How To Grow A Small Business

Post on 13-Sep-2014

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Transcript of How To Grow A Small Business

Oyakhilome

KSSIntegrated Corporate Services Limited

Deciding on a?

• Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur• Step-by-Step Approach– Decide if you really want to be in business– Decide what business and where– Decide whether to start full-time or moonlight

• Selection Strategy• Things to Watch Out For• Required Activities– Comparative Evaluation– How to Evaluate a Specific Business you have in Mind– "For" and "Against" List– Get Completely Qualified

• Decision Time

Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur.• Guts: o you must have an

entrepreneurial instinct. o You must have an overwhelming

desire to have your own business.

o You must have the guts and dedication to be completely devoted to your goal.

"Be able to sustain a financial commitment to whatever business you start."

• Brains: o Plan to start before you start it – Common sense combined with appropriate experience is the necessary brainpower.

• Capital: o You will need seed money of your own plus

sufficient cash to maintain a positive cash flow for at least One year.(In some cases you don't need starting capital to hire other people because you might start by doing everything yourself)

Step-by-Step Approach

Decide if you really want to be in business:You will be putting some (not all, hopefully) of your net worth at risk. You will run the risk of becoming eccentric, meaning creating a life that is out of balance, with working hours taking away from other pleasurable activities. There may be levels of stress you have not experienced as an employee/employer.

Decide what business and where:Once you have decided you have the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and that you definitely want to be in business, then you must decide which business is best for you and where to locate that business. Selection strategy is covered later on in this Session.

Selection StrategySelecting the wrong business is the most frequent mistake that start-up entrepreneurs make. Here is a checklist to help you select a successful one:

Things to Watch Out For:

• Impatience• Do not let overconfidence short-

circuit you from analyzing your selection of businesses carefully. You must not fear of hearing the negative aspects; it is much better to be aware of them and face them early on.

• Be realistic. Do not become lured by high rewards. They will come if you choose the right business and if you understand every aspect of the business before you open its doors.

"To get ahead in this business you do everything to get the job done."

Required ActivitiesThe most common mistake and the most costly one is not picking the right business to begin with. This is the time for soul searching.

•On the top of a blank sheet of paper, write an activity you like to do (make this the heading). Do a separate page for each activity or interest you have.

•On those same sheets list as many businesses you can think of that are related to that activity.

•On the same sheets list all the products or services you can think of that are related to that activity. Use your imagination and think of every possible product or service you could do.

•Make a list of businesses that do better in bad times (one may be appropriate for you). Some examples might be pawnshops, auto repairs and fabric stores.

IF YOU HAVE NOT DECIDED ON A BUSINESS, DO THIS:

HOW to maintain/Grow

a

Small

Business

F A S T

Content1. Startup Marketing2. Developing Structure for your Business3. 4 ways to Grow your Business4. Managing Difficult Employees

Startup MarketingGetting off the ground floor

You have a new product

You want it to go viral

But traditional marketing doesn’t work

1. Buy Ads

4. Make aProfit

Traditionalmarketingmachine

3. Sell MoreProducts

2. Get MoreDistribution

Buy

It doesn’t work because consumers havemore choice and less time

It doesn’t work because startupsdon’t have the money

You need a marketing elevator to get yourstartup off the ground

Push Button to:acquire usersbuild a brandget recommended

1. Build a remarkable product

2. Market to passionate influencers

3. Build loyalty through community management

1. Build a remarkable product

“Something remarkable is worth talking about...It’sa Purple Cow… Remarkable marketing is the art ofbuilding things worth noticing right into your productor service.” Seth Godin

APPLE IPHONE

Remarkable is hard

It takes time to Build

“A lot of times, people don't know whatthey want until you show it to them.”

Steve Jobs

Let’s say you build a remarkable product soinfluential people can’t help but talk about it

The product is the marketing

“”But what if my product isn’t Google?

Watch, Listen and Iterate

Traditional methods

methods

+ R.P.L

Emerging Methods...Social media

Surveys

Interviews

Usability testing

Focus groups +Buy Ads

Make a ProfitSell More Products

Get More Distribution

2. Market to the passionate Influencers

10% influence the purchasingbehavior of the other 90%

Malcolm GladwellThe Tipping Point

Where do you find the influencers?

Ask the question...

Who do my customerslisten to?

Reach the GTBank user......not the “I bank with GTBank user

Hello, I’m GTBank

And I bank with GTBank

Methods

Word of Mouth Marketing

Evangelist MarketingViral MarketingGrassroots MarketingEvangelist MarketingCause Marketing

Brand BloggingBuzz MarketingProduct SeedingReferral ProgramsCommunity Mktg

3. Build loyalty throughCommunity Management

A happy customer is thegreatest endorsement

Basically, it comes down to treat mewell and I’ll return the favor

Be a talk show host...not a preacher

Methods

Give a greatexperience

Give customers a voice

Listen

Foster customerreputations

Engage thecommunity

If you remember anything...

Most successful marketingelevators are about

making lives better

Structure for your Business

Developing