​By Leah Ryder on January 16, 2019

It happens to even the most experienced remote workers. Actually, it happens especially to those who have worked from home for a while. You land an amazing remote job, set up your home office with a customized desk setup, and get settled with ease. Over time, however, you become a little too settled. It’s been three days since you left your house and the fridge is empty—not that you’ve noticed, because you haven’t taken a proper lunch break in months. And when was the last time that you wore anything other than that same hoodie?
According to the Owl Labs 2019 State Of Remote Work report, US-based remote employees tend to work more than the standard 40 hours per week—that's 43% more than on-site workers. And while working at home can help people be more productive, there is also an increased threat of loneliness and impostor syndrome, which can lead to risks of depression and burnout.
Indeed, reaching peak “hermit” lifestyle as a remote worker goes beyond the pyjama jokes. These serious risks can be exacerbated simply because you’re not held accountable by physical means like the janitor turning out the lights.

I’ve been working remotely now for nearly five years. For me, part of adapting to this incredibly rewarding lifestyle was about learning to take more accountability for major life habits, like keeping active, having a balanced diet, and nurturing rewarding relationships with a distributed team. These are the pillars of a long and rewarding remote work career.
Beyond the fundamentals, however, a truly great day at the home office is about the little things.

After all, you have so much opportunity to craft a great environment, work according to your ideal schedule, and live a life without wasted commute time! Keeping your day interesting, without putting too much pressure on perfection, is what’s really important.
To stave off that “stuck” feeling when working remotely, here are a few quirky, small-yet-mighty, perhaps even weird, ways to inject a little fun, happiness, and socialization into your day.

1. Plan your outfit for the day the night before. The “work” part of working from home is important. It may seem silly to plan an outfit to wear at home, but you’ll avoid the rut of wearing uninspiring hoodies and stretchy pants on repeat. Also set the coffee on a timer and set aside your lunch, or make a plan for nourishing snacks and meals.

Treating your work day like you would if you were going to an office ensures you're up, dressed, and well fed all day long. You’ll be ready for anything, including accepting a last-minute coffee date with a friend or dropping into a video chat with your boss. As Henry Ford wisely said: “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success.” Of course, what constitutes feeling “ready” is up to you, but you should always make your bed. It also means you can use your morning routine for other things!

2. Use your morning routine for demanding pleasures.The next step is to get your brain moving in the morning—and moving in the right (read: positive and productive) direction at that.
Author Ayn Rand has been famously quoted as defining a demanding pleasure as something enjoyable that “uses one’s mind.” She goes on to point out that it should be something that requires “discrimination, judgement, awareness” rather than something that requires problem-solving. Avoid early onset decision fatigue by keeping routine choices and chores to a minimum, and choose personally productive pastimes instead.
Whatever you choose, the activities should be interesting and rewarding so that you’re motivated to get up and do them every day, with a dash of new learnings or the use of creativity. Personally, I like to switch things up between reading and writing on personal projects, accompanied by a short morning meditation, a walk with my dog, and a rotating set of new smoothie recipes.

3. Set a rule for going out in public.This is not a joke. Especially when the weather takes a turn for the worst, it is surprisingly easy to hunker down and only venture out for the occasional supply run. Even if it’s an easy goal to hit for you, setting a rule that you’ll go out to a public place (that’s not the grocery store) at least "once every 24 hours" will help you remember to actually do it.

Here’s an easy win: The best thing you can do is use your non-commute time in the morning to go walk outside and get some fresh air. Regular, moderate, exercise is directly correlated to an increase in productivity, and according to Harvard Business Review, is a key factor in helping you achieve a better work-life balance.

​4. Always be building playlists.Listening to new music is good for the brain, because it activates the center that makes us feel rewarded and excited. However, research has shown that most of us slow or stop discovering new music altogether by age 30!

In fact, data from US Spotify and Echo Nest users revealed that, by age 33, it is likely that a listener will never listen to new music again. Stop the slowdown and listen to Youtube or Spotify with one ear for new tracks. New music keeps you receptive to learning new things, and having a "side project" of mixing playlists gives you constructive energy in a low-key way all day. Plus you can share them with your friends!

​5. Place things that need attention out of reach.Taking breaks is a key part of productivity, but it’s too easy to skip them when you’re alone. To avoid permanently bonding to your home office chair, try building regular “required” breaks into your environment:

• If you are an audiophile like me, play vinyl throughout your workday at a distance from your desk so that you need to get up and flip the record every half hour.
  
• Leave your phone in the kitchen so you have to get up and check it when it pings (providing that you’ve managed your notifications so it doesn’t ring every five minutes!)
  
• Don’t keep snacks or drinks within easy reach.
  

Overall, if you’re bad at getting up from your desk regularly, build simple movements into your day in 20-30 minute intervals with things that break your concentration and say, “Hey, you should get up and do this thing for a few minutes.” Once you get there, give that thing a few minutes of concentration to make it a true mini-break.

6. Watch Netflix. Seriously.Four different studies have found results that that “parasocial” relationships in your favorite shows, or one-sided relationships that you watch on screen rather than participate in, can create real feelings of social surrogacy. What that means is: Watching an episode of The Office when you’re feeling a little down can help you feel less lonely and gives you an experience of feeling like you belong.

7. Keep going to the same coffee shop, dog park, or fitness class.You can do all of the above and still be missing one key ingredient to a more balanced remote work life: other people. 
We fundamentally need other people to survive for our emotional wellbeing and even to live a longer, healthier life. It’s truly becoming harder to have meaningful interactions with other people: A report from Cigna found that only half of respondents had a meaningful in-person social interaction each day. On the bright side, science has figured out exactly how to make new friends, and it turns out that all it takes is time. 
Research published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships calculated that it takes an average of 50 hours with someone before they feel like a casual friend, another 40 hours to become real friends, and a total 200 hours before you’ll ask them to be in your wedding party. So start frequenting places or events that attract the same people on a routine basis, make an effort to chat with those folks, and you’ll have a new crew in no time!

​If you do find yourself in a remote work rut, the best thing to do is have a little compassion for yourself and then try something new. Or, if you’re like me, just dance in your office—it’s not like anyone can see you!
Remote work can give you the freedom of flexibility, time, and a creative space you can call your own. Take advantage of it, and develop your own weird habits to create a daily experience that’s rewarding and, well, worth working for.
​
This article was updated as of March 2020

​Even big companies struggle with innovation. Take, for example, Gerber’s 1970's attempt to penetrate the adult food market. Instead of developing a new line with its own unique distribution strategy, the baby food brand re-labeled existing pureed products and simply placed them in a different aisle. Or, more recently, look to the flop of Pizza Hut’s ill-fated “Flavors of Now” campaign, which failed spectacularly to drive sales. 

​Many entrepreneurs strike gold with their first line of products, only to run out of steam when it’s time to expand. Companies that continuously get product innovation right have a certain number of factors and resources in place to encourage free thinking. Sometimes, it just takes the right partner to bring an idea from a rough concept to full design. Here are some ways to improve product innovation in your business.

​No one wants to fail, but fear of failure prevents employees from taking risks and pushing boundaries of product innovation. “A recent Gallup study found that only 18% of U.S. employees strongly agree they can take risks at work that could lead to important new products, services or solutions. When the remaining 82% of employees cannot take individual entrepreneurial action, it prevents companies from realizing the benefits of their innovation agenda,” write the Gallup experts.  

It’s often said that there are no bad ideas, and that’s a great rule of thumb for sparking innovation. McKinsey advises to take this thinking a step further: “you should also encourage the truly impractical in some situations—for example, when conducting scenario-planning exercises to unearth potential competitive threats.” Pie-in-the-sky ideas can lead to actionable and innovative ideas that can be executed. Just look at how dozens of products we use each day came from NASA’s space exploration research and experimentation.

​It’s difficult to think creatively while working in the same routine day in and day out. Companies that don’t make time and space for product innovation will continue running a business as usual. 

A hackathon is one way to encourage employees to set aside their day-to-day tasks in favor of product innovation. “Companies far outside the tech world are using these intense brainstorming and development sessions to stir up new ideas on everything from culture change to supply chain management,” writes Harvard Business Review. Involve members from all teams in your company, not just your product team or tech team. Some companies choose a particular topic to inspire innovation; others see what their employees choose to work on, and learn insights from their approach. 

Other companies encourage product developers and scientists to pursue passion projects on company time. They invest in their employees by offering training, workshops, and professional development. Google, for instance, follows the 70/30/10 model: 

70% of projects are dedicated to Google’s core business
20% of projects are related to Google’s core business
10% of projects are unrelated to Google’s core business
The 10% of projects that are unrelated to Google’s core business inevitably lead to some insight, invention, or innovation that impacts the brand’s bigger goals. And, their employees are happier and more engaged with their work in the process. 

​Sometimes, all it takes to spark a new idea is an outsider’s perspective. Find a partner like Gembah who can review your initial designs and take them from a quick sketch to a full mock-up and 3D model. They can also advise on factors such as manufacturing feasibility, budget, sustainability, and import/export. 

Outside help can also come from your customers. Don’t be shy about asking your loyal customers for their input on what products to develop next. Turn to your social media channels to ask your followers what they want to see next. If you have a rewards program or loyalty program, invite your best customers to an exclusive event where you can get their feedback about your brand. If you’re not comfortable or willing to go to your customers, mine their data for behavioral insights or buying patterns that can indicate where the market is going next. Trend watchers like Mintel can help you innovate based on data from your target audience. 

​​The Misfits Lair, a project by Zinnia Holdings LLC ©​​

Article copyright © protected, all rights reserved. Reuse of this article or any of its content by permission only.

With CES 2020 wrapping up a few weeks ago, there’s a lot to digest. We saw tons of innovative products in fitness tech, TVs, self-driving vehicles, and even basics like Bluetooth technology. CES is a spectacle that never fails to impress, and while some products might be more realistic than others, the showcase can be a source of inspiration for product developers and entrepreneurs. 

​Designing a great product doesn’t happen overnight. Many of the over 45,000 companies that introduced products at CES built on emerging trends from the past few years. But for entrepreneurs working on the next big idea, it could be something as simple as a napkin scrawl and the right partner to move your design a leap ahead. Read on for the most innovative products at CES 2020 – and take inspiration from their example. 
​

​CES 2019 featured foldable phones, like Huawei’s foldable Mate X – inspired by Intel’s “Horseshoe Bend” reference design. This year, the foldable trend expands to laptops and tablets. Analysts are buzzing about Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Fold, a foldable display that combines the best features of a laptop and tablet in one sleek design. Lenovo’s tablet features a 13.3-inch screen that folds in half and supports a stylus with Windows Ink and a magnetic keyboard that can be attached for use as a normal laptop. Dell also debuted two foldables, the Concept Ori and the Concept Duet. This next evolution in foldable screens promises to “offer laptop users more immersive movies, generously large spreadsheets and better tools for editing photos and videos,” according to CNET. 
​

​Fitness trackers have come a long way since the first Fitness entered the market in 2008. Withings’ ScanWatch was lauded as the best digital health product of CES 2020, largely due to the addition of the built-in SpO2 sensor. This feature can help you determine whether or not you need to be tested for sleep apnea, bridging the gap between fitness tech and medical health tracking. The ScanWatch looks like an analog watch, but it can track your heart rate for abnormal cardiac activity, has a battery life of 30 days, and includes a wide range of fitness activity tools. 
​

Huami, a wearable company, and Studio, a fitness startup, have teamed up to reinvent the treadmill, debuting the Amazfit HomeStudio at CES 2020. The smart treadmill promises to compete with existing products from Peloton as well as new market entrants like Mirror. “The most notable feature of the Amazfit HomeStudio is its lack of a traditional treadmill front. Instead, you control the device using your smartphone, while content is delivered to a separate, vertically oriented 43-inch HD screen that the companies are calling the Glass,” describes TechCrunch. 

The Amazfit HomeStudio combines expertise from both brands: the treadmill tracks metrics such as time, heart rate, distance, and calorie consumption, and even measures your form to offer tips to improve your running. The “Glass” screen in front of the track offers classes from Studio’s more than 1,000 online fitness classes, with a focus on treadmill running.​
​

​Green-tech found new prominence at this year’s CES, and one of the best products was Hydraloop’s Water Recycler. “The large appliance, which filters and purifies grey water from baths, showers, and washing machines, employs a series of six maintenance-free filtration techniques, and can recycle up to 85% of the water used in the home for re-use in toilets, pools, and irrigation systems (your toilet and kitchen sink are safe from filtration, so don’t fret),” writes a reviewer from Time Magazine. 

Hydraloop recyclers are already in use in Africa and Europe; not only do they save the planet, but they can save money. By company estimates, a four-person household can save up to 20,000 gallons of water per year.  
​

​Water is just one scarce resource that tech is aiming to save in 2020. Sleep is another. The Motion Pillow is a consumer good that helps reduce snoring. “A box on your nightstand records audio as you sleep, then sends it to your phone for analysis. When the app detects snoring, the pillow inflates in various positions, gently juggling your head around until you quiet down,” describes Fast Company. A lack of sleep affects more than 45% of Americans, with serious health implications; it’s no wonder that the Motion Pillow was an honoree in this year’s CES Innovation Awards. 
​

​The Misfits Lair, a project by Zinnia Holdings LLC ©

​Looking for a manufacturing partner? A quick search on Google or Alibaba will surface hundreds of results. It isn’t difficult to find a factory – but it is a much harder task to find the right one. 

Entrepreneurs struggle to find and vet a manufacturing partner overseas. Many turn to sourcing agents to be their in-country representative. Sourcing agents can make the task of getting your product made easier but come with their own risks. How do you know if they’re connecting you with the best factory and negotiating the best price? Often they are secretly working on the factory’s behalf. Here’s what you need to know about the risks of working with a sourcing agent. ​

When working with a factory overseas, there are four common options for getting your product made:

• Work with a third party
• Work directly with the manufacturer (direct purchase)
• Work with a trader or distributor
• Work with a sourcing agent

According to one report, 80% of entrepreneurs work directly with the manufacturer, which gives them control over the process and saves money from avoiding commissions and fees to a third party or agent. However, if you’re new to sourcing, you might want to bring on a sourcing agent: someone who manages the relationship with the factory. A sourcing agent is someone who can reach to a supplier or manufacturer to source the product you need, making a commission in the process. Sourcing agents offer a measure of control over the final product, customization, and at a lower fee than working with a distributor or trader. But there are a number of risks to working with a sourcing agent.

​Sourcing agents aren’t always as altruistic – or as helpful – as they might appear. On one hand, a sourcing agent can provide access to a network of vetted factories and save entrepreneurs a lot of time. They can help you navigate the process and serve as your in-country representative. 

On the other hand, more than 90% of sourcing agents are reported to get hidden commissions from factories. “As a result, when things go wrong, they often tend to defend the factory,” writes one expert. “Some intermediaries are invaluable. Others are completely incompetent or, even worse, flat out crooks. Some do not even reveal that they are acting as an intermediary, leading you to believe you are dealing directly with the factory.” 

Sourcing agents commonly take advantage of uninformed entrepreneurs by manipulating the pricing scheme in the factory’s favor. There are a few ways that a sourcing agent charges for their work. Some charge a large flat fee upfront; others charge “a percentage of your manufacturing transactions for some set period of time or a set number of transactions.” 

In each of these instances, it’s easy for the sourcing agent to find a low-cost (and often low-quality) manufacturer and split the difference with the factory. For instance, a sourcing agent could charge an entrepreneur $1,000 upfront for a job that costs $500. The $500 difference gets split between the sourcing agent and the manufacturer – and the entrepreneur knows nothing. Other sourcing agents charge hidden commissions or work simply source the product from a different factory than the one they’ve advertised. 

​It is very hard for an entrepreneur to verify that a sourcing agent is being transparent about their role in the transaction. But, sourcing agents can also be invaluable partners. Vetting a sourcing agent requires asking the right questions and getting referrals from other entrepreneurs who have gone through this same process. 

Perhaps the most critical step in vetting a company is checking reviews from other clients who’ve outsourced to their factory. Ask the manufacturing partner to provide references from other clients. Get in touch with those clients directly to make sure they had a good experience. Ask your manufacturing partner who else they’ve worked with, and to put you in touch with someone at the company who can verify the relationship. ​

The Misfits Lair, a project by Zinnia Holdings LLC ©

​Lean product development is an approach to developing products that focuses on reducing waste, speeding up delivery, and increasing profit. This approach to product development is used by dozens of successful companies, including John Deere, Nike, and Intel. Originally formulated by Toyota, lean product development is a great approach for new businesses seeking to capture the most customer value with the least amount of waste. Here’s what entrepreneurs need to know about lean product development.  

​Lean product development, or lean manufacturing, originates from Toyota in the late 20th century. The Toyota Production System was born from a need to meet the varying tastes of car buyers. After World War II, the growing middle class desired cars of different shapes, sizes, and colors, a demand that Ford’s factory model wasn’t equipped to meet. Consumers wanted different models, thereby requiring different materials, production lines, and skilled labor.

Toyota’s approach to meet this demand depended on two central tenets: jidoka and just-in-time. Jidoka is a Japanese phrase that roughly translates to “automation with a human touch.” It refers to a method of quickly identifying and correcting issues that may cause faulty production. “Just-in-time” is a concept that focuses on refining and coordinating each step in the production process so that it only produces what is required for the next phase in the sequence, dramatically lowering waste. 

The rest of the lean product development methodology flows from these two core values. Toyota designed a system that minimizes waste while maximizing value to the customer in terms of product quality, price, and good design. Other companies have since applied the values of lean product development to software, consumer goods, and other manufacturing processes.

Stemming from jidoka and just-in-time are seven key principles that encapsulate the approach to lean development. These principles dictate how an entrepreneur or new business can adhere to the lean development approach to deliver value and minimize inefficiencies. These principles are: 
Eliminate waste: waste includes anything which does not provide value to the end-user. Lean product development experts define waste very broadly, from “unnecessary movement of workers on the shop floor” to inventory deadstock and overproduction. 
Build quality: this is a disciplined approach to making sure products are well-crafted. It includes things like incremental development, automating tasks prone to human error, and constant feedback. 
Create knowledge: provide a way to capture knowledge and document learning throughout the process. 
Defer commitment: “To defer commitment means to not plan (in excessive detail) for months in advance, to not commit to ideas or projects without a full understanding of the business requirements,” explains one expert.
Deliver fast: deliver a simple product to customers quickly and iterate and enhance new versions thereafter.
Respect people: communicate effectively, resolve conflict proactively, respect others and work as a team for the benefit of the end-user. 
Optimize the whole: every part of the operation must be optimized for one specific end goal – delivering value to the customer. 

Lean product development principles have been rewritten and applied to the product design context, as well as to starting a company. The Lean Startup, a 2011 book about product development, outlines how to avoid building a product that no one wants or needs by learning from Toyota’s original lean product development principles. In today’s competitive economy, applying a lean product development approach can dramatically improve your company’s chance of success. 

​Lean product development begins by considering what specific value your product or service can provide for customers. What problem are you solving by developing this product? Do market research and competitive analysis to make sure the demand for what you have to offer truly exists. 

Next, incorporate the principle of holistic optimization. Get all stakeholders involved from the start. Identify a partner who can work with your business from product design to sourcing to production management and logistics. “Collaboration in the early stages of a project reduces the number of negative impacts and holdups that can happen down the line as progress continues. Getting manufacturing involved ahead of time allows for problems to be identified and resolved early, before they cause deliverability issues later,” describes one expert. 

Then, look at ways to eliminate steps in the process that are wasteful or inefficient. The next phase of your lean process seeks to optimize production – often simply constructing a minimum viable product for consumer feedback and testing. An MVP is a version of a product with just enough features to allow customers to conceptualize what your final product will be and provide feedback accordingly. Respond to customer pull and iterate your initial vision based on what the market demands. 

Finally, repeat the process until you’ve achieved perfection. Perfection, as defined by lean product development, is “measurable value with no waste.” It’s an extremely sustainable, profit-building method for product development. Inevitably, this approach benefits both consumers and brands. 

The Misfits Lair, a project by Zinnia Holdings LLC (c) ​

​When new businesses fail, most of the time it’s due to running out of cash. Poor cash flow management is the nemesis of the more than 80% of new ventures that go out of business in the first year.

​It takes a lot of capital to get started, no matter what vertical or industry you’re trying to enter. One of the biggest costs of any new business is equipment: Fundera estimates that entrepreneurs should budget $10,000-$125,000 for their first year’s equipment costs alone. If you’re manufacturing a product, that range can skyrocket, which is why savvy entrepreneurs outsource their supply chain to manufacturing companies overseas. Here are some great reasons why outsourcing your product manufacturing can help your business survive its first year and grow profitably. 

​“Reducing costs is the number one reason why companies outsource. In fact, 59% of companies surveyed cited cost reduction as their motivation for putting this into practice,” writes Entrepreneur. 

Outsourcing to a manufacturing company leads to cost-savings across the board – not just in equipment expenses. As one expert outlines, “savings can be realized in reducing labor costs, overhead maintenance costs, and distraction and redundancy costs.” Many regions around the world offer lower labor costs and use their facilities to serve more than one company. This means you benefit from lower maintenance and utility costs in addition to wages and salary expenses. 

But, cost-savings are just part of the equation. Outsourcing also gives you the power to manage your budget and prevent overspending. Many manufacturing companies offer a pay-as-you-go model. This allows your business to grow at your own pace, test the market, hone in on your target audience, and check your business assumptions to make sure the demand is there. As a result, your startup can be proactive in managing supply to meet demand, lowering your deadstock and inventory management costs. 

​It’s unlikely that, as a startup, one of your first hires is someone with deep quality control and manufacturing expertise. Few new ventures have an in-house engineer or technician who can take a prototype from initial design to fruition. Even fewer new ventures have the resources to visit the factory, conduct quality control, and make sure all is moving according to plan. 

The right manufacturing company will bring expertise to the table to help you develop your product the way you had envisioned. These partners have more experience than your average entrepreneur in product quality, cost savings, and supply chain management. Some partners will hold your hand through the whole production process, sending you photos along the way, managing the logistics and compliance of shipping your order, and performing quality control so you don’t have to. These partners can add value to your team and take on work by which your core employees would otherwise be distracted. 

​“Outsourcing manufacturing to an overseas company equipped with the proper resources and personnel gives businesses of all sizes the opportunity to compete at the international level.  This approach allows smaller companies the chance to partner up with multi-million dollar production powerhouses, removing limitations on their potential,” writes one blog. 

When you have a good idea, it’s important to be first-to-market. Outsourcing to a manufacturing company cuts down on the time it takes to be the first one on the scene. Consider the process of manufacturing in-house: first, you have to find a space, then procure equipment, then materials and labor. By the time you’ve manufactured your first prototype, your competitive advantage has disappeared. Work with an existing factory that can take your plan and turn it into a product with speed and scalability. 

​Outsourcing your manufacturing allows you to move quickly and respond to demand as the market changes. “Prototyping and other production-related functions can be boosted to allow for innovation without draining internal resources,” writes one expert. “When a sudden uptick in demand occurs, outsourcing allows manufacturing operations to scale up rapidly.” 

For more mature companies, outsourced manufacturing is a quick and easy way to expand outside your core offering. If you want a low-risk way to test a product, order a small batch based on your initial prototype to see how customers respond. The right partnership will give you a window to change elements of your design throughout the process. As you develop and grow your product offering, your fixed manufacturing costs aren’t going to fluctuate dramatically. 

The Misfits Lair, a project by Zinnia Holdings LLC (c) ​

The Misfits Lair, a project by Zinnia Holdings LLC (c) ​

Today I received an invitation from Tristan and the Work for Impact team to be part of the initial group of Freelancers to make up the group that gets early access to ​the platform and a look at the first round of jobs. I would love you to be part of it.

Besides being another great channel for Independent Consultants and Freelancers to grow their pipeline, the platform has a purpose, they partner with Non-profits for projects that really make the difference in the world.

So far Amnesty International, Sea Shepherd, World Bicycle Relief, Plastic Oceans, along with hundreds of others are on-board for launch. This is your chance to work for some of the biggest charities in the sector!

​Work for Impact is a platform that seeks to connect skilled individuals with jobs solely from socially and environmentally responsible organizations, and nonprofits. 
All the jobs posted on Work for Impact will provide opportunities to work with ethical businesses and help contribute to a number of amazing causes around the world!

Why would you use Work for Impact?

• You get to work with a wide range of nonprofits and contribute to a number of amazing causes around the world.
• Keep more of your earnings with our pricing structure that is easy to understand and completely transparent.

Be a part of a larger community that’s working together to make a better world.

The way people are working is changing. Thanks to technology, geography is no longer a barrier that determines who you can and can’t work with.  As a result, over a third of the world’s workforce is now freelancing, and this number is continually growing. 

​The opportunities for today’s workforce are endless, and more and more people are taking advantage of this new economy in order to pursue their interests and find projects they’re passionate about around the globe

Interested in growing your business? There are a variety of ways to do so; but how do you know which strategy is right for your venture?
A market product grid helps companies plot out their growth strategy and visualize the risks associated with expansion. It can help key leaders make decisions around product development, distribution, marketing, and even hiring. The matrix was initially published by Harvard Business Review and has since become a core teaching at business schools all over the world. Here’s what you need to know about a market product grid, and how to use one to initiate your growth strategy. ​

 market product grid, also known as an Ansoff Matrix or a product-market expansion grid, is a tool that businesses use to develop a growth strategy by considering new and existing markets, new and existing products, and the risks of each possible relationship. 
The market product grid divides strategic outcomes by four major categories:

• Market penetration: a business creates growth by bringing its current products to existing markets 
• Market development: a business creates growth by bringing its current products to new markets. 
• Product development: a business creates growth by bringing new products into existing markets. 
• Diversification: a business tries to create growth by bringing new products to new markets. 

Why use a market product matrix? The goal is for the company to plan it’s existing products and new products – as well as where they’re going to sell each product – and learn about the risk associated with their plan. The grid is best used to understand your business growth options, but it won’t tell you what actions you should take. 

The simplest market product grid uses two axes: the x-axis for products (new and existing), and the y-axis for markets (new and existing). To use the matrix effectively, business leaders must have a firm understanding of where the best opportunities lie given the company’s current position. Recognize how many resources you can expend, as well as what your risk tolerance is. 
Typically, strategic leaders start in the market penetration quadrant, where they’re bringing an existing product to an existing market. This quadrant is considered the most obvious starting point for any company: it attempts to gain market share in an existing market. This approach “does not require the company to venture into unexplored markets and products. As a result, it provides a lower amount of risk because essentially the organization’s scope remains unchanged.” 
However, sometimes increased competition or economic and legal constraints prevent a company from pursuing further market penetration. In these instances, a company might choose to pursue product development: bringing a new product to an existing market. This strategy is one level up on the risk scale. It involves diversifying to new products, but not to new markets; often, companies mitigate this risk by using the same core technology, instead of developing entirely new products. Likewise, this strategy is likely to be more expensive as new talent and tools may be needed to create a new product. 
Some companies prefer to forgo product development in favor of a market development approach. Market development, bringing an existing product to a new market, requires an effort in planning and customer research. But it doesn’t need to be so complicated. A new market can be tapped simply by: 

• Distributing to a new geographical area; 
  
• Implementing new pricing to attract a new customer set; 
  
• Or, developing new distribution channels. 
  

Lastly, the riskiest growth strategy for a company is full diversification: bringing a new product to a new market. This risk, however, can be offset by the potential gains. Diversification inoculates a company against economic upheaval; when one market fails, or one product goes out of style, the company is protected. Diversification may have the highest investment in terms of research, distribution, and marketing, but it can pay off big-time. ​

A product market grid can help you answer this question. But, strategic leaders must factor in costs, risk, and their type of product or customer. A manufacturing or distribution partner can help alleviate some of the burden of expanding into a new market. Mature businesses will have different risk tolerances than a startup, and depending on your industry, it can be hard to find a place that isn’t already fiercely competitive. Do your market research to learn more. ​

The Misfits Lair, a project by Zinnia Holdings LLC (c)