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7 Must-Dos Before the End of the Year
Now that December has arrived, it’s time to make some smart moves to set up your company for an even better next year.
Here’s my seven-point checklist for entrepreneurs at the year’s end:
1. Set the stage for growth.
Can your company accommodate the growth forecast for next year? Review your projections for next year and be sure to plan appropriately in each area of the budget.
Do you have the sales staff to meet the revenue goals? Have you adequate office space to accommodate the hires? How will an increased number of clients strain customer service? Will an increased amount of traffic affect Internet costs?.
2. Get the books in order.
If you haven’t been doing your books monthly and paying taxes or setting aside money, you’re on the naughty list. Perhaps you haven’t spent enough time reviewing the numbers and the company’s performance.
Be sure to examine the financial reports carefully and compare the changes from years past. Note if any results are off and make a plan to push the numbers in the right direction next year.
3. Gather with staff.
You might be thinking about your business all the time, but it’s easy to not communicate your thoughts with staff. You might have changed the company’s direction or added services without bringing everyone to the table.
The end of the year is a great time to reflect on the company’s performance, talk about challenges and accomplishments and plan for the year ahead. Have a meeting before your holiday party so that the festivities don’t have to involve talking business.
4. Seek out savings.
Big expenses that hold the promise of significant growth dominate your thoughts. Look at any big-ticket items for next year and figure out if you can pay them off for a guaranteed savings.
Monthly software services, for example, often grant 20 percent off to those who pay a year in advance. Likewise a landlord might offer a 10 percent discount if rent is furnished for the entire year. Spot these savings and make an investment now. You’ll save money over the long haul.
5. Evaluate the company’s technology.
When you review the year, be aware of how staffers have used existing systems. Probably members of your team live and die by certain software programs but use others infrequently. Sometimes if employees aren’t using a certain software program, a system or a piece of equipment, they don’t understand it.
Other times, the use case isn’t real and your team just doesn’t need the software. Consider eliminating any unused systems next year.
6. Set goals.
The best goals are framed to be actionable. But it’s easy to forget this when setting longer-term objectives.
Well, it might be nice to say you’ve adopted a goal to increase sales 40 percent. But how? Know that adopting any goal requires a change in behavior. So what are you and your staff about to do differently? Are you shifting your approach to focus on products that sold well this year?
Will the company do more marketing? What will you and your staff do differently next year that will effect enough positive change to reach your goals? Create a specific action plan and arrive at a consensus and an understanding of the new behaviors required.
7. Contribute.
Arrange for charitable giving for the selfish reasons of a tax write-off or good publicity. Or do so unselfishly because you’re an awesome person. But take time to contribute something before the year’s end.
Consider matching employee gifts to a charity that’s engaged in a similar area as your company is. Making a donation of your time or money helps build a sense of purpose for your staff and your company.
You’ll Never Hear Successful People Say These 15 Phrases
If you want to become more successful as an entrepreneur or in your career, you can start by making a habit of talking and thinking more like the people you know or read about who are already successful.
Here are some phrases you’ll never hear a successful person say:
1. “We can’t do that.”
One thing that makes people and companies successful is the ability to make solving their customers’ problems and demands their main priority. If a need arises repeatedly, the most successful people learn how to solve it as quickly as they can.
2. “I don’t know how.”
Instead of automatically shutting down solution-finding, successful people learn what they can in order to succeed in a project or in their career. For example, you would never see a truly successful international business consultant who travels to Italy multiple times per year refusing to learn Italian.
3. “I don’t know what that is.”
Pleading ignorance doesn’t make the problem go away. It just makes the asker find someone who is able to work with them to solve the problem. While’s it’s always good to be honest with those you interact with, finishing this phrase with “but I’ll find out” is a surefire way to become more successful.
4. “I did everything on my own.”
The best people know to surround themselves with others who are smart, savvy and as dedicated as they are. What makes this work is always giving credit where it’s due, as due credit to you will always come back in hand. Recognize those that have helped you or made an impact and you’ll continue to earn success and recognition yourself.
5. “That’s too early.”
You would never hear Benjamin Franklin or someone such as Steve Jobs say, “that is too early for me to be there.” If there is a networking meeting, project launch or interview opportunity at the very beginning of the day, the most successful people do what it takes to be there. Part of being successful is being at the right place at the right time, no matter if you’re a morning bird or night owl.
6. “That’s too late.”
Along the same lines, if you’re asked to a 9 p.m. dinner by a potential business partner, and you can make it, definitely go. You may be tired the next day, but the connections you will make during a small dinner or after-hours meeting can make all the difference when it comes to your career or next project.
7. “It’s too bad we couldn’t work together.”
Truly hitting it off with someone can be a rare occurrence, but if you truly connect with someone and want to work with them, find a way to make it work. Finding people that you really enjoy communicating with don’t come along too often, so whether it’s a case study or a new business, successful people know that working with those who truly align with your personality and interests are the path to true success.
5 Steps to Build a Million-Dollar Business in One Year
Some people go their entire lives without earning a million dollars, so it sounds crazy that some businesses might be able to achieve this milestone within their first year. But it is possible. Plenty of businesses have achieved this goal, and you can too!
Pay attention to the following tips and use them to help power up your revenue growth:
1. Find a growing market
One of the easiest ways to build a million-dollar company in such a short period of time is to find a growing trend and ride it to the top. Take the example of Micah Adler, CEO of mobile app developer Fiksu, which grew from less than $1 million to $100 million in just three and a half years — with only $17.6 million in venture capital — following its 2010 launch.
Certainly, Adler’s success comes in part from building great products, but it also comes from his timing. In 2012, just two years after Fiksu’s launch, mobile-app development represented $19 billion in revenue and was experiencing annual growth of more than 60 percent a year. Finding a growing market of your own like this can put you on the fast track to massive revenue growth.
2. Think monetization from the start
It seems strange to think about objectively, but some startups start without any obvious monetization strategies. Twitter is one example of this phenomenon, but there are countless other companies out there building up their free user bases, hoping that inspiration — and, consequently, financial stability — will strike along the way.
If you want to grow a million-dollar company in your first year, you can’t afford to think that way!
Most profitable companies operate from one of two models: either they sell a lot of inexpensive products to a lot of people or they sell a few big-ticket items to a more limited buyer list. Neither model is easier or inherently better than the other. What’s more important than choosing is having a defined plan for monetization. Knowing how you’ll make money from the start will prevent wasted time spent hoping that something profitable will come together for you.
3. Be the best
There are plenty of mediocre products out there, but the odds are good that these companies aren’t making a million dollars or more during their first years. If you want to hit these big potential profits, you’ve got to bring something to the table that wows customers and generates buzz within your marketplace.
How can you tell if you’ve got a “best in breed” product? Look to your current customers. If you aren’t getting rave reviews online or positive comments sent to your inbox, chances are your clients aren’t as ecstatic about your product as they need to be to hit your target sales. Ask your existing customers what you can do to make your product better and then put their recommendations into place. They’ll appreciate your efforts and will go on to refer further sales to you in the future.
4. Hire all-stars
Hitting $1 million in revenue during your first year is no small feat, and you certainly aren’t going to achieve this goal with a team of underperformers. Yes, hiring these people will be cheaper and easier, but you’ll pay for this convenience when your end-of-the-year sales numbers come up short.
Instead, you need to hire all-stars, and the fastest way to do this is to ask around for referrals. Pay particular attention to the sales hires you make, as these key employees stand to make the biggest difference in your business’s bottom line. Get them on the bus and then encourage them to do whatever is necessary to close deals (pro tip: a good series of incentives won’t hurt!).
5. Consume data
Finally, if you want to shoot for the revenue moon, you need to be absolutely militant about gathering data and acting on it. When I approach a new marketing project, I prefer to work in short sprints of a few weeks or less where we’ll try something new, check the statistics to see how the changes impacted revenue and then either commit the changes or try a new test.
Do the same with your growing company. You have a veritable gold mine of information just hanging out in your Google Analytics account, so put it to good use by identifying your company’s key performance indicators (KPIs) and running tests designed to push these metrics even higher. If you aren’t able to carry out these tests on your own, bring on a rock-star analyst who can help you make sense of your numbers. When every penny counts towards reaching your $1-million-a-year goal, you’ll find these employees to be worth their weight in gold.
Growing a company to $1 million in revenue in your first year isn’t easy, but it is possible. Stick to the tips above and be ruthless about profitability — even if you don’t hit this particular goal, you’ll earn the strongest sales results possible for your unique company.
Courtesy
Sujan Patel
Contributor on the Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur and Marketer, VP of Marketing at “When I Work”
Aim Directly at Your Target Market to Land New Clients
One of the hardest things for a small business owner to do is identify the target market: the group of customers he or she is aiming for. Once an entrepreneur understands more about the customer base and why these individuals buy from the company, that information can help with finding new clients.
To grow your target market, take the following six steps:
1. Keep track of customers.
Use a database or customer relationship management system to keep track of regular clients and their purchases. This will help you learn about their preferences to be sure you can provide what they need.
As you get to know customers, keep track of other personal information about them, such as their interests, hobbies and children. Noting these details can help you find ways to start a conversation and find common ground.
2. Ask shoppers how they found the company.
When customers are paying for goods at the cash register, ask how they heard about your business and keep track of what seems to be the most effective method for promoting the company.
Go back to that promotional avenue and advertise again. Then other consumers in your target market will find you, too.
3. Thank regular patrons.
Too often, business people take their regular customers for granted. If you don’t thank clients for their patronage, another new and interesting firm might come along and snatch them away.Thanking your customers can go a long way toward making them feel proud to be affiliated with you and to buy from you.
4. Ask customers if they would be a reference.
Ask your customers this question “How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague?” This is called “The Ultimate Question” by Fred Reichheld.
The best way to gauge the efficiency of a company’s growth engine is to take the percentage of customers who are promoters and subtract the percentage who are detractors.
This equation is how a net promoter score for a company is calculated. The net promoter score can help an entrepreneur keep track of success in building a strong and loyal customer base.
Notice that the question does not ask, “How likely is it that you would recommend us?” but instead asks, “How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague?” If people are willing to refer a business to a friend, they are putting their own reputation on the line.
The thinking here is that if a friend has a bad experience, this will come back to haunt the person giving the referral.
5. Request friend referrals.
If your customers are loyal, and you’re satisfied with your net promoter score, this means your current customers will be happy to give you names of people that they think will benefit from using your business.
According to the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer, you trust “a person like yourself” only just a bit less than an academic expert or a technical expert, especially when you’re looking for information on a new company or business. Tap into the interpersonal trust between current customers and prospective ones to find new clients.
6. Thank current buyers for their referrals.
I refer friends to businesses I love and respect quite often. Some of the staff at these businesses are very good about thanking me for my referral and others are not. A thank you can be a simple note or even a referral discount. Over time, I tend to continue to recommend those that notice and thank me for my referral.
Courtesy
Karen Mishra
Contributor on the Entrepreneur
Assistant Professor of Marketing
For Your Startup to Thrive, You Need to Build Value for More Than Just Customers
If you’ve ever attended a pitch contest or heard another entrepreneur discuss their plans for a new business, there’s no doubt you’ve heard the phrase “value proposition” — it’s one of those often overused entrepreneurial keywords.
Our friends at Wikipedia define a value proposition as “a promise of value to be delivered and acknowledged and a belief from the customer that value will be delivered and experienced.”
I define value as something a bit more simple: creating enough incentive for someone to take action.
The phrase “take action” can mean a number of things. It could signify a customer executing a purchase or signing up for your email list. It could mean having an employee make the conscious decision to stay and grow with your company. Or it can even mean an investor deciding to invest.
Of course, you must have strong value for your customers or, well, you won’t have any. But beyond that, you must provide substantial value to multiple other parties involved in the life cycle of your business in order to attract and retain employees, partners and capital.
Let’s focus on two of the more important.
Treat employees like assets.
Yes, I realize that this is another one of those often-uttered business phrases, and yes, you can read about it in nearly any business book. However, it’s really important and often misunderstood at its most basic level. When you go out into the marketplace to attract top talent to your new venture, you are selling both yourself and the idea of your company’s future potential — which includes growth, earnings and your intent to IPO then travel the world together on a private jet, right?
So what is the trigger that causes that person to say yes? It comes down to whether they recognize enough value, which in addition to the standard compensation and responsibility qualifications, may include whether they’ll have autonomy, if they feel like they have ownership in their role or position, if they are a good fit for the company and whether the company is a good fit for them. As they look at you, your company and existing team, its culture and both short- and long-term potential, the question becomes do those things collectively exceed their personal minimum of incentive for action?
It’s equally as important that you’ve created enough value within your company to retain those assets, while at the same time, understanding that each person has different ideas of what is valuable to them — thus the importance of a cultural fit.
20 Reasons to Start Your Own Business
If you’re an entrepreneur you have heard the million reasons not to go into business: It’s too risky, you might go into debt, you’ll probably lose sleep, your social life is kaput, and the list goes on. But even with all these uncertainties, people are still attracted to the startup world. There are just as many, if not more reasons to take the leap and go start your own business. Here are just a few:
1. Spare time.
This one can take some time. Initially you’ll work longer hours for less pay. But if you do it right, you could start to master your schedule and the freedom that being an entrepreneur provides is awesome.
2. A story to tell.
Whenever I tell someone I run my own business, they always want to know what I do, how I do it and how it’s going. I always am able to provide a tale or two, and the best part is that I get to determine the story’s chapters. (When working for a corporation, people most likely have less input.)
3. Tax benefits.
For entrepreneurs (freelancers included), they have the opportunity to take advantage of some nice tax perks. Many can write off expenses like travel, food, phone bills, portions of car payments, and the list goes on. Also, certain startups qualify for government incentives. Make sure to ask your accountant about what tax benefits you may be eligible for.
4. Pride.
When you build something successful, it’s a great feeling. You had a vision, were able to execute it and not can reap the benefits of saying “I did this.” On the other hand, it’s tough to be proud of the zillionth request for proposal you fill out for your employer.
5. Your posterity.
If you’re a doctor, plumber or bus driver it’s hard to imagine you passing your career on to your loved ones. But if you own your own business, that’s something you can pass on to the next generation. And be proud of it, because you created it.
6. Job security.
Have you ever been laid off, downsized, or fired? If you have, you get this. With entrepreneurship the security lies in the fact you are your own boss. You run the show and don’t have to worry about getting let go.
7. Networking. Entrepreneurs are communal creatures. We love to meet each other, swap stories, and learn from each other’s experiences. Your circle of friends and acquaintances always grows when you become an entrepreneur, as many founders need others to lean on to survive and talk about the challenges only known to them.
Profit Is Not Enough for a Great 21st-Century Business
Corporate philanthropy has been around for ages and has done an immeasurable amount of good for many generations.
There is, however, a paradigm shift in corporate social responsibility that’s encouraging a more elegant discussion about its many business advantages.
An increasing number of progressive-minded leaders are beginning to consider looking at this “good for the corporate soul” practice as more of a central line to their strategic business planning. Although the idea of corporate philanthropy as a branding tool has only recently taken off, it is capturing the minds of many CEOs, HR directors, stakeholders and consumers.
Yet there’s still a lot of uncertainty about the size of companies that should become involved and what they need to do to see a return on their investment. Here are some pointers:
1. Address concern of possible wasted money.
Many executives struggle with this thought, How do I know which NGOs I can trust enough to partner with?
Whether you’re the CEO, an HR associate or a project manager, you have stakeholders who trust that you’re managing company resources responsibly and strategically.
Even though you may mean to do good, if money is mishandled, the chance of getting a corporate social responsibility program off the ground is nil.
Begin by consulting a quality watchdog resource that rates and tracks nonprofits that partner with for-profits desiring to make a difference. Start by consulting one of these resources: CharityWatch, Give.org, GiveWell, Charity Navigator, Guide Star and the Internal Revenue Service’s Exempt Organizations Select Check.
2. Don’t believe your organization is too small.
Executives of a company might feel that its size is too minute for any contribution provided to make a real difference and that they should leave saving the world to McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and Google.
Or they might think that their company is just treading water (and they can’t worry about feeding the hungry abroad). Thus they should focus exclusively on making a profit this quarter.
Both of these concerns are understandable. These doubts will prevail until managers better understand what becoming involved really means.
Engaging in an active corporate social responsibility program in your community will spur on others to do the same. Action taken by several smaller entities can combine to shape large change over time.
Whether a company’s involvement is a gift-matching program, an employee volunteering event or a pro-bono project, a lot can be achieved.
The return on your efforts will be more than you put in — in time and resources.
3. Match the cause to the company’s mission.
Make the cause and partnership a logical connection that your organization’s employees, customers and other stakeholders can easily see.
Members of your team will already have some degree of knowledge about the company’s philanthropic purpose if it aligns closely to your company’s mission and core directives.
Information technology firms could donate tech support and personal computers. Match your desired cause to the mission or purpose of your company.
4. Start small. Less is more.
The most common error in judgment occurs when executives ambitiously strike out to develop a corporate responsibility program and have untempered expectations that they will save the world.
Although this is gallant, do not make this your goal. Begin modestly with goals and objectives that fit the commitment level of your decision makers and volunteer force.
Overreaching often causes team burnout and loss of executive level support. And at times this can be perceived as a failure of not just a project but of a purpose.
Until recently many companies have been trained to think of their bottom line as their stand-alone priority. And it should be their top priority, but not without a partnered corporate philanthropic co-mission.
Corporate philanthropy is no longer a nice goal to have only after you’ve done well financially. This is a 21st-century marketplace and the consumer base is changing from what it was 10 or 20 years ago. Consumers of all age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds are beginning to seek out companies that are responsible corporate citizens. Be sure you make their list.
Courtesy
Patrick Proctor
Contributor on the Entrepreneur
Vice President of Operations, Stash Tea Co
Branding your Business to StandOut
By now, we all should recognize our business needs it’s own unique image and personality in order to market with success. People are drawn to originality and will remember a company’s logo, mission phrase, or design theme (if it’s a good one). Modern marketing has wrapped this process up into a term called branding. Branding your business should include everything from your logo, your promise to your customer, the image of who you are, what your business is about, your website, your voice, etc.
So how do you use these qualities to brand your business so that it stands out?
Be Consistent
Consistency is probably the single most important tip for creating a strong branding strategy. Place your logo on everything from your website to your packaging, the sign on your store, company letterheads and email signatures. A uniform font and design theme should also be consistent. Steady branding develops a strong sense of value in a customer’s mind, allowing you to charge more for your products than the competitor without a branding strategy. Consistent branding builds trust and credibility by adding a perceived level of value that people will pay more for.
Consistency is probably the single most important tip for creating a strong branding strategy.
There’s also an intangible side of branding that many businesses miss. Once the company’s logo is slapped on every box and white paper, many businesses fail to back up their branding because the voice they portray doesn’t flow with who they are claiming to be. For example, could you imagine if McDonald’s, with their family-friendly branding strategy, posted an article on Twitter in support of China’s one child law? That would create a bit of distrust in their brand, being that McDonald’s prides itself on helping children, yet they would tweet a child bearing restriction article. So make sure your voice is consistent with your perceived brand through all intangible avenues such as social media, customer service calls and even what you wear to business meetings. It all speaks to others about who you are.
The 3 Decisions That Will Change Your Financial Life
There’s nothing worse than a rich person who’s chronically angry or unhappy. There’s really no excuse for it, yet I see this phenomenon every day. It results from an extremely unbalanced life, one with too much expectation and not enough appreciation for what’s there.
Without gratitude and appreciation for what you already have, you’ll never know true fulfillment. But how do you cultivate balance in life? What’s the point of achievement if your life has no balance?
For nearly four decades, I’ve had the privilege of coaching people from every walk of life, including some of the most powerful men and women on the planet. I’ve worked with presidents of the United States as well as owners of small businesses.
Across the board, I’ve found that virtually every moment people make three key decisions that dictate the quality of their lives.
If you make these decisions unconsciously, you’ll end up like majority of people who tend to be out of shape physically, exhausted emotionally and often financially stressed. But if you make these decisions consciously, you can literally change the course of your life today.
Decision 1: Carefully choose what to focus on.
At every moment, millions of things compete for your attention. You can focus on things that are happening right here and now or on what you want to create in the future. Or you can focus on the past.
Where focus goes, energy flows. What you focus on and your pattern for doing so shapes your entire life.
Which area do you tend to focus on more: what you have or what’s missing from your life?
I’m sure you think about both sides of this coin. But if you examine your habitual thoughts, what do you tend to spend most of your time dwelling on?
Rather than focusing on what you don’t have and begrudging those who are better off than you financially, perhaps you should acknowledge that you have much to be grateful for and some of it has nothing to do with money. You can be grateful for your health, family, friends, opportunities and mind.
Developing a habit of appreciating what you have can create a new level of emotional well-being and wealth. But the real question is, do you take time to deeply feel grateful with your mind, body, heart and soul? That’s where the joy, happiness and fulfillment can be found.
Consider a second pattern of focus that affects the quality of your life: Do you tend to focus more on what you can control or what you can’t?
If you focus on what you can’t control, you’ll have more stress in life. You can influence many aspects of your life but you usually can’t control them.
When you adopt this pattern of focus, your brain has to make another decision:
Decision 2: Figure out, What does this all mean?
Ultimately, how you feel about your life has nothing to do with the events in it or with your financial condition or what has (or hasn’t) happened to you. The quality of your life is controlled by the meaning you give these things.
Most of the time you may be unaware of the effect of your unconscious mind in assigning meaning to life’s events.
When something happens that disrupts your life (a car accident, a health issue, a job loss), do you tend to think that this is the end or the beginning?
If someone confronts you, is that person insulting you, coaching you or truly caring for you?
Does a devastating problem mean that God is punishing you or challenging you? Or is it possible that this problem is a gift from God?
Your life takes on whatever meaning you give it. With each meaning comes a unique feeling or emotion and the quality of your life involves where you live emotionally.
I always ask during my seminars, “How many of you know someone who is on antidepressants and still depressed?” Typically 85 percent to 90 percent of those assembled raise their hands.
How is this possible? The drugs should make people feel better. It’s true that antidepressants do come with labels warning that suicidal thoughts are a possible side effect.
But no matter how much a person drugs himself, if he constantly focuses on what he can’t control in life and what’s missing, he won’t find it hard to despair. If he adds to that a meaning like “life is not worth living,” that’s an emotional cocktail that no antidepressant can consistently overcome.
Yet if that same person can arrive at a new meaning, a reason to live or a belief that all this was meant to be, then he will be stronger than anything that ever happened to him.
When people shift their habitual focus and meanings, there’s no limit on what life can become. A change of focus and a shift in meaning can literally alter someone’s biochemistry in minutes.
So take control and always remember: Meaning equals emotion and emotion equals life. Choose consciously and wisely. Find an empowering meaning in any event, and wealth in its deepest sense will be yours today.
Once you create a meaning in your mind, it creates an emotion, and that emotion leads to a state for making your third decision:
Decision 3: What will you do?
The actions you take are powerfully shaped by the emotional state you’re in. If you’re angry, you’re going to behave quite differently than if you’re feeling playful or outrageous.
If you want to shape your actions, the fastest way is to change what you focus on and shift the meaning to be something more empowering.
Two people who are angry will behave differently. Some pull back. Others push through.
Some individuals express anger quietly. Others do so loudly or violently. Yet others suppress it only to look for a passive-aggressive opportunity to regain the upper hand or even exact revenge.
Where do these patterns come from? People tend to model their behavior on those they respect, enjoy and love.
The people who frustrated or angered you? You often reject their approaches.
Yet far too often you may find yourself falling back into patterns you witnessed over and over again in your youth and were displeased by.
It’s very useful for you to become aware of your patterns when you are frustrated, angry or sad or feel lonely. You can’t change your patterns if you’re not aware of them.
Now that you’re aware of the power of these three decisions, start looking for role models who are experiencing what you want out of life. I promise you that those who have passionate relationships have a totally different focus and arrive at totally different meanings for the challenges in relationships than people who are constantly bickering or fighting.
It’s not rocket science. If you become aware of the differences in how people approach these three decisions, you’ll have a pathway to help you create a permanent positive change in any area of life.
Courtesy
Tony Robbins
Contributor on The Entrepreneur
Author, Personal Coach
6 Ways to Fulfill Your Crowdfunding Promises
Everyone’s talking about crowdfunding right now. There’s good reason: The practice has redefined the funding landscape by providing an attractive avenue for entrepreneurs to not only raise funds but also use the platform as a way to launch a sustainable business. While crowdfunding’s benefits are plentiful, timely fulfillment is a daunting challenge that all campaigners face.
Through Indiegogo, my company, SkyBell, raised almost $600,000, fulfilled its perks only four months later. The campaign served as as a launchpad for my business.
Thinking of crowdfunding but unsure how to execute the business end of the process? Here’s how you can carry out your vision, fulfill your orders and turn your campaign idea into a sustainable business.
1. Validate the product idea.
It’s wise to validate your product idea before the campaign begins. Confirm that the company’s idea is realistic, economically feasible and that the production can take place at the proper scale during and after the campaign. The last thing you want to do is launch a campaign, raise funds and then realize that a product idea not possible, will take twice as long or end up costing far more than what was charged for the perks.
Meet with engineers and developers to create a prototype, build a production schedule and confirm that they have the capability to carry out the plan.
2. Calculate total per-unit costs.
Accurately price the perks and set a funding goal to cover all the costs and absorb unforeseen ones. To do this, understand the total per-unit costs up front.
Be sure to consider all expenses, including the costs of manufacturing, readying the product for retailing, shipping, packaging, fulfillment labor, software development, servers, billing, customer service and marketing.
3. Don’t forget the packaging.
Packaging is the speed bump that entrepreneurs never saw coming. Find a packaging partner and consider a few design options. The price of packaging can vary according to size, design and materials.
Confirm the full timeline for everything that relates to the product, including artwork, creation of molds and producing and delivering the packages.
4. Weigh all the shipping variables.
Shipping can quickly add costs and time to the process. Consider domestic and international rates. To ship overseas, be sure to quote the package’s weight and dimensions so as to accurately charge international customers during the campaign.
5. Overseeing the fulfillment process.
Entrepreneurs who fulfill orders themselves should be sure to factor in an estimated per-unit time for physically putting a perk in the packaging and preparing it for shipping. Factor this into the target date for delivery.
For larger operations, review estimated costs of having packages prepared by a fulfillment center. Factor this into tne per-unit cost and consider the timeline for setting up and executing the packing.
Indiegogo has helpful tools to streamline fulfillment. Be sure to take a look.
6. Tackling billing.
Billing can get real messy, especially with international customers. Create spreadsheets to accurately track payments and international shipping charges. Every minute spent planning can shave 10 minutes from a campaign.
While handling these details might not be as thrilling as raising funds part of the campaign, they have a direct impact on an entrepreneur’s ability to execute his or her vision, fulfill orders and make the transition from a campaign into a fully sustainable business.
Courtesy
Andrew Thomas
Contributor on The Entrepreneur
Co-Founder of SkyBell
Frangipani&Dolphin 