The Right Entrepreneur Mindset

Starting a business can be a bold leap of faith.

So you are planning to start a business of your own! The spirit of entrepreneurship is at the heart of such a venture, no doubt. The challenge, the enthrallment and the exhilaration of being on your own are great rewards that your are unlikely to get while working under an employer or in a company. But before you begin, do a critical assessment, weighing the profitable aspects and the not-so-profitable   outcomes.

To start with, it is commitment and responsibility, without which you won’t be able to sustain your spark, no matter how tenacious you are. Even those long years of experience in management wont suffice unless you are fully prepared, psychological and emotionally to go full throttle. The stress gets too much at times while at other times, the adrenalin rush of self-made success becomes over whelming.

Are you a risk taker parse? Do you have the extra mile of confidence and a never relenting go-getter -spirit? A typical entrepreneur mindset is a combination of such attitudes and mindsets coupled with experience that adds fuel to the fire of competitiveness.

Before plunging ahead with the financial front, sit down quietly in a corner and study yourself objectively. You may use the data from the extensive research you have done to analyze many of the factors involved in such a decision.

Can you handle it?  Are you the right person for this all-important post of an independent entrepreneur?

Attitude Is Everything: The Entrepreneurial Mindset

A successful entrepreneur is nothing but attitude. Having the right mindset alone can fill you with enthusiasm to take control of your destiny and surge ahead with your independent plans. Of course there will be pitfalls and hurdles requiring much deliberation, but the exhilaration that one experiences of being in control, more than compensate for it.

If you have decided to become an entrepreneur, half the task is already done! You have overcome those nagging doubts & fear and come to this decision, which itself calls for great celebration! Surely you deserve an ovation for reinstating your belief in yourself that you are a strong, capable person with the right type of motivation, truly worthy of the rewards entrepreneurship can offer!  And yes, what is this mindset really?

We'll answer that tomorrow. Until then Keep The Focus! 

James A Goins
CEO

IMRECOM LLC

Beware the Dream Snatchers

[Earlier Post , 2007]

HEY! Watch out!

All contact is not good contact. Sometime or another a well-meaning person is going to cross your path with visions and ideas of how you can improve your business to help facilitate their dreams. Beware of these well-meaning folk. They can weave a wonderful web of wonder, but will tangle you up. You will lose sight momentarily of your dreams and visions.

Shake yourself and plant your feet firmly and tactfully send them away. If you don't you'll find yourself searching for ways to accommodate their schemes and you will slowly turn into their tool for exploitation and free labor.

I recently got side-tracked for 72 hours and it was the worst experience of my life. I was actually pissed at myself, and ticked-off at the individual for even approaching me. They didn't even have a written PLAN of action to execute their "vision" and I almost fell for it. Needless to say our company politely said "no thank you."

Beware the Dream Snatchers my friends they are real. They are cunning and they will, if you let them, snatch your dreams away.

Keep the Focus!
James A. Goins

Does Your Business Idea Meet a Need?

It's been said that "people don't know what they want until they see it." I think in many respects this is very true. We are caught up in the day-to-day struggle of life trying to maintain what this 'life' means to us. Then when something new comes along that makes our lives easier we are immediately struck with that 'Ah ha' moment. Then the next thing out of our mouths is, "Why didn't I think of that?!" Or "Man, I've been needing something like this!"

It's up to those individuals who are innovators and visionaries to do that for us. If you happen to be one of those individuals trying to make a difference for yourself and others then your vision still has to meet a need. And remember, everything you may invent or create or devise won't always be received well or be useful...right now. Some inventions, concepts and ideas took root hundreds of years ago, but they simply where not practical at that time. Now they are. Who knew?

Before you leap, look hard.

Venturing into a new area of business requires more than just sharp business acumen. The spark is often set off by an idea, followed by the ability to choose the most appropriate one. Tons of ideas may swarm in your mind, some demure ones, while others are straight-out risky ones.  Like they say, an idea is to a spark, what an opportunity is to a sustained flame.  Opportunity differs vastly from an idea though innumerable people use it interchangeably. An idea should be ideally followed up by a detailed assessment and logical analysis of its feasibility. Tangibility of an idea is very important for the start of a good business proposition. Ideas that effectively translate into opportunity offer great chances of success. Remember, you still have to eat!

But don’t go off willy-nilly and think that every great idea you have will find a home in the market. There is a reason why some ideas work and others don’t. Some are simply not practical…yet. You must examine the marketplace and the niche you desire to enter and see whether or not your “mouse-trap” will catch more mice! Some ideas are behind the times and a remedy or fix is already in place. Other ideas are light-years ahead of their time and may have to sit around a couple of decades before anyone realizes they really do need an entire 20 pound turkey cooked in 2 minutes! Don’t laugh, there’s a little thing called a Flash Oven that can do just that, but the guy had the idea some 20 years ago!

So hopefully you see the most important aspect, perhaps the core, of a successful business development activity is the idea itself. Here we are referring to the pre-strategizing days, the early stages of the business venture. Unfortunately, this aspect of just merely thinking with a fertile open mind goes unnoticed by many ambitious pursuers of businesses.

Asking such pertinent questions in the beginning will prepare you and your business advisor for discussions on assessing the potential of your proposed business. You can also now devise approaches towards handling your markets, tackling your competitors, evaluating your expenses and determining your financial needs. Such an exercise of evaluating the potential for success must be undertaken before elucidating strategies and business plans so that you don’t end up spending time and money on a wasteful venture. A critical assessment of your strength and weaknesses side by side is also crucial for success.

Take this as an initial stage in your feasibility study. The big picture will of course emerge with more meticulous evaluation. This simple check list of suggestions can be particularly useful for you. “Will this particular idea when translated into a business venture yield enough profits to be called a successful one? Can it help you determine your stand on the decision? Can this business sell enough of products to be called a flourishing venture? If need be, make some critical changes to your ideas to permit you to reach your targets. Always remember, an educated, well informed decision based on thorough critical analysis and projections into the future will determine whether you will succeed or fail! 

More tomorrow.

Starting a Business in 2012! Part 4

Part 4.

An Overall Marketing Strategy would include:

• Schemes fo making inroads in the market
• Plans for enhancing your business
• Strategy for establishing conduits for distribution
1. Original equipment manufacturers
2. In-house sales team
3. Distributors or retailers
• Communication strategy.
1. Public relations
2. Promotions
3. Personal selling
4. Advertising
5. Printed materials
• Catalogues
• Brochures
• Flyers

Sales Strategy includes:

• A sales force strategy. You can either have the members of your sales force, if you plan to have one, as your direct employees or as independent agents. You have to work out the number of salespeople that you wish to have in your sales force and the recruitment strategies that you will adopt. You should also establish the training programs and the compensation package for the sales force.

• Your sales activities.  Your sales strategy should consist of several activities, which should be clearly defined. Some of these activities are:

1)    Identifying your prospective customers

2)    Prioritizing the list of your prospective customers

3)    Establishing the number of sales calls that you plan to make in a specified amount of time

4)    Estimating the average number of sales calls that would be required for each sale

5)    Working out the average revenue earned from each sale

6)    Calculating the average revenue per vendor 

Service or Product Line

The description of your product or service should be included in this section. You should also highlight how your product or service will prove beneficial to your potential customers.

You have to zoom in on the plus points of your products or services identifying their distinct advantages. You should also highlight the deficiencies in the existing target market which your product or service would solve.

This section includes:

• A thorough explanation of your product or service.
• Pertinent data regarding the life cycle of your product.
• Any relevant copyright, patent, and trade secret information of your product.

• Details of the research and development activities being undertaken at present or being planned for the future.

Funding Request 

This section should include the amount of funding that you would be requesting for, to start the business. You can indicate the high and low limits for the funding in different situations. The following should be clearly defined:

• Your present requirement of funds
• Amount of funding that might be required over the next five years
• How you propose to utilize the funds that you receive

While detailing the above aspects, you should indicate how much money is required now and how much is required in the future. You should also mention the period of time to be covered for each request, and the type and terms of the funding that would like to apply for.

Your creditors will be extremely concerned about how you will utilize the funds. As such, you should indicate clearly in this section whether the funding is for capital expenditure, working capital, debt retirement, or acquisitions.

Finally, you must include all pertinent information about your business that you feel might have a repercussion on the fiscal situation at a later date.

You should always control the copies of your business plan and maintain a record of the people who have been given these copies. Essentially you’ll be sharing your plan of attack with potential competitors so you’ve got to be careful. It is essential you cover your six. A private placement disclaimer must be included in your business plan, especially if you need to raise capital with it. 

------------------

I hope this overview will be helpful to you as you move through 2012. Remember: Plan your work, then work your plan.

James A. Goins

CEO

IMRECOM LLC

IAIP | Do We Really Need Another Association?

IAIP | Do We Really Need Another Association?

Starting a Business in 2012! Part 3

Company Description 

This section should give an overview of the functioning of the various elements of your business with relation to each other. Information should be provided regarding the type of your business along with the various basic reasons why you have full faith in the ultimate success of your venture.

While describing the type of your business, it is very important to specify the various areas of the market whose needs are your primary target. You should also indicate how you plan to project your products and services as the ideal solutions to cater to those market needs. In the end you should make a specific list of organizations and/or people who, you think, would require your products or services.

In order to show a high chance of success in your proposed business, you have to demonstrate the following: high level of competence to be able to cater to the needs of your customers, well-organized systems of delivery of your products or services, exceptional staff, or a strategic location. Every one of these factors would put you far ahead of your competitors.

Organization & Management 

You should include the following in this section:

• The organizational structure of your company
• Your company’s ownership details
• Qualifications and experience details of each member of your management team
• Profiles of your board of directors

Organizational Structure

An organizational chart should be made with explanations regarding the elements of the chart. This is an effective way to demonstrate the construction of your company and it establishes the fact that the duties, responsibilities and powers of all the members of the team have been carefully planned. This also proves that no aspect has been overlooked and that all functions of the company are well-controlled.

Ownership Information

The legal build-up of your business and the ownership details should be included in this section. The following information should be provided:

• Owners’ names
• What is each owner’s share of ownership?
• How much is each owner involved in the company?
• Types of ownership

Management Profiles

It has been established that the success of any company depends upon the competence and past performance record of its owner/management.

Board of Directors' Qualifications

The main advantage of having a board of directors is that they function like an unpaid board of advisors providing expert advice that might be difficult for your company to afford otherwise. Moreover, the credibility of your company is greatly enhanced as a result of the presence of famous and successful managers/business owners on your board.

Marketing and Sales Strategies 

Your company lives on sales and marketing which involves getting customers to whom you can sell your products or services. Marketing strategy should, therefore, be very dynamic and it should be clearly spelt out in this section. Basically your marketing strategy should be moving with the times and should be a constant process of self-evaluation, specifically adapted to your business.

Conclusion tomorrow...