Leap of Faith: Launching a New Business during a Recession
In the face of the most severe economic down-turn since the great depression, many Entrepreneurs are faced with tough choices. DocuCube Systems Inc, a provider of Electronic Records & online Document Management, announces the launch of its hosted service online using creative strategies the weather the current economic downturn.
Sterling, VA (PRWEB) March 4, 2009
In the face of the most severe economic down-turn since the great depression, many Entrepreneurs are faced with tough choices. With no end to the recession in sight, realizing success in this challenging economy is going to require companies to be more creative in their approach and reinvent typical business models to not only survive, but prosper.
Ironically, a "down economy" can present businesses with opportunities. However, as Monique Wilson CEO of DocuCube Systems Incorporated says, "The saying that opportunity goes around knocking on doors is really untrue. In fact, opportunity usually stands quietly to the side waiting to be noticed." Here are some ways that bold entrepreneurs are finding opportunities to leverage a down economy to grow a business.
On Building Strategic Partnerships
Bloomberg reports that for the first time since 1991, consumer spending has dramatically decreased as Americans cut back on personal consumption. Nariman Behravesh, a chief economist at HIS Global Insight stated, "Consumers have thrown in the towel. They have no choice but to cut back on spending in a very big way. This is going to be a fairly deep, long recession." How are businesses responding? Some entrepreneurs are developing strategic partnerships as a way of attracting customers in a down economy.
DocuCube. com is a new start-up company specializing in hosted Document and electronic records management for businesses and individuals. To attract new customers, the company has adopted a creative strategy of partnering with existing businesses to access their customer base rather than spend big dollars in blanket advertising to sign-up new customers. Wilson states, "It seems that in these tough economic times, it's easier to establish partnerships with other businesses that are looking for ways to weather the storm than it is to market in traditional ways". DocuCube Systems invites small retail owners to partner with the company in reselling its document management solution for a monthly commission on active customers. It is a winning formula because DocuCube increases its customer base while its retail partners have the opportunity to add an additional revenue stream to their business at no additional cost. DocuCube VP of Operations Jay Christian says, "We had to appeal to the inner entrepreneur of each of our retailers. Established businesses resell our services for a monthly commission on active customers. To encourage active participation in the program, we have enacted a graduated commission scale, meaning the more new customers a partner signs up, the higher their monthly commission. The motivation is absolutely there".
On Doing Business Over New Channels to a Motivated Customer Base
Creativity has always been one of the hallmarks of successful new businesses. Monique Wilson says, "The ability to find inventive ways to serve a public need in a unique way that hasn't been met before is more critical than ever in these tough times where consumers are forced to be more choosy about where they spend their dollars". DocuCube Systems strategy is to reinvent the way that people use document management. Instead of building a pricy document management system to rival big competitors like Microsoft's SharePoint, DocuCube is tailored to work for both businesses and individuals. Because they are pricy, existing Enterprise Document Management solutions are often out of reach for ordinary individuals and small businesses. Jay Christian says, "We're really taking web 2.0 to new heights by facilitating communication, interoperability, and allowing people to collaborate in ways that were not possible before." The company even developed an iPhone optimized web portal for mobile customer access. Additionally, DocuCube is using social networking as a way to increase its market footprint. Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace owe much of their success to word of mouth marketing and social connections. DocuCube. com is a social networking site that is unique in that it allows users to share documents, tasks, and events to persons within their network over a secure network.
On Pricing
In these tough economic times, many businesses offering products and services at a discount continue to profit despite the down economy. Companies such as Walmart and McDonalds continue to do perform exceptionally well despite economic recession because they offer valuable products and services at a price that is more palatable to the consumer. Putting a product or service within reach of everyday working people can allows companies to realize success despite the troubled economy. DocuCube System's business model and mission centers around accessibility to individuals and small and medium sized businesses, a market typically under served by larger competitors such as MicroSoft, Oracle, and SAP.
On Going Green
Today, smart companies are seeking to maintain a balance between sustainability and profitability and are working to reduce their environmental footprint. Being environmentally responsible can also present unique opportunities to meet a market need for eco-conscious consumers. DocuCube Systems provides hosted services that allow people to limit paper consumption by facilitating paperless communication and freeing people to recycle their hard copy documents. Monique Wilson says, "Our Paperless Office solutions allow our consumers to be environmentally conscious while meeting today's need for instant access to secure electronic communications, documents and records."
In the end, starting a new business is as much art as it is science. Particularly in tough economic times, it requires a healthy mix of ingenuity and pragmatism. DocuCube System's VP of operations Jay Christian says, "I think that the severity of the current economic situation has a kind of accelerated Darwinian effect on startup companies like ours. It requires that we plug any holes that may exist in our budgets and tighten our belts from day one. We find inspiration from companies like Google, which were also started during troubled economic times." One key success factor may be the ability of a start up to recognize unique opportunities presented by the down economy. As Inc. magazine stated, "Starting a business in a recession is like vacationing the off-season. It's a little less crowded, and everything starts going on sale." Over the long-term, entrepreneurs who are able to whether the storm may in fact be better for the wear. As the saying goes, the hungriest wolves hunt best.
About DocuCube. com
DocuCube Systems Incorporated is a company specializing in electronic records and paperless office technology. The company operates on a Software as a Service (SAAS) model and is a web 2.0 entity, providing hosted Electronic Records and Document Management Services.
For more information, contact DocuCube Systems Inc at 1-888-958-7774 or email.
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