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May
1, 2006
So you have decided to do it. Months of
planning, sleepless nights, hesitation and encouragement from
family and friends - and now you are ready. Where do you
go from here?
Here are the top ten steps successful
entrepreneurs make on their way to starting and growing their
businesses.
You know what it is. Do not trade it for someone else's idea.
Ask yourself: What do you love? What do you know how to
do best? What are you good at? Better than anyone else? This is the
area where you can start a business. Remember to ask this question
even after you have launched the business. This is the best way to
get out of hesitation and second thoughts. Do what you love and do
it better than anyone else.
Being
great at something is not enough. You need to find a large group of
people who can benefit from your skill or the product you create.
These people are your target customers. Chances are, you already
know who they are. Do not think of them as individuals, but rather
as representing groups - moms, dads, working moms,
pharmacists, florists etc. Be very careful not to "fall
in love" with your product. Instead, carefully think about why each
of your target customers would choose your skill or product.
Convenience, price, novelty - all are possible and all good value
propositions.
Be very thorough in understanding your target customers. Where
do they shop? What other products do they like? What is their price
range? What magazines do they read? Do they have children? Are they
married or single? Each of these answers will offer a valuable
insight that begins to shape your marketing and advertising
strategy. Your choice of advertising media, your pricing structure,
your packaging decisions - all of these decisions depend on who your
target customer is.
Before you begin spending money on advertising, web site design and
physical presence, carefully research the competition. How do they
reach their customers? Where do they advertise? Is it working for
them? What is their pricing model? How successful are they? Ask.
Read. Ask again.
Now you have a pretty good idea of what you will do, who your
customers are, how you will take your idea to market. Take steps to
protect your intellectual property. Write down your idea, keep dated
notes in your business journal and stop talking about it, until you
actually launch your business.
You must be careful here. Your image introduces you to the world
when you are not around. Your logo, your choice of colors, your
choice of words - they all create the composite image of your
business. And that image must appeal to your targets customers.
Remember, your image will continue to build after you launch your
business. Customer references, happy quotes, word of mouth, your
blog are all facets of the complex nature of your business.
You are almost ready.
Now you need to figure out the three Ps of marketing: pricing,
positioning and packaging. Each of them feeds into the other and
they all are affected by your knowledge of your target customers and
target market. Your pricing must reflect what your customers
will pay, not what your product or service costs. If there is a big
discrepancy, you must revisit your business model. Positioning
is how you speak of your business, your image and your value and how
you communicate them. Packaging and presentation are
absolutely essential to your business image. Every product or
service is packaged - in your advertising, on the web site or in a
physical box.
You know your value. You know your customer. Now you need to make
sure they know about you! It is not as simple as it sounds. Develop
an advertising strategy that is smart and effective. It includes
every aspect of your physical presence (windows dressing and
aesthetics), your online presence (web site) and your professional
look (business cards, mailing address, telephone). If you are
running a home-based or web-based business, carefully consider the
choice of domain name and e-mail address, as well as which phone number
and street address to use. The best way to stay professional and
protect your privacy is a dedicated phone line for your business, as
well as a mailbox address.
It is too early at this stage to invest in a
fancy logo, pricey stationery or web site. Chances are your
decisions will change within the first six months of business, so
save your money.
Now you just have to do it. It is a simple as that. No hesitation,
no doubts, sheer perseverance and execution. Write up your plan,
break it up in smaller chunks and begin work. There will be days
with serious doubts, there will be days with huge successes. Do not
get distracted. Keep going until you complete your first major
milestone. This is the time to come up for air, look at your
workload and accomplishments. If you are not breathless yet, you are
not working hard enough.
Fear
of failure is the worst companion for your venture. Choose to look
at it as a new and positive experience. It will be a learning
experience, regardless of the final outcome. Launching the business
is a huge success in of itself. You can do it.
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Daniella Russo is the CEO of Mindzone, Inc. Since 1999
Mindzone has helped businesses reduce time to revenue, launch
their brands and create successful marketing strategies. To find
out how Mindzone can propel your business or idea into the
marketplace, drop us a line at
info@mindzone.com.
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