Common Steps to Becoming an Entrepreneur

There are two main ways to become an entrepreneur. The first way is through franchising a company that already exists, and the second way is by building your own company from the ground up as a start up company. Franchises are usually expensive from the start because the entrepreneur has to pay several thousands of dollars in order to purchase the right to go into business for themselves under an existing companies marketing and entrepreneurial strategies. Franchisees receive everything that they need to succeed from the original business owner once they pay the franchise fee. Furthermore they receive training, advertisements, staff, logos, uniforms, a storefront and various other business tools that they must adhere to as a part of their entrepreneurial endeavor.

When it comes to creating a start up business from scratch, most of the aforementioned business tools are a direct result of the business owner making a conscious effort to incorporate them into his or her overall business plan. Which leads me to one of the most important steps to becoming an entrepreneur, that is writing a business plan. A business plan does not have to be really long, actually brevity and conciseness are highly valued. Over the years, the business plan will change, it may get longer due to new additions that the owner has decided to implement, or the owner may decide that some of the plans are no longer ideal for the direction in which the company is now headed. Nonetheless, the business plan is a vital tool for the start up entrepreneur, it is like his roadmap for his business goals, as well as his compass to encourage other people who see the business to see where he is going and encourage them to head in the same direction.

Another step as an entrepreneur to a start up company is deciding on the name, logo, and marketing strategy for your company. I have learned that small business owners have to constantly market their company in order to be successful. Marketing is not a step that business owners should put to the side or wait until they feel they can afford a marketing specialist. They must take matters into their own hands immediately and begin marketing as soon as, and sometimes even before they open their business in order to get customers.

 

The more customers one has the more help one may need to keep up with all of the business. This may mean planning to hire employees to help with the demand of your product or service. Once you hire employees, you will be responsible for getting them trained on the company operates, how to provide great customer service, and making sure that the employees are paid on time and in full. These are just a few steps that most entrepreneurs of start up companies can look forward to eventually.

The Elevator Pitch & Entrepreneurs

The elevator pitch is important to all people who are in the business of selling, but to entrepreneurs the elevator pitch is fundamental. It can be the key to opportunity in 60 seconds literally found on an elevator. Most entrepreneurs already have a mission and vision for their business plan. The elevator pitch is where you want to introduce not only yourself, but your company to a complete stranger. If you had to introduce yourself, you would want to put your best foot forward, without boring the person. Something in your speech should spark interest in the listener to urge him or her to learn more about you.

The same principle applies to the elevator speech, you want to give the listener enough information about your business to understand what it does, who it serves, and why there is a need for your company. If you give the listener surprising facts about what you do and who  you target as it relates to your company, that’s an even better way to grab their attention and get them to ask you more questions.

Once you have them asking more questions the hard part is over, you can help them learn more about your business by extending the conversation right then and there, or giving them a direct response with helpful tips that may require them to visit your website, or you can hand them a business card, and exchange information in order to follow up with them over the phone.

One of the best things about the elevator pitch is that it acts a door opener. Once you have developed, practiced, and polished your elevator speech, it can help you attract new customers just about anywhere you have 60 seconds to spare.

Ways to Market Your Small Business (Publicity)

There are several ways a small business owner can get attention for his or her company. Marketing, advertising, and publicity are key when it comes to a business being recognized. Marketing has to do with a business doing market research to find out their markets preferences in order to better advertise to the target group. Advertising is the actual print, audiovisual, or graphic presentation used to catch a consumer’s attention. Advertising can be done by newspaper, magazine, television, or radio. Small businesses often advertise in newspapers because they are usually the least expensive. Radio advertisements are used often as well, more so  than television advertisements, due to the expensive prices that can occur after promoting a business to television viewers.

Nonetheless, when it comes to paying for advertising, nothing beats good old fashioned, positive publicity. Publicity is advertisement that the company does not have to pay for directly. Publicity can occur when a company is doing a charitable deed, or when a company has caught the attention of the local media.

As long as the publicity is positive, it helps project a positive perception of the company onto potential consumers. Not to mention that it can help current consumers feel good about their decision to invest in your company.

 

The Road to Success for a New Small Business

Over the past few month’s I have come to learn a lot about business and entrepreneurship. One thing that stands out most is the fact that in order for your business to be successful, you have to be different from the competitors. For example, your company has to have some type of niche that the other companies just don’t get too. Or, maybe your company doesn’t have a specific niche in its service or product, maybe your company, chooses to market to a specific target group in a certain region that the competitors have not yet marketed to. This is what helps a small business to be successful in its early stages.

After the business, is doing well and thriving from their target market, the business will usually build up a list of faithful clientele who like the product or service and are willing to give repeat business. Maintaining sales from repeat customers is crucial in small business success. These are the customers who will not only bring in money to your company, but will more than likely bring in new business by word of mouth.

Word of mouth business is when your customers share their positive experiences with people in their network, and encourage those people to check out your business. Your job as a small business owner, is to have staff in place and products and supplies ready to meet the demands of new business that may come your way as a result of  “word of mouth marketing.” One must always be ready to make money.

Another helpful tip on the road to success in small business is to try to be innovative and creative. With currently technology, updates are being made to equipment on a daily basis. Major companies spend thousands of dollars to come up with the newest additions to their technology to keep customers interested in the company itself and coming back to purchase the innovative products. This not only applies to companies that sell physical products, but to companies that offer services as well. Small businesses owners who sell services should constantly think of innovative ways to help their customers enjoy their experience with your service even more. This includes getting customer verbal and written feedback, paying for market research and development, and learning from other industry leaders to find out what works and doesn’t work for them. All of these are tips that as a new small business owner you will be sure to encounter along your journey.