Beginning Business Blog

Finally, the high risk alternative is to introduce something wholly new and untested.  From talking with hundreds of prospective entrepreneurs - inventors and people with ideas for innovative new products - I realize that many people feel that this is the way to go: to invent and cash in on something the world has never seen before.  Some people I've met seem to be addicted to building better mousetraps in the misplaced hope of getting rich.  Misplaced because the sure way to get rich isn’t with a new product or service.  It's through a sales job, but that's another story for another post. The history of new product introductions is a history of abject failure, even new products from huge, multi-national firms that specialize in innovation.  The reality is that with a new product or service you are treading unknown ground from beginning to end, and any number of very minor occurrences along the way can trip you up and cost you eve...

Starting a business selling currently available products and services, or an Unstructured opportunity, is a very attractive option to many people, and is probably the most frequent alternative entrepreneurs try. People who do well in an Unstructured Opportunity tend to fit a profile best described as a Natural Entrepreneur.  These are people who are hard working, educated with a commitment to life-long learning, are well organized, and work well with others.  They tend to be most comfortable in free-wheeling situations where they make their own decisions and create their own road map to success.(To better understand whether a structured or unstructured opportunity is best for you, take my quiz,  What Form of Business is Best for You . The risk of going it alone is greater than working with a franchise or direct sales business, but it also means that you, the owner, create your own business, make your own decisions and feel that the busin...

Distributorships are Unstructured Opportunities, and are as old as commerce itself.  People who independently "rep" other people's products and services for a commission have been around since the first bead makers and flint knappers traded their goods for a share of the hunt.  Undoubtedly, some enterprising hunter gatherer thought, "this is good stuff.  I can swap some of these for a profit with the people in that next tribe over."  And the distributorship was born, which is why some of the independent reps I know say they're in the second oldest profession, after you know what. The business is working as an independent sales representative for a one or more firms in an industry, and includes import-export business.  This opportunity requires a mastery of sales technique and a good knowledge of the specific industry into which you are entering.   People who do well in an Unstructured Opportunity tend to fit a profile best described as a Natu...

Direct Sales, also known as  Multi-level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing, are a very popular alternative for many prospective entrepreneurs looking for a full or part time business.   A Direct Sales business is a Structured Opportunity, called by some the poor-man's franchise. People who do well in a structured opportunity tend to fit a profile best described as a Natural Franchisee.  These are people who are hard working, are educated with a commitment to life-long learning, are well organized, and work well with others.  They tend to be most comfortable taking direction from others and working in situations where tasks are laid out step by step.  (To better understand whether a structured or unstructured opportunity is best for you, take my quiz,  What Form of Business is Best for You . How Direct Sales Businesses Work  In a Direct Sales, MLM, or network marketing system you have two ways to earn money ~...

Undoubtedly, the business type with the greatest surety of success and financial return (and the least management freedom) is the franchise.  This is why they are described as "Structured Opportunities" in my workshops and in my book. People who do well in a structured opportunity tend to fit a profile best described as a Natural Franchisee.  These are people who are hard working, are educated with a commitment to life-long learning, are well organized, and work well with others.  They tend to be most comfortable taking direction from others and working in situations where tasks are laid out step by step. What distinguishes a franchise is that you, the entrepreneur, are purchasing a business system complete from a to z, including supplies, services, even start up training and on-going consulting, plus national advertising and management support for which a regular franchising fee is paid to the franchiser.  Franchises are available in every industry, s...

Last week I met with a friend I used to work with for coffee.  We got into a discussion of a very expensive loss my ex-employer suffered.  It seems some pricing data was incorrectly computed and entered into the company's booking system leading to badly under priced products being advertised.  Customers purchased the trips and the company had to honor the prices.  It cost the company well into five digits in cash to cover the error. I know the manager who made this error.  She was and is a top-flight professional, one of the best in the industry at coming up with innovative travel options that generally sell quite well being required to perform basic data entry tasks in addition to her core job.  She made a mistake in accuracy in data entry and basic arithmetic in her rush to complete the task on a short deadline. The end result was that the employee resigned, so not only did the business owner lose tho...

The cost of office space can be second only to employee costs for any business, and a problem for a new or rapidly growing company with limited resources. Telecommuting can be a solution, or it can be a problem, depending on how it's structured and managed.  And it should be obvious that not all employees are good candidates for a telecommuting option. "The success of an employee working from home depends on the person, on the job and on the training the organization provides to do that role remotely," says Scott Boyar, Ph.D., associate professor of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business.  "An organization has a lot of responsibility when letting workers go virtual, but the employee carries a lot of it too. There are questions an employee, or the employer, should ask." Does it fit my personality and preference for integrating work into my family environment? Can I structure my time and stay motivated to work th...