Excluding personal topics around common interests (which is actually the case in most real-world conversations), business talk often revolves around specific pain points or new opportunities that are lesser-known.
In terms of problems, there are dozens of common business pain points that tend to be evergreen – matters around management, recruitment, marketing, sales, strategy, legal, accounting. Every industry or company size faces different problems around generating more business, cutting costs, hiring top talent, growing the popularity of their brand – or something else.
As for new opportunities or initiatives—businesses expanding into new markets or verticals may be interested in receiving some firsthand experience regarding these endeavors.
Firsthand experiences from businesses that have already expanded into new markets can provide lessons on what strategies might work, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to adjust business models to new market conditions. Case studies, interviews with business leaders, or consultancy reports are often goldmines of such insights.
Some topics I’ve discussed with my business advisory clients or during industry events:
- Managing remote talent (especially valid during COVID and we started as a distributed company 10 years ago)
- Recruiting in specific locations around the world
- Tooling for solving specific problems – CRM systems, BPMs, project management tools
- Recommendations for outsourcing companies – marketing or branding agencies, creative studios, etc.
- Experience opening offices in other locations – legal caveats while founding a firm, rent costs, local customs
- Onboarding techniques or best practices
- Scaling different teams or departments – what roles to hire for, when to promote, traits to look for
It’s unique to the business too—sometimes, you may be looking for a new jurisdiction to found a product company (i.e. Belize or BVI), payment gateways that give you hidden discounts at a certain threshold, affiliate partners to contract, or influencers that actually get the job done in the industry—you name it.
I have actually just started a community, the Growth Shuttle Community on Slack. If you would like to join us and get business and management insights and engage with the other business people, feel free to reach out or sign up via this website.
