Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

I just finished an ebook on business planning entitled How to Write the Business Plan of Your Dreams.

Instead of focusing on what many other business planning books offer, like creating a detailed financial plan or market analysis, this book addresses what is in your heart. I am by no means discounting rigorous analysis before embarking on a new venture, but I recall when I started my own that most of what I read skipped over an essential ingredient in business success: passion.

This book is designed to be an easy to read, step-by-step guide with straight-forward exercises and examples to help you focus your vision so you get what you really want out of your business, not a document that sits on a shelf collecting dust. My goal is to inspire you and help you bring out your entrepreneurial side in a way that brings the most meaning to your life.

Click to download (PDF format):

Recently, I received an unsolicited package from someone I don’t know wishing me a great 2008. They enclosed a paper day organizer with their logo on it. Unfortunately for them, all of their material went straight to the trash can. Who runs a technology company and still uses a paper calendar?

Yesterday, I got an unsolicited package from Mars, the candy company. “Look inside for a sweet deal” read the teaser on the box. I figured it was a sample of some promotional item that we could purchase and perhaps brand with our message like they do with M&M’s. When I opened this medium size box, I saw two Milky Way candy bars and two Flavia coffee packets along with an order form. No personalized letter telling me more. Just an order form to buy coffee and candy for our office. What got me annoyed was that the packaging inside the box was wood shavings that dropped all over my desk, pants and floor as I opened the box. What a mess! It turned me off completely.

I’m fairly certain that the people behind these marketing efforts were pretty proud of the content they were mailing out. The candy was nice but neither of these marketing efforts made any sense to me. I could tell it cost the companies a good bit of money and time, but they totally missed the mark. Mr. Paper Day Organizer needed to take a leap into the new century and Mars should have included a letter or something more than just an order form – and definitely some different packaging material.

When you create a campaign to generate more business,

• Do you think about who you are targeting and how they might react to your message?
• Are you reaching the right audience in the first place?
• Do your email messages reach the right people and include an easy flow that guides them into taking action?

If you miss these critical points, you not only waste your time and money, but also your prospect’s time and money. That can be such a turn-off that you dilute the value of your brand in their eyes so the next time you reach out, you are met with skeptical eyes.

If you have started a home business where you have lots of inventory, you may opt to have a storage facility for holding your products before they are dispatched to your customers.

Instead of renting out a warehouse and hiring staff and security guards to look after it, you could simply store your stock in a self-storage facility for a fraction of the cost.

Locating a Storage Facility

You can find a self-storage facility in business magazines, advertisements in newspapers or even through the Internet. You should pick a unit that is located near your home, so that you can visit it as frequently as you like.

It should also be near your preferred shipping carrier, to enable you to arrange deliveries from there directly to your customers. It should be guarded 24/7 by staff, in addition to a CCTV (closed circuit television) surveillance system. The self-storage facility should also have a system of maintaining proper records for all items going into and out of its facility.

Quality Considerations

The storage facility should be dry and well-protected from the elements of nature. This is especially true in the case of rain or snow; water is highly destructive, and if your unit leaks, your entire inventory could be destroyed, resulting in high financial losses. Before deciding on hiring the services of any self-storage facility, make a personal visit to the site and check out the quality.

Crosscheck with their existing clients as to the rates and quality of the services they offer. Once you've made your decision, be sure to take out a proper insurance policy on your products to protect against theft, fire or other damage.

If you have your own home business, utilizing the services of a storage facility can be much more convenient than simply storing your products at home. Just be sure to do your homework in advance.