Insurgency

In the eyes of the law, the defendant was a murderer. In the eyes of his peers, he was a revolutionary hero. The only thing I know for sure is that he was Black.

"No one said that winning is easy. But it’s simple. “It starts with your personal routine. No one says you have to set the world on fire. Just light a little flame in your heart and keep it burning.” – Greg Plitt

If you are familiar with Greg Plitt, then you know “winning” was his M.O. He was a fitness guru, an actor and a soldier. While he was a personal inspiration for many, I never had the chance to meet him, yet he alone motivated me to dedicate my life to fitness, wellness and health. He inspired me to be better than I was yesterday. If a few of his quotes left a mark on me, I know that I am not alone in finding solace in his motivational words.

The insurgency strategy is the most common and, arguably, the easiest to implement. What is it? The insurgent focuses on lowering the price of a commodity, rather than changing its value. In other words, they focus on winning the product category through volume, instead of loyalty. For instance, if you're launching a new brand of jeans, you will have to fight off the big-name brands that have a firm hold on your target market. You won't be able to win against them by changing your product's value proposition for two reasons: 1) those products are well established in the minds of your target market, and 2) loyal customers will never defect from their favorite brand. You'll only be able to fight them off with a lower price point. This is why so many new brands try to compete on price in crowded markets like jeans or deodorant.

This is also why so many established brands start out as insurgents: they are fighting for market share. 1650. Not a big number at all. That's how many stores opened this year in Detroit. It sounds like a ton, but think about it, that's less than 25 new businesses per month in the city of 900,000 residents.

Insurgency - A dedicated blog aimed to cover the latest news and developments on the world of business, entrepreneurship, economic inequality and the economy.

So it's super easy to be a cheerleader for others because it's fun, and makes you feel good. We all should do it more often. My thing is that, people will be happy to hear you cheering for them but the best part is that you are actually doing something, which is making them feel even better. We essentially, as women, are great at supporting other women and if we can just continue to support each other through challenging times, I think the world will be a better place.

One great way to do that is to continue to support each other monetarily. For example, deesophisticated.com (my website) allows adult women (18+) to purchase lingerie and other related products at a markup of up to 50%.

So when you purchase something on my website and choose me as your shop with option (you can choose to go direct), I get the money and you get a discount on your purchase. Suppose you’re a bookstore or a clothing store or an electronics provider or an online media company, but you’re not really selling any of the items you sell, except inasmuch as you provide an opportunity for buyers to interact with products and services that other companies manufacture. You’re just playing the matchmaker. Your business is one part brokerage, one part producer’s showcase, one part fashion magazine, one part price-comparison tool; you’re more like a pop-up cafe with a limited menu of featured dishes than like a restaurant.

The analogy is imperfect, but it helps explain what we have seen happen in various industries over the last decade. Once-familiar businesses are now shadows of their former selves: Borders is dead, Wardrobe is dead, Blockbuster is closing, ESPN is losing its mind.

It is no secret that Amazon has eaten huge bites out of most of publishing’s profits.