I've seen a couple of threads of people saying they want to start businesses, and while neither of those are even slightly realistic, I thought it might be valuable to actual budding entrepreneurs to have a thread where advice can be sought and given, along with some broad advice and strategy for having a successful business.
While owning a business is fraught with traps and potential losses, it can also be a lot more satisfying than helping someone else make a fortune.
The crucial thing is for any budding business owner to do the homework.
This involves looking at the proposed business critically at every point, especially the following [but by no means exhaustive] list:
Is there a market for the business?
Where is that market?
How can I get in touch with it?
How much will it cost to start?
What will the running costs be?
How much profit will it make?
These questions will all have different answers, depending on what the product or service is. Some may be suited to social media, some to television advertising, and others billboards; all that matters is that it works. Advertising agencies will often give a potential new customer a free or cheaper trial run to enable an owner to judge the potential of the spend required, so test and check where able.
And it's not just as simple as starting a business - once it's operative, conditions change and the business must change with them, or it will be left behind.
These changes may be signalled and easy to cope with, or may be out of the blue and requiring action that couldn't be planned for.
Then there's marketing and growing the business, and that can be achieved in cunning ways. Alka-Seltzer almost doubled sales by recommending two tablets instead of one, and there is the possibly apocryphal story of shampoo, which added the word repeat.
This guy explores the use of single-word additions to marketing blurb, and it will will work in some cases.
Discussion and questions are welcome!
While owning a business is fraught with traps and potential losses, it can also be a lot more satisfying than helping someone else make a fortune.
The crucial thing is for any budding business owner to do the homework.
This involves looking at the proposed business critically at every point, especially the following [but by no means exhaustive] list:
Is there a market for the business?
Where is that market?
How can I get in touch with it?
How much will it cost to start?
What will the running costs be?
How much profit will it make?
These questions will all have different answers, depending on what the product or service is. Some may be suited to social media, some to television advertising, and others billboards; all that matters is that it works. Advertising agencies will often give a potential new customer a free or cheaper trial run to enable an owner to judge the potential of the spend required, so test and check where able.
And it's not just as simple as starting a business - once it's operative, conditions change and the business must change with them, or it will be left behind.
These changes may be signalled and easy to cope with, or may be out of the blue and requiring action that couldn't be planned for.
Then there's marketing and growing the business, and that can be achieved in cunning ways. Alka-Seltzer almost doubled sales by recommending two tablets instead of one, and there is the possibly apocryphal story of shampoo, which added the word repeat.
This guy explores the use of single-word additions to marketing blurb, and it will will work in some cases.
Discussion and questions are welcome!
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1HHNiv9
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