How to start a business
All new entrepreneurs have to figure out on their own how to choose a niche, find a client, and promote a product.
In this article, we will tell you how not to repeat the typical mistakes of novice businessmen, prepare for entering the market and lay the right foundation for your business.
Business starts with an idea. Next comes the choice of a niche, reaching out to your audience and developing a "map" of goods. Below we will analyze all the stages in more detail, but first we will dwell on the common mistakes that beginner entrepreneurs make when starting a business. Read some business book PDF for more info.
At the beginning of the journey, it is logical to look back at the best, but a blind copy of a business idea is not an option. When targeting niche leaders, think about how your product will stand out in the market and become a pioneer in the industry.
Buyer's interests are not in the first place? The client is not interested in the brand, but in what it can give. Make sure that the positioning of your business is on the right track, the customer is clear on the value of your offer, and the brand speaks to more than itself.
How to find an idea
The desire to start your own business does not always give rise to a business idea. If you want to become an entrepreneur, but have no idea what to sell, answer these questions: What do you enjoy doing? What do you want to learn and what do you already know how? What can you do for a client today? Finally, does the client need it?
It makes no sense to run a business if your product does not meet the needs of the buyer - entrepreneurship begins with solving some problem of the client. Before entering the market, check if your offer will be in demand: try to sell the product to the first customers. Analyze what products and services are popular with competitors and why, and compare with yours. A nice guide is Money Master The Game PDF by Anthony Robbins.
If you already have a business idea, ask yourself the same questions anyway, and make sure none of them is confusing.
Count the number of leads
At the very beginning, it is important to focus not on the entire niche, but on a specific segment. Who exactly will benefit from your services and how often will they be used? For example, if you open a make-up studio, your clients can be professional artists, models or ordinary people - decide on whom you will make the main bet. Browse the public domain and use statistics to make your forecast more accurate.
Estimate the audience's solvency
The market can be huge and the profit margins modest. When forming a business plan, proceed not only from the potential coverage, but also the purchasing power of buyers, because the order of the product cost depends on it.
Find out how many competitors you have
Analyze how many offers are on the market and how they are presented - can you stand out? If there are many competitors, focus on a narrower niche.
Define Your Competitive Advantages
Put yourself in the customer's shoes and consider why your brand is better than others. Lower cost of goods shouldn't be the only benefit - don't forget the value of the product in use.
How to reach the target audience
Use appropriate marketing channels to get consumers to know about your product. Find answers to these questions: what sites do potential customers visit, how and where do they go after work, what bloggers and brands are followed, what videos are they watching?
Useful tools will be those like Google AdWords: the services provide monthly statistics on search queries for keywords. For example, this is how the Yandex helper page looks like if you enter the word "yarn" in the search field. Of course, it is worth studyinf some textbook like The essential managers handbook PDF to get a better understanding.
After analyzing the information about the target audience, you can competently build a promotion and gain access to customers.
Start with a list of the problems customers are addressing to your market and come up with services and products that can solve them. Brainstorm and write down everything that comes to mind. From the resulting list, select 3-4 of the most successful products - a "map" of goods, the cost of which will be gradation: from free or very cheap to the most expensive. The usefulness of a product or service should increase in proportion to the price. It is logical if the highest cost for the client will be the guarantor of an individual approach or uniqueness of the offer.