Why do entrepreneurs get in trouble with the law?

Entrepreneurs get in legal trouble for two main reasons, either they do not know the law (ignorance), or they knowingly broke the law (culpability). Ignorance of the law means the business made an innocent mistake by not knowing or fully understanding the law. An example of ignorance would be the selling of merchandise without the proper permits, certificates, or licenses. For instance, the case of the neighborhood lemonade stand run by children comes to mind. In most cases, this type of business requires a business license to sell their products; however, they do not possess one because the children (and parents) are uninformed to the local rules. Culpability is the exact opposite of ignorance of the law as the entrepreneur is knowingly providing illegal products or services. An example of culpability would be intentionally opening and selling products or services (like a hotdog stand by the courthouse) without the proper business license, certificates, or permits. Another example would be manufacturing and the selling of a different business’s intellectual property like counterfeit Gucci or Coach merchandise.

What does psychology have to do with marketing?

Psychology is an important human behavior science that is used in marketing to influence customers’ decision to purchase, utilize, and/or generate positive gossip about a company’s product or service. Psychology is using the cognitive understanding of your audience or communities to help devise how best to promote your product in print (magazines, newspapers, billboards, etc.), social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), or television commercial advertisements. The types of psychology methods most commonly used to influence customers are techniques like using emotional messages (for instance, car commercials show family’s or couples having a good time driving to their destination which shows that their product is fun to drive because people like fun.), promote exclusiveness (for instance, Gucci merchandise is only for the few rich and successful so by owning their merchandise the customer feels like they are rich, successful, and at a higher station in life.), or introducing fear/uncertainty/doubt, (for instance, the prepping world uses the fear of a weather disaster or zombie apocalypse to motivate customers to be better prepared for these situations.). These psychological approach examples use a type of strategy that motivates a particular client. Car companies will target outdoorsy people by showing fun unstoppable 4×4 vehicles used outside or dehydrated food companies to target prepper customers through the fear of a catastrophe.

What types of marketing sway my decisions?

Personally, I am swayed by ludicrous commercials. For instance, I happened to witness a commercial on YouTube advertising Dr. Squatch Men’s natural bar soap. The commercial was hilarious which hooked me into watching the entire commercial. The commercial put a comedic emphasizes about how their product is made for men by having fragrances that are manly and superior by their product only using all natural ingredients and not utilizing any chemicals (like the big commercial soap makers) that damage your skin. In addition, the commercial also used sex through a sexual attraction approach, by women stating they would be more physical with their boyfriends if they smelled like their product. I began to do some research on the product searching for public reviews and such and saw they had positive reviews. I also found they offered a trial bars of soap for first time customers to try their product. So, I decided to try it. If you are interested in watching the commercial here is the link: Dr. Squatch.

How can I pitch ideas better?

Ideas can be pitched better through three main factors: knowing the audience you are pitching, familiarity of the product or service, and continual repetition of practicing the pitch. Knowing your audience means understanding what information is important to propose (for instance you would deliver your message differently to investors than to potential customers). Familiarity of the product or service means you should be familiar with as much information about the product or service. By being familiar with the product you will have no problems answering any questions about the product or service. Additionally, this will also build trust with the consumer or investor base because this will show that you know and understand the ins and outs of what you are proposing. Practicing the pitch means just that, preparing your delivery through repetition. By practicing your pitch, your audience will see a professional deliverance which builds confidence in the information delivered. Furthermore, practicing helps you overcome any anxiety you have when public speaking by building confidence in your pitch delivery. One other thing practicing does is that it will help you hone the presentation by getting rid of the data that is not needed. Sometimes things sound good in your head but do not sound good when you speak it aloud.

What are my strengths and weaknesses in pitching?

My strengths are that I do a lot of research on a subject prior to making any presentation. This is because I understand that when you do a presentation you need to be prepared to the best of your ability to answer questions no matter how queer the questions or observations might be. I enjoy doing presentations to a room or stadium full of people that want to hear what you are delivering. My weakness is that I can be hardheaded when it comes to change. What I mean by this is that every presentation that you do is not the same and sometimes adjustments need to be made. I dislike changing the presentation as it messes up the rhythm I have with the previous presentation.