In just a few short years, technology has come along to change nearly everything we know about the way business is conducted for all time - from both the perspective of consumers and entrepreneurs. According to one study from ComScore, four out of every five consumers now use their smartphone to shop. 66% of small business owner's, have begun using mobile devices and similar solutions as part of their daily operations, a number that is only increasing over time. Even the marketing world has changed, as social media and email marketing has become the top two reasons that small businesses are using technology in the first place.
This dramatic shift in how customers choose to interact with a business has also led to a natural evolution of the role of the entrepreneur in the first place. Such was the case with Nanohydr8, an energy drink company that has managed to carve out a more-than-healthy audience for itself despite the natural challenges and disruption represents. In a recent interview, Adam Legas, CEO and founder of Nanohydr8 spoke in detail about the changing role of the entrepreneur in today's landscape, the challenges that he's faced and where he sees things going in the future.
If You Are Undeniable, You Cannot Be Denied
Technology has naturally made it possible for even smaller businesses to compete on a much larger scale thanks to marketing innovations, something that has hit the energy drink industry hard in particular. There are now more companies than ever competing for essentially the same core audience, creating a lot of white noise and competition and making it difficult for one company to stand out from the rest. Mr. Legas told us, “However, the solution is simple - you just have to be better than anyone else.”
"What we've done to separate ourselves, is provide more benefits in a single product than all the big players in our space" he said. "The Nano technology absorption separates us from the giants and will allow us to make an impact once people understand how absorption percentages and speeds of absorption are dramatically improved with our exclusive technology."
The Changing Face of Marketing
In addition to forcing yourself to get better to stand out in a crowded marketplace, companies are now relying on marketing more than ever. Companies are still putting the same information about their products and services out into the world, but because of changes to the way people get that information they've had to shift gears in several dramatic ways.
He explained that, "Technology and social media continue to change the entire landscape for how people get information. I think it makes things more difficult, in the fact that it makes it possible for so many different companies to have access to the public. However, the situation isn't necessarily all bad news. He went on to say that “At the same time the financial barrier to entry is much lower and makes it possible for to make a run at building a business with much less capital."
It's Less About Marketing and More About Education
One of the more interesting effects that technology has had on the role of the entrepreneur is a shift less towards salesman and more towards educator. People have more access to high-quality content than ever before and, thus, content that merely exists to market is falling by the wayside. This has been particularly helpful in terms of Nanohydr8, where education has proved to be a powerful weapon when utilized effectively.
"With our product, education has proven to be crucial. This industry is very crowded. Without extensive, creative education, there is no way to compete the big players in the market" said Legas. "NanoHydr8 is the right choice for everyone, so all our energy goes towards educating them on what makes us different than everyone else."
To say that the role of the entrepreneur is changing in today's modern landscape is something of an understatement. Perhaps the most important lesson of all to take away from this, however, is that you can't expect your success rate to remain at 100% thus. Disruption often brings good things with it, but it also brings bad things, too. You must accept that if you're going to survive the challenges life has in store for you.
In closing, Adam Legas gave us some advice "We have failures every day! In today's business environment, information travels fast. We can get feedback in real time. My advice would be, bring value to the consumer. Produce something that really works. Be a user of the product and be passionate about it. All business is more effective if you are passionate about what you are selling!"