Skip to content →

Company of one: qualche spunto e molte ovvietà

Company of one è stata una mezza delusione. Mezza perché qualche spunto l’ho trovato, insieme a varie banalità, seppur vere:

In short, customer happiness is the new marketing.

Battute a parte, Company of one è un libro diverso da quello che mi aspettavo. Non si rivolge ai freelance, ma a chi vuole creare un’azienda, fatta da una persona. La differenza è sottile, ma è spiegata in testa al libro. Detto questo, qualche spunto lo possono trovare anche i freelance o chi vuole aprire una sua azienda.

The final reason teaching works for a company of one is that, except for certain proprietary information—like your unexecuted ideas, business strategies, or patentable technologies—most ideas or processes don’t need to be kept under lock and key. Being transparent in almost all areas, while running your company aboveboard, can only help build trust with your customers.

Customer education—providing an audience with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to become an informed buyer—is one of the most important parts of a sales cycle. Too often we’re so close to what we’re selling that we assume others are also experts on it, or know what we know, but most of the time that’s not the case. Customers don’t always know what they don’t know, or don’t know enough about something to realize how useful or beneficial that information could be to them or their own business.

Teaching builds trust and expertise like nothing else for a company of one. When someone’s receptive to what you’re teaching, they inherently trust the information you’re sharing. If you can consistently give your audience useful, relevant, and timely knowledge (through your mailing list, speaking events, website, and so on), they’ll begin to lean on you for more information (which you can then charge for). Teaching also doesn’t require lots of time, resources, or even money—it can be as simple as sharing what you know with the people who are listening. In sum, teach everything you know and don’t be afraid to give away your best ideas.

Poi ho scoperto, sempre in tema slow, un’azienda di abbigliamento molto in linea con i miei valori, che merita l’endorsement:

For example, trend-setting companies like Arthur & Henry advocate for “slow fashion” and encourage customers to wear their clothing longer, and in stages—first at the office when a garment is fresh and new; then casually on the weekend, rolling up frayed sleeves; and then, when stains and small tears appear, for garden work. Ideally, the final stage for a worn-out Arthur & Henry garment is use as a rag in the garage. When we extract every ounce of usefulness from each piece of clothing by reusing it over and over, we get the most out of the work of the farmer, the miller, the tailor, and the factory employee. Arthur & Henry’s metric for success is sustainability in all forms: earning steady revenues, raising money for charities, minimizing environmental damage, and maximizing benefits to all workers.

Published in Lavora meglio

2 Comments

  1. Non ho capito il nesso tra una “recensione” del libro e l’endorsment dell’azienda di abbigliamento…

  2. È citata nel libro. Endorsement per i consigli di riuso

Comments are closed.