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Week One
What’s The Big Deal?
I teach and consult on the fundamentals of marketing and business growth. There is no need to get fancy. Over the past 10 years I’ve crashed and burned and launched and soared, my goal is to share with you everything I learned in my career of being a marketer and helping my clients earn more money.
What is a business?
Everyone probably knows how to define a business but just so we’re on the same page let me share the definition I like. This comes from my favorite book “Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman.
The loose definition of a business is, a repeatable process that:
Let’s make it even simpler.
These are the 5 parts to every business:
When starting your business these are the areas that you need to think about. Now let’s make a quick plan for your business, with the 5 parts of a business in mind.
Benefits of planning:
You’ll see this throughout this roadmap. I believe most businesses fail because entrepreneurs don’t respect the importance of planning. Trust me, I’ll remind you.
Quick Business Plan
The purpose of this activity is to just get an idea of the business you’re building. You will make a more detailed business plan later.
These are the questions you’ll need to answer for yourself:
Things to think about:
For more explanation continue to the activity.
Evaluating The Market
Now that you understand what a business is and you have defined YOUR business by doing the Quick Business Plan now it’s time to see if you’re wasting your time with your business idea.
So many business owners work hard on the wrong thing, it’s better to work on the right thing from the get go.
If you’re thinking of starting a new business or expanding an existing business into a new market, it pays to do some research before you leap.
So, what is a market?
A market is defined as the sum total of all the buyers and sellers in the area or region under consideration.
Basically…
If there is demand (Red Ocean Strategy):
If there is already a demand for your product or service then that means people know they have a problem. Now all you have to spend your marketing dollars on showing people you understand their problem and you are the solution. Every strategy has challenges…This is called Red Ocean Stratgey
A red ocean strategy involves competing in industries that are currently in existence. This often requires overcoming an intense level of competition and can often involve the commoditization of the industry where companies are competing mainly on price. For this strategy, the key goals are to beat the competition and exploit existing demand.
If there is NO demand (Blue Ocean Strategy):
If there is no demand for your product or service then you’ll need to create demand. Creating demand will most definitely cost more money because you have to first convince people they have a problem. Once they’re convinced they have a problem, then you have to convince them that you have the solution.
A blue ocean strategy is based on creating demand that is not currently in existence, rather than fighting over it with other companies. You must keep in mind that there is a deeper potential of the marketplace that hasn’t been explored yet. Most blue oceans are created from within red oceans by expanding existing industry boundaries. The key to a successful blue ocean strategy is finding the right market opportunity and making the competition irrelevant.
As you do the next activity think about what your market strategy will be. Operate in an existing market or create a market by innovating something that is in high demand already.
Market Evaluation
The purpose of this activity is to evaluate the market you’re trying to enter. There are many factors that determine a hot or cold market and it’s important to do your preliminary research to avoid wasted time and money. If you fail to plan, then plan to fail. Don’t rely on luck.
These are the factors we are going to score in this activity:
Things to think about:
For more explanation continue to the activity.
Business Formation
Business formation is a necessary early step when starting a business. The way in which your business is formed will determine the personal liability of the founders, how taxes are paid, and other important details.
There are four main types of business structures in the U.S: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) and corporation. Each structure has different tax, income and liability implications for business owners and their companies.
My preferred structure is an LLC. Here’s why:
My preferred structure is an LLC. Here’s why:
Here is where I create all my LLCs and where I recommend you do as well…
Creating Your LLC
The purpose of this activity is to evaluate the market you’re trying to enter. There are many factors that determine a hot or cold market and it’s important to do your preliminary research to avoid wasted time and money. If you fail to plan, then plan to fail. Don’t rely on luck.
These are the factors we are going to score in this activity:
Things to think about:
For more explanation continue to the activity.