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This is something new I’m trying
this month. Below you will find links to
online learning programs for your small
business. I’ve actually done these
courses and found them to have valuable
information.
This month’s courses are brought
to you by Ivillage’s Ilearn and American
Express. They offer courses in:
a) Business Etiquette
b) How to Build your first web page
c) Take charge of your career
d) Advanced Microsoft Excel
http://ilearn.ivillage.com/campus.jsp?campusId=1100
I hope you enjoy them and find them valuable
too.
It is critical to determine whether an
idea for a new business actually represents
a good opportunity. Many people have ideas
about new products or services that seem
like winners—but just because something
is a good idea does not mean it is a good
opportunity, as you will see. In fact, those
who become infatuated with an idea sometimes
underestimate the difficulty of tapping
into market interest in that idea or building
the company required to capture it.
To qualify as a good investment opportunity,
a product or service must meet a real market
need, such as a problem for which the entrepreneur
offers a sensible solution. If consumers
are convinced that the benefits of a product
or service are worth the price they will
have to pay to get it, they will likely
want to buy it—assuming they know
about it and can afford it. All of these
factors are critical. Amar Bhide, an entrepreneurship
expert and professor at Columbia University,
put it this way: “Startups with products
that do not serve clear and important needs
cannot expect to be ‘discovered’
by enough customers to make a difference.”
Many popular frameworks highlight important
factors to consider when deciding whether
a new business idea can lead to a promising
business opportunity. Some of the more important
features of these approaches follow.
Market factors. The product or service
must meet a clearly defined market need;
furthermore, the timing must be right. Even
when the concept is good, success requires
a window of opportunity that remains open
long enough for an entrepreneurship to take
advantage of it. If the window closes before
the enterprise can get established, it is
unlikely to survive for long.
Competitive advantage. I practical terms,
a competitive advantage exists when a firm
offers a product or service that customers
perceive to be superior to those offered
by competitors. It follows that the business
must be able to achieve an edge that can
withstand challenges from rival businesses.
Many startups fail because entrepreneurs
do not understand the nature and importance
of a competitive advantage.
Economics. The venture needs to be financially
rewarding, allowing for significant profit
and growth potential. Its profit potential
must be sufficient to allow for errors and
mistakes and still offer acceptable economic
benefits. At a minimum, the enterprise must
offer a reasonable path to profitability—no
business can operate for long when it is
losing money. And without adequate growth,
the business will not be able to provide
sufficient returns to attract investors,
if they are ever needed.
Management capability. The fit between
entrepreneur and opportunity must be good.
In other words, a business idea is an opportunity
only for the entrepreneur who has the appropriate
experience, skills, and access to the resources
necessary for the venture’s launch
and growth. For example, offering suborbital
space tourism services is out of reach for
most entrepreneurs, but not for Sir Richard
Branson, an extraordinary and very well-funded
British entrepreneur who has set up Virgin
Galactic, with plans to offer space flights
to the general public before the end of
the decade. Launching the world’s
first “spaceline” is a challenging
but promising business opportunity for Branson,
but it is at best a dream for nearly every
other entrepreneur.
Fatal flaws. There must be no fatal flaw
in the venture---that is, no circumstance
or development that could, in and of itself,
make the business unsuccessful John Osher,
serial innovator and entrepreneur, estimates
that nine out of ten entrepreneurs fail
because their business concept is deficient.
In his words, “They want to be in
business so much that they often don’t
do the work they need to do ahead of time,
so everything else right, and fail because
they have ideas that are flawed.”
It is important to look (honestly) for potential
weakness in your own setup ideas. No matter
how awesome the startup concept may seem
to be, moving forward is pointless if it
uses a manufacturing process that is patent
protected, requires startup capital that
cannot be raised, ignores environmental
regulations, or is unsound in some other
way.
SAMLL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Launching & Growing Entrepreneurial
Ventures
14th Edition Copyright 2008. By Justin G.
Longnecker, Carlos W. Moore, J. William
Petty, Leslie E. Palich . Pages 64-65
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Laytonville, Calif. : Bell Springs
Pub., c2008.
· New business enterprises.
· Small business -- Accounting.
9780917510281 :
0917510283 :
208 p. : ill., forms ; 28 cm.
32nd ed. (10th trade ed.)
Previous editions titled Small time
operator.
Includes index.
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· Independent contractors --
United States -- Popular works.
· Self-employed -- Taxation
-- Law and legislation -- United States
-- Popular works.
Nolo's small business essentials
v.
: ill., forms ; 28 cm.
Includes index.
Replaces: Wage slave no more.
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New York, NY : William Morrow, c2008.
· Strategic planning.
· Management.
9780061558955 :
0061558958 :
309 p. ; 24 cm.
1st
U.S. ed.
The four forces of change -- Action
creates clarity -- Fast, good, cheap
: pick three - then add something
extra -- Absolutely, positively sweat
the small stuff -- Business is personal
-- Mass market success: find it on
the fringe -- To get control, give
it up -- Conclusion : get moving
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