The Journey#
DIY Toolkit#
Look Ahead#
To understand what I need to do to bring my idea to life
Innovation Flowshart#
By defining the outcomes from my work
Evidence Planning#
Develop a Clear Plan#
Clarify my Priorities#
Collect Input from Others#
Know the People I am Working With#
Generate New Ideas#
Test & Improve#
Sustain & Implement#
Where do I fit within the industry landscape#
Creative Industry#
Definition:
Industries ‘which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property’
Definition from Source
Where does scientists fit within the definition?
Business personal thoughts#
Scrientists create new knowledge, which can be seen as a source of value. However they purpusfully give away what they produce to scientific publishers that generate money out of what should be a common good.
My idea is to create
...
Bring together
Week 1#
Am I an Entrepreneur ?#
Entrepreneurs are those persons (business owners) who seek to generate value, through the creation or expansion of economic activity, by identifying and exploiting new products, processes or markets.
Note
(Blundel, et al., 2018, p. 3)
Find ref
Entrepreneurs are defined by their actions (not the size of organization they work for*). They create and/or exploit change for profit, by innovating, accepting risk and moving resources to areas of higher return.
Enterprise is an alternative term for a business or firm, as in the widely used term ‘small and medium sized enterprise’ (SME). They include ‘social enterprises’ which are trading organisations that serve a primary social purpose, and which can take a variety of legal forms….
Note
*An intrapreneur is a salaried employee in a larger company and the profits and risks of their work go to their employer.
(Blundel, et al., 2018, p. 4)
What is the big idea ?#
There are many potential sources of ideas. Some fairly common examples include:
Note
Use space to speak about my own business idea
Spotting an opportunity (e.g. a gap in the market)
Experiencing a problem and looking for a solution for it (e.g. an invention)
Being able to do something that others can’t (e.g. using a talent)
Being prepared to do something others don’t want to or can’t do (e.g. cleaning)
Having something that others might need or want (e.g. investing in plant or machinery for hire)
Invention, innovation and enterprise#
Writers on enterprise tend to differentiate between innovation and enterprise. Not everyone who comes up with an innovative new idea, like an inventor, is an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is the person who turns an innovative idea into either commercial ends or, in the case of a social entrepreneur, solves a particular social problem. Sometimes they may be one and the same person, but not always
Fig. 21 From Peter Drucker#
Note
Use this diagram to implement sources of my idea (one for each type)
Discovery skills#
Skills |
Definition |
Do I have it ? |
|---|---|---|
Observing |
actively noticing, watching, listening, perceiving, experiencing something |
yes |
Questioning |
asking relevant questions |
|
Curiosity |
the behaviour that causes you to ask questions and seek answers to why, how, where, when things happen as they do |
yes |
Connectivity |
linking objects, people, concepts, data, ideas etc. to see what results - or in the case of computing linking devices to each other and the internet |
yes |
Associating |
making connections between one thing and another - for example possible alternative solutions to a problem; possible ways to satisfy a need or want |
yes |
Incubation |
the process of developing ideas or solutions to a point where they have form |
yes |
Creativity and innovation |
the production of a new idea, solution, product, service or business which may be new to the world, an improvement on something, or provides access to a new market. |
yes |
Ideas all around us#
Simplifying what is there
Adding to what is there
Emphasising different attributes
Making something available in one place that otherwise customers would have to seek in many different places.
As a word of caution though, although you may perceive things in one way and can see a new approach, this does not necessarily mean others will share your vison, or view your idea as better. It is likely that changes and adaptation will happen
Solving problems and seeing opportunities#
Design thinking#
Framing#
This framing technique works where there is a clear sense of what needs to be achieved. It means thinking about:
How people are going to use the things you plan to make
How you will create value and, critically, for whom.
Discover: this phase is intended to provide more insight into the problem or challenge being addressed. Hence this opens up thinking.
Define: in this phase the intention is to focus upon specific areas to identify priorities, test assumptions and feasibility
Develop: once more, thinking is broadened out to highlight all potential solutions, prototypes and concepts that can be tested
Deliver: in this phase, evaluation of alternatives is designed to filter down to solutions that will be finalised and produced.
Learning from mistakes#
Week 2#
Delivering the business
Are you able to produce something that can be monetised in some way? That is to say, can you consistently meet the demand for a product or service that others consider worth paying for (or making use of)? If you can’t, your business won’t even get off the ground.
Running the business
Running a business or, in other words, fulfilling the functions and obligations required of an organisation properly, observing the law, and at the same time, meeting the expectations of your stakeholders (customers, shareholders, suppliers and so on) is also essential. If you fall foul of the law or regulator (if appropriate), or you consistently fall short of customer expectations, it won’t take long for your business to go under.
Getting the business.
This is your ability to find, supply and keep on getting new sales, contracts and customers. Again, with no future income streams, you will deplete your initial capital and resources very soon, along with your ability to meet obligations to your creditors.
Starting your business#
Motivation and context#
Note
Reflexion on my own motivations:
to implement
Planning for growth#
Getting, delivering and running my business
Difference between small and medium businesses#
Small businesses tend to be concerned with survival and viability, and may also be based around the lifestyle of the owner.
A medium-sized business is concerned with growth and scaling up, which requires a different mindset and managerial behaviours as a result
Reflexion:#
What does running your own business mean to you?
What is your business all about? What is its purpose – or to use the jargon – its mission?
Who else will be affected by your decisions?
Thinking ahead five years, where do you see yourself, your family, your business?
Now consider your own personal values – what is important to you? Does your image of the future square with your values? Are there any that are likely to conflict?
Intellectual Property#
Patents – provide the inventor with the right to prevent other people from making, using or selling the subject matter under patent. Patents are the best protection for a new product.
Copyright – covers original works of art, authorship or written copy (books, music, film etc.).
Trademarks – protect the value of a name, brand, logo or other symbols that allow your product to be distinguished from others. Think of the three stripes or the tick for Adidas and Nike. Before you register your company and website address or consider a business that operates in international markets, it is worth considering whether you can have these and use them without infringing any other business. You may also want to consider any cultural references that make your product less attractive overseas. In addition, it makes sense to ensure that your product and company name work for customers and other stakeholders. Is it memorable? Can it be spelled and therefore found?
Trade secrets – allow the owner to take action against anyone who breaches the agreement to keep something confidential – for example a family recipe.
Creative Commons ?
To consider#
If you are currently working for someone else, you should check the terms of your employment to ensure that your employer does not own any new ideas or inventions. Similarly, working on your own idea under the radar, in their time and using their resources, could create problems for you further down the line. Keep a clear distinction between your employed work and your new venture.
A non-disclosure document or confidentiality agreement will allow you to have conversations with experts and advisers about your ideas without jeopardising your position.
As you work up your idea you will possibly have sought and gained lots of input from friends, colleagues and others. These conversations may even result in joint ideas or loose proposals to be co-founders. Once there is an agreement between you and others, you need to agree on the terms of the relationship to prevent huge problems down the line.
If you are going to be working with other people on your business idea – perhaps employing independent contractors – then you should ensure that all IP rights are assigned to your company. If you employ someone from a competitor, then ensure that they aren’t bound by any confidentiality or non-compete conditions.
If you are using open source software as part of your product, you need to carefully check the rights and permissions. Similarly, if you intend to use images on your website, you do not want to infringe others’ copyright.
Protection should cover all the country markets that you intend to trade in.
Starting a business ressources:#
Business structures#
Difference between the legal forms (1) and organisational types (1 or more)
Legal Options#
Sole trader – the simplest way to operate. However, there are implications for how you raise finance and your personal liability for debts and tax. As a sole trader you are not separate from the operation.
Partnerships – where two or more people co-own a business and share the income from it. As with sole traders, in the law, the business is not seen as separate from its operators.
Limited liability partnerships – require at least one general partner and one limited partner – but you cannot be both. Limited partners contribute to the funding to start the company and are liable for debts up to the amount contributed. A limited partner cannot manage the business. General partners manage the business and are liable for any debts the business cannot pay.
Limited company – the business is separate from the operators. Its finances are separate from the owner’s personal finances. Companies can retain profits after paying corporation tax. Companies need directors and shares, memorandum and articles of association and, in the UK, need to be registered with Companies House.
Franchise – a business in which the owner or franchisor gives a third party (franchisee) the right to use their business name, logo and business model. McDonalds and Subway are well known examples of franchises on the high street. This is one way to start a business which avoids much of the activity required for a new business. It is also a way to scale your own business idea.
Social businesses – there are common organisational types used by social businesses:
☑ Social enterprise – a business with primarily social objectives. Profit is mostly reinvested in the business or in the community, rather than maximising profit for shareholders and owners.
Community enterprise – generally taken to be a social enterprise owned and run by a geographical community or a community of interest.
Co-operative – an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise (International Co-operative Alliance definition). There are many types of co-operative:
– worker co-operative – co-operative owned and run by its workers
– housing co-operative – co-operative owned and run by its tenants
– consumer co-operative – co-operative owned and run by its customers
– co-operative consortium – co-operative owned and run by other businesses which use the services of the co-operative
– multi-stakeholder co-operative – a mixture of any or all of the above.
Community land trust – an organisation created to hold land as an asset for community use.
Credit union – a non-profit financial institution that is owned and operated entirely by its members.
Development trust – a community-based enterprise that secures and manages community assets.
Social firm – a business committed to creating employment and training opportunities for people who are furthest from the labour market.
Note
Deciding what structure your business should take requires thinking about how you will finance it and what size of business you anticipate it will become
an individual can trade for a social purpose as well as being a sole trader, and call themselves a social business
ie social business (providing knowledge to people + trading web-sites for interested scientists)
Not for profit#
What structure do I need?#
Are you planning on starting the business on your own or with one or more others? What would you want to happen in future in the event of one or other wanting to leave, for example retiring or moving away?
How much administration is needed? Although you will always need to keep adequate records for tax and other reasons, some structures do not require you to register your company, incorporate it, file accounts or have them audited, or to make annual returns ?
How much finance do you need? Where will your finance come from? What assets do you have and are prepared to use as a collateral if necessary to borrow capital to invest in your business? Will it come from you or from loans and shareholders? How does having shareholders impact on your growth plan?
Do you need to consider tax advantages or protection of personal assets?
What about other considerations like your community, surroundings or the environment?
tasks and roles#
That you would need to consider when running your business
Finance#
Administration and governance#
Sales, marketing and customer service#
Usefull ressource to check:
Business Canvas#
There is 3 main business models:
Traditional product-oriented system
McKinsey’s value delivery system
Business model canvas
Fig. 22 Business Model Canvas#
Digital publishing business models#
Extracted from Source
Digital publishing and digital media are a wide-reaching industry. Different companies use digital publishing for a variety of reasons, depending on factors like:
Target audience
Relevancy and uniqueness of their content
Content development strategies
Diversity of income streams
Collaborations with influencers or other brands
Depending on a company’s combinations of these factors, they may choose one of three popular digital publishing business models to incorporate into their marketing strategy. These business models are:
(Currently used by Scientific publishers) Memberships, subscriptions, and paid content: In this business model, companies require readers and viewers to sign up and pay to have access to their new and archived digital publications and content. This model is popular for things like online magazines and newspapers.
(Yes) ECommerce or retail: In this business model, companies direct their marketing to individual consumers, promoting singular products or services. This model may be popular for things like eBooks, software programs, or video games.
(May-be, collaborative aspect) Branded content and programmatic advertising: In this business model, companies focus strictly on marketing their brands rather than on individual products or services. They may use tactics like pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, influencer relationships, or content syndication to increase brand awareness.
Digital transformation of Business Models#
[Li, 2020]
The Value Proposition#
Current state of Scientific Publication#
Every person in the world is one of Science stakeholders.
The Constat#
Scientific publication is a niche, that get very little attention from the general public nor policy makers. And yet it is partly (if not mostly) funded by the public, and is one of the most lucrative business in the world.
Scientific Publication
Link to blog post
The emerging field of Open Science#
Oportunity for new business model - (current scientific publishers are using this emerging trend to make even more money by applying APC). They don’t serve science
Open Science
Link to blog post
Where I fit#
Problems
The outdated scientific publication system
Reproducibility of scientific experiments
Needs
Deliver good science to the general public
New model for scientific publication
Mkae scientifc publication up-to-date and allowing all the modern media channels to be incorporated in scientific outputs
Make scientific work machine readable and inter-linked
Semantic Web
Thesaurus …
Add interactivity to scientific publication
lifelong Peer Review
Customer Segments#
Researchers
That are willing to embrace new methods to challenge the current publication system
That seeks new way for more efficient, broader scientific collaboration.
Teachers
Looking for good ressources to teach or to entertain their students
Public
That want to learn about Science
Policy makers ?
Channels#
How do my products gets to my customers
Mailing list
Advertisement
via networking
Conferences / Seminars
Social media …
Customer Relationships#
How do I get, keep and grow my customers
Note
split between Researchers and Public
Revenue Streams#
What value is the customer paying for
Ressources#
Finance
Physics
Intellectual
Human
Partners#
Executable Books
Endnote ?
Activities#
Costs#
Comments#
Notes
Page
Author: Vincent Deguin;
Status:
🔎Reviewed: ❌
Updated: 28/05/2023
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