Categories
Starting Up

Top Ways to Get a Fresh Business Idea Off the Ground

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Starting a business is fun. Planning a business is not as fun. So how do you take your fresh idea and turn it into a viable business without sacrificing your enthusiasm in the process? Here are some ways to get started now.

Plan well, but plan quickly.

You know you need a business plan. (You do know that, don’t you?) You also know that business plans are long, scary, and mind-numbingly boring. They tend to take a lot of time, time which you might not have.

The most important part of your business plan is your SWOT analysis.

This is where you identify your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The SWOT analysis is your new best friend. Run one on your business, on yourself, on your business partners, and on your competition. Figure out what’s helping you and what’s hurting you. Do not fall into the trap of shoving your head into the sand and thinking you have no weaknesses. Think about this. Write it down.

Since this is for your own use and doesn’t have to be prettied up for a banker’s benefit, there’s no reason this should take more than a day.
Identify your Unique Selling Proposition.

Once you know your own strengths and your competitors’ weaknesses, you can figure out what makes you different from them. This is your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. It will be the driving force behind your marketing campaign.

What makes you unique does not have to be something earth-shattering. You don’t need to redesign the wheel. It could be as simple as actually listing your prices on your website, or offering 24 hour a day phone support. The only requirement is that it has to be something your customers actually care about. Pretty packaging on your plumbing parts is not a USP. Same-day delivery might be.

How are you going to market this thing?

You’ve identified your USP. Now you’re going to have to let people know about it. Sounds obvious? Apparently it isn’t. How many times have you been actively trying to spend your hard-earned money on a product or service, and all the companies looked the same? These companies are lazy marketers. They are telling you about all the fancy gizmos that every other competitor has, too.

You need to take your USP and beat your potential customers over the head with it. They should know why you’re different than The Other Guy before hiring you even crosses their minds. Do not make them think. Make your USP the most readily available piece of information to your customers. If you do that, the details of your marketing plan don’t matter as much. Since the thing that makes you better than your competition is now wildly obvious, whether you advertise in Text Link Ads or AdSense is just not a big deal.

Figure out your funding.

Unless your competition is Coca-Cola, the amount of money you have to start with is actually pretty unimportant. What is important is that you know how much you have, and that you allocate it wisely. Whether you have $500 or $5 million to start with, spend the most you can get away with on marketing. You need to get people to buy your product or service. Once they do, you can spend all the money you want on a new fax machine or 30-inch monitor or thicker stationery.

Start sooner rather than later.

There is a point, generally a lot earlier than most people think, when you have to stop thinking and start doing. It’s easy to sit back and ruminate on the absolute perfect way to launch your business. What’s hard is understanding that a not-bad business launched in a not-bad way makes a lot more money than an amazing business not launched at all because circumstances are not perfect. Make your service good, make it easy to buy from you, hang your shingle and prepare for a crazy ride.

About the Author

Naomi Dunford writes for IttyBiz, a blog for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and other work-from-home types. Come by for marketing tips, small business advice, and the occasional very bad joke.

Categories
Branding

Five Tips For Branding

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FoundRead: We like Harvard Working Knowledge, and today we picked up another quick post by marketing guru, John Quelch. It’s billed as “How To Build a Global Brand,“ but we think his five simple rules for how to brand effectively are applicable to any startup trying to establish its name and image — globally or not. The good news here is that Prof. Quelch is cutting down your workload — in branding, it turns out that what matters most in the message are simplicity and consistency.
Professor Quelch compares the (lately) poor branding practices at Ford with the highly successful practice at Toyota to illustrate “the power of a single global brand” and how to get there.
1. The same positioning worldwide. (For F|R: this means in every market.) This provides a combination of functional product quality and innovation with emotional appeal. Think Coca-Cola.
2. A focus on a single product category. Think Nokia and Intel.
3. The company name is the brand name. All marketing dollars are concentrated on that one brand. Think GE and IBM. (F|R: Hewlett-Packard learned this the hard way!)
4. Access to the (global) village. Consuming the brand equals membership in a global club. Think IBM’s “solutions for a small planet.” (F|R says: replace “global club” with social network.)
5. Social responsibility. Consumers expect global brands to lead on corporate social responsibility, leveraging their technology to solve the world’s problems. Think Nestle and clean water. (Or F|R might say: think Google.)
5 Simple Rules of Branding [FoundRead]

Categories
Weblog Admin

Introducing Our GE Network Experts!


It’s been 3 weeks since we launched the new GetEntrepreneurial.com Experts’ Network to contribute small business advice to our community of aspiring entrepreneurs. The network has received positive responses from you, our readers, and we’re very glad to have signed up 9 small business experts (as of today) to share with us their expert opinion on issues which entrepreneurs face everyday.
From the things to consider before starting a business to generating more profits from on-going small improvements to your business, our Experts are working hard to share with us more tips and advice on entrepreneurship. Let’s show our appreciation for our nine experts who have come on board the GE Experts’ Network:
AbeWalkingBearSanchezPhoto.jpgAbe WalkingBear Sanchez
Abe WalkingBear is an international consultant on the subject of sales enhancement and business knowledge organization. Founder and President of www.armg-usa.com, WalkingBear has worked with numerous companies in a wide range of industries since 1982.
Recommended article: More Profits From On-going Small Improvements: Part 1 | Part 2
JimDonovanPhoto.jpgJim Donovan
Jim Donovan, is the author of several critically acclaimed self-help and business books, published in 22 countries, a highly sought after motivational speaker, and the President of Jim Donovan Associates, a peak performance consulting company that offers programs and services
to help companies grow and prosper in today’s competitive marketplace.
Recommended article: A Crystal Clear Vision Ensures Success Throughout Your Organization
JohnBittlestonPhoto.jpgJohn Bittleston
John Bittleston blogs at TerrificMentors.com, a site that provides mentoring for those who wish a change in career or job, wanting to start a business or looking to improve their handling of people (including themselves).
Recommended articles:
Prepare For Your Career
The Way To Success
KlausWiedemannPhoto.jpgKlaus Wiedemann
Klaus Wiedemann is Founder and Managing Director of Daisho Blacksmith GmbH, a product and consulting company dedicated to support todays professional with software and methodology to sharpen their competitive edge. Klaus has more than 19 years of experience in Project Management and Business Development.
Recommended article: Things to Consider before Starting a Business
LorraineCohenPhoto.jpgLorraine Cohen
Dr. Lorraine Cohen, President of Powerfull Living, brings more than 25 years experience in personal and business coaching, psychological counseling, and sales to thousands of spiritually minded business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders from a wide range of industries.
Recommended article: Business Success Tip #1 – How To Declutter Your Computer
MaureenOcreanPhoto.jpgMaureen O’Crean
Maureen O’Crean, MBA, is an international business strategist and CEO of Maureen O’Crean PR. An award winning Internet consultant, her work has been featured on Good Morning America, Entrepreneur Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Grace Magazine, radio and newspapers.
RussLombardoPhoto.jpgRuss Lombardo
Russ Lombardo is President of PEAK Sales Consulting, LLC and an experienced CRM and Sales consultant, trainer, writer, speaker and radio show host. Russ works with businesses to help improve their customer acquisition and retention for increased revenue and success.
Recommended article: Fighting the Saw-Tooth Effect
StanSpectorPhoto.jpgStan Spector
Stan Spector is the author of “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income – Over 100 Part-time or Seasonal Businesses for the New Retiree”. The book’s website can be found at StanSpector.com. He presents seminars for financial planners and other organizations working with baby boomers to try to instill the entrepreneuring spirit.
Recommended article: 101 New Business Ideas for Retirees: Festival Businesses | Focus on your Writing Skills
TerriZwierzynskiPhoto.jpgTerri Zwierzynski
Terri Zwierzynski is a self-employed business strategist and marketing consultant to solo entrepreneurs, and a grassroots promoter of the solo entrepreneur lifestyle. She runs Solo-E.com, the resource website for the self-employed which attracts thousands of solo home business owners monthly.
* * *
Would you like to be a part of the GE Experts Network? We invite you to email us to join the network and share your small business expertise with us. We look forward to your application!

Categories
Newsletter

BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 55

BIZNESS! Newsletter
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Cover Story
Fighting the Saw-Tooth Effect
Months ago you thought you were such a huge success, pulling in a large deal involving huge revenue for your business. How were you to know that at the same time you were destroying the very business you were trying to build? If this, or something less dramatic yet similar, has ever happened to you, then you could be experiencing the Saw-Tooth Effect. What’s the Saw-Tooth Effect? It’s all very simple to understand. But not many businesses realize it until it is too late…..
Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 55 >>>
Top Stories From CoolBusinessIdeas.com
– Beer Brick
– Handvertising
– Metal Refreshing Lollipop
– New Life For Old Photos
– Frisper Freshkeeper
– Garden Water
– Sharkah’s Organic Jeans
Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>
Top Stories From GetEntrepreneurial.com
– Things To Consider Before Starting A Business
– How To De-clutter Your Computer
– Prepare For Your Career
– Festival Business
– Tell Them About Quality
– Be An Eagle Entrepreneur
– Positive Workplace Relationships
Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>

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Can’t stand your demanding boss anymore? Start your own business! Before that, be sure to subscribe to our free informative newsletter. BIZNESS! is jointly published by CoolBusinessIdeas.com and GetEntrepreneurial.com What you get in BIZNESS! – the latest new business ideas, small business advice, business tips and info and entrepreneur resources. Everything you need for your brand new business!
Free 145-pages PDF report (worth $75) – “2006’s Best Business Ideas” – included with your subscription. Learn more here.
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Categories
Recommendations

Sales Training on a Shoestring

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In a sales economy where up to 62% of sales people don’t go for the close, how is a sales person supposed to succeed? First, they need to use a sales process that helps them manage the steps in a sales cycle in the right order. Second, they need to learn, or re-learn, basic selling skills. These skills include how to cold call, qualify prospects, ask the right questions, listen, handle objections, negotiate, close and retain customers.
The problem lies with finding the time to learn these skills, or at least get a refresher course in skills that were learned long ago and since forgotten. PEAK Sales Consulting now offers inexpensive, on-line sales training that helps new and experienced sales professionals learn basic skills such as cold calling, listening skills, qualifying, value-added selling, handling objections, negotiating, closing, and more.
Called “Sales Snippets”, which range from 10 to 20 minutes each, these on-line training modules are Internet-based sessions that allow a sales person to get quick, concise training sessions on various selling skills. All ten Sales Snippets cost only $29.95.

“Our Sales Snippets are derived and summarized from our full sales training courses. They are brief training sessions for both new sales people for getting up to speed on basic selling skills as well as veteran sales reps to review sales techniques that have long been forgotten and to learn new skills required in today’s economy,” said Russ Lombardo, President/Founder of PEAK Sales Consulting, LLC and instructor on the Sales Snippets programs.