In the wake of my Financial Post column this week urging startup entrepreneurs to do more market research, I got an email the other day from a Winnipeg baker asking where to find relevant information for his planned bakery/pastry business.
Here's what I told him:
Hi, William (not his real name): I suggest you start with your local library's reference librarian. He or she will know what kind of market data their library has (or has access to), and they may be able to make other suggestions as well. Your local economic development office may also have useful data.
You can also do a lot of vital market research yourself. Hold a focus group (call it a party) and serve some pastries. Document everything: which product do they like best? What do they like about it? What do they dislike? How much would they pay for a slice or a full cake? How often would they buy it? Why would they buy it?
If you are going to sell through distributors, get out and talk to them. What are the margins in your market, who are the competitors, how do the distributors/retailers think you should market your product? Listen carefully for resistance, suggestions, and anecdotes about similar products or initiatives and how they worked out.
I also suggest you find a startup group in your area. Meetup.com can help you find small-biz groups in your area. Groups like these can be very useful in helping you uncover unexpected problems and obstacles in your business - and people in these groups may have found solutions to problems you are having now. My mantra is, successful wolves hunt in packs; lone wolves die alone in the cold and the dark.
Good luck!
Rick
Showing posts with label startup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label startup. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Startup Advice: "Commit to Making Decisions"
I'm working my way through ReWork, a book about no-frills startups. It’s by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37Signals (which developed Basecamp, Backpack and other no-frills software).
You can download excerpts from the book here.
I’m now halfway through the book, and a bit disappointed that it reads like a primer on startups. Some of it contradicts conventional wisdom (“Learning from mistakes is overrated”; “Why grow?”; “Embrace constraints”), and some of it is insightful and motivating (“Planning is guessing”; “Make a dent in the universe”). But not a lot of meat on these bones.
Still, here’s one part I really liked. “When you put off decisions, they pile up. And piles end up ignored, dealt with in haste, or thrown out.”
The authors’ solution? “Commit to making decisions,” they write. “Don't wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward.”
I have met many entrepreneurs who got hung up on non-essential details – the company name, someone’s title, the color of the prototype. You can't know what works best until you try. So make the best decision you can, and move on - staying prepared to fix it later, if necessary and when convenient.
“Long projects zap morale,” say the authors. “The longer it takes to develop, the less likely it is to launch. Make the call, make progress, and get something out now – while you've got the motivation and momentum to do so.”
Now that’s pure gold. And not just for startups, but for any business that aspires to innovate, change or lead.
What decisions are holding you back?
You can download excerpts from the book here.
I’m now halfway through the book, and a bit disappointed that it reads like a primer on startups. Some of it contradicts conventional wisdom (“Learning from mistakes is overrated”; “Why grow?”; “Embrace constraints”), and some of it is insightful and motivating (“Planning is guessing”; “Make a dent in the universe”). But not a lot of meat on these bones.
Still, here’s one part I really liked. “When you put off decisions, they pile up. And piles end up ignored, dealt with in haste, or thrown out.”
The authors’ solution? “Commit to making decisions,” they write. “Don't wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward.”
I have met many entrepreneurs who got hung up on non-essential details – the company name, someone’s title, the color of the prototype. You can't know what works best until you try. So make the best decision you can, and move on - staying prepared to fix it later, if necessary and when convenient.
“Long projects zap morale,” say the authors. “The longer it takes to develop, the less likely it is to launch. Make the call, make progress, and get something out now – while you've got the motivation and momentum to do so.”
Now that’s pure gold. And not just for startups, but for any business that aspires to innovate, change or lead.
What decisions are holding you back?
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Startup Nation
I've been so busy I forgot to plug my new business-startup series now running in the National Post.
It's called "12 Weeks to Startup," and it's a 12-week series on everything you wanted to know about starting your own business. It comes out every Monday in the Small Business edition of the Financial Post.
Last week's instalment was "Registration and Licenses" - which is much more interesting than it sounds. Tune in Monday (Jan. 28) for "Sales Forecasts and Cash Flow."
There are actually two versions of each story - a 500-word version that runs in the paper, and a more detailed 1,000-word version on the Web for those who want more insights on each topic. Three cheers for unlimited bandwidth!
And for all you new media fans out there, there is even a videocast. Yep, I do a two-minute video summary of each story. Give them a look and let me know what you think.
Click here to check it all out.
It's called "12 Weeks to Startup," and it's a 12-week series on everything you wanted to know about starting your own business. It comes out every Monday in the Small Business edition of the Financial Post.
Last week's instalment was "Registration and Licenses" - which is much more interesting than it sounds. Tune in Monday (Jan. 28) for "Sales Forecasts and Cash Flow."
There are actually two versions of each story - a 500-word version that runs in the paper, and a more detailed 1,000-word version on the Web for those who want more insights on each topic. Three cheers for unlimited bandwidth!
And for all you new media fans out there, there is even a videocast. Yep, I do a two-minute video summary of each story. Give them a look and let me know what you think.
Click here to check it all out.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Entrepreneurial Vision Test
I had a great day today at the enVision conference put on by the Commerce Students' Association at the University of Toronto. I observed workshops on team-building and crisis-management in the morning, and then I got to deliver a lunchtime keynote speech on "Entrepreneurial Vision".
Most of my presentations are tactical: how to market smarter, 10 ways to fix your business, that sort of thing. Today I only had 15-20 minutes, so I went for more of a motivational message.
Students today really are graduating into an exciting world of unbounded opportunity. There are no limits to what they can do, and incredible new tools with which to succeed. As Internet marketing guru Seth Godin told me in an interview the other day, “If someone had sat down 15 years ago and said, 'How can we create an atmosphere that’s conducive to startups?', what they would have come up with is what we have today.”
So I tried to equip these students with the key entreprenurial attributes they will need to take advantage of all these opportunities - whether they end up in big business or small. I called these attributes "Entrepreneurial Vision," and offered five examples of what that means.
1. Superman can see through walls with his X-ray vision. Entrepreneurial Vision enables you to see around corners and into the future, so you know what’s coming.
2. Like a Blackberry, entrepreneurial vision is "always on," so you are aware of trends, patterns and connections nobody else has noticed yet.
3. Entrepreneurial vision means looking at problems in three dimensions: how things are, how they might be, and how to get them there. Some people look at climate change, for instance, and despair. Others see it as a huge opportunity to find new solutions, to transform people’s thinking, to find new ways of recycling, or getting to work, or harnessing the sun.
4. Entrepreneurial vision is reflective. It lets you see yourself truly, with all your limitations, so that you can acknowledge what kinds of help you need – from people to know-how or financial resources - and know where to find them.
5. Entrepreneurial vision lets you see your objective so clearly that you can vividly describe it to others to get their support. This is essential, as entrepreneurs don't do it all themselves. They succeed by getting other people – partners, employees, suppliers, investors, and most of all customers – to share their vision of how things could be.
May your Entrepreneurial Vision be 20-20.
Most of my presentations are tactical: how to market smarter, 10 ways to fix your business, that sort of thing. Today I only had 15-20 minutes, so I went for more of a motivational message.
Students today really are graduating into an exciting world of unbounded opportunity. There are no limits to what they can do, and incredible new tools with which to succeed. As Internet marketing guru Seth Godin told me in an interview the other day, “If someone had sat down 15 years ago and said, 'How can we create an atmosphere that’s conducive to startups?', what they would have come up with is what we have today.”
So I tried to equip these students with the key entreprenurial attributes they will need to take advantage of all these opportunities - whether they end up in big business or small. I called these attributes "Entrepreneurial Vision," and offered five examples of what that means.
1. Superman can see through walls with his X-ray vision. Entrepreneurial Vision enables you to see around corners and into the future, so you know what’s coming.
2. Like a Blackberry, entrepreneurial vision is "always on," so you are aware of trends, patterns and connections nobody else has noticed yet.
3. Entrepreneurial vision means looking at problems in three dimensions: how things are, how they might be, and how to get them there. Some people look at climate change, for instance, and despair. Others see it as a huge opportunity to find new solutions, to transform people’s thinking, to find new ways of recycling, or getting to work, or harnessing the sun.
4. Entrepreneurial vision is reflective. It lets you see yourself truly, with all your limitations, so that you can acknowledge what kinds of help you need – from people to know-how or financial resources - and know where to find them.
5. Entrepreneurial vision lets you see your objective so clearly that you can vividly describe it to others to get their support. This is essential, as entrepreneurs don't do it all themselves. They succeed by getting other people – partners, employees, suppliers, investors, and most of all customers – to share their vision of how things could be.
May your Entrepreneurial Vision be 20-20.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Best Businesses to go into Now
The December edition of PROFIT is known as the “Annual Opportunity Issue.” It’s all about Your Next Big Thing: the best business opportunities and growth markets in today’s business climate.
As you might guess there’s lots of stuff about aging boomers, health care innovation and niche manufacturing. But there are many, many more ideas in the issue that could help you expand your business or maybe even start a new one. It’s worth seeking out on the newsstands.
Second best (because the layout is so ugly), you can read it free on the Web.
Coping with climate change
Sector report (retail, construction, technology, etc.)
Fortune tellers (what the futurists say)
Alive and kicking (macro opportunities)
Secrets of product success
Selling to the poor
Generation Y (helping the boomers’ kids cope with adulthood)
The retirement-ready
Recession (how to prosper in an economic slowdown)
It's proof positive that entrepreneurs can thrive in any environment. It's all in your attitude, after all.
As you might guess there’s lots of stuff about aging boomers, health care innovation and niche manufacturing. But there are many, many more ideas in the issue that could help you expand your business or maybe even start a new one. It’s worth seeking out on the newsstands.
Second best (because the layout is so ugly), you can read it free on the Web.
Coping with climate change
Sector report (retail, construction, technology, etc.)
Fortune tellers (what the futurists say)
Alive and kicking (macro opportunities)
Secrets of product success
Selling to the poor
Generation Y (helping the boomers’ kids cope with adulthood)
The retirement-ready
Recession (how to prosper in an economic slowdown)
It's proof positive that entrepreneurs can thrive in any environment. It's all in your attitude, after all.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Take the Entrepreneurship test
I have just updated the link from a January 2007 post to the Canadian Entrepreneurship Test.
The quiz, a shortened version of the "National Entrepreneurship Test" I wrote for PROFIT magazine a decade ago, no longer resides at PROFIT's website. But we encouraged other organizations to republish the test for non-profit purposes, and it's still found here and there, across the country and on the Net.
So if you want to take a fun little entrepreneurial quiz to test your business-building traits, click here. It'll take you to the Enterprise Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., which still offers the test as part of its services to local entrepreneurs.
Good luck, and let me know how you fared.
The quiz, a shortened version of the "National Entrepreneurship Test" I wrote for PROFIT magazine a decade ago, no longer resides at PROFIT's website. But we encouraged other organizations to republish the test for non-profit purposes, and it's still found here and there, across the country and on the Net.
So if you want to take a fun little entrepreneurial quiz to test your business-building traits, click here. It'll take you to the Enterprise Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., which still offers the test as part of its services to local entrepreneurs.
Good luck, and let me know how you fared.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes: Week 44
Here is for your motivational Quote of the Week, personally selected to get your week off to an empowering start.
On this day in 1858, Ottawa was chosen by Queen Victoria as capital of Canada. So our quote is from Sir Terry Matthews (Mitel, Newbridge Networks, Celtic House, Mitel), probably Ottawa’s most succesful entrepreneur.
In a speech at a business awards event in Ottawa in March, in his energetic Welsh accent, Matthews offered these nuggets of wisdom to aspiring business leaders:
"I'm an engineer, I'm a business person, and I'm an enthusiast….[But] I'm not only an enthusiast, I have a go…
“It's not good enough to stand aside and say I've developed something. Ideas are 10 a penny. But you have to convert it to a business. And you have to meet with clients."
"If there is one characteristic that really embodies a winner, it's persistence… I am the most persistent son of a bitch you've ever come across."
"Go for it. Have a crack. Start up a business."
"You must be competent. You must be bold. You must work hard. You must be enthusiastic, be passionate. And absolutely, you must go visit the clients."
Thanks to Mark Sutcliffe and the Ottawa Citizen for covering the event. To find out how Sir Terry went to visit a client, peed on his shoes, and still got the order, read the original story here.
On this day in 1858, Ottawa was chosen by Queen Victoria as capital of Canada. So our quote is from Sir Terry Matthews (Mitel, Newbridge Networks, Celtic House, Mitel), probably Ottawa’s most succesful entrepreneur.
In a speech at a business awards event in Ottawa in March, in his energetic Welsh accent, Matthews offered these nuggets of wisdom to aspiring business leaders:
"I'm an engineer, I'm a business person, and I'm an enthusiast….[But] I'm not only an enthusiast, I have a go…
“It's not good enough to stand aside and say I've developed something. Ideas are 10 a penny. But you have to convert it to a business. And you have to meet with clients."
"If there is one characteristic that really embodies a winner, it's persistence… I am the most persistent son of a bitch you've ever come across."
"Go for it. Have a crack. Start up a business."
"You must be competent. You must be bold. You must work hard. You must be enthusiastic, be passionate. And absolutely, you must go visit the clients."
Thanks to Mark Sutcliffe and the Ottawa Citizen for covering the event. To find out how Sir Terry went to visit a client, peed on his shoes, and still got the order, read the original story here.
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