The Three Little e-Pigs

By Deirdre Cavener

Once upon a time there were three little entrepreneurial pigs working for a large corporation. All three little e-pigs shared the same dream: To some day be in business for themselves. And when the day came for them to leave their jobs and seek their fortunes as business owners, their mentors told each of them, “Whatever you do, take your time, do it the best that you can, always treat your customers as gifts (give them the utmost respect), under promise and over deliver, create strong REALationships, fertilize your business (invest in marketing and advertising) and, over the long haul, you will be prosperous e-pigs.”

Well, the first e-pig was in such a hurry, he wanted instant results. But he didn’t want to spend any money, especially on marketing and advertising. He built his business out of straw.

The second e-pig went the do-it-yourself route, in hopes of both saving money and making money. He went to a DIY website where purchased a pre-fab logo, business cards, and a one page website. He did put one single ad in a magazine in his area. Because he didn’t understand the Internet, he decided to skip online advertising all together. In the end, he built his small business out of sticks. It wasn’t perfect, but it was stronger than the small business built of straw- and he made some revenue.

The third e-pig was a long-term thinker. Her mission was to open a solid, stable, and strong business. Her first task was to hire a professional business consultant, finding a reputable one through an Internet search. Working together, they developed a long-term business plan. The e-pig then invested in a logo designed by a professional graphic artist, hired the best website development company she could, hired a professional copywriter to develop and write her content, and started advertising, both online and in print. She knew a good mix of both traditional and digital advertising was the most effective way to penetrate the market and grow her customer base. She built her business out of mortar, bricks and clicks. It was strong and sturdy, built on a solid foundation.

One day, a wolf, who everyone knew was the big, bad competition that thrived on wolfing down competitors, came along and saw the first little e-pig in his flimsy straw business. He said "Let me in, let me in, little e-pig, or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your flimsy straw business down!"

"Not by the hopes of my bizzy biz biz", said the first little e-pig.

But of course, the competition did blow the small straw business down and it closed.

The competition then came to the second little e-pig working from his business made of sticks.

"Let me in, let me in, little e-pig, or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your business down"

"Not by the revenues of my busy biz biz", said the entrepreneur. But the competition blew that business down too, and the second business closed.

The wolf then came to the house of mortar, bricks and clicks, and thought to himself, “hmmm … this could be a challenge.”

"Let me in, let me in, little e-pig," yelled the competition. "Or I'll huff and I'll puff till I blow your business down."

"Not by one ingredient of my highly effective Marketing Mix, consisting of Product, Price, Place, Promotion, and People" said the e-pig boldly.

Well, the competition huffed and puffed, and huffed and puffed and huffed - but he could not blow that e-pig’s business down!

But the wolf was a not going to give up. He circled the e-pig’s business, looking up and down, trying desperately to find some weakness in its structure. But he just couldn’t find what didn’t exist, so he gave up. The e-pig had planned and executed her plan to perfection. Her business was strong and secure, so strong, in fact, that the big, bad wolf of competition decided to sub-contract the third little e-pig’s business for some important projects of his own. The third little e-pig’s business grew so quickly, she had to hire the other two former e-pigs in order to get all the work done.

The next week, the e-pig found herself speaking at a conference for entrepreneurs. She told the attendees, “The way to ensure a successful business is to hire experts to do everything that is not one of your strengths. She told them that she invested in a professional business consultant, wrote a business plan, hired a professional architect, contractor, bricklayer, sign company, roofing company, marketing company, website design company, graphic artist and copywriter … and didn’t cut corners or spend her valuable time on any do-it-yourself tasks.”

Today, that small business is still thriving and the competition leaves her alone because they know her solid customer base, professional products and services, and passion CANNOT be penetrated.

The moral of this story is: 80% of businesses never get to their third year because of a lack of planning, brand identity, knowledge, and capital. Don’t be a statistic; plan, organize, and take your time! Make sure you don’t end up like the first two little e-pigs, back in the corporate grind! Remember - It takes a village of professionals for any business to succeed.