Opportunity Cost

No matter how creative or inventive a proposed product or service is, its value proposition must be make known to potential stakeholders (investors and customers included). Marketing is an essential business success factor as it engages stakeholders, drives sales and grows business. To get stakeholders' buy-in to a specific project or course of action, authentic third-party endorsements work well.

Even when I was working in Hong Kong's Intellectual Property Department, I named its Marketing Division. I master-minded marketing projects to serve the public good eg to mark the turn of the 21st century, a competition to suggest the 10 most-sought-after inventions was held to nurture Hong Kong's innovative culture. The message was: whatever that could be imagined can be achieved.

But to make something happen requires resources - labour, skill, judgment and financial investment. I have come across entrepreneurs marketing commonplace ideas to get me interested so that I (or others I might know) would invest in their projects. Common pitfalls in their corridor pitching are : value propositions not unique, no or fanciful financials, and customers segments not identified.

Not viable business models aside, I also observed that many entrepreneurs are self-regarding, focusing on their strengths and forgetting their weaknesses. Exercising my good offices, I would highlight the main obstacles and suggest the strategic way forward, saving their opportunity costs. However, many would expect my continued hand-holding without taking into account my opportunity cost!

#OpportunityCost