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Oct 04 2017

North Aware Founder Jamil Khan Gives Inside Look at Kickstarter Crowdfunding

north aware - jamil kahn - kickstarter - smartparka

north aware - jamil kahn - kickstarter - smartparka

People who live in cold climates need outerwear to protect them from often harsh elements. Jamil Khan lives in Canada and has experienced his share of frigid winters. That was the driving force behind his idea to found North Aware, an apparel company that came out last year with the Smart Parka – the first winter coat to include built-in gloves, a removable liner, length extension and separate pockets for your hat, glasses, and technology.

“People who live in cold weather understand a good coat is a necessity, not a luxury,” Jamil Khan explains. “You need to know your winter coat will protect you.”

Taking his idea from concept to reality, however, was challenging to say the least. The first hurdle he had to cross was to secure start up capital, and for this reason, he turned to Kickstarter, a popular crowdfunding platform.

“Our product was really well-suited for the platform,” Khan says. “The Kickstarter community is very supportive of new products.”

North Aware’s Kickstarter campaign, which was launched in January of 2016 and ran until late March, raised over $3.25 million, more money than any other crowdfunding campaign in Canadian history, in fact. With an original goal of generating $30,000 in start up capital, it’s safe to say the results of the campaign exceeded Khan and North Aware’s wildest expectations.

However, North Aware’s story is far from typical and the vast majority of Kickstarter campaigns fail to reach their initial funding goals. While Khan was genuinely amazed by the positive response, he is quick to acknowledge a host of factors that contributed to the campaign’s success.

“Prior to launching our campaign, we advertised on different platforms to build momentum,” Khan said. After building a base of interested subscribers, the North Aware team contacted them to promote the campaign launch. Once the campaign launched, word spread rapidly, with people sharing it with their friends and social networks at an unprecedented rate.

“We reached our goal on the second day. It felt great, but it was a mixture of joy and responsibility. We immediately got busy taking the campaign to the next level,” he explains. “We really didn’t have time to celebrate.”

The campaign continued to raise funds at record breaking speed, but there were some pitfalls along the way.

Launching a successful Kickstarter campaign is “a learning process, all along the way,” Khan adds. “Whatever you do, the first time you will do it wrong. Don’t be afraid of mistakes.”

Khan says that the majority of backers pledged their support in the last ten days, with the bulk of supporters hailing from Toronto and New York.

“If you look at our photos and videos on the site, they’re all set in metropolitan areas,” Khan says, a marketing decision he explained was intentional. Additionally, all of the photography and videography used as part of the Kickstarter campaign was professional in nature, another conscious choice.

“With Kickstarter, it’s really important how you present photos and videos. Do it professionally. Spend time on how you display your products.”.

Obviously pleased by the overwhelming success of North Aware’s campaign, Khan would “absolutely recommend Kickstarter for people starting out” trying to market a new product.

“Kickstarter is great for publicity. You can start playing with the big boys right away,” he says, which isn’t necessarily true of other funding sources.

Khan’s advice to those considering a Kickstarter campaign is “to create a really good product people need and want,” and then “get the word out anyway you can, as quickly as you can. If you have 100 ways to get the word out, you do all of them.”

north aware - classic
north aware - expidition
north aware - classic

 

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Canadian Small Business Women · Tagged: campaigns, capital, crowdfunding, investments, jamil kahn, kickstarter, launch, marketing, new business, north aware, small business, smart parka, startup

Mar 30 2014

Business Research Demystified…New vs. Existing Business. What You Need To Do (Part 2)

yvonne

New Business Start-up Research

Using an analogy from the bible; when God was giving the children of Israel the land of Canaan, he asked Moses to send out men to spy out the land… whether the people who dwelt in it were strong or weak, whether the land was good or bad, rich or poor etc.

Same principle applies to when you have a great business idea, you need to research; research yourself, research your potential business partner, research the market you plan on entering, research who the players, and research the types of finances available. By researching yourself, you are able to establish whether or not you have the skills and experience required to start and run your own business successfully and the gaps you need to fill. By researching your potential partner(s), you determine what skills and experience they bring to the table, how it complements you bring, and most importantly whether you are able to work together in the short and long term.

Your Market (Industry) research is one of the most important and not to be compromised research that needs to be done. Omitting to carry out this research, even if it is minimal to start with, could lead to challenges in your business. During your research, you have the potential to discover anything, you could find the intended market is on a decline or that the potential for growth is phenomenal. By undertaking this research you are able to determine market growth potential, trends, receptiveness of the market, who the key players are such as vendors and competitors, and potential partnership opportunities.

Existing Business Research

For existing businesses, the focus is usually on growing the business an d increasing profits; better serving the needs of customers; being ahead or keeping pace with competitors; keeping abreast of the evolving economic and environmental factors; and taking advantage of emerging trends and technologies. To do this successfully starts with research, and continues with keeping abreast with the news. Research would include; competitor analysis, customer surveys, market trends, employee surveys etc.

Market trends and well as keep abreast of what your competitors are doing can be vital information that enables you be relevant. Remember, if your target market is not buying from you, they are buying from someone else. With competitor analysis you are able to identify who your competitors are; their products/services, pricing, distribution etc. Armed with some of this information you are able to make better business decisions, fine-tune your competitive advantage, and strategically position your business succeed.

Customer surveys (and feedback) will enable you gather information about the needs and opinions of your customers. Customers’ needs are constantly changing, therefore we need to be keep up with these changes and trends in order develop products and/or services to be relevant and appeal to the needs of your target market.

In general, undertaking the required research may or may not be easy depending on you familiarity with the process, knack for finding information, experience etc. It can also be very time-consuming and complex depending on the type of business or research required. With the internet and social media, research and information has become more easily available, however, it is important that you have clear objectives on what you are looking to achieve so as not to get overwhelmed. If you are finding it difficult to undertake the research yourself or do not have the time, it is worthwhile outsourcing or delegating the process.

Once your research is completed, you are now in a better position to know if and how to proceed; you have better understanding of the market you operate within and able to respond to the needs of the market; you know what your customers want; you are in a position to develop your competitive advantage; and armed with the knowledge to make better decisions and planning on the strategic development of your business.

While some businesses may have started out successfully without any research, a time comes when they have to pause and research to maintain their strategic advantage or they become irrelevant.

Get a free eBook to get started on your goals: http://eepurl.com/xeDrf

Yvonne is a Change Consultant, Coach and Speaker who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at:   www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc, www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc, www.oliveblue.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta · Tagged: business, business development, business growth, Business Research, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, competitive advantage, competitor analysis, competitors, economic factors, entrepreneur, environmental factors, industry, market, Market trends, new business, OliveBlue Inc, profits, research, small business, small business development, small business owner, small business owners, technologies, trends, Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Oct 01 2013

Should Women Network At The Old Boy’s Club?

Kerry George (1)

Business networking is important. It is important for everyone, but especially important for women. There is still a glass ceiling in some industries where breaking over the top is difficult and gender can occasionally be a part of that. Have you heard of the Old Boy’s Club? It still exists. There are the closed doors of the boardroom. It may not even be that men desire to do business that way, they have just done business with friends for years and their friends are typically other men. So why should they let any newcomer of any kind into their circle when they have a system that they feel is working?

Women need to earn their way into those closed rooms. One can’t assume that it is a different world now and that they will just throw open their arms and welcome in the unknown. Men want to know that there will be a positive result from the interaction of any new business. So women need to network and get out there into the marketplace and make more friends. People will do business with you if they know you and if they feel comfortable that you can deliver on your promises.

While more and more companies are hiring female CEOs, most big companies are being ran by men. They have the final decision on how money will be spent and who gets that great contract. Men like doing business with men. They are comfortable in that realm. They feel free to talk the way they talk. They usually like facts only and separate out emotional responses from decision making. They have been there for years and many see no need to change, so we need to bring something of value to the table to make them want to do business with us. So what does a woman entrepreneur bring to the table?

Perspective

While men may control the spending in the boardroom, women control the spending at home. Over 80% of daily household decisions are made by women. The companies that trying to get into the wallet share of the general population usually know that but this would be a great time to remind them. As a woman you know more about how to get a woman to buy their product or service. They need your perspective in the Boy’s Club.

Warmth

While some men complain that women show their emotions more than men do, one of the positive emotions that women share is joy. Women tend to feel more comfortable having a laugh in a group of people. They bring life to the party. At the CIBN.ca we put on business meetings for professionals every day of the week. The most enjoyable meetings are those with a good balance of men and women. Both sexes notice it and often comment on it. There is a warmth and a camaraderie in a group where there is female and male interaction.

New Business

Women have the hearts of other women. They are the mothers, the sisters, the friends of other women. Smart men realize that their company needs a female voice to be the advocate for their marketing to work. The bottom line for all business is the bottom line. If women are making purchasing decisions then every company on planet earth that is trying to sell to a woman, needs other women talking about their product. Doing business with female contractors and companies ran by women ensures a larger market share. The bottom line therefore is it is profitable to do business with women.

 

Women may like the comfortable networking that they are used to with the women’s organization but we are only half of the population. There is money being left on the table. Ladies there is a place for you in the Boy’s Club and many of the boys already know it. So make new friends. It is a new sandbox with it’s own set of rules. We may want to change the status quo but change takes time. The best course of action is to learn their existing unsaid rules and try to blend as much as principle will allow and enjoy the interaction and the new business that comes from it. For many men you will need to learn to present numbers and facts up front. It is almost as though you close them before you present to them. They are fact orientated. If you know that you can have a tremendous edge in that market, and even gain the full support of the Boy’s Club.

 

Kerry George is the owner of the Canadian Imperial Business Network which is currently the largest business network in Alberta and rapidly expanding across the country. She is a serial entrepreneur/author and speaker with a zest for life and a passion to help others succeed in increasing their potential and their bottom line. Kerry has several publications and blogs that you can follow and welcomes most interaction online.

Twitter

@createloyalty2U

@CIBNtweets

@yycbiznetwork

Blogs

http://loyal2u.blogspot.ca/

http://calgarybiz.net/blog-3/

http://kidsincowtown.wordpress.com/

http://loyal2u.ca/category/social-media-2/linkedin/

 

 

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Kerry George · Tagged: board room, Canadian Imperial Business Network, Canadian Small Business Women, entrepreneur, female CEO, Kerry George, networking, new business, Old Boys Club, perspective, small business owner, small business owners, warmth, women

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