|
 |
1.Find out if your idea is financially feasible - Can the business you are proposing generate money? Ask an accountant to help you answer this question. Do this right now. Looking at financial potentials will help you make educated decisions about investing cash and time into your new venture.
2.Sell things that people want to buy - NEVER begin with an idea, create it and then struggle to figure out who is going to purchase it. A close friend of mine told me, "Most farmers see a piece of land and decide to grow a crop. Once it's harvested they start looking for a buyer. If I were a farmer, I would not put one seed in the ground until I knew who was going to purchase my crop."
A few years ago, I started a company that sold unique goods from all around the world. People who invested in my company would consistently say, "Do people really purchase this stuff?" The thing was, people did not purchase that stuff�even after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing. The need for your products should be obvious. The higher the demand is, the faster you will be able to generate wealth for your business.
3.Create a Real Opportunity - Have you defined a true investment opportunity with your new venture? I spent days in meetings with a wholesale plant grower. Their goal was to peak the interest of investors. Although we were all conscious of the great potential their growing technology could produce in terms of profits, it soon became clear that the business management team had not properly identified the opportunity. Instead, we pointed out that in their existing infrastructure, they didn't have enough growing space to produce a profit that was worthy of investments.
If they had focused on providing a specialized product to a volume retailer, then they would have an exciting business. As it was, they weren't ready to recognize the issues and lost their investors. A standard non-public investment opportunity ought to generate a 100�400 percent return on investment in 3-5 years. Can your business do this?
4.Recognize the limits of your skill - Too often, we build a business with the people who are closest to us, or we go it all alone. There was a man who worked the cash register at a gas station who dreamed of developing an airline. He abandoned his job to follow his dream.
Let me propose that your presentation to prospective shareholders would be much more effective if you could say, "Hello. I'm Bill the founder. This is my CEO, John, who was formerly the Sr. Vice President of Southwest Airlines," than to say, "Hello. My name is Bill. I can effectively operate a cash register. Give me money to build an airline� please?"
Supplement your experience with people who are highly skilled in their respective fields. Hire the best people you can afford while keeping your eye on the cost benefit ratio.
5.Determine your industry - Trying to introduce a new product outside the limits of an already defined industry will cause a plethora of social problems. In order to establish the correct category your business fits into, ask yourself; "If I were to place an ad in the yellow pages, which section would I place myself under?" If you know the answer to this question clearly, you'll eradicate numerous problems in accumulating your market research, industry analysis, and marketing messages.
Category: Small BusinessFive Steps to Building A Successful New Business was written by:Author:Jesse FisherAdded: Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:35:10 -0400 This Article Has Been Read 242 times View all Jesse Fisher's articlesAbout the Author: Author Jesse Fisher likes composing articles for his clients including Transamerican Medical, a business that resells Philips Medical equipment and parts. See also the Imaging Centers; online directory. (You may republish this article online IF all links are kept intact.) |
More Articles About Small Business
Not What You Were Looking For?
 Moxie Drive Expressions
 Submit Articles
 Contact us
Add us to favorites
Hint - Hold "T" button down and right click to open Sphinn and Subbmitt in a new window. 
|