Will This Work?
Jumping In With Both Feet As A New Business Owner
By: Sandi Krakowski
When we start a new business so many questions can run through our mind. Things like:
“Will this work?”
“Is this something I can make money on?”
“Should I be doing this?”
…..are just a small sampling of the common questions that can plague the new business owner. Imagine if you will, that there is a coach who knows everything. They can just look at an idea and know if it will fly. Let’s say there is such a coach who anyone can bring their their business plans to. This person is able to tell others, “Yes that will work and be very profitable” or “No that’s a failing idea and that won’t work at all.” Such a coach, if there was one, would dominate the marketplace and be the “Go To” person of all business owners. Rest assured, there isn’t such a person. No one knows what can work or not work, what will be profitable and what will not just by reviewing documents and ideas from beginning business owners.
Back in reality however, there are a few things every new business owner must take into consideration before putting their eggs into one basket believing their great business idea is going to build millions-
1. Market Research– it’s so important to know the climate where you wish to launch your business. Here’s a big key- is it being done by someone else already? If it’s not, there’s a very good reason for that. Because it won’t work! You want to find successful and profitable business models and then add your unique attributes and ‘spin’ to things. This is how you come up with a million dollar idea. Do something others have done but do it so uniquely YOU go farther!
Let’s say you want to sell lambswool baby rugs for inside of a crib. My son had one of these as a little guy and it was very beneficial to him. It helped him sleep longer, have less tummy issues and he grew up loving it even late into life. Today, he even has a lambswool pillow case!
Begin doing research on where these lambswool items are being currently sold. Look at all the websites you can find. Do research that leaves no stone unturned. (like hours worth, not just one day!) Become so familiar with what is out in the marketplace with your perspective niche that you can tell the pros and cons in your field.
Who is the best? What are the mistakes people are making? What are customers asking for? This can lead you to something very unique. Find the need that people have and if it’s within your ability to do so, fill it. Give an excellent experience with the purchase. Offer incredible customer service. Really care about your customers. This my friends is what a good business is made up of.
2. Current Demand – Can you fix a problem and do it in such a unique way that everyone wants to be a part of it? Take fitness, for example.
Fitness is common, right? But dancing and doing choreographed kickboxing moves are not! Chalene Johnson has created many videos and DVD’s that BeachBody sells all over the world. She took a common thing- fitness and dance and created an uncommon solution. It’s fun and people love doing it! (Including yours truly!)
Here’s another one- Teaching people how to blog, use WordPress and build a website with a small budget is not uncommon. But most of the current training venues out there, courses, books, DVD’s and videos, are all full of ‘geek speak’ that confuse people half to death! We decided to “KISS- Keep It Simple Silly!” and have been hugely successful with our step-by-step courses that range from WordPress, to Web Copywriting, to Email Marketing and more. Growing a business with more than 80,000 clients in under 9 months we started and that later grew to over 1.8 million clients PROVES it was an ‘in demand and a unique offering’ people love!
3. Financial Considerations– It makes me very concerned when people purchase training courses and business opportunity kits like they do a lottery ticket. Now I’ve built businesses and pulled myself out of massive debt, but this is different. Making a decision to buy a business opportunity so that you can work hard real fast and pay off your past due bills is really not wise if you’ve never run a business before… or worse yet know nothing about business.
Learning to develop your marketing skills, write amazing copy, how to speak to your ideal client, write a blog and market any product is more important than anything else you could learn.
It’s going to take some money to learn marketing and start a business, so be prepared to invest some money. But if you put your marketing training above anything else it has been my experience that people begin to earn a profit MUCH more quickly than if you put it last.
Many new business owners get so caught up in the idea phase of business they forget that more important in all of your business building activities is Marketing. Even a ‘brilliant’ idea can fail if marketing is not done correctly. Sometimes a ‘not so good’ product can do well when marketing is done amazingly!
This is one of the biggest reasons why I created my entry level of our Inner Circle Mastermind, where the focus of our program is marketing. It’s not a website assessment, audit, counseling session for dreams or hand holding to creating new ideas- it’s a strategic step by step online marketing mentorship putting into the hands of a beginner the keys they need to market and be successful online, QUICKLY.
When we understand what it takes to get a website up and running, how to craft a great opt in offer, write auto responders that build rapport and connect for us with our prospective clients 24/7, write newsletters, create amazing sales page and set up a shopping cart- the reality is this- we’ve now covered the hardest part that so many people miss. Finding the right product or service is actually much easier!
When we get our marketing in order, and we we learn how to launch something into the marketplace, find our ideal client, create a tight-knit growing list, offer and message, than the issue becomes, “What do we sell?” Far too many times people spend most of their time in product development phase and they present something to the marketplace without any marketing abilities or without even knowing if the market wants what they have. Worse yet, they have NO ONE to sell to.
“Will this work?” It’s the question every business owner asks themselves. A better question would be, “Do I know how to market this?” Now that you know what to begin in your online business career, finding the ideal product and service will be a lot easier. Because a big part of marketing is finding your ideal client and everything they need.
With love,
Sandi Krakowski
