The first thing you need to do when you run your Beer Mat test for your online business is to go to a bar. The reason is that they have an endless supply of beer mats and also you want to be in a relaxed environment and let you mind wonder. Take a friend with you because you will get better results with a bit of banter. Take your laptop with and find a bar with wireless connection.
I like the Beer Mat test because it can be fun and its normally quite inspiring. For those who dont know what the Beer Mat test is, it is a simple calculation on your business idea to see if the money or market stacks up.
What should the equation look like?
You need to find out if the money that you get out covers the money and time that you put in. Or rather if the business makes more money than it spends. Work out a total revenue column and a total cost column.
Online businesses are amazing because you can have access to a wide range of markets right there in the bar. Start with some thing that interests you and use applications like
Google Trends
Quantcast
Alexa
to find out what the market is like and if there is enough traffic and money for you to take a slice of the action. You might find that specific niche that will give you thousands of clicks every month.
So lets say that your income is derived from clicks. Write down how many clicks you think you can generate every month from a particular market. Now write down what each click is worth. When you multiply these numbers you will see what your beer mat has to say about income.
Now work out how many clicks you need to do to make this a reality. Lets boil this down to time. If you write 30 words a minute and you need to write 2 articles a day with 400 words in them to make the number of clicks then you have the time it will take to make this business work.
After a couple of clicks and some research on the net, not to mention a couple of beers and probably a couple of Beer Mats you should have an online business plan that you can get to work on.
Friday, 12 March 2010
The 1 reason you don't make money Online!
If you think that you make money online then you are mistaken. You make money from ideas. In fact you make money from just 1 idea. Finding that 1 idea may take trying different ideas but ultimately its just 1 idea that makes you money.
So why dont you make money online. Well I say this because you will come up with the idea in your mind. Its this power in your mind to come up with ideas and turn them into money that separates most entrepreneurs from the rest of the bunch. Sure there are mechanisms on line for money to change hands but really its the idea that makes money and that happens in your mind.
There are going to be different technical mechanisms for processing a transaction but first and foremost you need to have an idea.
So how do you come up with an idea that is going to make money?
1- First off you need to know what your market is. This market needs to have some distinct characteristics like size and money. It needs to be large enough and have enough money changing hands that you can have some of the action too.
2- You need to be good at what you do. People want to buy from someone who knows what they are talking about. If reassures them that they are making the right decision and they dont need to look elsewhere for the information or service or product. Like Ben and Jerry Ice Cream, you know its good because it tastes good. It does what it says and it does it every time.
3- In order to get good you need experience and also some guidance. If you can have someone show you what ideas work and what ideas dont then you can cut straight to the chase and get good at doing the things the work.
4- You need to be passionate. People see passion even when you are not directly in front of them. Most people will buy into passion because they know that even if that person does no know right now they will find the right way later and in a way it becomes an investment that will bear fruit one day.
You may not make money online, you make money from ideas but you still need to know how to translate those ideas into money be it online or offline.
So why dont you make money online. Well I say this because you will come up with the idea in your mind. Its this power in your mind to come up with ideas and turn them into money that separates most entrepreneurs from the rest of the bunch. Sure there are mechanisms on line for money to change hands but really its the idea that makes money and that happens in your mind.
There are going to be different technical mechanisms for processing a transaction but first and foremost you need to have an idea.
So how do you come up with an idea that is going to make money?
1- First off you need to know what your market is. This market needs to have some distinct characteristics like size and money. It needs to be large enough and have enough money changing hands that you can have some of the action too.
2- You need to be good at what you do. People want to buy from someone who knows what they are talking about. If reassures them that they are making the right decision and they dont need to look elsewhere for the information or service or product. Like Ben and Jerry Ice Cream, you know its good because it tastes good. It does what it says and it does it every time.
3- In order to get good you need experience and also some guidance. If you can have someone show you what ideas work and what ideas dont then you can cut straight to the chase and get good at doing the things the work.
4- You need to be passionate. People see passion even when you are not directly in front of them. Most people will buy into passion because they know that even if that person does no know right now they will find the right way later and in a way it becomes an investment that will bear fruit one day.
You may not make money online, you make money from ideas but you still need to know how to translate those ideas into money be it online or offline.
Top 5 sales tips for your Startup Business!
Most new Startup Businesses are built by someone who has expert knowledge on a particular subject. You may be an accountant or a lawyer or maybe you just really enjoy Ice Cream and want to make your own brand of Ice Cream.
For most people who start a business they know how to do what they do and they jump in the deep end. Most of the people I know did not start out in life saying "When I grow up I want to be a Sales Man".
So how do you make sales when you are not a sales man?
1- Ask open ended questions and let your client give you the answer. Always keep in mind that the reason your client is sitting in front of you is because he has a challenge that he does not know how to solve. By asking him about that challenge you will be able to determine what the challenge is.
2- Listen to your client. Remember that it is HIS challenge you are trying to solve and if you engage with him then you will be able to find out exactly what that challenge is. If you are already talking before he has explained his situation then he will stop talking and that's when you have a problem.
3- Ask your client how they see themselves solving this challenge? Important to note that you are still asking questions and listening to the answers. This is a great question because you already know they dont know how to solve their situation or they would not be talking to you. By asking this question you will find out what they have already done and what you can change when you do give your proposal.
4- Now you need to quantify the challenge. Ask your client what the cost is of not solving this challenge. By quantifying this challenge you will be able to put a price on your solution. If your client says it will only cost him $100 then maybe you give him free advice and he feels he got more value than he expected and if he says its going to cost him $1000 then you charge him $100 to reduce his cost to $500 which effectively cost him $600 and he saves $400. You will have to know your own pricing strategy.
5- Ask for the sale by using the word "IF". Say something like IF I could reduce your cost to $600 and save you $400, what would your thoughts be? By asking for the sale like this, there is no pressure to say yes or no, you are just asking what he thinks. You dont have to feel like a high pressure sale man and you get to hear what if any his objections are. If he says "that sounds great", you stand up and say in his own words "Great, Ill get the papers drawn up" and if he says, "I dont know", you go back to step 1 and repeat the process until you have an agreement that you are both happy with.
You dont need to be a Sales Man to make sales, you just need to listen to your client and offer a solution that works for both of you.
For most people who start a business they know how to do what they do and they jump in the deep end. Most of the people I know did not start out in life saying "When I grow up I want to be a Sales Man".
So how do you make sales when you are not a sales man?
1- Ask open ended questions and let your client give you the answer. Always keep in mind that the reason your client is sitting in front of you is because he has a challenge that he does not know how to solve. By asking him about that challenge you will be able to determine what the challenge is.
2- Listen to your client. Remember that it is HIS challenge you are trying to solve and if you engage with him then you will be able to find out exactly what that challenge is. If you are already talking before he has explained his situation then he will stop talking and that's when you have a problem.
3- Ask your client how they see themselves solving this challenge? Important to note that you are still asking questions and listening to the answers. This is a great question because you already know they dont know how to solve their situation or they would not be talking to you. By asking this question you will find out what they have already done and what you can change when you do give your proposal.
4- Now you need to quantify the challenge. Ask your client what the cost is of not solving this challenge. By quantifying this challenge you will be able to put a price on your solution. If your client says it will only cost him $100 then maybe you give him free advice and he feels he got more value than he expected and if he says its going to cost him $1000 then you charge him $100 to reduce his cost to $500 which effectively cost him $600 and he saves $400. You will have to know your own pricing strategy.
5- Ask for the sale by using the word "IF". Say something like IF I could reduce your cost to $600 and save you $400, what would your thoughts be? By asking for the sale like this, there is no pressure to say yes or no, you are just asking what he thinks. You dont have to feel like a high pressure sale man and you get to hear what if any his objections are. If he says "that sounds great", you stand up and say in his own words "Great, Ill get the papers drawn up" and if he says, "I dont know", you go back to step 1 and repeat the process until you have an agreement that you are both happy with.
You dont need to be a Sales Man to make sales, you just need to listen to your client and offer a solution that works for both of you.
The top 1 way to build your online business!
If you have decided to make money online then you have probably already found out that there is a lot of information out there and its quite difficult to sort through it and find how to actually make money. Everyone is claiming that their way is going to make '000,s if not '000 000,s and then you will be able to live the happy life and only work when you want to.
So how do you sort the boys from the men and find that Top 1 way to make money online and build your online business?
I always tell people that they need to find the way that works for them. In fact you will find that 1 top way to make money online and build your online business but first you need to know what all the different ways are and make an informed decision. You need to know how you want to do it and then you need to stick to that one way and get really good at it.
A little bit like building a house, you need to lay the foundations and then build your house on solid foundations. If you dont get good at just one way and are always changing to the next best thing then you will never build a solid foundation and your house will always fall down. This will make you frustrated and you will leave to find the next thing.
To prove this point Id like to ask you to go and ask your friends and family and colleagues about their careers. You will probably notice a patter similar to this:
-In their first years they were learning and getting all the boring jobs and they always had to show how eager they were to prove themselves.
-By year two or three they were still learning and demonstrating their eagerness but they were starting to get into some of the better projects and it became a bit more interesting.
-By year four and five they were still learning and now people were starting to ask them to join some of the better projects before they even asked.
-By year ten they were still learning and now they were starting to share that knowledge and were the ones being able to ask the year four and five to join the projects.
By contrast the people who got to year two and were starting give up and say Ill never get a break and go off to do something else were probably on the brink of getting the better job or getting onto the better project just when they gave up.
Building your online business is going to be similar except that you will be able to decide how quickly you learn. You will be able to speed up that process.
OK so what to do next?
First you need to see what different ways there are and get a feel for what you want to do. Once you know what you want to do you need to learn and practice that top 1 way until you are making all the money you want.
So how do you sort the boys from the men and find that Top 1 way to make money online and build your online business?
I always tell people that they need to find the way that works for them. In fact you will find that 1 top way to make money online and build your online business but first you need to know what all the different ways are and make an informed decision. You need to know how you want to do it and then you need to stick to that one way and get really good at it.
A little bit like building a house, you need to lay the foundations and then build your house on solid foundations. If you dont get good at just one way and are always changing to the next best thing then you will never build a solid foundation and your house will always fall down. This will make you frustrated and you will leave to find the next thing.
To prove this point Id like to ask you to go and ask your friends and family and colleagues about their careers. You will probably notice a patter similar to this:
-In their first years they were learning and getting all the boring jobs and they always had to show how eager they were to prove themselves.
-By year two or three they were still learning and demonstrating their eagerness but they were starting to get into some of the better projects and it became a bit more interesting.
-By year four and five they were still learning and now people were starting to ask them to join some of the better projects before they even asked.
-By year ten they were still learning and now they were starting to share that knowledge and were the ones being able to ask the year four and five to join the projects.
By contrast the people who got to year two and were starting give up and say Ill never get a break and go off to do something else were probably on the brink of getting the better job or getting onto the better project just when they gave up.
Building your online business is going to be similar except that you will be able to decide how quickly you learn. You will be able to speed up that process.
OK so what to do next?
First you need to see what different ways there are and get a feel for what you want to do. Once you know what you want to do you need to learn and practice that top 1 way until you are making all the money you want.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Top 1 way to build your startup business!
There is only one way to build your startup business and thats to stick to what you do well!
When successful companies startup their business they pick the one thing that they are going to do and they do it very well. Im sure you have heard the saying "Jack of all trades and Master of none". Well what I am going to show you is exactly why you need to pick your top 1 way to build your business.
McDonalds does burgers
Microsoft does programming
IBM makes computers
What do you do. In order to succeed and build a powerful startup business you need to pick the one thing that you do well and learn to do it better and here is how.
First you need to find the one right way of doing what you do. Your area of expertise is probably a technical one, maybe you are a builder. By being able to describe the one way that you build and the one reason that you build use that approach will give your customers the confidence that you know what you are doing and that they can expect the same one result every time.
Now Im no builder so I cant explain how you should go about doing your job so let me tell you what I do, I am a consultant specialising in startup entrepreneurial businesses. I help young businesses focus their efforts to achieve their goals. I have spent years finding different ways to achieve goals with entrepreneurs and there are many ways but what works is to pick the one way that you are going to use and use it repeatedly.
So what do I need to do now?
Pick 1 customer or group of customers
Pick 1 product or genre of products
Pick 1 message to convey
Pick 1 channel through which to communicate that message
Pick 1 method of delivering that product
Pick 1 and stick to that one
By focusing your efforts into just 1 you will soon start to see that you can streamline your business and make profit instead of spreading yourself thin and losing money.
When successful companies startup their business they pick the one thing that they are going to do and they do it very well. Im sure you have heard the saying "Jack of all trades and Master of none". Well what I am going to show you is exactly why you need to pick your top 1 way to build your business.
McDonalds does burgers
Microsoft does programming
IBM makes computers
What do you do. In order to succeed and build a powerful startup business you need to pick the one thing that you do well and learn to do it better and here is how.
First you need to find the one right way of doing what you do. Your area of expertise is probably a technical one, maybe you are a builder. By being able to describe the one way that you build and the one reason that you build use that approach will give your customers the confidence that you know what you are doing and that they can expect the same one result every time.
Now Im no builder so I cant explain how you should go about doing your job so let me tell you what I do, I am a consultant specialising in startup entrepreneurial businesses. I help young businesses focus their efforts to achieve their goals. I have spent years finding different ways to achieve goals with entrepreneurs and there are many ways but what works is to pick the one way that you are going to use and use it repeatedly.
So what do I need to do now?
Pick 1 customer or group of customers
Pick 1 product or genre of products
Pick 1 message to convey
Pick 1 channel through which to communicate that message
Pick 1 method of delivering that product
Pick 1 and stick to that one
By focusing your efforts into just 1 you will soon start to see that you can streamline your business and make profit instead of spreading yourself thin and losing money.
Startup Business Success - How to find just one Customer!
Whether you are starting out in business or you have been in business a long time you will always be looking to make sales. The best way to make a sale is to look for only one customer.
You see customers are people that want to be treated like individuals. Some times ad campaigns talk about a shotgun approach where you fire off messages in a broad direction and hope something sticks and rifle approach where you aim directly t your target audience. When it come to making a sale you should always aim your rifle at a single customer.
The benefit to this is that your customer will feel that he or she is being looked after. If you go into a sale thinking of all the other sales you need to or want to make then you will not be paying attention to your customer that is right in front of you.
If you are paying attention to your one customer then you will be able to listen to that one customer and find out what their needs and wants are. Forget about everyone else, they will get their turn but right now the most important customer is the one you are targeting.
So where can I apply this approach? There are endless environments from internet sales to aerospace to advertising sales to the corner shop in fact any business you are in just give it a go and see how well it works. The next customer you have the pleasure of serving, make him feel like he is the only person in the world and spend just that extra bit of time getting to know him.
You will soon see how finding just one customer will turn boost your sales and your reputation.
You see customers are people that want to be treated like individuals. Some times ad campaigns talk about a shotgun approach where you fire off messages in a broad direction and hope something sticks and rifle approach where you aim directly t your target audience. When it come to making a sale you should always aim your rifle at a single customer.
The benefit to this is that your customer will feel that he or she is being looked after. If you go into a sale thinking of all the other sales you need to or want to make then you will not be paying attention to your customer that is right in front of you.
If you are paying attention to your one customer then you will be able to listen to that one customer and find out what their needs and wants are. Forget about everyone else, they will get their turn but right now the most important customer is the one you are targeting.
So where can I apply this approach? There are endless environments from internet sales to aerospace to advertising sales to the corner shop in fact any business you are in just give it a go and see how well it works. The next customer you have the pleasure of serving, make him feel like he is the only person in the world and spend just that extra bit of time getting to know him.
You will soon see how finding just one customer will turn boost your sales and your reputation.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Startup Business Team - How to build your team!
When you are building a startup business you will want to have a team of people. This team of people are going to be your go to team. They will provide support, information, skills, experience and contacts.
The team that you need to build will depend on the needs of the business. I like to break down my team into different genres.
-Generic
-Industry specific
-Motivational
Generic
Generic team members are members that will have skills that are transferable across industries. These will include Legal, Accounting. You can use these in different industries and you will probably develop a relationship with these people and make use of their skills sporadically. They may do you accounts monthly or just help you set up your company. You may need a lawyer to check new contracts with suppliers or partners.
Industry specific
These team members are going to be key to the success of your business because they will have contacts and knowledge of the industry you are going into. These contacts will help you identify opportunities and also help you avoid pitfalls in your industry. When it comes to hiring people your industry specific team members will be able to help you find the best people for the job.
Motivational
These team members are the people who support you. They come in all shapes and sizes. Motivational team members may be family members, friends and most importantly people who have build a business and know how to guide you through growing your business. These will be some of the most important relationships you have. A mentor is a great person to have on your team especially if they are a successful multimillionaire who can introduce you to other contacts. He may be able to help you find the generic and industry specific team members that you need to build your startup business.
When you first start out try and find team members who will give you their time for free. Later when you have some success you should search out and pay for the best advice available.
The team that you need to build will depend on the needs of the business. I like to break down my team into different genres.
-Generic
-Industry specific
-Motivational
Generic
Generic team members are members that will have skills that are transferable across industries. These will include Legal, Accounting. You can use these in different industries and you will probably develop a relationship with these people and make use of their skills sporadically. They may do you accounts monthly or just help you set up your company. You may need a lawyer to check new contracts with suppliers or partners.
Industry specific
These team members are going to be key to the success of your business because they will have contacts and knowledge of the industry you are going into. These contacts will help you identify opportunities and also help you avoid pitfalls in your industry. When it comes to hiring people your industry specific team members will be able to help you find the best people for the job.
Motivational
These team members are the people who support you. They come in all shapes and sizes. Motivational team members may be family members, friends and most importantly people who have build a business and know how to guide you through growing your business. These will be some of the most important relationships you have. A mentor is a great person to have on your team especially if they are a successful multimillionaire who can introduce you to other contacts. He may be able to help you find the generic and industry specific team members that you need to build your startup business.
When you first start out try and find team members who will give you their time for free. Later when you have some success you should search out and pay for the best advice available.
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