Collins Street Business Centre
Chapter Four: Strategies for entrepreneurial success
As a telecommuting entrepreneur, you can do business with companies all over the world
Many telecommuters are entrepreneurs, people who work for themselves, or with a small team, in their own business.
If you're considering becoming an entrepreneur, the first step is to create a business plan, and a marketing plan for your new business.
Your business plan
Your business plan is vital. Many entrepreneurs let their account build their business plan, and the plan is only used to borrow money from a bank or another source. This is a mistake. Your business plan is the heart of your business. Write the plan yourself, and keep it current. Your business plan will tell you immediately when something will not work – look on it as a warning bell, chiming loud and clear.
You can write your business plan on an index card, but it's worth spending some time on it, because you'll find that it's a potent source of ideas.
Your business plan contains:
A summary. This is your business in outline, and shouldn’t be longer than a page. It covers the nature of the business, the missions, the products and the strategy;
A description of the business. What is the business's structure? Is it a sole-trading concern, or a partnership? What capital has been invested in the business, and by whom? List your products. Do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis for each product;
Your marketing plan (see below);
Your financial plan;
And, if you're looking for funding for the business, you'll need to include a description of the principals of the business, and any relevant documents, such as financial statements.
The road map to success: your marketing plan
A basic marketing plan is easy to create – you can create the structure within half an hour. Here are the steps:
Step one:
Assess your situation
Your mantra: profits lead to success! Take into consideration your products and services, the amount of money coming in and going out, your clients, your advertising and promotions, and your brand.
Make a list of your strengths, as well as your challenges. The idea is to work on your challenges, and concentrate on turning them into strengths. Then, work on your strengths, to make them more valuable.
Also, focus on your customers. What do they need?
Step two: Find a marketing tactic that will work for you
What strengths can you build on? Your aim is to develop a strategy that makes you stand out from your competitors. What's unique about you? What can you provide that your customers need?
Step three: Develop a marketing strategy
Your marketing strategy is a process that you will follow. It should build on Step two – your uniqueness.
For example, if you were providing lawn care services, your unique attribute might be that you're a garden designer. Your marketing strategy would be to link garden design and garden care in all your marketing activities, so that you create a brand. Take into consideration your products, your services, where and how these are delivered, the prices you charge, and the promotions you will develop to get your company name into the public arena. Your promotions could include advertising, press releases, and sponsorships – many businesses limit themselves to advertising.
Step four: Measure your results
You need a ay to measure your success. An increase in revenue signals that your marketing plan is working. Corporations have intricate and expensive ways to track results, but yours can be simpler – just ask people how they learned about you. If you remember to do this, you'll soon discover which promotions are working for you. You can also track sales by the each month's promotions.
Funding your entrepreneurial venture
You can fund your entrepreneurial venture in several ways, including self-funding, bank loans, overdrafts, and venture capital.
Self-funding
Self-funding is an excellent way to fund your venture. It's efficient, it doesn’t involve huge risks, and because it pares everything down to essentials, it can make you wealthy. The advantage of self-funding is that it starts your venture slowly, giving you time to gain experience, you also save money in interest payments. However, it does mean that your business may not grow as quickly as it could, because you don't have the money to for a real marketing push.
Bank loans
To get a loan from a bank, your first step is to create a business plan. You also need to think about collateral. For most people this means borrowing against the value of their biggest asset: their home. Before you visit the bank, see your accountant, and go over your business plan with him.
You can save money on your loan by shopping around for the best rates, not only in interest, but also in fees and charges.
The danger period for new businesses, at nine to 12 months
Many new entrepreneurial ventures hit the wall at somewhere between nine and 12 months. This is because the initial excitement of the venture has dissipated, funds ran out because the new business person wasn't aware of associated costs (like insurance), and because the new business person wasn't aware of business cycles.
All businesses go through quiet times. An experienced business person is aware of these, and has procedures in place which he immediately implements when it appears that business is slowing.
Here's how to smash through the wall:
Keep money in the bank for unexpected bills;
Stay positive, realize that all businesses go through slow times;
Kick your marketing into high gear. If there's no money for advertising, send out some press releases, cold call prospects, and generally try to shake the money tree;
Do some work on spec, or for barter;
Borrow money – as a last resort.
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