• SHOP
  • SITES
  • NEWSLETTER
  • CEO HACKS
  • GLOBAL SEARCH
  • WEB SUPPORT
  • CONTACT
Rescue a CEO
  • Advice
    20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership

    20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership

    18 Entrepreneurs Share Some of The Best Leadership CEO Hacks and Resources

    18 Entrepreneurs Share Some of The Best Leadership CEO Hacks and Resources

    8 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Explain How Coaching Has Affected Their Leadership Style

    8 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Explain How Coaching Has Affected Their Leadership Style

    16 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Market Their Business During the Slower Months

    16 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Market Their Business During the Slower Months

    21 Entrepreneurs Share Advice on Building a Team

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Advice on Building a Team

    7 Entrepreneurs Share How They Approach Tax Planning

    7 Entrepreneurs Share How They Approach Tax Planning

    8 Entrepreneurs Share Advice on Securing Venture Capital

    8 Entrepreneurs Share Advice on Securing Venture Capital

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How they Find, Recruit and Attract Talent

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How they Find, Recruit and Attract Talent

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Delegation Tips

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Delegation Tips

  • Productivity
    16 Entrepreneurs Share How They Focus

    16 Entrepreneurs Share How They Focus

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Get Out of One’s Comfort Zone

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Get Out of One’s Comfort Zone

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Encourage a Team to be Disruptive

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Encourage a Team to be Disruptive

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on The Future Impact of Coworking

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on The Future Impact of Coworking

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain Why They Have OR Don’t Have A Virtual Assistant

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain Why They Have OR Don’t Have A Virtual Assistant

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Maintain Balance as CEOs

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Maintain Balance as CEOs

    25 Entrepreneurs Explain The Best Ways to Get Out of One’s Comfort Zone

    25 Entrepreneurs Explain The Best Ways to Get Out of One’s Comfort Zone

    Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks – How Working From Home is Cultivating a Creativity Revolution

    Becoming Productive: Finding Your Balance

    20 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Encourage a Team to be Disruptive

    20 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Encourage a Team to be Disruptive

  • Answers
    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    23 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    17 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Keep Track of Their Numbers

    17 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Keep Track of Their Numbers

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Retain Top Talent

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Retain Top Talent

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How the Workplace Has Changed

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How the Workplace Has Changed

    30 Entrepreneurs Share What They Had to Pivot and Shift Within Their Business During the Digital Migration

    30 Entrepreneurs Share What They Had to Pivot and Shift Within Their Business During the Digital Migration

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How They Stop Burnout from Happening

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How They Stop Burnout from Happening

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

  • Marketing
    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    23 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    25 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on SEO and Its Future

    25 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on SEO and Its Future

    11 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    11 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

  • Blog
  • MORE
    • START
    • FAQ
    • NEWSLETTER
    • HACKS
    • ABOUT
    • SITES
    • GUEST POSTS
    • WEBSITE SUPPORT SERVICES
  • Community
    • FREE CBNation Buzz Newsletter
    • Premium CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter
No Result
View All Result
Rescue a CEO
  • Advice
    20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership

    20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership

    18 Entrepreneurs Share Some of The Best Leadership CEO Hacks and Resources

    18 Entrepreneurs Share Some of The Best Leadership CEO Hacks and Resources

    8 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Explain How Coaching Has Affected Their Leadership Style

    8 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Explain How Coaching Has Affected Their Leadership Style

    16 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Market Their Business During the Slower Months

    16 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Market Their Business During the Slower Months

    21 Entrepreneurs Share Advice on Building a Team

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Advice on Building a Team

    7 Entrepreneurs Share How They Approach Tax Planning

    7 Entrepreneurs Share How They Approach Tax Planning

    8 Entrepreneurs Share Advice on Securing Venture Capital

    8 Entrepreneurs Share Advice on Securing Venture Capital

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How they Find, Recruit and Attract Talent

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How they Find, Recruit and Attract Talent

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Delegation Tips

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Delegation Tips

  • Productivity
    16 Entrepreneurs Share How They Focus

    16 Entrepreneurs Share How They Focus

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Get Out of One’s Comfort Zone

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Get Out of One’s Comfort Zone

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Encourage a Team to be Disruptive

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Encourage a Team to be Disruptive

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on The Future Impact of Coworking

    30 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on The Future Impact of Coworking

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain Why They Have OR Don’t Have A Virtual Assistant

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain Why They Have OR Don’t Have A Virtual Assistant

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Maintain Balance as CEOs

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Maintain Balance as CEOs

    25 Entrepreneurs Explain The Best Ways to Get Out of One’s Comfort Zone

    25 Entrepreneurs Explain The Best Ways to Get Out of One’s Comfort Zone

    Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks – How Working From Home is Cultivating a Creativity Revolution

    Becoming Productive: Finding Your Balance

    20 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Encourage a Team to be Disruptive

    20 Entrepreneurs Explain the Best Ways to Encourage a Team to be Disruptive

  • Answers
    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    23 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    17 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Keep Track of Their Numbers

    17 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Keep Track of Their Numbers

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Retain Top Talent

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Retain Top Talent

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How the Workplace Has Changed

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How the Workplace Has Changed

    30 Entrepreneurs Share What They Had to Pivot and Shift Within Their Business During the Digital Migration

    30 Entrepreneurs Share What They Had to Pivot and Shift Within Their Business During the Digital Migration

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How They Stop Burnout from Happening

    30 Entrepreneurs Share How They Stop Burnout from Happening

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

  • Marketing
    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    23 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    25 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on SEO and Its Future

    25 Entrepreneurs Share Their Thoughts on SEO and Its Future

    11 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    11 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    29 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Blog for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

    30 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Use Their Podcast for Business

  • Blog
  • MORE
    • START
    • FAQ
    • NEWSLETTER
    • HACKS
    • ABOUT
    • SITES
    • GUEST POSTS
    • WEBSITE SUPPORT SERVICES
  • Community
    • FREE CBNation Buzz Newsletter
    • Premium CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter
No Result
View All Result
Rescue a CEO
No Result
View All Result

How Our Market Made Us Leap

in Advice
Reading Time: 4 mins read
How Our Market Made Us Leap

Image credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

We were sailing along enjoying success when the Great Recession struck a direct blow at our customers' budgets — and thus at our business model.

Since 2007, Get Real Health had been developing custom patient engagement and personal health applications for clients — typically large healthcare providers. We were successful in that market and things were good and stable.

RelatedPosts

20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership

18 Entrepreneurs Share Some of The Best Leadership CEO Hacks and Resources

8 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Explain How Coaching Has Affected Their Leadership Style

Then the economic downturn hit. Our customers' ability to afford hundreds of thousands of dollars for a custom build deteriorated quickly.

We could have become just another casualty of the recession at that point, were it not for an important observation about our market. We realized that a large number of our customers had been ordering similar features and functionality in the custom apps we were creating for them. For example, many wanted to help patients manage their weight, diet, exercise, hypertension, diabetes, and so on.

Based on that observation, we concluded that we could shift from offering clients an expensive bespoke solution to selling them an affordable off-the-rack product. By building a set of reusable application pieces that could be assembled cost effectively into solutions — think high-tech Legos — we could create a suite of prebuilt modules that could be assembled more quickly and less expensively at the client site. The result was our flagship product: InstantPHR™.

Changing from a custom services provider to an off-the-shelf product developer, however, would require enormous effort re-focusing our processes and resources. The new direction would change how we go to market, since marketing and selling a product that has fixed pricing and fixed features is fundamentally different from marketing a custom solution. We would have to change how we treat intellectual property, since we would be licensing software that we own instead of building software for the customer to own.

See also  Why Your Business Should Be Aware of Big Data’s Big Job Growth

As we transformed Get Real Health from a custom solutions shop to a product licensing company, we changed not only our business model — how we make money — but also our operating model — how we organize ourselves to research, develop, price, deliver and service our product. We had to revamp our management tools to evaluate profitability per customer in a completely different way.

Fast-forward to today: The new strategy has enabled us to deliver offerings to the market at a lower price but, ironically, with a higher profit margin. Get Real Health is bigger and growing faster than ever.

The transition taught us a lot about business and leadership. The old crisis-as-opportunity aphorism is true — but it requires scary and difficult changes to embrace. The idea of becoming a licensed software company was not novel to us. We had actually considered it for a long time. Having spent nearly nine years as a professional services company, however, we really knew that business and we were very comfortable. Thus, we had been hesitant to change.

When we saw the recession-caused market tsunami coming, we knew we faced a choice: either shrink to survive amid reduced business — or make the leap. Without the market forcing us to that cliff, I'm honestly not sure we would have jumped.

I learned that it’s critical for CEOs to regularly think about their overall business model. How well is it working? How well would it work under different economic conditions? What options exist — even if no one in the company is ready to hear them? Discuss the pros and cons and risks of changes with the entire senior management team.

By getting out in front of these questions, a company's leadership will have already figured out some alternatives and decided how it would navigate change if necessary. That way, a crisis really can be an “opportunity” to execute a detailed new business plan, rather than having to start from zero in panic mode.

See also  Why Company Culture Matters

As we waded into our transformation, our leadership team learned to prioritize, delaying permanent solutions in favor of stopgap measures while we developed our new corporate infrastructure. We recognized that our needs would change once we reached a certain scale, but that we wouldn’t have to actually handle that scale until later.

We decided to stay reactive on those fronts while being proactive on building the best product for the market and getting it out there, even if every detail wasn’t fully proficient right out of the gate, because we saw that we couldn’t do everything at once. We first had to make some sales and satisfy real customers before we would know if we truly had the potential to achieve scale.

We had always listened to our customers, but we had done so in isolation. We learned to listen differently, asking not only what our customers want, but analyzing how their feedback fit with market trends. We now listen to many stakeholders, then bring all that information together to prioritize and make decisions as we focus on innovating new solutions and enhancements.

The principles of agile corporations and agile development very much informed our new approach. We could have sat in a room with a big white board and tried to design something we thought was perfect, only to realize we had missed the market. Instead, we learned to iterate quickly and not fear mistakes — to “fail fast” by quickly going to market and getting rapid feedback.

Finally, we didn’t go it alone. We talked to business partners who had started licensed software companies. We looked at the company 37 Signals as an example of a business that had used this agile approach. We really listened to people in our networks to understand the fundamental challenges and priorities facing us.

See also  How Businesses Adapt and Adjust to The New Normal

Most importantly, we had those conversations ahead of time, so we wouldn’t feel like we were just blindly leaping off a cliff. We did the groundwork to understand the best way for our company to identify and adapt to changing market conditions — and it made all the difference in helping us land on our feet.

Mark-headshot-1# # #

Mark Heaney is the CEO and Founding Partner of Get Real Health, an award-winning global health information technology pioneer specializing in patient engagement and connected care solution.

Tags: get real healthmark heaneymarket
Previous Post

Spring Clean Your Business for a Profitable 2014

Next Post

5 Reasons to Go Paperless This Tax Season

Related Posts

20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership
Advice

20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership

Leadership is a multifaceted skill that plays a pivotal role in personal and professional success. It's a quality that can...

18 Entrepreneurs Share Some of The Best Leadership CEO Hacks and Resources
Advice

18 Entrepreneurs Share Some of The Best Leadership CEO Hacks and Resources

To be an entrepreneur and business owner, you have to understand leadership and be excellent at it. There are numerous...

8 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Explain How Coaching Has Affected Their Leadership Style
Advice

8 Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Explain How Coaching Has Affected Their Leadership Style

The evolution of leadership style has been profoundly influenced by the dynamic and enlightening journey of coaching. This process of...

16 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Market Their Business During the Slower Months
Advice

16 Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Market Their Business During the Slower Months

Slowing sales can be a foreboding sign that a business is failing to retain customers and attract new ones. During...

Next Post
5 Reasons to Go Paperless This Tax Season

5 Reasons to Go Paperless This Tax Season

Scale Up Milwaukee Fosters Growing Entrepreneurship Community in Wisconsin

Scale Up Milwaukee Fosters Growing Entrepreneurship Community in Wisconsin

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join CBNation Buzz

Name(Required)
Email(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Welcome to CBNation Welcome to CBNation powered by Blue16 Media (Web Design & SEO). We are a B2B brand that is exists to help over 1M business owners succeed. Our philosophy and foundation is based on resources, visibility & connections (Visibility + Resources x Connections = Success). We are focused on being the #1 business resource for CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners.

We hope you enjoy this site, and please let us know if we can be of any help!

Please note in the sake of transparency our sites do contain affiliate links that pay us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read our Affiliate Disclaimer.
CBNation Library
CEO Hacks
I AM CEO Volume 3

RSS Our Latest CBNation Content:

  • IAM1871 – Fintech Founder Helps Entrepreneurs Access Competitive Financing Fast
  • 21 Entrepreneurs Share Views on Whether Leaders are Born or Made
  • IAM1870 – Coach Helps Leaders in Making Sustainable Changes in their Thinking, Behaviors and Actions
  • IAM1869 – Law Firm Founding Member Offers High Mission of Service to Clients
  • Monday Motivation: Discipline Yourself – BEST Motivational Video (ft. Eric Thomas)
  • IAM1868 – Author Helps Leaders Achieve Success as Individuals and in Teams

Our Sponsors

Subscribe

Join thousands of subscribers & be the first to get new freebies.

Name(Required)
Email(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

What is CBNation?

We're like a Global Business Chamber but with content...
LOTS OF IT

CBNation includes a library of blogs, podcasts, videos and more helping CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners level up

CBNation is a community of niche sites for CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners through blogs, podcasts and video content. Started in much the same way as most small businesses, CBNation captures the essence of entrepreneurship by allowing entrepreneurs and business owners to have a voice.

CBNation curates content and provides news, information, events and even startup business tips for entrepreneurs, startups and business owners to succeed.

+ Mission: Increasing the success rate of CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners.

+ Vision: The media of choice for CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners.

+ Philosophy: We love CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners and everything we do is driven by that. We highlight, capture and support entrepreneurship and start-ups through our niche blog sites.

Visit CBNation

RSS Our Latest Content:

  • IAM1871 – Fintech Founder Helps Entrepreneurs Access Competitive Financing Fast
  • 21 Entrepreneurs Share Views on Whether Leaders are Born or Made
  • IAM1870 – Coach Helps Leaders in Making Sustainable Changes in their Thinking, Behaviors and Actions
  • IAM1869 – Law Firm Founding Member Offers High Mission of Service to Clients
  • Monday Motivation: Discipline Yourself – BEST Motivational Video (ft. Eric Thomas)
  • IAM1868 – Author Helps Leaders Achieve Success as Individuals and in Teams
  • Leader Works on Strategic Fundraising Communications
  • Attorney Runs Digital Agency Focused on the Legal Sector
  • 20 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Best Way to Learn Leadership
  • IAM1867 – Coach Helps Sales Marketers Create Repeatable Patterns of Success

©2023 CBNation | Powered by CEO Blog Nation & Blue16 Media | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Affiliate Disclaimer | Website Support Services

No Result
View All Result
  • Advice
  • Productivity
  • Answers
  • Marketing
  • Blog
  • MORE
    • START
    • FAQ
    • NEWSLETTER
    • HACKS
    • ABOUT
    • SITES
    • GUEST POSTS
    • WEBSITE SUPPORT SERVICES
  • Community
    • FREE CBNation Buzz Newsletter
    • Premium CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
SettingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
 Share This
 Facebook