The dream of having your own business islived by 48 million Braziliansas revealed by the 2023 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey conducted by Sebrae in partnership with the National Association of Studies in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management (Anegepe). Between thinking and acting, some tips from those who know the craft help in the process of starting a company.

ToRoberto Oliveira, CEO and co-founder of Blip, the leading conversational intelligence platform,As an entrepreneur, it is necessary to "be prepared for the unpredictable," balance personal life with professional life, and always keep an eye on the cash flow. "No one beats compound interest. Being aggressive in the market and cautious with finances is certainly a good practice for having a successful business. Always keep an eye on the cash flow. The Brazilian financial market unfortunately operates with high interest rates and short terms, which is not compatible with the development of a growing business, where profit expectations are in the future," emphasizes Roberto.

He also recommends reading two books: "Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making" (in Portuguese "Criar: Um guia nada ortodoxo para criar produtos que fazem a diferença") by Tony Fadell and "The Hard Thing about Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers" (in Portuguese "O lado difícil das situações difíceis: Como construir um negócio quando não existem respostas prontas") by Ben Horowitz, works that discuss career, innovation, and entrepreneurship.  

"Those who undertake need to believe deeply in the business, have focus and resilience. The moments of highs and lows will always exist, but we can overcome difficulties and withstand turbulence if we believe in the business and have a trusted team with us," affirms Roberto.

Marcelo Linhares, CEO and co-founder of Onfly, the largest B2B travel tech in Latin America,List as a priority the pursuit of helping to heal a significant pain point in the market. "It's essential to see the problems that happen in people's or companies' daily lives and how they can be solved in some way with your service or technology. Then, understand the size of this market and validate the solution with a few clients," says Marcelo.

"Another relevant point is to start more cautiously and scale up as you acquire more clients. And, of course, never spend too much money on a solution: it's good to run tests with as little money as possible," says Marcelo. The executive explains that the whole process involves many failures, but they need to be fixed quickly.

There will be errors many times, but the important thing is to have learned and not to repeat them. Finally, a good guideline is to have good partners. Startups with solitary founders take 3.6 times longer to scale the business, concludes Marcelo.

Tiago Mavichian, CEO and founder of Companhia de Estágios, a leading company in the recruitment and selection of interns and traineesSince I was a child, I wanted to be a businessman. For him, before actually starting a business, one should research the industry, have a solid business plan, and assess whether to have a partner or investor as a strategic partner.

"Today, even on the internet, you can find well-structured business plan models to use as a reference. The idea is to gather all the data and information from your research and create a document that will serve as a guide for decision-making and practical actions for the business," says Tiago.

According to him, there is no right age to start a business, but it is important to have professional maturity. "More important than worrying about age is preparing to face the challenge. When in doubt, do a pilot project, test the concept, work in the sector, and look for ways to gain more professional maturity," concludes the executive.   

Most companies that value digital protection of their brands already have the habit of actively monitoring their competitors. However, few of them usually pay attention to what is done by their partners and affiliates. That's where great danger lurks: the undue commission. But what exactly is this practice? How is it carried out? What are their impacts on company profitability and, mainly, how to prevent them from becoming a legal issue?

What is undue commission?

Affiliate marketing is a growing trend in the corporate world, after all, it allows for more flexibility, reduces costs, and increases the visibility of your products and services. However, it is essential that the policies outlined in the affiliation agreement are followed.

For Gustavo Mariotto, CSO of Branddi, a company specialized in combating unfair competition in the online environment, this is not the case in instances of undue commission. "Neles, the affiliate breaks the agreement and exceeds what was established to gain financial advantages, 'stealing' organic traffic from the main company to profit from conversions that would not occur in sponsored campaigns." This practice combines brand bidding with the misattribution of what was previously agreed upon between the headquarters and the affiliate," he states.

Undue commission, misappropriation of funds and brand bidding

The unauthorized use of a company's institutional keywords by a competing company is called brand bidding. But when this practice is carried out by a partner or affiliate company, it is called attribution diversion.

According to Mariotto, these occurrences, which have been dominating the current corporate judicial debate, happen when the affiliated company maliciously uses the sponsored campaigns of its partner. That is, they unfairly seek to raise their links above even the main brand to earn commissions.

This can involve several situations, such as:

• Fraudulent click:when a click is registered on an affiliate link artificially, that is, without there being a real intention to make a purchase or take action;
• Duplicate sale:when the same sale is attributed to more than one affiliate, generating duplicate payments;
• Improper cooking:occurs when a cookie is placed on a user's device without their consent, with the aim of incorrectly attributing a sale to an affiliate;
• Violation of program rules:when the affiliate uses unauthorized methods to promote products or services, such as spam, purchasing paid traffic without authorization, etc.

One of the main issues with improper commissions is that they can affect brands in various ways, both in the efficiency of their paid campaigns and in their relationships with partners and expenses.

Check out below the three main negative issues caused by misappropriation of funds and undue commissions:

Increase in the brand's institutional CPC

Since the company's keywords are being used in an unauthorized manner, it is common for undue commissions to increase the cost per click of campaigns.

In this way, the brand cannot see significant returns in its marketing strategies, since this value is being changed.

Increased financial expenses

This, which is one of the main consequences of unauthorized commissions, is also one of the brands' worst nightmares. After all, any unnecessary expense reduces the amount that could be invested in actions truly aligned with the company's objectives.

However, to address this increase in expenses, it is necessary to consider the entire context involved in these cases. This is because, in addition to the increase in institutional CPC, this type of unfair competition also increases the company's expenses on commissions and actions that did not generate a return or real value.

Furthermore, there is still the risk that these processes will become judicial, which, in addition to involving financial investments, also involves wasting a large part of the team's time in resolving bureaucratic and slow litigation actions.

Increasing distrust between affiliates and advertisers

Finally, another main result of attribution deviations and improper commission payments is the creation of a constant atmosphere of distrust between advertisers and affiliates. After all, they can generate false accusations and break the harmonious bond that existed until then.

Branddi has put together three practical tips to help your brand deal with its partners in a more transparent and positive way.

Tip 1: Create clear and objective rules for your affiliate policy:Establishing clear guidelines on what is or isn't allowed in your brand's affiliate program reduces the possibility of "gray areas." That is, everyone will know what is or isn't expected and will be aware of the boundaries that cannot be crossed.

Tip 2: Perform regular audits:The conduct of regular audits ensures that all affiliates remain compliant. In this way, your brand can form much more aligned and lasting partnerships.

Tip 3: Prioritize constant monitoring:Actively monitoring the terms and unique elements of your brand is an essential step to identify suspicious occurrences before they harm your company.

According to the Black Friday 2024 Purchase Intentions Survey, conducted by Wake in partnership with OpinionBox, 66% of Brazilian consumers intend to buy some product this Black Friday. The report, which also addresses issues related to the customer experience, indicates that WhatsApp is one of the preferred means of interaction for customers (30.1%) with companies when it comes to brand communication and advertising.

In this regard, the Cielo-SBVC Ranking study, conducted by the Brazilian Society of Retail and Consumption (SBVC), showed that 46% of the largest retailers operating in Brazil use WhatsApp as a sales tool. At the same time, the 2024 Sales Panorama survey, conducted by RD Station, revealed that 70% of sales professionals state that social media is the most effective channel for customer contact.

From this scenario, Marcos Schütz, CEO of VendaComChat, Franchise network specialized in WhatsApp automation services warns that starting automated actions on the instant messaging app before Black Friday boosts sales and improves the customer experience. "Preliminary campaigns help not only to expand the contact base but also to create anticipation among consumers. By announcing offers and special discounts that will be available, brands arouse interest and excitement, encouraging customers to plan their purchases," explains.

According to the executive, WhatsApp automation tools offer various features designed to maximize customer service efficiency and, consequently, increase sales. This is because, through the feature, it is possible to serve a larger volume of consumers simultaneously, create a sense of urgency about the offers, answer frequently asked questions, and resolve common problems with a chatbot, as well as manage the message flow. "These automation capabilities ensure that customer service is not only fast but also of high quality, even when the volume of interactions is significantly higher," comments Marcos.

According to the CEO of VendaComChat, some features are crucial to stand out during Black Friday, check it out:

Data AnalysisWhatsApp automation tools enable the collection and analysis of customer data, allowing salespeople to better understand purchasing patterns and optimize marketing and sales strategies during Black Friday. "This type of tool allows creating and sending personalized offers based on the customer's purchase history. During peak demand periods, it can be used to offer exclusive discounts that are more likely to convert sales, based on consumers' previous preferences and purchasing behavior," explains Marcos.

Schedule alerts for flash sales and limited stock

Through automated messages, retailers can notify customers about upcoming offers, flash promotions, and the stock of the most desired products. According to Schütz, this keeps customers informed and attentive until the start of promotions, motivating immediate purchases.

Peak service management

The system can automate the scheduling of confirmations or reminders, reducing the administrative burden on staff to prevent delays or confusion. Furthermore, during periods of high traffic, managing received messages ensures that all are attended to promptly, maintaining the quality and speed of service.

Customizing acknowledgements and requesting feedback

Finally, the CEO emphasizes that providing efficient post-sales service is crucial to retain customers acquired during seasonal retail periods and therefore recommends, "send personalized thank-you messages after the purchase, using the customer's name and specifically mentioning the purchased product. This shows appreciation and recognition for them. Additionally, sending satisfaction surveys immediately after a service is completed can provide instant feedback that should be used for quick adjustments in real time," he concludes.