Lord777
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Stop sitting out your pants from nine to six and become your boss.
More and more people are abandoning the traditional employment model with its strict rules and subordination. They do what they love and start their own business. Build micro-businesses to lead free and meaningful lives. This form of employment involves sole proprietorship of business.
It takes a lot less to create a micro business than you think. The most ordinary people open their own micro-enterprises every day, often without a lot of money, or experience, or an MBA, or even a well-developed business plan.
Example. Two recent graduate designers came up with the idea of selling high-quality, homemade travel cards over the Internet. Bottom line: the guys began to earn so much money that after nine months they quit their jobs and devoted themselves entirely to their new business.
The piano teacher wrote a computer program to track attendance, control payment, and schedule lessons. This project has become a full-fledged source of income for him - more than $ 30,000 per month.
Nothing you from achieving the same success prevents. You need:
Don't be afraid to take action. Your own insecurities and fear can create more difficulties than competitors or external market conditions. Don't give in to these feelings. Take the plunge.
Enthusiasm is not enough for a successful business; need more clients and relevant skills
Many people dream of making money doing what they like the most. But a hobby will never turn into a real business if no one pays for it.
Find an area where your passions, skills, and the needs of others intersect. Offer customers specific benefits or customer value. Think carefully about how you can benefit other people.
It is difficult to turn a hobby into a business directly. Master a related field - help others do what you enjoy.
Example. Inveterate traveler Gary Leff has started his own ticketing and itinerary business for reward miles who don't know how to use them wisely.
If you lack the skills for your chosen field, use the Skills Transformation Principle: you may not have the specific skills required for a given project, but you may have aptitude in related fields. Make the most of your existing talents and at the same time acquire the missing abilities.
Example. Kat Alder, who worked as a waitress in London, was great at communicating with people. She founded her own PR firm. The girl had no experience in this area, but her communication skills helped her master the basics of a new business.
Not every hobby can be turned into a business. You can't make a passionate love of pizza. But you can open a pizzeria. Analyze opportunities to meet the needs of people using the skills you have.
Identify the deepest needs of customers and develop an appropriate proposal
Your product must have customer benefits. To do this, you need to know who your customers are. Demographic characteristics of the target audience are not enough: age, gender, income. Find the personality traits that unite your audience: hobbies, skills, values.
Will these people be interested in your product? Connect with potential clients and ask them questions. Use informal conversations or questionnaires. Determine if customers are willing to pay for the intended product. Changes may need to be made to the product. Run a product advertisement - how many orders will it receive? Is this project justified? After this analysis, start production.
The true desires of the clients may not coincide with the declared ones.
Example. Air passengers have been complaining for years about the cramped cabin space. But as soon as airlines are offered more spacious seats, but a little more expensive, it becomes clear: people prefer cheaper carriers, even if their cabins are cramped.
Do not limit yourself to explicit needs, identify unspoken desires.
Example. Newlyweds often tell wedding photographer Kyle Hepp that they don't want to take regular wedding shots. Despite this, she still takes some traditional photographs, knowing that the bride and groom's relatives will be happy to receive them.
Get creative with your marketing and focus on customer benefits
In your marketing efforts, focus on the benefits you are willing to provide to your customers. In your ad copy, don't focus on boring technical details, but focus on key consumer benefits: how your product can make life easier for people.
Key benefits come from the emotions you help your customers experience.
Example. Ranchers in California state, “We are not selling horse riding. We offer freedom. "The yoga school doesn't actually sell you exercise classes, but helps you relieve stress and relax in a calm, secluded environment.
Be entrepreneurial, minimize advertising costs, be creative with marketing: network with journalists, partner with other companies, write guest posts for blogs. It is more effective than traditional marketing and is much cheaper.
Strategic Giving is a powerful non-standard marketing tool. Give a customer your product for free or provide a useful service - he will tell others about your activity.
Example. Unemployed architect John Morfield has opened a 5 Cent Architectural Consultation stall at the Seattle agricultural market. He did give professional advice for a coin, but clients were so pleased that they often brought him in for additional work at a full time. John's story even made it onto CNN and other news channels, making him a well-known figure and generating new customers.
A successful product launch requires careful preparation and the ability to convince customers to buy now.
For an entrepreneur, there is nothing worse than spending a few months developing a product and then failing to sell a single copy. To prevent this from happening, carefully plan and prepare your go-to-market. The release of the product should be preceded by a powerful advertising campaign in order to properly “warm up” customers and make them wait impatiently for new items several months before the start of sales.
Build a trusted pool of potential buyers through advertising before going to market. Engage your customers well before the actual product launch. Warm up their impatience by talking about the project you are working on, highlighting its benefits for them, and describing the details of upcoming sales. When the long-awaited launch day arrives, make your shopping experience as easy as possible.
The launch of a product is a very nervous period for an entrepreneur, and when real sales start, he is extremely relieved.
The special price for the product must be valid for a strictly limited time. Remind customers of this as the deadline approaches, nudging the hesitant customer to buy immediately. Once the deadline is up, keep your word and don't sell the product at a low price anymore.
Business must make money. Don't forget about costs and income
Business must make money. Otherwise, it's just a hobby.
Consider funding, cost, and income issues.
Financing
It is not necessary to take out a loan. Your costs can only be the purchase of a laptop and the creation of a website.
Example. Shelley Vitry started her food tour business in Denver with $ 28 in seed capital, and ended up earning $ 60,000 a year.
If you need more money, but you can't get it from the bank, turn to non-standard methods of fundraising, such as crowdfunding (collective financing).
Example. Shannon Okey, who dreamed of opening her own publishing house that produces books and magazines on needlework, managed to raise $ 10 thousand on the Kickstarter website when the bank refused to give her a loan.
Expenses
Keep costs low. Invest only in what directly affects sales. A luxury website is only worth the investment if you are confident it will generate new customers.
Income
Be proactive, do not wait when you have to urgently patch holes. Calmly consider how you see the future of your business and customer service. What new products are you working on? How to increase sales? Are there any lingering problems that need to be addressed? Monitor one or two key metrics (daily sales or average order value) to keep your finger on the pulse of the business.
Establish regular receipts of payments, do not understate the price of the product, and make regular adjustments that can significantly affect your bottom line
How to make your business as profitable as possible?
It is necessary to establish a regular flow of payments by developing a subscription program. With just 400 subscribers and a $ 20 monthly subscription, you can make almost $ 100,000 a year. When setting the price, one should rely on the proposed consumer benefits, and not on the cost price.
Example. Gary Leff helps clients organize their vacation with bonus miles. He charges a flat fee of $ 350 for his services, regardless of how long it took him to find information and order tickets: 5 minutes or 5 hours. In any case, the consumer value is the same.
Feel free to raise prices periodically. Clients often react much more positively to news of an increase than one would expect: “It's high time! You are worth much more than you ask for. "
Offer buyers a limited price range. Don't set a single price - this way you can further maximize your profits. The overwhelming number of options can be confusing, but there are customers who prefer the "premium version". Offer them an improved version of the base product at a higher price.
Constantly adjust your business to maximize profitability. Pay special attention to indicators:
Choose your own business scale: stay a small entrepreneur or expand with more staff
Every entrepreneur has his own business development plans. One-man theater, fantastic height, or something in between are all equally acceptable. Business development methods:
As your business grows, you may not be able to handle all the work alone. The solution is outsourcing, transferring some tasks to third-party contractors. Engage third parties for a variety of tasks, from cleaning the home office and organizing meetings to direct production of the product. The feasibility of outsourcing depends on the type of business and the personality of the manager. If your business is based on working with clients or you have a mania to control everything, outsourcing will only hurt.
If in the future you plan to sell a business, then it is important that your business has the potential for development. It must be available for adoption (so that the customer can scale up the business if they want to by training a dozen new employees) and provide value to customers (so that the increase in production is balanced by the increase in the number of customers) ...
Don't write complex business plans so you can focus on real action
Real actions always prevail over plans. Don't waste time making complex plans that never come to fruition. Make the plan as simple as possible: a business plan should fit on one page and only indicate the direction of the enterprise's development.
Set a clear deadline for starting your project. This is an additional guarantee for the implementation of the plan.
The mission statement of the enterprise should also be simple and concise. Ideally, no more than the length of your Twitter post (140 characters). Try to formulate this. This exercise will help you clearly articulate the true purpose of your business.
Example. "I help business people who are looking after their health to plan their workouts to maintain their wellness and fitness."
Beware of unsolicited advice, even if people wish you well. Most of them do not have their own business, so their advice is useless and only distracts you from your goal. You don't need anyone's permission to succeed in business. Trust your own judgment and take the plunge.
The most important thing
Shedding the shackles of traditional employment and starting your own micro-business takes far less than you think. Analyze your passions and talents to determine where they overlap with customer needs and get down to business.
When designing your product and organizing marketing events, focus primarily on customer value. As your business grows, you will be able to make certain adjustments to maximize your profits.
How to start your own microbusiness?
How to make microbusiness profitable?
What should be the ultimate goal of microbusiness?
Choose your own business scale: remain a small entrepreneur or expand by increasing your staff.
How detailed should a business plan be?
Don't write complex business plans so you can focus on real action.
Narrated by Marina Kochetova. Source: Library "Most important".
More and more people are abandoning the traditional employment model with its strict rules and subordination. They do what they love and start their own business. Build micro-businesses to lead free and meaningful lives. This form of employment involves sole proprietorship of business.
It takes a lot less to create a micro business than you think. The most ordinary people open their own micro-enterprises every day, often without a lot of money, or experience, or an MBA, or even a well-developed business plan.
Example. Two recent graduate designers came up with the idea of selling high-quality, homemade travel cards over the Internet. Bottom line: the guys began to earn so much money that after nine months they quit their jobs and devoted themselves entirely to their new business.
The piano teacher wrote a computer program to track attendance, control payment, and schedule lessons. This project has become a full-fledged source of income for him - more than $ 30,000 per month.
Nothing you from achieving the same success prevents. You need:
- a product (or service) that can be sold;
- clients willing to pay for it;
- payment mechanism.
Don't be afraid to take action. Your own insecurities and fear can create more difficulties than competitors or external market conditions. Don't give in to these feelings. Take the plunge.
Enthusiasm is not enough for a successful business; need more clients and relevant skills
Many people dream of making money doing what they like the most. But a hobby will never turn into a real business if no one pays for it.
Find an area where your passions, skills, and the needs of others intersect. Offer customers specific benefits or customer value. Think carefully about how you can benefit other people.
It is difficult to turn a hobby into a business directly. Master a related field - help others do what you enjoy.
Example. Inveterate traveler Gary Leff has started his own ticketing and itinerary business for reward miles who don't know how to use them wisely.
If you lack the skills for your chosen field, use the Skills Transformation Principle: you may not have the specific skills required for a given project, but you may have aptitude in related fields. Make the most of your existing talents and at the same time acquire the missing abilities.
Example. Kat Alder, who worked as a waitress in London, was great at communicating with people. She founded her own PR firm. The girl had no experience in this area, but her communication skills helped her master the basics of a new business.
Not every hobby can be turned into a business. You can't make a passionate love of pizza. But you can open a pizzeria. Analyze opportunities to meet the needs of people using the skills you have.
Identify the deepest needs of customers and develop an appropriate proposal
Your product must have customer benefits. To do this, you need to know who your customers are. Demographic characteristics of the target audience are not enough: age, gender, income. Find the personality traits that unite your audience: hobbies, skills, values.
Will these people be interested in your product? Connect with potential clients and ask them questions. Use informal conversations or questionnaires. Determine if customers are willing to pay for the intended product. Changes may need to be made to the product. Run a product advertisement - how many orders will it receive? Is this project justified? After this analysis, start production.
The true desires of the clients may not coincide with the declared ones.
Example. Air passengers have been complaining for years about the cramped cabin space. But as soon as airlines are offered more spacious seats, but a little more expensive, it becomes clear: people prefer cheaper carriers, even if their cabins are cramped.
Do not limit yourself to explicit needs, identify unspoken desires.
Example. Newlyweds often tell wedding photographer Kyle Hepp that they don't want to take regular wedding shots. Despite this, she still takes some traditional photographs, knowing that the bride and groom's relatives will be happy to receive them.
Get creative with your marketing and focus on customer benefits
In your marketing efforts, focus on the benefits you are willing to provide to your customers. In your ad copy, don't focus on boring technical details, but focus on key consumer benefits: how your product can make life easier for people.
Key benefits come from the emotions you help your customers experience.
Example. Ranchers in California state, “We are not selling horse riding. We offer freedom. "The yoga school doesn't actually sell you exercise classes, but helps you relieve stress and relax in a calm, secluded environment.
Be entrepreneurial, minimize advertising costs, be creative with marketing: network with journalists, partner with other companies, write guest posts for blogs. It is more effective than traditional marketing and is much cheaper.
Strategic Giving is a powerful non-standard marketing tool. Give a customer your product for free or provide a useful service - he will tell others about your activity.
Example. Unemployed architect John Morfield has opened a 5 Cent Architectural Consultation stall at the Seattle agricultural market. He did give professional advice for a coin, but clients were so pleased that they often brought him in for additional work at a full time. John's story even made it onto CNN and other news channels, making him a well-known figure and generating new customers.
A successful product launch requires careful preparation and the ability to convince customers to buy now.
For an entrepreneur, there is nothing worse than spending a few months developing a product and then failing to sell a single copy. To prevent this from happening, carefully plan and prepare your go-to-market. The release of the product should be preceded by a powerful advertising campaign in order to properly “warm up” customers and make them wait impatiently for new items several months before the start of sales.
Build a trusted pool of potential buyers through advertising before going to market. Engage your customers well before the actual product launch. Warm up their impatience by talking about the project you are working on, highlighting its benefits for them, and describing the details of upcoming sales. When the long-awaited launch day arrives, make your shopping experience as easy as possible.
The launch of a product is a very nervous period for an entrepreneur, and when real sales start, he is extremely relieved.
The special price for the product must be valid for a strictly limited time. Remind customers of this as the deadline approaches, nudging the hesitant customer to buy immediately. Once the deadline is up, keep your word and don't sell the product at a low price anymore.
Business must make money. Don't forget about costs and income
Business must make money. Otherwise, it's just a hobby.
Consider funding, cost, and income issues.
Financing
It is not necessary to take out a loan. Your costs can only be the purchase of a laptop and the creation of a website.
Example. Shelley Vitry started her food tour business in Denver with $ 28 in seed capital, and ended up earning $ 60,000 a year.
If you need more money, but you can't get it from the bank, turn to non-standard methods of fundraising, such as crowdfunding (collective financing).
Example. Shannon Okey, who dreamed of opening her own publishing house that produces books and magazines on needlework, managed to raise $ 10 thousand on the Kickstarter website when the bank refused to give her a loan.
Expenses
Keep costs low. Invest only in what directly affects sales. A luxury website is only worth the investment if you are confident it will generate new customers.
Income
Be proactive, do not wait when you have to urgently patch holes. Calmly consider how you see the future of your business and customer service. What new products are you working on? How to increase sales? Are there any lingering problems that need to be addressed? Monitor one or two key metrics (daily sales or average order value) to keep your finger on the pulse of the business.
Establish regular receipts of payments, do not understate the price of the product, and make regular adjustments that can significantly affect your bottom line
How to make your business as profitable as possible?
It is necessary to establish a regular flow of payments by developing a subscription program. With just 400 subscribers and a $ 20 monthly subscription, you can make almost $ 100,000 a year. When setting the price, one should rely on the proposed consumer benefits, and not on the cost price.
Example. Gary Leff helps clients organize their vacation with bonus miles. He charges a flat fee of $ 350 for his services, regardless of how long it took him to find information and order tickets: 5 minutes or 5 hours. In any case, the consumer value is the same.
Feel free to raise prices periodically. Clients often react much more positively to news of an increase than one would expect: “It's high time! You are worth much more than you ask for. "
Offer buyers a limited price range. Don't set a single price - this way you can further maximize your profits. The overwhelming number of options can be confusing, but there are customers who prefer the "premium version". Offer them an improved version of the base product at a higher price.
Constantly adjust your business to maximize profitability. Pay special attention to indicators:
- website traffic,
- share of buyers among the total number of visitors
- average purchase amount.
Choose your own business scale: stay a small entrepreneur or expand with more staff
Every entrepreneur has his own business development plans. One-man theater, fantastic height, or something in between are all equally acceptable. Business development methods:
- Vertical - expanding the range of services for existing customers. If you sell software, offer training courses to the same customers.
- Horizon-tal - development of new proposals for other categories of consumers. One web designer found that bespoke sites were too expensive for some clients. She developed several standard design templates and offered them at a moderate fixed price.
As your business grows, you may not be able to handle all the work alone. The solution is outsourcing, transferring some tasks to third-party contractors. Engage third parties for a variety of tasks, from cleaning the home office and organizing meetings to direct production of the product. The feasibility of outsourcing depends on the type of business and the personality of the manager. If your business is based on working with clients or you have a mania to control everything, outsourcing will only hurt.
If in the future you plan to sell a business, then it is important that your business has the potential for development. It must be available for adoption (so that the customer can scale up the business if they want to by training a dozen new employees) and provide value to customers (so that the increase in production is balanced by the increase in the number of customers) ...
Don't write complex business plans so you can focus on real action
Real actions always prevail over plans. Don't waste time making complex plans that never come to fruition. Make the plan as simple as possible: a business plan should fit on one page and only indicate the direction of the enterprise's development.
- What are you going to sell and to whom
- Why would these people want to buy it from you?
- How will you get paid
- Intended marketing activities
- Business baseline
Set a clear deadline for starting your project. This is an additional guarantee for the implementation of the plan.
The mission statement of the enterprise should also be simple and concise. Ideally, no more than the length of your Twitter post (140 characters). Try to formulate this. This exercise will help you clearly articulate the true purpose of your business.
Example. "I help business people who are looking after their health to plan their workouts to maintain their wellness and fitness."
Beware of unsolicited advice, even if people wish you well. Most of them do not have their own business, so their advice is useless and only distracts you from your goal. You don't need anyone's permission to succeed in business. Trust your own judgment and take the plunge.
The most important thing
Shedding the shackles of traditional employment and starting your own micro-business takes far less than you think. Analyze your passions and talents to determine where they overlap with customer needs and get down to business.
When designing your product and organizing marketing events, focus primarily on customer value. As your business grows, you will be able to make certain adjustments to maximize your profits.
How to start your own microbusiness?
- Stop sitting out your pants from nine to six and become your boss - it's easier than it sounds.
- Enthusiasm is not enough for a successful business; you need more clients and related skills.
- Identify the deepest needs of customers and develop an appropriate proposal.
- Get creative with your marketing and focus on customer benefits.
- A successful product launch requires careful preparation and the ability to convince customers to buy now.
How to make microbusiness profitable?
- Business must make money. Don't forget about costs and income.
- Arrange for recurring payments, don't lower the price of your product, and make small adjustments on a regular basis that can significantly affect your bottom line.
What should be the ultimate goal of microbusiness?
Choose your own business scale: remain a small entrepreneur or expand by increasing your staff.
How detailed should a business plan be?
Don't write complex business plans so you can focus on real action.
Narrated by Marina Kochetova. Source: Library "Most important".
