So, You're Going Into Business For Yourself?
Here's a checklist of five essential questions you must ask yourself first, and why you need to answer them...
1. What proof is there that there is a market for what I'm planning to do?
2. How is what I'm doing different to what's already being done?
3. Why should my prospective customers buy from me instead of those already supplying the market?
4. Can I establish myself without offering discounts or "freebies"?
5. How much am I willing to spend to buy customers?
Here's why you need to answer them...
1. Way too often, businesses are established on a whim without appropriate research. They're started because the owner had a falling out with their boss, or because a well-meaning friend suggested their idea was viable. All too frequently, it's because someone says, "That's a great idea, everyone needs one of those..."
So the business starts and suddenly the owner realises it's an uphill battle simply because their pockets aren't deep enough to education the marketplace.
Solution: Do your research first.
2. Don't bother starting up doing exactly what everyone else is doing. When there is more than one person doing exactly the same thing, one of them will ultimately become redundant.
Solution: Make sure you take a different slant.
3. Just being different isn't enough - you need to be better.
Solution: Your offer, your level of support, your guarantee; whatever it is needs to differentiate you and make you the obvious choice.
4. Discounts and freebies are all very well but unless you're making a profit, or unless the jobs will lead to repeat, profitable business or valuable testimonials, you're better off without the work.
Solution: Either charge sustainable fees from the beginning or understand that you'll be living off your savings for longer than your family expected!
5. Word of mouth and networking on their own aren't a marketing plan.
Solution: Invest in direct response marketing (see some of my other articles on this site) and measure your results. Allocate funds to marketing and see your ads as an investment in buying customers. Monitor this investment as you would shares or property. Always remember that a bad is always going to be a bad ad. If the phone doesn't ring, change it!
Good luck with your new business!
Starting a New Business Five Essential Questions You Must Ask First - To learn more about this author, visit James Yuille's Website.
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