Mentoring isn’t just advice – it’s the shortcut to sustainable success
Are you a potential entrepreneur I really hope that you follow this ten series of start up tips. If you want some more tips, maybe on other matters, follow this link here: http://www.entrepreneur.com
Really, really good luck, and don´t hesitate to contact me if you have a question.
In the last installment of our 10-part series, putting your passion to the test.
You’ll need to be ready when customers start calling. Here’s how to prepare for those initial queries.
Whatever you do, don’t just sit back and wait for business to fall into your lap. Despite popular opinion, if you build it, they will not just come. You’ve got to get the word out and keep working your contacts in order to attract customers to your new business.
Even solopreneurs can benefit from a support network. Here’s how to develop an advisory board and get the help you need.
If you need to hire employees, consider interns, students or part-timers as your first-time hires. If you think you won’t need permanent employees in the beginning, you can also look into temporary services and independent contractors. If you’re planning to hire someone on full-time, however, remember that the employees you hire can make or break your business. While you may be tempted to hire the first person who walks in the door «just to get it over with,» doing so can be a fatal error. A small company just can’t afford to carry deadwood on its staff, so start smart by taking time to figure out your staff needs before you begin looking for job candidates.
Learn ways to spread the word about your new business. Plus, how to win your first customers.
A marketing plan consists of the strategies and devices you’re going to use to communicate to your target audience. A customer service plan focuses on your customer’s requirements and the ways of filling those requirements. The two work in concert.
Descriptions of your market and its segments, the competition and prospective customers should be in your business plan. This is the start of your marketing plan. Based on this information, you can begin choosing the communication channels to use to get the word out about your business: social media, blogs, email newsletters, Web banners, pay-per-click ads, radio, TV, billboards, direct mail, fliers, print ads and other venues. Then prioritize your tactics and begin with the ones that your research has shown to be the most effective for your audience.
For your customer service plan, think about what it’ll take to develop relationships with your customers that can be mutually beneficial for years to come. Since repeat customers are the backbone of every successful business, in your customer service plan, you’ll want to outline just how you’re going to provide complete customer satisfaction. Consider money-back guarantees, buying incentives, and the resolution of customer complaints. Determine what your customer service policy will say, how you’ll train your employees to attend to the needs of your customers and how to reward repeat customers. Remember, this is just the beginning: Your program should evolve as the business grows.
To begin wooing your first customers, it’s helpful to create a profile of the end user of your product or services. Now’s the time to get in the habit of «talking up» your business — telling everyone you know about it. Ask for referrals from colleagues, suppliers, former employers and other associates. You can improve the quality of your referrals by being specific in your request. For example, an insurance broker developed a successful referral network by asking existing clients if they knew anyone who was «in a two-income professional family with young children,» rather than just asking if they knew anyone who needed insurance.
Consider offering free consultations or an introductory price to first-time buyers. Consider joining forces with a complementary business to get them to help you spread the word about your new venture. For example, a carpet cleaner might offer incentives to a housecleaning service if they’d recommend them to their regular customers. Once you’ve done work for a few satisfied customers, ask them for a testimonial letter to use in your promotions.
How to decide what you call your company. Plus, choosing a business structure.
Of all the decisions you make when starting a business, probably one of the most important is the right name for your new venture: The right name can make your company the talk of the town. The wrong one can doom it to obscurity and failure. If you’re smart, you’ll put just as much effort into naming your business as you did into coming up with your idea and writing your business plan.
An effective name will establish your marketplace presence, convey what you do, and create a memorable impression.
Conduct a free trademark search at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office site. Search through federal trademarks, Canadian and European trademarks, domain names and company names.
Enlisting the help of a trademark attorney or at least a trademark search firm before you decide on a name if highly advisable. The extra money you spend now could save you countless hassles and expenses down the road. And once you’ve made a decision, determine if your chosen name has an available domain name for your future Web site, and reserve it. Even if you won’t be selling products online, a Web site is crucial these days for marketing purposes.
Also important in the success of your business is is the type of legal structure you select for your company. Your structure can make a big difference in how you pay taxes (how much and how often), raise money, handle lawsuits, or dissolve or pass on the business. Will you operate as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, S corporation or limited liability company? Because each business form comes with different tax consequences, you’ll want to want to make your selection wisely and choose the structure that most closely matches your business’s needs. If you’re not a tax or legal expert, you should seek advice from a professional on how to pick the structure that’ll best manage your liabilities.
Today, you’ll learn where look for the money you need to launch. Part five in a 10-part series to help you start a business.
You may also qualify for a niche or specialty loan. For example, the lending and learning organization called Count Me In makes loans to women entrepreneurs in small amounts up to $50,000. Some large banks also offer special loan programs for women, minorities and small-businesses.
Although there’s no such thing as «freemoney» for small businesses, there are some cash awards, prize money and minigrants offered by a dwindling pool of organizations.
You can also seek venture or angel funding. Both angels and venture capitalists are looking for great ideas that can translate into highly profitable businesses. If they’re interested in backing your idea, they may want a large equity stake (25 to 40 percent or more), so this process can take significant time to arrange and a formal written business plan will be required for consideration.In this week´s installment of our series to help you launch a new venture, you’ll put your concept on paper.
You gain an advantage by building your business on paper first. A business plan’s value goes beyond its ability to help secure a loan package for you. It’s a working document that helps you prepare for opportunities as well as difficulties.
Just as you wouldn’t start off on a cross-country drive without a road map, you shouldn’t embark on your new business without a business plan to guide you. A business plan won’t automatically make you a success, but it will help you avoid some common causes of business failure, such as undercapitalization or lack of an adequate market. You’ll find weak spots in your business idea that you’ll be able to repair. You’ll also discover areas with potential you may not have thought about before — and ways to profit from them.
There are three primary parts to a business plan.
I just come a mentoring session today with 4 entrepreneurs within education. They are 4 girls and one guy (the last girl couldn´t make it today). I´m going to be their mentor, but in a formal mentoring program.
The business idea is to make training for small kids and sell it to schools and kindergardens. It is a lot fun to meet them because they are so enthusiastic and willing to do almost everything you suggest. So today we had a two hours session about their businessplan and a presentation they are going to have on the 22. of september.
I am really looking forward to meet them again and work more with this brilliant idea.
Go Phi, Wenche, Hanne and Erlend.
Helping business start-ups is a rewarding activity for many retired entrepreneurs and (since selling his own company) it has even become the principal activity for Derek Barr, a business angel with a keen interest in early-stage ventures. Having grown his own specialist engineering concern into an international business, with turnover of £25 million, he sold out to international engineering group GEA in 1996.
Barr has vast experience in training and developing successful executives and his involvement with the London Business School Entrepreneurship Summer School goes right back to the beginning. He has seen the Summer School change in form and scope to what it is today. For him, however, one key part of the programme has not changed – namely the role of mentors.