it.
8. Get celebrities on your side. Besides the Oscars, few events have generated the number of celebrity appearances than Oprah’s surprise farewell. Part of Oprah’s ability to generate support from celebrities has been her tell-it-like-is style of interviewing on her show. “You have given me love, support, wisdom and, most of all, the truth,” Maria Shriver told Oprah during the farewell episode.
9. Oprah owned a broad niche. Oprah targeted a demographic that was women of all ages and income levels. She developed shows that would appeal to career women, working moms, stay-at-home mothers, grandmothers, retirees, high school and college students. And her audience was loyal because she helped them be better, live better, and find a correct fitting bra.
10. Become an influencer. Time magazine talked with Craig Garthwaite, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a bona fide Oprah expert, about Oprah’s success at marketing. And just how big is her influence? “For example, the novel Anna Karenina sold 11,648 units in the 12 weeks before inclusion in the Book Club,” Garthwaite says. “In the 12 weeks following inclusion, Anna Karenina sold 643,122 units—a staggering increase of 5,421 percent.”
11. Know when to quit. After 25 years, Oprah finally decided it was time to call it quits to focus on her television network, OWN. The message is clear enough for entrepreneurs: don’t be afraid to end on a high note.
12. OWN your mistakes. In the wake of disappointing ratings at OWN, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Oprah’s latest venture in partnership with Discovery Networks, Oprah made a change at the top. Network head Christina Norman, abruptly left the 4-month-old cable channel at the beginning of May. How many of us wait until it’s too late to make changes in our businesses? Evaluate what is going on in your business and do not be afraid to change course if you need to.
13. Be willing to do what it takes. Oprah never missed a day of taping on her show in 25 years. She knew that showing up was the most important element in her success equation. Are you willing to do all that it takes to make your business a success? There is no such thing as overnight success.
Success Advice
How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements
Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.
Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.
There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.
Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.
Embed the strength of AI and ML.
AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.
Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.
ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses.
In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.
Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities
Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased.
Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information.
Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place.
In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.
Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development
You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.
You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.
Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.
Developing key skills to achieve goals
Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.
Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.
Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.
Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.
Development/Coding Knowledge
Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.
Hacking proof framework
There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.
Communication Abilities/Soft Skills
Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:
Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.
Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.
Agile Implementations
It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.
Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy
A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.
- Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds.
- Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
- Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
- Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them.
- Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.
Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy
Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.
- Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
- Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
- Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.
Conclusion
There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.
Success Advice
Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success
These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds
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Motivation
From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone
By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality
Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)
Success Advice
10 Micro Financial Habits for More Wealth and Peace of Mind
The World Economic Forum still reports that half of U.S. adults lack financial literacy
You’ve heard about developing financial habits, but what about micro-financial habits? Micro habits are the tiny things you can do every day with minimal effort that, together, transform your future. (more…)
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