There is poetry and there is poetry business (or better said, the business of poetry). If we’re to survive and thrive, we need to learn the difference between the two and master same.

If we take it as the poetry business, then we need to be strategic. Coming up with a strategy requires asking questions that demands our attention and the need to know the answers or at least understand that we need seek for answers in unusual places.

Questions to ask:

Where are we now?

How did we get to where we are today?

Where do we want to go from here?

How do we get from where we are today to where we want to go?

What obstacles would we have to overcome to achieve our goals?

What additional knowledge or resources would we need to achieve our objectives?

Having the right answers is good. But you don’t need to always have the right answers before you move. Remember the law of motion.

The above questions will help draft or formulate a strategy. Then the strategy must be broken down to tactics. These are the daily or weekly actions that must be taken.

So your tactics must encompass:

1. Know who are the enablers of the industry. Are they on ground?

2. The business model e.g. freemium, subscription based, market place etc.

3. Marketing and sales.

4. The business’s value chain. Identify where you want to play or where you are playing. If you too low on the value chain, you arw fodder aka you are expendable.

Anyway, as regards marketing and sales, there is a need to figure out these questions:

Who are our customers?

Who has the money to pay us?

Where are they?

How do we reach them?

What do we say when we reach them?

Plenty questions, right?

Well, my toughest boss always said, you must be a walking question mark.

Besides, the Good Book said, ASK….
So its key to start by asking the right questions. The next level is asking the right person or people.

That which you seek, is on the lips of another person. If you don’t ask, they won’t answer.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Any questions?
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Signed

King Olulu

Twitter @olulu4ever, Instagram @olulutheking