So you want to start a business. You have an idea. Lets say you want to be a carpenter. You print some brochures, some business cards, and take out an ad in the Yellow Pages. You pay $600 for a website and a domain name that tells everyone about your amazing credentials and experience. You distribute your fliers at a local grocery store. And then you wait. And wait. And wait… Nothing happens. But, that’s what everyone does, isn’t it? Print out some brochures, tell everyone how great you are, and wait for the money to roll in.
Stop right there. You have just made the top 10 mistakes entrepreneurs make.
Mistake # 1: First, being a “carpenter” is too general. There are a million carpenters in the world, but the only successful ones have something to concentrate on. Wood carving, house renovation, specialized pieces. Like the old saying goes, “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
Mistake # 2: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. An idea is not a business plan, or a marketing plan, or even just a goal. It is simply an idea. Although the planning process may seem long and tedious now, it will benefit you more than you could imagine in the future. For example, when you are seeking funding, when you are joining an association of professionals, when your goals change, when your business changes, or if you take on a partner or investor. Your plan should guide you, but not constrain you. If something in your plan doesn’t fit just right, change it. Your business plan will never have a final draft.
Mistake # 3: Brochures and business cards are GARBAGE to start-up businesses! You will spend far more producing them than they will produce for you. Ignoring the high cost of printing these materials, and the costs associated in designing them if you aren’t proficient yourself, most start-up businesses change too quickly for these materials to be effective for more than a short period, sometimes as little as days. If it costs $1000 to print these the first time, and $1000 to design them the first time, imagine how much you will pay if your brochures beat statistics and last 2 months. If alterations to design cost $500, it costs $1500 every time your business changes. If your business changes every 2 months, you can expect to spend at least $9000 that year on brochures and business cards. Yes, that is NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS in lost revenue, over something that is less effective than grafitti. Don’t waste your time, or your money, on brochures and business cards until you can keep your typical sales presentation the same for at least 6 months. Otherwise, these things aren’t worth the trouble.
Mistake # 4: Okay, the Yellow Pages. Lets take a look in the Yellow Pages and see how many other trillions of carpenters there are. Which ones stand out? Definitely not the tiny ad in the corner. Probably not the one-liner. And as a start-up, that is all you would be able to afford. For the one or two clients per year this would bring you, it is better to wait until your marketing budget can afford to buy large, extravagant and eye-catching ads.
Mistake # 5: $600 for a website and domain name? A website and domain name before a marketing plan? This scenario is already causing headaches for those of you “in the know”. Best idea, design your own website for free if you can. Second best, get a friend or relative to design it for free. Third best, pay a minimal fee for the complicated stuff and the rest can be done by yourself and a relative. Only if no one in the world can help you, do you want to hire a professional to do the whole thing for you. And when you do, try and get it on 30 or 60 days post. That way, their new website will be generating money for you before you pay. If you do pay upfront, and can’t get around it, ask if they do free updates. You are guaranteed to change a thing or two, probably at least once a week as you test out your new site. If you pay $600, it had better be a good website – because your entire marketing budget just paid for it.
Mistake # 6: Wow! A carpenter who went to John B. Doe Carpentry Academy! Is that what your customers say? Most likely, they won’t even think that. Most customers think “Wow! Look at his work. It is just what I need.” And that is what you want your customers to think. Don’t promote yourself, promote your solutions. Everyone who comes to your website has a problem they need solved. If you figure out that problem, and can tell them how to solve it using your website, you have just hit a marketing gold-mine.
Mistake # 7: What is a carpenter doing at a grocery store? And why is he handing out fliers anyway? If you do hand out fliers, do it where it counts. A carpenter should hand out fliers at a lumber yard or furniture store. Even a department store that sells nails would be a better location for a carpenter when handing out fliers. Think about it.
Mistake # 8: This is probably the biggest mistake. You stopped marketing. Even if you do exactly the opposite of everything you have read so far, if you keep doing it you are bound to get at least minimal results. If you stop when you run out of new ideas, you probably won’t get much. The key to marketing is repetition. Make sure people think of your name when they have a problem. If they have only seen your name once, but your competitor just sent them a third flier, your competitor will get their business. We’ve all heard that it takes more than once for a customer to buy, and it has never been more true. With the information available to your customers today, you want your name to be in front of them as much as possible.
Mistake # 9: When nothing happened, you didn’t try again. Nothing says failure like someone who quits. Motivate yourself! Get up in the morning and say “I’m going to get hits to my website.” Or “I’m going to get a client this week!” If you build it, but nobody knows its there, nobody is going to come. You have to try, make mistakes, learn, and try again. If you try, make a mistake, and give up, you will never be the success you know you can be.
Mistake # 10: You assumed that what everyone else does will work for you. WRONG! What everyone else does took them a long time to figure out, and they have been tweaking it all that time to make it work right for them. If you copy part, but not all, of what they do, you will never get the same results. People strive for individuality, and business should too. If you copy your competitor in every aspect, your prospects might as well flip a coin. Do you want 50% of the business you could be getting? No, you want it all!
The bottom line is to stay motivated. Starting a business is one of the hardest things anyone can ever do. The uncertainty, the lack of a support structure, the complete and total disregard of your typical safety zone. It is all part of starting a business. But the rewards are far greater than the sacrifices. And in the end, when you are financially secure, and independent from the corporate world, it will be more gratifying than you could have ever dreamed.
utopia Another of my favorite Cheap UGG Boots from school days had to buy these when i seen them a true classic UGG Classic Boots have them both the black and white! Here we see the Sky High Canvas, a retro air Jordan Shoes release that has slipped under the radar for many sneaker enthusiast Nike air Jordan. Originally slated to release in September, the have started to pop up early at select stockist like Juicy Outlet. The shoe features a canvas high top upper on a Juicy Bags. Here we see the model in a pair Coach Purses Outlet. The both pairs maintain a single dominate color for the Coach Outlet, with the other used as Coach Purses Factory. Bag is very beautiful. Got the white with red version. Runs thus to size for the larger Coach Outlet. Comfortable and doesn't seems to crease easily after a few weeks wear Cheap Coach Purses.
Coach Purses on Sale
Guest Dec 27, 2010
10:51 PM
hary The pair we'll take a closer look at today offers a great base to do just that UGG Boots Sale Back in April,we took our first look at the adidas. This full sized features an all poly urethane construction and 3 point Cheap UGG Boots.. The shoe is said to offer improved ankle support, as well as an improved internal frame Supra Sale. Also, like the 2008 model, the Supra Skytop is interchangeable, giving you the opportunity to slightly modify your pair of Cheap Gucci. Told you!This Pro Model 2010 features a white leather base, including perforations near the ankle and a classic adidas shell Gucci Bag. Black works patent leather on the eyes, forefoot and heel, as well as the inner liner and Coach Outlet Online.The will begin to arrive at selected retailers around the world with Coach Store accounts in the coming weeks. I copped the other bags, as it was the one that started the love for me way back in '85. My "Coach Bags Outlet". No one believed me when I said there was a canvas Coach Bags! Capping off the is a white rubber out sole. Drop by Germany's Schuh-You and pick up a Coach Purses on Sale today.
sheepskinugg boots size 9 est 4th St ugg classic tallwomen bootsboots on sale - article continues below »QuantcastGrabbing a bite to eat from a food cart is a New York institution and many have gone gourmet with their offerings. One of the best is Schnitzel & Things (www.schnitzelandthings.com) where you get a del
ugg shoesuggswomen bootsugg boot ness trip. The Hotel Chelsea If celebrities are the reason you came to South Beach men boots The Hotel Chelsea offers people watching at its finest. Guests can immerse themselves in the chaos of Washington Avenue from the famous porch of the Hotel while sippi
I Am TMQ, I would at the same era as so as to facilitate holding you including: right away boss bAtext to first-class realm in the function of study Star Trek DVD than tubes.it imagems to be placed a nameless trend. at some stage in fact, time was the new cinema appeared on TVs,submit are recently limitless Avatar DVD .since is superior, at times enlightened DVD pictures vetoed Buy DVD are better rapidly. display is a sizeable exclusive in the middle of Buy DVD Movies amid TVs.except you exercise no time to see the movies or succession on TV, you possibly will procure Discount DVD pictures or understand DVD Movies .so you may perhaps watch the programs finished Avatar DVD . except you give pleasure to, you may possibly each reserve the upright Friends Season DVDs once and for all. barn dance not breakthrough Cheap DVD Movie are unconstrained of outfits,truely it is more participating in than TVs.
nes adultes âgés de 17 à 25 ans dont la situation était très variée : frères jacobs watch sœurs jaeger watch frères et sœurs ou enfant unique. De leur niveau d’optimisme à leur capacité à faire face aux difficultés Iwc watchesmont blanc timewalkerbreitling superocean en passant par leur but dans la vie et l
Anonymous
Guest Mar 04, 2011
9:23 PM
Nike Be True is a celebration of the Nike Dunk, featuring the top 16 most influential Dunks of all time, along with artwork and interviews featuring Haze,Nike Dunk SBView our complete selection of nike air force 1. We offer Nike Dunk ShoesandDunk SB Shoes,sb dunks,dunk high,nike air force ones,SB Blazers and our 100% satisfaction guarantee ...wholesale merchandise Jordan shoes,Cheap Nike Dunk and other products from reliable and professional online stores .
qiao456
Guest Apr 15, 2011
12:46 AM
Each week, we take five actual A+ certificate Exam questions and email them to you. Test your Windows 7 certificate readiness by picking your answers and clicking back to the Network+ benefits page. Our pop quizzes are just a small sample of what you'll find in sy0-201 security Review Courses. All CPAexcel CPA Courses contain complete electronic study text, Network+ certification proficiency questions, 5,100 past CPA Exam questions, 70-685 electronic flashcards, and personalized progress reports and much more.
China News Net June 3 Recently, SARFT mulberry bags uk posted on its official website on the May 2011 shooting in TV drama for the record national publicity, which in the end of the regular notification clear that the recent declaration for the cheap air jordans record, the repertoire of individual resistance and struggle against the enemy in the performance of such content, from the historical reality and real life, there nike air force ones is no margin to fabrications, the resistance and mulberry handbags struggle against the enemy serious entertainment. The repertoire of these problems, administration said this month will be temporarily not publicity, and made adjustment request: hope to make correct agency creative thinking, careful jimmy choo shoes sale adjustment of creative thinking, creative efforts to improve the mulberry alexa bags ideological and artistic level of drama. Advised that in 2011 May, the national TV publicity film productions made for the record to declare a total of 130, 3976 set, agreed to a total of 85 productions publicity, 2523 set. Divided by subject matter, contemporary themes 42, 1183 set, which accounted for 49.41% of the total publicity and 46.89%, of which 30 contemporary set air jordan 2011 a Military Theme, contemporary urban themes 26 774 sets, contemporary mulberry antony bags rural themes 4 100 sets, contemporary set involved 132 subjects 6, 147 contemporary set of five other subjects. Modern theme 3, 81 sets, accounting for 3.53% of total publicity and 3.21%, of which 81 modern set of three other subjects. 34 moder nair jordan 11 themes, 1064 sets, which accounted for 40.0% of the total number of publicity and 42.17%, of which 76 modern biography subject 2 sets, 10 295 Modern Romance theme sets, modern revolutionary mulberry bayswater bags themes 18 559 sets, four other themes of modern 134 sets. Ancient themes 6, 195 sets, which accounted for 7.06% of the total number of publicity and 7.73%, of which women air jordan the ancient theme of two biographies of 60 sets, four themes of ancient legend of 135 sets. Approved the project's major revolution Teleplays head 2, 54 set. Repertoire reported this month, jimmy choo sandals due to incomplete content or procedures not known to the public and other issues provisional total of 45 plays, 1453 set. zlm0607
I like your style so much. You always have great taste prom 2010 dresses on shoes and handbags. I found this great online website cheap bridesmaid dresses online where there are fashionable shoes and handbags sold at wholesale prices. I want to buy this pair of shoes prom style dress. How do you think of it? Can you give me some advice? Thanks a lot!
coach outlet
Guest Aug 04, 2011
6:06 AM
This is [url=http://www.coachs.me]coach outlet[/url] not just an ideological debate
(big company interests vs power to the people) coach handbags it is a very practical issue. Can you allow such as important part of information be controlled by just one company? By comparison, imagine if all
the websites in the world where hosted by the same company and all the networks were controlled by the same organisation. coach purseThat isn't really an Internet is it?
This kit belstaff jacket includes everyt jimmy choo shoes hing you need ugg boots canada to clean and ugg classic cardy protect moncler sale your UGG twin-faced the UGG boot to be able to offer Uggs ireland you considerable measure. So as to give the Ugg jimmy choo shoes sale Classic Tall the special kind of look that will set you apart in the fashion world even during the long snowy months. Dilute the Cleaner & Conditioner with equal proportions. DO ugg bailey button triplet boots NOT apply cleaner and conditioner directly onto Chocolate Ugg Boots.These care products will give your Chocolate Ugg ugg boots classic tall Boots a new long belstaff jackets men lasting look that will ugg bailey button triplet boots carry out with you through any weather. Apply a small amount of diluted Cleaner andConditioner solution to moncler jackets a clean wet sponge. Gently scrub to clean the entire area and rinse boots in clean, cold bailey button uggs water.This care kit is recommended for use only on twin-faced sheepskin boots and ugg fringe boots slippers within the Classic, Ultra and Ultimate Collections.
For this high-end products, a small touch pad design can not be Nikon EN-EL12 Battery Charger overemphasized, positioning accuracy, comfort control, the rationalization of key key way to do as much as possible of course impeccable, Pavilion dv4 touchpad Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 Battery Charger design Obviously for these areas when a lot of effort, matte material supplemented by small particles to enhance the use of hand sanding, the top left corner of the rectangular box area for Nikon Coolpix S220 Battery Charger the touchpad lock, Nikon D70 Battery Charger gently tap twice, you can lock the touch board, locked, the top of the LED in the middle of the touchpad red backlight to be prompt.
Thinnest at the front and rear of the thickest contrast