Starting a business is incredible.

However, it takes careful planning. Everything from the web content to the product to the delivery and all the steps in between. Learn how to develop a good business plan. Use all the tools online. Below we have included some ideas on where to get started.

Web content is carefully crafted text that is written by infusing keywords into a humanly readable form.

A business needs to focus on 2 things in order to be successful.

1. The product being offered and

2. How the product will be marketed

1. The product or the service being offered

Most people spend all their time in this part. The come up with a good idea on how to do or make something and then they pour all their investment capital or their time into making their product a killer thing. Don’t get me wrong this is the way great inventions happen. Don’t ever give up on your ideas. Most ideas seem weird before they become household names. (just ask Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, or even Bill Gates).

Side story here: In an economics class I heard a speaker once say, “My name is ___________ and I used to work for ______ company and you have never heard of me because I was one of the men who said NO to Bill Gates.” Pretty funny eh?

I’m going to use an example of an individual who has aspiration of being a broker in the real estate market and have a few realtors to hang their hats under his license. Some of the questions he should ask are:

• What exactly does a broker offer realtors?
• What is required for a broker to get a license?
• What in the world is a broker?
• What percentage of each closing will I ask for to each of the realtors?

That is a sample list but you get the idea. This post will mainly focus though on the second part of business.

2. How will the product be marketed to the public

Marketing your product is truly just as important as the product itself. We have seen business ideas come and go but many times its not because the idea was bad but it because the entrepreneur didn’t do there research before they started.

Before you even start on building or designing your product get an answer to these questions and ask a million more.

Going back to our example of a broker wanting to run a group of realtors I included some possible answers.

• Does the product already exist on the market?
  Yes, there are numerous brokers on the market so this is not something that is going away any time soon but since its not a new concept to anyone there is a lot of evidence to support the pros and cons of the business.
• If it does exist are there things to help you gain industry specific publicity?
  HAR.com is an incredible site to beat when it comes to online placement.
• How much would people pay for this product (aka the brokers services)?
  Maybe most brokers charge 5% to the realtor for their closing commissions. Should I try 4% to make it more attractive for a realtor? I realize that sometime a question begets another question but this is a really good thing.
• How long will it take to get the product to market?
  In this case its a broker license so what is all required in order to get the license? What is the continuous effort to be a broker?
• Are you in it for the long haul or is this just a fad?
  Maybe your best friend became a broker and so being one has a “cool” sense to it. Whatever business you get into you need to realize that there aren’t really any get rich quick schemes. If you are still looking to get rich then we won’t have any tips for you. Slow and steady does win the race but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have a plan and make goal towards getting there and then constantly be analyzing where you are in the process.
• How would your product due in a down economy?
  If the housing market is booing then being a broker may sound very attractive but what happens when the market goes south. In 2008 the housing market fell so that affected brokers, realtors, investors, flippers, land-lords, and the general public. However, did it affect each of those groups in a good way or in a bad way? If you got into the electricity business then you can expect that people are still going to need electricity in a down economy. Based on the people I know 2008 was great for brokers. Ask around and get more info.

Here are a few additional questions in case maybe your “product” is an actual material product and not a service.

• Is your product an original idea?
  If so, then you will need to educate people on why they need your product since they won’t know what it is or why its good for them.
• Will you be doing the marketing efforts or do you need to hire someone else to do?
  Being realistic its hard to focus on production and marketing. Usually it means you will end up doing one of them poorly if not both.
• What is the current competition?
  Are they close by? Have long have they been around? Are their products any good? How much do they cost?
• Why would people buy from you?
  This one better get a good answer since everything else will hinge on it. Selling real estate, isn’t like selling oil and gas products.
• Who or what is the target market?
  Assuming you have educated your target market if its a new item you are selling, will they want to buy it?
• Is the income residual or one time?
  I purchase food regularly but buying lawnmowers is a rarity for me.

Conclusion:

Regardless if you want to be in the real estate world or in the oil and gas product business you need to think through on how to make it work–both the product and the marketing.

Business is a blast to do but it does need to be thought out. We are currently going through this with our In-Person WordPress Training Course based in Houston, TX. If you need help getting started let us know and we would be happy to put in our two cents.

Good luck!!!