What have BIG MAC's and Practice Management got in common?

What have BIG MAC's and Practice Management got in common?

Find out more on my latest Samera newsletter!

The New Industrial Revolution

This last week has been eventful as ever. Around the UK, a session with Seth Godin, a visit to the Science Museum (well it is half term) and then back to the office.

As you all may know, I have huge respect for Seth Godin, a true business visionary. I don't know the guy, but it is his thinking and vision that has helped me develop my whole business (not just marketing) strategy.

He is the one that has helped me grow a business from a bedroom to over 30 employees in 5 years, and growing strong. So let me give you my view of Seth's London session and a summary of his great insight.

Seth's London Session

Barbara and I were luckily enough to see Seth on Tuesday afternoon, along with 400 other people, including a few familiar faces in dentistry.

The room was packed with MBA's from Microsoft, IBM and advertising agencies, whilst there were a few of us individual entrepreneurs. The audience was pretty much wearing a standard uniform of edgy glasses, brown shoes, jeans (yes i was one of them too - however barbara stood out as ever in funky orange clothes!)

So what did we learn?

As an avid reader of all of his books and his daily blog, to be honest I did not learn anything I did not know, however, it was great to see him discuss his thoughts.

For those of you not familiar with Seth, let me give you a synopsis!

"Too Important to be left for the Marketing Department"

The marketing department is a thing of the past. Rather than create average products/services and have a marketing department try and flog them to the masses, we now live in an era of innovation. Average products will not survive.

We need to be pioneers and go to the edges of our ability and create such wonderful products/services that people will seek out. Just take Apple as an example.

Seth argues that the marketing budget should now be part of the R&D and Design budget. I do happen to agree with him. The days of creating average products and services and then trying to market them via the normal media of tv and newspapers is well and truly over. Do you remember the last newspaper advert you read? Probably not.

The Internet allows people to search, assess and form an opinion with their keyboards in just seconds. People are either seeking the best or the cheapest. Anything in between, is just not interesting. In addition, in the era of Web 2.0 consumers and users are now interacting with other users to assess a product or service. The power is now firmly in the customers hands NOT the providers.

Now is the time for Innovation. This is not a choice for most organisations but a matter of survival across all industry sectors. Just like Stephenson changed how we travel with the steam engine, the Internet, especially this second Web 2.0 phase will change how we interact and communicate with eachother. Embrace it, it is here to stay with us.

Advertising is a Dead Man's Game

So how do you get new customers? Surely I must still advertise? Well yes you can advertise your products and services, but really the truth of the matter comes from what is profitable for your business. Should you be investing hard earned resources into adverts, or using that money to develop your products/services, innovate and create something special?

I know the latter is the only way to survive and win, especially in this economic climate. In his book, Permission Marketing (which is actually over 10 years old), Seth argues that marketing is like dating, in that we need to turn strangers into friends. The only approach to doing this successfully takes time. Communication required to turn strangers into friends must be Anticipated, Relevant and Personal - is your communication like this?

Leading a Tribe

In Seth's final book, Tribes, he argues the world needs people to step up to challenges we face. To lead and not follow. Obama became President by creating a tribe. Now it is down to you to create your own tribe. They want you to lead them.

Business and marketing (in fact life) today requires individuals whom are ready to step out of their comfort zone to experiment, fail and lead. Are you up for this challenge, as this will require you to lead and create a tribe to follow you!

Go build your tribe!

You can learn much more about Seth Godin by reading his great books. Check out the Samera booklist for details.

Google's 20% Rule

You are going to learn a lot about Google over the next few weeks, as they are a great firm we can follow and learn from.

Did you know that for many executives at Google they spend 20% of their time innovating. So they have pet projects of their own which they work on and develop. Once they reach a certain stage Google management gets involved and then if appropriate Google may even take these ideas several stages further!

So for example many of the tools, such as Google maps, Gmail, Google checkout have emanated from individuals in Google being allowed to innovate.

They have made innovation the heart of their organisation.

Maybe it is time for all of us to start following their lead!

Don't procrastinate - Innovate!

What are Associates earning in Dentistry?

Take a peek at this on Samera Connect* - don't forget to download the article! You may not agree, but the economy is moving quickly and so dentists will need to understand their business even more!

cheers

arun

Google Powermeter

Google is now taking on the world. Not enough to be the search engine of choice, it is really is now entering new domains.

To help people save energy at home they have launched the Google Powermeter, a service that allows you to track electricity usage at your house. It will work by smart electrical meters being intstalled in your house which will then report data back to Google, which can then be displayed on your iGoogle home page.

How amazing??? What ever next? Google dental??? (do not under estimate them!)

Team is everything!

A Big thank you to ALL my wonderful team at Samera. The run up to the 31st january 2009 was the calmest, coolest we have ever had and was in full control. This was down to the superb team assembled at Samera - without them, this business would be nowhere.

I recall hiring my first hire, mahen back in 2004, when he joined me at my dad's dining table, after I interviewed him over a coffee at the local gym. One interview later, he was working with me at the dining table attempting to change the dental business world.

4.5 years since then, he is still with us, but how things have changed.

Last Friday, we had a team lunch, and around the table were my core team members. Mahen, who now manages much of the business is currently enjoying the delights of his home land in Sri Lanka, missed out, but it really did highlight to me how the business has grown and developed.

The Samera team really is an experiment in social and cultural diversity. From Hungary, to Sri Lanka, to Mauritius, to India, to Nigeria, to Ramsgate, to good old SW London (that's where i herald from via Indian ancestory) we have an assortment of wonderful individuals who together work so well! There are no boundaries here. Yes, there are differences, but that is what makes it so exciting.

If you are reading this, thanks guys, all your efforts are so much appreciated by me. My life would not be the same without ALL of you!

My Saturday's!

An early rise with two young kids and then the hard work begins.
Number 1 kid off to Stagecoach to do his dance/music thing!
Number 2 kid, a wee bit small for dancing, so dad stays at home playing and feeding, whilst mum hits the gym!

Number 3 kid, dad, once Number 2 kid is asleep, hits all the paperwork he needs to organise before, Number 1 kid and Number 4 kid (mum) come home!
Once all kids are home, time for brunch/brekkie and then time to catch up together for the week.

Number 3 kid (dad) likes to read ALOT, so having number 1 kid (and number 2) makes it virtually impossible.

Once brunch is out of the way, Number 3 kid has a party to goto, so Number 3 kid has to drive him there!!

Does this sound familiar??

I wouldn't change it for the world, business, work and most of all family, but back to the office on Monday growing a fast changing and developing multi faceted business is easy peasy in comparison! Enjoy....life is what you make it!

Arun

The $10 Laptop

The $10 Laptop??? Otherwise known as Sakshat!

Is this a joke or a reality? The Indian government believe they are about to launch a $10 laptop, something that will be accessible to all people in India. The skeptics believe this is just hype considering the cost of the components of a laptop...but in probability it will be a $10 laptop (that costs $100 to make) which will be heavily subsidised by the government. The first pictures show that it looks nothing like a laptop...but you never know, things may improve!

Whatever the cost, the idea and concept is sheer brilliant. Those in the 3rd world more than anyone else in the world will have the ability to use the laptop to communicate, share and ultimately develop. I do hope this hype turns in to reality for the many millions who live on just $1 a day! This along with many other social developments will change their world forever. Things are changing very quickly...whatever next???

Are you an Outlier?

Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point and Blink ) and now the author of Outliers has surpassed himself with his latest book.

As an avid reader I managed to read it in a just a few sittings, and the gist of the book was that luck, when you were born, and the amount of effort you put into something were the main determinants for success. Yes, but you probably know that already.

Why did Bill Gates do so well? Mainly because by the time he was heading off to Harvard he had a huge unfair advantage, he had been tinkering with software development for many years, at a school that had invested heavy in IT (rare in those days) and many evenings each week he would head down to the University of Washington to get involved in certain projects (whilst he was in school!)

Gladwell argues brilliantly what we already know - hard work = success, but he goes much further using his examples, clearly highlighting that hard work alone will not ensure success. His belief is if you do a specific task for at least 10,000 hours, by that stage you will have become an expert in a subject and success will follow. By the time Bill Gates was off to Harvard, he had around 10,000 hours of software expertise, a rarity in the early 70's in the US!

Did you know that there is a particular year to have been born in to be a mega successful software entrepreneur?

To find the answer and many more go read it, you won't be disappointed! Very Inspiring indeed! If you want to buy it you can click here!

HMRC vs Dentists…let the battle begin!

The 31st of January has passed and your tax return has been submitted and you have paid your hefty tax bill – Again.

In good or bad times, paying your tax is one of life’s certainties. However, now more than ever as public spending rockets, HMRC will be after every penny they can get from you, the hard working dentist.

In Monday’s Panorama documentary it was made clear the new US government would be going after tax havens to disclose information about account holders. The Cayman Islands was in particular highlighted as a major tax haven for US citizens, showing one law firm that had over 18,000 companies registered at its small offices (Maple and Calder). In a similar vein, the UK government now more than ever is after information about people who have hidden money in tax havens or who they believe have paid insufficient tax.

HMRC New Powers - Will they be knocking at your door?

From April 2009, the Finance Act 2008 will be put into action. This may not mean much to you, but rest assured this means a lot to HMRC. From April, HMRC investigators will be using the legislation detailed in Schedule 36 of the Finance Act to go after more tax!

Section 10 of Schedule 36 (visit here to read it in full) states that HMRC now has the power to visit to your business premises, without notice, to check your tax position. With the mess the Public finances are in, Gordon and Alistair need more money, this is just one of the many means they will be going after it!

If you have not already, make sure you take out tax investigation insurance, as next time you get a knock at the door, it may well be an unwelcome tax inspector!