If you have a business plan and you are researching how to start a business and the best tips for business development, take some advice from the guys at theswapsmart.com. Swap Smart is anything but the typical swap mart or flea market. They differ in location, target market, style, advertising, and more.
If you are interested in starting a business, it’s important to come up with the details of how the business will be run before it ever starts. Before you ever incorporate your idea or turn it into an LLC, you must first think about what your target market is. If it’s middle-class people of a certain area, you cannot build the business in a high or lower-class location. You have to take into consideration the state of the economy and whether that with effect your sales and success.
Every emerging business has its problems, but you can significantly reduce the amount of bumps there are to iron out if you plan ahead better. Most new business owners are so anxious to set things up that they fail to remember all the small details like color scheme (because it has been proven that the color red makes people hungry and the color blue encourages people to spend more money…just ask McDonald’s and WalMart), how to appeal to target shoppers, and so on.
So if you’re thinking “how can I make money” by starting a new business, go for it, but do your research and planning first. Most businesses that fail in their first year do so because of poor planning or, let’s be honest, stupid business ideas to begin with. I know the reason you are starting a business is because you have great business ideas and you are eager to make money doing something that you are passionate about. Even though you’re probably not in school anymore, do not fail to do your homework. It will almost certainly make or break your new company.
If you have a great new invention, product, or business concept that you want to get out there, and you have the funding and the time to start it up, I suggest you give it a try. You never know what might have been if you never try. But keep in mind that every emerging business has its faults and problems, and it may be a while before you see any profitability. If it is something you are truly passionate about and something that you personally have a vested interest in, it is more likely to succeed. I’ll give you an example.
I have a friend who worked in the law office of her dad for years. She was an expert with all the paperwork there, so she decided she wanted to start a legal documentation company. The company would set up corporations and LLC’s and keep businesses protected by typing “minutes” and company actions on file. The company was a good idea, in theory, but she wasn’t passionate about it. She was good at it, yes, but being good at something does not mean that is what you should be doing. I am good at driving, but that doesn’t mean I should be a truck driver or delivery person.
Her company lasted only 9 months before it completely went under and took her and her parents’ savings down with it. The result of the failed company was home foreclosure, losing a custody battle of her two kids, and a few months later, bankruptcy. Moral of the story: be careful about what business you go into. Make sure it’s something that will be profitable, and most of all, make sure it’s something you are passionate about and willing to give a lot of yourself for.
I may as well tell you the happy ending to the story. That same friend, after two years of heartbreak and money loss from the new company, decided to find out what she really loved. In the months of near-unemployment from her own company, she had a lot of free time. She decided to occupy her time with making jewelry. It seemed fun, easy enough, and she could have the benefits in the end from wearing her own creations. She did start wearing her creations everywhere, and more and more people began to compliment her. She took a few classes to challenge herself and learned that making jewelry can actually be really complicated and difficult. She loved the challenge. Then she moved to a city with an ocean view and a lot of tourists who want to buy jewelry on the beach. She dropped what little hope she still had for the documentation company and started a jewelry company where she was the only employee.
That was 2 years ago, and my friend loves her life of selling jewelry in a shop near the beach; she makes more than enough money to pay the bills, and she has 5 other girls working for her creating their own pieces. Little did she know that she’d end up selling necklaces and earrings in a little shop where she can see the sunset on the ocean every night. She realizes now that she should have found what she was passionate about instead of just going off the first business project that came to her mind.
If you have an entrepreneurship and business idea, make sure you do you homework and that it is something worth all the time, energy, and resources that you have to put into an emerging business. Rent office space in a location that makes sense with your target market and the products you offer.
Swap Smart has been successful because unlike other cookie cutter swap meets, they did their research first. They wanted to target middle-class family shoppers, so they chose a location that’s in a nice part of town and they pride themselves on having a clean, family-friendly atmosphere. It’s so vastly different from the normal “flea market” idea of swap meets that their customers may not even recognize it as such. They work hard to separate themselves from competition, so they hold special events that target niche interests their potential customers have. It’s made a huge difference.
Another way that this company differs from the traditional swap meet is that they don’t charge for parking or admission and dedicate at least 10% of their rental revenues to advertising. They do their own marketing and keep a certain amount of income aside each month for advertising. It must work because they’re a successful and thriving company.
If you’re thinking about opening a new company, look to these guys and other companies who stand out from competitors and figure out how you can do so too.
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