In business, “innovative” is a term often used to define those companies that never rest on their laurels. To innovate means to introduce something new into whatever one is doing. It can be on a large scale or a small scale. It can take a thousand different shapes, depending on the needs of the innovator. An innovation can succeed or fail—or produce results that outsiders may not be able to perceive. In fact, it is often impossible to know the extent to which companies have successfully innovated—which is why we decided to ask a number of adult industry professionals what new initiatives they implemented in 2009. We’re glad we did. In addition to providing insights into their various business models, the respondents revealed a lot about where they believe the industry should be focusing its energy and resources going forward. I Want My IPTV Marci Hirsch, Vivid Entertainment LLC: We believe that in the near future IPTV will become a major contributor to our bottom line. Over the past year we have solidified many relationships that will put us at the forefront of this new technology. The internet and television are fast becoming a single unit, and we believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of this new and exciting revenue stream. Combating Adversity with Diversity Dirty D, HowIgotRich.com: The innovations for our company in 2009 consist of marketing in new ways, cultivating revenue sources and delivering our product to the consumer in as many ways as possible. We have added token-based video stores so the consumer can purchase individual videos, instead of purchasing the entire DVD or a month on our websites. Considerable analysis has been done to increase retention by evaluating what the members are really watching. In a slow economy, deriving revenue from as many places as possible—like pay per minute, live shows, DVDs, paysites, toys, feeds, webcams and dating—is critical. Doing More With Less Morgan Sommer and Tim Lutz, Co-owners, Cybersocket, Inc.: Our innovations this year are very practical. 1. We have learned how to do more with less. The amount of work we get done as a company is greater than what we used to do. The value of the work we do as a company is greater than it was two years ago. And we do it with one-third less staff than we had two years ago. One of the tricks has been to automate as many things as possible. Also, we have audited virtually every system we have in place and dispensed with useless redundancies. This saves people lots of time and energy for useful activities. 2. We have changed our perception of what it means to grow a business. Often people will ask, “How many employees do you have?” As if more employees equals more value as a company. What we are doing as a company is growing our value. Offering as many real goods and services as possible, at as fair a price as possible, and doing as much as possible with that revenue. Classic Acts David Sutton, President, VCX Ltd., Inc.: We … [Read more...]
