Starting your own business



Week 4


Day 17: Workflow Dissemenation:

Directing: How is work-flow disseminated to the employees?


Day 18: Controlling-Keeping all employees on track?


Day 19: Market Analysis


Day 20: Product/Service

  1. What are you actually offering the consumer?
  2. What are they getting for their money?
  3. How do you plan to interest potential customers and clients in your product or service and persuade them to buy the product of service you have to offer?

Day 21: Placement

  1. Associated with the channels of distribution that serve as the means of getting the service/product to the target customers.
  2. Channels might include wholesaler, middleman or jobber and retail outlet.
  3. Clothing and electronics might buy their goods from a wholesaler instead of a retailer in order to get a better price.
  4. Every one in the channel of distribution tacks on a percentage to make a profit.
  5. Federal Express or UPS would be considered a part of the channel of distribution

Example: week 4: Workflow, keeping employees on track, market analysis, product, placement

Week 5


Day 22: Price


  1. Takes into account profit margins and the probable pricing response of competitors including list price as well as discounts, financing and other options such as leasing.

  2. You should do some secondary marketing research here.

  3. Find out what your competitors charge for similar items or services.

  4. What types of discounts and special offers will you have?

  5. You might want to undercut the competition's price.

  6. Investigate companies offering equal pricing.

  7. Come up with the price for each item in your sales catalog.

  8. Calculate individual percentages of profit for all items.

  9. If the item is very expensive, consider leasing it.

  10. Investigate sales tax in your target market area. Cities within each county have different sales tax rates that need to be collected.


Day 23: Promotion



Target Market Day 24

  1. A defined segment of the market that is a strategic focus of a business.

  2. This target market has a lot of things in common and are likely to purchase a particular product of service.

  3. The target market represents who are your customers.

  4. Who you want to sell to?

  5. Most markets have segments: smaller parts with somewhat different characteristics

  6. Look at the segments in in your target market.

  7. Demographics refer to things like age, sex, income, education, etc.

  8. Geographic refers to places in the country, states, cities, countries, etc.

  9. Psycho-graphic refers to buying habits or preferences for products and services.

  10. Doing some marketing research will reveal these psycho-graphic characteristics.

Market Segmentation Day 25

  1. Markets can be segmented or divided into smaller parts.

  2. The more closely you can define your particular target market, the better success you will have.

  3. Looking at income, buying patterns, needs can help you define your market

  4. Try to find a niche, a special place in the overall target market.

  5. For example, There are lots of yoga studios in town. What if you defined a market where you brought the instruction to their business at the time they wanted and geared the instruction to employees 40 or over?

Day 26: Balance Sheet: Assets needed to run the business


All businesses need assets, things of value, to run their business. Examples include equipment, inventory, supplies, etc. Research is needed to find out what these start-up costs are. Calculate the assets and their costs for your business.

In order for us to apply for a business loan, we will need to create a balance sheet. A balance sheet is also needed in our business plan. A balance sheet is a document that shows what is owned, what is owed and what the business is worth on a specific date. The balance sheet contains: the assets, the liabilities and the stockholders' equity accounts. The first line of a balance sheet names the company, the second contains the words "Balance Sheet" and the third has the date.

Assets and Liabilities will differ based on the nature of the company, its size, number of employees , type of business, etc. An example of a balance sheet for a company that carries merchandise appears below. You will need to quite a bit of research to determine what these items are for your business.



Company Name
Balance Sheet
Current Date
ASSETS
Cash
Accounts Receivable          
Furniture and Fixtures
Acc. Depreciations Furniture
Office Supplies
Other Assets
Office Equipment
Acc. Dep. Office Equipment
Prepaid Insurance
Merchandise Inventory
Total Assets
LIABILITIES
Notes Payable
Accounts Payable
Workers' Comp Payable
Federal Income Tax Payable
FICA Tax Payable
Medicare Tax Payable
Federal Unemployment Tax Payable
State Unemployment Tax Payable
Sales Tax Payable
SDI Tax Payable
State Income Tax Payable
State Employment Training Tax
Total Liabilities
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common Stock
Retained Earnings
Total Liabil & Stock. Equity
Seed Money
When any new company is started, the owners must invest their own money into the business. A bank will not loan money, unless they see that the owners have a vested interest in the success in the business.
Example: week 5: Price, promotion, target market, market segmentation and balance sheet