Category Archives: Uncategorized

5Feb
5 Product Pricing Tips to Pump up Profits

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5 product pricing tips to pump up profits. It’s critical for small businesses to keep their profit margins strong. Setting prices for products correctly is essential to both boosting present profitability and promoting future growth. The art of pricing for profit is a crucial skill that many entrepreneurs may not naturally possess, so it is imperative that small business owners develop it.

When deciding how much to charge for their products and services, entrepreneurs must take into account the time and inherent value of their work. Customers are frequently prepared to pay more for higher quality, which highlights the importance of strategic pricing. Establishing prices that are excessively high for low-value goods or too low for high-value goods can undermine consumer trust. Take into consideration applying these five pricing strategies to increase profitability and obtain a competitive advantage.

Retail to wholesale:

Calculate the costs of manufacturing and marketing the products. During this process, you must outline your marketing strategy. If you want to sell through retailers, you should budget for commissions. When approaching retailers, your selling price must match the wholesale price. Because shops resell products, it’s critical to avoid competing with them when deciding on retail pricing. The pricing formula is as follows: retail price = wholesale price x 2.5, while wholesale price equals total cost x 2. If you have a wholesale price of $40 and a retail price of $100, your total cost is $20.

Premium costs:

Companies with unique products use this method regularly and charge significant costs. If your product has a patent or trade secret that offers it a competitive advantage, you should utilize it.

Bundled offers:

Multiple items can be offered at a lower price than if they were sold individually. Frequent examples are Buy One Get One Free and Buy One Get One Half Off. This strategy helps you reduce inventory while enhancing the value perception of your customers.

Time-limited offers:

This strategy produces a sense of urgency and compels customers to purchase immediately. Consider using a discount or inventory countdown timer on product pages.

Psychological pricing:

Psychological pricing is a pricing approach that uses psychology or the subconscious to get customers to pay more. For instance, $6.99 is considered to be “cheaper” than $7. The idea is that buyers would view the somewhat reduced cost as a bargain and feel encouraged to make the purchase.

After putting a pricing strategy into action for a few months, review and revise your plan. Depending on the situation, you could need to adjust product prices, deal with a competitor, or adjust pricing to changing market trends. Don’t be afraid to change your direction when it’s required. A solid pricing strategy can help your business maintain its competitive edge and attract new customers.

29Nov
Building an Advisory Board

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Building an advisory board is an overlooked tool that is very beneficial to a business. It consists of a hand-selected group of advisors that believe in your leadership and are there for the sole purpose of providing strategic advice for your business. They are aligned with your culture and mission and are committed to your success. However, forming the perfect advisory board for you may take quite a bit of planning in order to see a strong return on investment. Do not worry though, that is why we are here to help and give you guidelines before you build your own advisory board!

  1. Know who you are and what you stand for

Complete your Values, Mission, Vision, and Strategic Plan first. You must know what you stand for, why you exist, and where you are going. You must be able to articulate this to any prospective board member.  Think about creating an advisory board composed of people who have already achieved what you are trying to achieve so that you can learn from both their successes and their mistakes. In addition, you must be able to share your target customer profiles and your competitive landscape.

  1. Goals/plan

Create a set of objectives you want your company to reach. By outlining your goals, it allows you to select members that help you reach these objectives. This also sets expectations for your advisory board members. It gives them an idea of what their role and purpose will be while serving on your advisory board. By creating these expectations, it allows you to get exactly what your company needs. The wrong advisors will be a waste of time and money and can potentially lead you down the wrong path.

  1. Choosing the right people

Diversify

After outlining what expertise you and your start-up may lack, it is time to start looking for the right people. Selecting the right advisors is just as important as selecting the right employees.  Each person should bring a different background, that way your advisory board will be able to cover every area and offer different perspectives.  For example, cybersecurity is now a critical addition to any board. Typically, you want to aim for a small group ranging from no more than 4 people. If you choose carefully then a small group of people will suffice. The smaller the better since it will make for easier communication between you and your members.

Term of Membership

It is often difficult to recruit advisory board members: it is always more difficult to terminate their membership. Advisory board members tend to get comfortable with their positions and take initiative to remove them as personal criticism. Therefore, it may be useful to appoint members to a specific term (one, two, or three years) so that an active step has to be taken to renew membership, rather than to withdraw it going forward. This issue might be particularly important when an advisory board is first being established.

Mentors

Members of an advisory board are composed of people who truly care about the success of you and your company. They have no legal obligation or equity in the business, they act only as your mentor and their main goal is to give you advice. With that being said, you will want to seek people you know within your professional network. This way they will be more willing to mentor you. However, be careful in choosing friends or family, as they may not always give you the most honest advice. Not to mention having friends or family on your advisory board may result in conflict/relationship issues that you will want to avoid. You need people who will be brutally honest and willing to challenge your ideas in order to bring different perspectives to the table.

While reaching out to people within your professional network may be easier, you should also aim to seek people outside your network. Finding members of higher stature might be more difficult but extremely beneficial for your company. They will add credibility and this will play an important role when your start-up is in the early stages of funding. It will give your company some traction, which is crucial in the development of any start-up. Not only will it add credibility but also it can expand your professional network and form contacts that can be very useful in the long term.

  1. How to find mentors

At ProMontreal entrepreneurs, we offer a mentorship program where anyone part of the Jewish community can apply and we will connect you with the perfect mentor for you. Over the years, we have connected with successful entrepreneurs and lawyers who are eager to see start-ups succeed. If you check out our mentors on our website, you will find a list of them on the page already.

  1. Compensation

It is important to remember that the people on the advisory board have no equity in the company and are merely there to guide you because they want to see your company succeed. In the early stages of your business venture, it’s a good idea to reward them with dinners, entertainment, etc. It does not need to be a lot but still something to demonstrate your gratitude for their help. As your company progresses, then you will want to think about higher compensation, maybe even a salary but that is all entirely up to you.

You may not have all the expertise in any business venture you dive into but that is normal. Advisory boards can be helpful and fulfilling, or they can be a waste of time. In the end, you get out of them what you put into their creation, development, and operation. That being said, there are many tools to help you realize your vision so do not be afraid to take the risk.

25Jul
Title: A World in Transition: ProMontreal Entrepreneurs at the 29th Conference de Montreal

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In June 2023, PME had the privilege of attending the renowned Conference de Montreal organized by IEFA. Discover how PME embraced the conference’s central theme of “Thriving in a World in Transition” and engaged with global leaders, entrepreneurs, and diplomats to forge valuable connections and exchange insights.

The conference’s opening day buzzed with intellectual energy as PME joined diverse attendees in the bustling main hall. The introductory session echoed the central theme, opening discussions on pressing issues like inflation, the COVID-19 aftermath, and carbon neutrality. The session’s panel featured H.E. Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansoori, the Emirati ambassador to Canada, and Mr. Boon Chye Loh, CEO of the Singaporean Stock Exchange (SGX). They shared their distinctive experiences of adversity management, providing PME with invaluable wisdom.

While comprehensive talks on climate change, IT, and cybersecurity took place, networking opportunities became the highlight for PME. Despite lacking VIP access, PME made significant connections with regular attendees like Gregory Dreaver from the Cree First Nation. PME’s encounter with Dreaver offered valuable insight into his noble vision for Cree Nation’s aerospace integration.

While the first day offered substantial networking opportunities, the ensuing two days were equally informative and enriching. Day two shed light on supply chain intricacies in food production and agriculture and highlighted Canadian Space Leadership. On Day three, PME engaged in discussions on Quebec’s SMEs, disruptive innovations, and the threat of drug-resistant bacteria.

The diverse topics and enriching encounters at the Conference de Montreal provided PME a unique, enlightening experience. The broadened understanding of large-scale issues and the interconnectedness of various sectors left a lasting impression on PME. The organization is left contemplating if an initiative like the Eagle Flight Network could evolve into the next billion-dollar startup. Conference de Montreal remains a cherished memory as PME progresses in academic and professional success.