The Underdog’s Solution: How to Break Into and Conquer Any Industry Online

While the Internet has created entrepreneurial opportunities for the likes of both Fortune 500 companies and sole proprietors working out of their basement, the fundamental entrepreneurial dilemma still remains: how can entrepreneurs break into an already established market?

In this article, we’ll outline the steps that entrepreneurs need to follow to break into and conquer any industry online. To reinforce the power of this formula, we’ll use industry giants Google and Apple as case studies.

Step #1: Identify The Reigning Champ.

If you’re going to break in and conquer an industry, you need to know who you’re looking to take it from. Don’t be afraid to aim for the biggest champion; if you don’t you’ll never get there.

Example: Entrepreneurs who wanted to take over the search market would identify Google as the reigning champ. Likewise, entrepreneurs looking to conquer the digital music market would look to Apple as the current market leader.

Step #2: Identify the Champ’s Powers and Priorities.

To understand how to beat the champ, you have to first understand how the champ works. To do this, entrepreneurs need to focus on the reigning champion’s powers and priorities.

Powers are what resources and skills the firm has. A firm’s powers are critical to understanding how the firm gained dominance in the first place. Note that many firms — especially those that have a very strong foothold on an industry — have multiple powers. To help keep things simple, focus on identifying the champ’s most important powers.

Priorities are what values the firm has that dictate how it proceeds. Priorities are generally closely associated with how the company earns revenues: whatever it does to earn revenue is a priority, as that’s what allows the company to stay in business and grow.

Below is a look at the powers and priorities of Google and Apple.

Google
Powers: Their biggest skill is the amount of text-based information they have in their database. Their specialty is delivering breadth of information so that its users can quickly find even the most obscure facts.

Priorities: How does Google make its money? Primarily by people clicking on the sponsored links on its search page. So, getting users to click on ads so that advertisers can pay them is a top priority for Google.

Apple
Powers: With respect to digital music, Apple’s key power is the iPod. The iPod far and away is the firm’s competitive advantage, and they have demonstrated skill in creating portable music devices that have mass appeal.

Priorities: Just as Apple’s key power is its iPod and its ability to make portable music hardware, it’s key priorities are selling those devices. While the firm does make money selling mp3s, the true cash cow for its digital music division is the mp3 player. So the firm’s priority is to make and sell hardware for digital music.

Step #3: Identify the Right Power for You.

Even if you are immensely talented and sure of the fact that you have far and away the best product, success is unlikely if you are trying to build your business around the same powers that the current champ wields. If you try to develop the same powers the champ has, you’ll be competing with them directly on many fronts — not just on acquiring customers, but also on dealing with suppliers, marketing venues, and employees. Because of this, you should place a big emphasis on cultivating powers that are different than what the champ has. In fact, the ideal scenario is to cultivate powers that are complementary to the current champ’s powers so that you can partner with them. Google itself employed this strategy as they partnered with Yahoo! — the champ Google was looking to dethrone — to power Yahoo! search results from October 2002 to February of 2004. This partnership allowed Google, the underdog at the time, an ability to gain a critical partnership that allowed the firm to expand and eventually overcome the champion they initially befriended.

Example: Google’s primary power is its ability to deliver text-based information. But what about non-text based information, like audio and video files? Search engines like AudioFind, SingingFish, and PicSearch are all engines that are cultivating powers in non-text search.

Likewise, Apple’s primary power is hardware. An underdog looking to take down Apple should aspire to cultivate different powers, such as strong partnerships with music labels to deliver content, and/or flexible programs that provide users with more of the kind of music they are looking for. Rhapsody, Napster, and Yahoo! are some firms that have wisely taken this approach.

Step #4: Have Different Priorities.

Just as you want to have complementary powers, you can also benefit from having different priorities. The rationale for having different priorities is the same as why different powers are needed: you want to avoid competing directly with the reigning champ as much as possible. Essentially, the idea is that it’s easier and far more feasible for an underdog to defeat the champ if he/she takes a “back door” approach rather than taking on the champ head on. What you’re really competing for is not the powers or priorities, but rather the attention of the end user. In other words, to beat Apple at the digital music game you don’t need to roll out a better mp3 player; rather, you need to find a more compelling way to get the end user — who, in Apple’s case, is a consumer of digital music — to give you his/her attention.

Example: Snap.com, an underdog search engine looking to take down Google, has established different priorities by creating a new way that they can attract revenue from advertisers. Instead of getting paid per click from a sponsored listing on their search results page, they plan on getting paid when the user actually completes an action on an advertiser’s site (such as making a purchase). This will cause the company to prioritize getting users to complete actions on their advertisers site — not just getting them to click on an ad.

Likewise, Napster plans on taking the digital music market not by prioritizing the sale of hardware, but rather by making the sale of digital music a priority.

Step #5: Attack The Champ’s Powers.

The way to attack the champ’s powers is NOT by trying to be better than the champ at the champ’s own powers. Instead, the idea is to devalue the champ’s powers in the mind of the end user, and thus shift the basis of competition in the market to what your power is.

How can this be done? The most effective way to do this is to imitate the champ’s power in the cheapest way possible. If you compete on price, you are bound to attract some clients — perhaps those who do not value the service much at all or those that simply cannot afford it. In this way, you can attract some of the champ’s audience, and convert them into utilizing the powers that you have to offer.

Example: Could Napster benefit by partnering with a low-cost mp3 manufacturer and distributing an mp3 player as cheaply as possible? In doing so, it could help to commoditize mp3 players, and thus shift the basis of competition in the digital music market back to content.

The search engine industry is slightly different, but the idea is still very much applicable. Search engines often sell their technology to web portals who need to offer search to their users; as a result, an underdog search engine could freely distribute a text-based search engine to attack Google’s power.

The Tough Part: Identifying Powers and Priorities

Clearly, this five step formula to success is fairly simple and straightforward. The true challenge is in correctly assessing what the reigning champ’s powers and priorities are, and then coming up with viable powers and priorities of your own that will help to debunk the champ. Once that can be done, knocking off the champ will be surprisingly easy.

Working From Home: Online Marketing And Article Writing And The New Cottage Industry

We’ve all heard the term “Cottage Industry,” right? It feels like an old-fashioned term in today’s technology-based information age, but it might be time to bring it out of the closet, dust it off and start using it again. What could be a better or timely use of that term than the business of online marketing and article writing? With more and more people using the internet as a viable way to work-from-home, small home-based businesses, or “cottage industries” are being created virtually every day.

Merriam-Webster defines cottage industry as “an industry whose labor force consists of…individuals working at home with their own equipment.” In order to work from home in the world of online marketing and article writing you need two things: A computer and an internet connection. Sounds like the definition of “cottage industry” to me!

So what is article writing? Stated quite simply, article writing is an ever-expanding, multi-million dollar industry, whereby articles are published online in exchange for name recognition and exposure for businesses and products online. It is a form of online advertising and a crucial piece of business marketing strategy. Article writing increases traffic to a particular website which will then lead to increased sales. The ultimate goal of article writing is to get a particular website to the top of a search engine query page.

Many businesses rely on their websites to bring potential customers and sales to them, but putting up a website and hoping people will find you is not a great marketing strategy. Unless you already have big name or “branding” recognition (think Verizon) you are going to have to work hard to help people find you on the World Wide Web! This is where article writing as part of an effective online marketing strategy comes in.

Whether you are a company interested in promoting your product or business online, or one of the many new entrepreneurs starting your own “cottage industry”, online marketing and article writing is the business of the future. With over 240 million website now online, the prudent business owner will be using everything in his marketing arsenal to ensure his success. There is a huge niche in the business world for article writers in the world of online marketing.

Paid Online Surveys – Sad Truth About Paid Survey Industry Online

The data collected about the paid surveys says that only about 20% of the survey opportunities offer on the internet are legitimate. The others are there to make some quick money and then disappear. This means that if you come across 5 paid survey sites or offers, only one of them is legitimate and genuine. But you need not be scared.

This does not mean that I am trying to scare you away from getting into the online paid surveys and refraining you from availing the opportunity. I have also come across many people who are earning decent amount from these surveys. All they have to do is just open the mail box and avail the survey opportunity they are offered.

You seem to be ready to join one now. But wait! Before you join a survey site or a panel, make sure the one you chose is a legitimate paid survey company. You might find it difficult to decide if you are new to this field because there are several devious websites filled of lies. They are just trying to tempt you into paying the membership fee – and then forget it. Some of them change their web name frequently, as one can get a new domain name for only $7. Along with that, the remove previous references or reviews sent to them.

Moreover, if there is any warning sign mentioned at some other place, the link will become invalid.
Even then, there is a ray of hope. I have experienced a lot of legit survey sites and am aware of the tactics adopted by the scam ones. I would be honored if someone could benefit from my experience and earn some extra cash. All am trying to do is to help keep you from getting deceived and letting you reap the benefits of this ever-growing industry.

All you have to do is a little bit of research into the previews regarding the site you are testing. Just enter the site title into a search engine, click search, and start reading. I am sure, in a little time, you will be feeling much more confident about what to do. I have already done that and that is why I am writing these words.

Tripadvisors of the World: The Creator and Executioner of the Hotel Industry Online

Many websites on the internet provide travelers the option of finding more about a destination they want to travel to. In many cases, this information is in the form of a review. Statistically speaking, these reviews may not motivate or deter domestic travelers as much as it would international travelers. And with the diversity of the online space, there are many new review websites that are coming up to give travelers a complete view of any destination they are planning to travel to.

These websites have also slowly evolved with time. Today, a destination review website not only reviews the place but also the various accommodation options that they may have there. Websites like Tripadvisor provide a complete 360 degree review of almost all tourist destinations in the world. These websites can make or break the reputation of a place. The review contains ratings and a comparative analysis with all major hotels and restaurants there. This goes a long way to affect the reputation of a hospitality provider.

Tourists come from all over the world to the different tourist destinations in the world and they look up their staying options online before they travel normally. The experience available online is so complete at times that it seems pointless to look anywhere else for a review for a destination. So whatever be written on these online review websites, most of the time it all that the traveler would refer to.

The reputation of a hotel online is only as good as the service they provide. One slip up by them could lead to a review on an important traveler website that could become a black mark on the reputation of the hotel. With more than 60 percent of international travelers preferring Online Travel Agents (OTAs), the online review of a hotel or a service provider can have a serious influence on the traveler’s destination and accommodation preference.

Overall, the reputation of a hotel online can be played with very easily with the mass range of online users now. The opinion leaders of the travel market can have a strong bearing how one perceives a particular hotel or brand. For many of us, it is convenient to follow these websites and trust them before stepping on a land that is unknown to them. Thanks to the experts that Hotels can now opt for hotel marketing services like Hotel SEO, social media for hotels and many more such digital marketing offerings.

The online opinion acts as their guide and they would trust it more than the agents in the foreign country. Hence it is important to advocate one’s image online in a positive light before the opinion of a leading website tarnishes that reputation.

Preventative Medicine and Healthy Living for Senior Citizens

Senior citizens of the society are regarded as the most significant groups of members for whom both preventive medicines and healthy living are much effective. It has been found to be proven from older days to that of recent days that “prevention is better than cure”. Preventative medicines are responsible for preventing any cause of diseases whereas it is supposed to be curing the disease. On the other hand, healthy living represents the natural measures and procedures required to be followed and maintained by these people.

Preventive medicines can be referred to as a set of measures or practices that is carried out for preventing disease occurrence in senior citizens whereas it also promotes health. In this regard, some of the procedures can be stated as screening of blood pressure, cholesterol, depression, diabetes, autism, hearing, screening of vision, and so on. Healthy living has become one of the significant factors for all senior citizens. It is due to the higher range of diseased people seen within the society (Ghany et al. 2018). There are severe diseases that occur because of increasing junk food consumption and due to poor eating habits. Healthy lifestyles among senior citizens with preventive measures and medicines can stir them to clear out several diseases easily before being attacked.

Preventive medication needs preventive care, which includes three major types as primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention involves reducing the risk factors before the occurrence of any injury or disease as policies imposed on purchasing tobacco for both the youth and senior citizens. Youth tobacco consumption will also affect senior citizens when these people are around them. Secondary prevention involves detecting the disease before the issue or the problem becomes more serious such as measuring blood pressure. On the contrary, tertiary prevention involves preventing major complications of those diseases including physical therapy or post-stroke rehabilitation. These preventive measures are beneficial for the senior citizens whereas breast cancer screening, colorectal cancer screening and diabetes screening are mainly done, as these diseases are common within them.

In terms of making lives healthy, these people are required to follow some healthy lifestyle measures along with preventive medications. Some of the measures can be stated in the following:

Balanced diet- In every meal, a proper diet consisting of minerals, vitamins, and other significant nutrients is found to be essential for the body and mind.

Health checkups frequently- Keeping track of the health records is going to show the faults and improvements conducted within the body of the senior citizens. It contains the benefits of detecting life-threatening issues, increasing life span as well as getting acquaintance through innovative medical technologies (Sutipan & Intarakamhang, 2017).

Ensuring appropriate rest and sleep- Improper sleep and rest might hamper the health conditions more severely; however, it is suggested to sleep from 7 to 9 hours per night to keep both physical and mental health intact.

Physical activities- Getting indulged in games, yoga, exercises, and other physical activities will help these old people to be physically fit and improve mental health as well.

Socializing more- Social interactions are important for senior citizens to keep both mind and body fit and out from every kind of stress. Sharing views and talking with others helps in lowering down the tension and stress.

Senior citizens face the problem of not being cured with medications properly for which both of these options are strictly applicable. Both preventive medication and healthy lifestyles are required to keep the mind and body fresh. This in turn reduces the level of stress among these old people and increases more energy within themselves.

Top Foods to Eat for Better Skin

Most of us are aware that diet and nutrition helps us live and maintain healthy lifestyles and most importantly, to avoid chronic diseases. It should therefore come as no surprise that the key to flawless skin begins with the food choices you make every day.

Everywhere we look, famous beauty brands are launching and pushing product after product on us, many of which we don’t actually need. Contrary to popular belief, beautiful and glowing skin is not dependent on expensive beauty products and expensive procedures.

Most of the time, the simple solution to a good skin regimen is opting for a balanced, adequate and varied diet.

According to [1]BBC Good Food, older cells are constantly shed and replaced by younger ones and a steady supply of key nutrients is essential to support this rapid growth. Eating the correct balance of foods will feed your skin the vital nutrients it needs to help it stay soft, supple and blemish-free.

Jonele Hart, author of Eat Pretty: Nutrition for Beauty Inside and Out, further elaborates “Your diet also directly influences hormone levels, which affect your complexion and impact how your genes perform.”[2]

“The nutrients in your food determine how well your skin can repair itself, defend against damage, and partake in other beauty related actions,” she adds.

Here is a list foods that will nourish your skin while satisfying your taste buds.

Nuts and Seeds:
Nuts contain Vitamin E, which helps protect skin from cell damage while supporting a healthy skin growth. “[3]The healthy, monounsaturated fats founds in almonds can also keep skin less inflamed and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, which can occur from the aging process.”
Avocados:
[4]Avocados are also a good source of Vitamin E. Regularly eating avocados will help protect your skin from sun damage, relieve irritation and reduce wrinkles.
Salmon:
Most doctors and dermatologists view salmon as a super-food when it comes to skin health. The omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon are essential ingredients that help keep skin healthy.
Sweet Potatoes:
Sweet Potatoes work wonders for your skin complexion. [5]According to Bustle, sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta carotene- which is an antioxidant that turns into vitamin A in our bodies. Antioxidants protect our skin from free radicals and vitamin A deficiency is a huge reason for dull, dry skin.
Spinach:
Spinach is a goodsource of vitamins A, B2, C and K. The folate in spinach helps maintain and repair DNA, reducing the likelihood of cancer-cell growth.
Tomatoes:
Tomatoes are considered to be one of the most effective remedies for a clear and healthy skin. They are beneficial for skin health mainly because they have high antioxidant content.
Watermelon:
According to experts, [6]watermelon contains Lycopene which is good for skin. Antioxidants help in decreasing the free radicals produced by the body. Lesser free radicals directly implements to retarding process of aging very effectively.

High Quality Medical Coding Services For Best Results

Outsourcing the Service:

If you are unable to decide whether the outsourcing of the service is a viable option, one of the most highly preferred recommendations is that you can do is to talk to reputable and experienced medical coding consultants. These consultants are trained and experienced professionals, and they have the knowledge-base and familiarity to provide for you invaluable input and advice, as dictated by your current, or anticipate, needs. They will thoroughly examine the necessity to generate accurate coding which will have a direct impact on your budget. Accordingly, the consultants will be able to assess the situation and counsel you on whether or not outsourcing is viable and feasible for your practice. In the majority of cases, outsourcing can save you much time and energy, as well as, cutting costs and saving money in the long-term.

Performing the Work Efficiently:

When the work is outsourced, a top medical coding specialist is necessary, especially in the early stages. On a daily basis, they will be able to generate the required codes for you and your practice. Additionally a medical coding specialist can implement the overall service in your practice, and consequently, generate very positive results and outcomes. This is accomplished by accurate coding, and rectifying any possible errors. The work will also be performed in a proper environment for coding, not to mention that the clearing of the claims will be simplified with very effective and positive results.

Finding the Right Company:

Once the decision has been made to outsource the services, the stringent requirements of billing and coding necessitates the critical aspect on selecting the ideal company to serve your needs. As mentioned previously, you will come across numerous companies for E & M coding, and careful and considerable attention should be paid in ascertaining the right company that will cater to your needs and work within your budget. Within a short period of time, the results of proper billing and coding will be positively noticeable. Accuracy, efficiency, and saving much time and effort will ultimately produce a practice running smoothly and effectively.

Summary: Obtaining medical coding services from an external company will assist you in numerous ways, and it can simplify the tasks, not to mention enhancing the overall effectiveness.

If you are associated within the healthcare industry, you must be always cognizant and aware that medical coding is the overall process of transforming the descriptions of diagnoses and procedures generated in the medical field into unique codes. The coding is generally completed in the office setting or clinic of the physicians, and the coding is then used to generate billings for the patients. With the increasing need to generate codes in hospitals, the medical coding services have become exponentially more popular. Many companies in recent years have started offering coding services for physician practices, and this has greatly benefited the healthcare industry on so many fronts.

The Role of Dealerships in the Automotive Industry

There is no question that the automotive industry has become one of the most important commercial sectors in the world today. However, many people fail to realize all the specific elements that make up this sector. From manufacturing to consumers, there are many important steps a vehicle must travel through. In fact, one of the most important, if often overlooked, components of the automotive industry are dealerships.

Dealerships serve as the essential middleman between an automobile manufacturer and the consumer. At a dealership, sales professionals are employed to explain vehicle options to potential buyers and ultimately facilitate the transfer of ownership. Both used and new automotives can be purchased at a dealership, and the thousands such facilities worldwide make up the major source for vehicle sales.

Automobile dealerships generally stock a wide range of vehicle options. They are also able to customize products with special orders to suit a consumer’s specific needs. In general, dealerships stock such vehicles as motorcycles, cars, light trucks, vans, and some water sport devices.

Perhaps one of the most vital roles dealerships play is in determining the actual selling price of a vehicle. Unlike other products, automobiles are fairly flexible in terms of the buyer’s power to influence how much he or she will pay. Negotiating a “good deal” is an essential component of the vehicle purchasing process at a dealership. Thus, the dealer must be aware of various market considerations to ensure a profit is made without losing consumers to competitors. Dealerships may also offer leasing options. This allows them to retain ownership of a vehicle and temporarily rent it out to a user for a period of several years. This provides consumers with a more affordable option for accessing an automobile. It also gives the industry access to people who otherwise would be unable to spend income on an automobile.

Once a consumer decides to purchase an automobile from a dealer, he or she must also use the dealership to facilitate financing. Most vehicle purchases are not made in cash. Rather, they are paid on a set schedule for a number of years. Instead of procuring a loan from a separate lending institution, most dealerships provide financing services through participating partners. This can be done simply at the dealership without much pressure placed upon the consumer to investigate several banks. Additionally, some dealerships help consumers procure automobile insurance and appropriate license plates. Thus, dealerships become “one stop shops,” for automobile purchases. This is not only a convenience for customers, but also helps increase automobile revenues.

In addition to facilitating sales, dealerships are a consumer’s primary resource for vehicle care. Most dealerships offer mechanical services to vehicle buyers for years following the initial transaction. This helps keep consumers active in the automotive economy even beyond the actual purchase of a vehicle. This provides considerable numbers of jobs in the automobile industry for those who understand vehicle mechanics. Subsequently, dealerships help expand the automotive sector in yet another way.

Ultimately, dealerships are an integral part of the automotive business. They play a number of important roles that are necessary to the survival of this industry. Without dealerships, it is unlikely automobiles would be as accessible to the general consumer public.

Technology Advancements in Medical Transcription Enabling Better Medical Documentation

Technology advancements in medical industry have greatly helped healthcare providers in diagnosing diseases and providing better patient care. In recent years, technological advancements such as EHRs and voice recognition software have improved physician efficiency. Medical transcription services have also come a long way in ensuring precise and timely medical documentation. New techniques and modalities have improved the quality of transcription, workflow, delivery and storage of clinical records and promoted seamless workflow.

Role of Cognitive Computing in Healthcare

The latest addition to healthcare industry is cognitive computing, a self-learning frame work that uses data mining techniques, pattern recognition, natural language and human senses processing, and system refinements dependent on real-time securing of patient information and other data. Cognitive computing is transforming the healthcare industry and recreating human perspective utilizing automated models. These computing systems can handle huge volumes of healthcare data and are currently used in leading oncology centers such as the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and MD Anderson in Houston.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), 30 percent of healthcare service provider use cognitive analytics on patient information to infer important bits of knowledge. In the coming years, it is anticipated that AI and ML will be increasingly used to better comprehend patient problems, save costs, and improve care. New technologies help physicians figure out which patients are at risk and monitor post-discharge results. AI is still at an initial stage in healthcare, but it is expected that these advancements will benefit all sectors of the industry.

New Technologies in Medical Transcription

With advancements in technology, medical transcription has also transformed to provide flexibility, accuracy, security and innovation. Medical transcription providers record physician dictation and transcribe it, producing accurate medical documents in quick turnaround time. The most important features of medical transcription companies are:

Assured quality: They have experienced professional medical transcriptionists who can convert audio recordings into accurate documents. They have two layers of quality checks to verify accuracy, grammar, spelling etc. There is a secure web portal where quality assurance takes place and clients can review documents and track the stage of the documentation process.

Quick turnaround time: Medical transcription service providers have flexible turnaround times. Transcription is performed in quick turnaround time to meet client needs.

Efficient delivery methods: Transcription outsourcing companies have toll free numbers that allow physicians to record the dictation. They also have mobile apps compatible with Android and iOS for quick recording. Transcribed documents can be created to suit EHR template and returned to the practice through a secure web portal.

Integrations: Medical transcription companies also interface easily with any Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, and can build HL7 integrations for any EHR that the practice uses. This allows physicians easy access to transcribed records.