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Advertise To Build Awareness
And To Generate Response. Within the advertising purpose you should define whether you seek to create
awareness or to generate a direct response. Effective marketing generally demands that each is employed, but on a limited
budget you may be restricted to concentrating on one or the other, so think carefully about what will help most. Different
media and methods are better suited to one or the other. Direct Mail is very good at generating a direct response, as are
magazine and newspaper adverts, and inserts. Posters, TV, radio and press editorial are all much better at creating awareness
and building credibility.
Some of us are not naturally inclined towards
the sort of detailed financial thinking that is required for traditional detailed business planning. If this
is you, you'll possess other valuable capabilities that will be useful in your own enterprise, and you'll maybe find it helpful
to use this alternative approach to planning a new enterprise or self-employment. Everyone who dreams of being self-employed
or who wants to start and run their own independent enterprise is capable of doing so, provided they work to their strengths,
capabilities and passions.
People running successful enterprises come in
all shapes and sizes, from all backgrounds, all ages, with skills, passions, and capabilities in any field you
can imagine. Anyone can run their own business or be successful in self-employment given the simple determination to do so.
Business and enterprise is not just for stereotypical "business-types"; the benefits and advantages of being your own boss
are available to us all. Here are some pointers for people considering starting their own new enterprise, or for helping others
to do the same.
The basic economics of becoming successfully independent
in any sort of venture are actually extremely simple, and focusing on the following simple fundamentals can help
many folk turn your dream or an idea into a successful enterprise or self-employment reality. It's usually easiest to think
first of these factors in terms of daily, weekly or monthly numbers and values, and then to extend the figures to give totals
for a whole year:
1. What's your Product or Service?
(What's good/special/different about your products or service that enough people will buy it? And importantly is this something
that you have a real passion for? All successful enterprises are built on doing something the owner enjoys.)
2. What does it cost to make/buy in/provide the
product or service? (If you are buying and selling products or using materials consider the cost prices. If the
main resource is your own time then attach a cost to your labor that reflects your available time for the work and the wage
you need to draw. Divide your required annual wage by the number of work hours available to you, and this is your notional
hourly labour cost.)
3. What price will the product/service sell for?
(Ideally small businesses need a healthy profit margin or mark-up - doubling the cost is good if the market will accept it.
A mark-up of less than 50% is cause for concern unless you are selling products in relatively high volumes or values. Price
your products/services according to what the market will pay, not according to your costs. Take into account your competitors
and what they charge and their relative quality. Service businesses that use only the person's time are often very attractive
and profitable because there is no added complication of buying and holding stock - hence why window-cleaning, sign-writing,
repairs, gardening, decorating, tutoring, writing, therapy, training, coaching and consultancy, etc., are such good businesses
for people who prefer a simple approach to self-employment and enterprise.
4. Who will buy the product/service?
(Identify your customers and market. Do you know this for sure? Test your assumptions: this is a critical part of the proposition
and generally benefits from more thought and research to confirm that a big enough market exists for your idea. Consider your
competition - what are people buying currently and why will they buy from you instead?)
5. How much/many do you need to sell in a year?
And how many customers do you need? (This is a vital part of the proposition to confirm that the gross profit (the difference
between costs of bought in products/labor and sales revenues) covers your/their financial needs (including a living wage and
other fixed costs of running the enterprise.)
6. How will people know about the service/product?
(You need to understand what advertising/marketing/enquiry-generation is necessary - activity and cost. There is usually a
cost for generating new customers, especially in the early stages of a new enterprise. Once the business is established, say
after six months to a year, "word-of-mouth" referrals are for some businesses all that is required to produce new customers
- especially those based in a local community, but virtually any new enterprise requires marketing at its launch.)
7. Does all this add up, and better still provide
a cash surplus at the end of a year? - if so then it's probably a good business model.
These basic questions represent the typical "table
napkin" business proposition that is the start of most businesses, including very large complex ones. People
who dislike and are not fluent in detailed business calculations might find the above process a useful starting point when
thinking about how to begin a new enterprise or a venture in self-employment. To Learn More Click Here.
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