Starting and running a small business takes desire, passion, skills, knowledge and talent. It also takes research and planning. While many small or start-up businesses can recover from early mistakes, many cannot.  Every small business makes initial mistakes, but no small business can survive fatal missteps.  So, planning is important. 

Explore and evaluate your business and personal goals.  Using those goals, craft a comprehensive and thoughtful business plan that will help you reach these goals.  The process of creating a plan forces you to think about important issues that you might not think about without planning.

A plan is a valuable tool that can serve multiple purposes.  But like hand tools, a business tool left in the “tool box” and never used is worthless.  Again, the process of planning is most important, rather than detailing the plan in a formal written document.  I recommend that plans be written, but the written document is not more important than the planning process itself.

Let’s Get Started-

List your reasons you want to start a new business. Consider this list to start your thinking:

• Self-management or freedom
• Financial independence
• Creative freedom
• Maximize personal skills and knowledge you’ve developed over the years

Decide what type of business is right for you. Ask yourself:

• What do I enjoy doing?
• What skills have I developed?   What value can I add?
• What am I good at doing?
• How much money do I need to support myself?  My family?
• How much time do I have to run a successful business?

What’s my business niche?

• What business do i want to start?
• What services or products can I sell?
• What need, want or desire can I meet?
• Will buyers pay for it?
• Is there competition?   Competition is not always bad, as it demonstrates a market for your product or service.
• What strategic advantage do I have over the competition?
• Can I deliver a product or service with better quality, cheaper, faster?
• Do i have to create a demand for my business?   How hard will that be?

Finally, consider these tough questions:

• What skills and experience do I lack?
• What legal structure will I use?
• How will I keep business records and data?
• What insurance do I need?
• What equipment or supplies do I need?
• How will I pay myself?
• What are my resources?
• What are my cash or credit needs?
• What facilities do I need?  Is location important?
• What will I name my business?   Is my brand important?

As you can see, these lists are long but still probably not comprehension.  Small business owners must go through this process.  It’s not always fun, and the answers might suggest that starting a small business is a bad idea.  Resist the urge to accept any answer that furthers your dream but is not supported by facts.  In other words, as you answer these question, be honest with yourself.  Not every business should be started.

If your honest answers suggest that starting a new business is a good idea, use your answers to create a focused, well-researched business plan.  A good plan is a blueprint for business operations, management, and capitalization.  Review your business with your business lawyer, your CPA, friends and business associates.  Schedule a monthly review of your plan, and be prepared to change the plan frequently.  A good business plan is a flexible one that should change as you encounter obstacles and your business grows.

Matthew A. Griffith is an attorney, business performance coach,mentor and entrepreneur.  He coaches, advises and guides business owners, entrepreneurs, inventors, property managers, investors and real estate professionals.  Matt has nearly two decades of experience starting small businesses and helping businesses grow.

Introduction by Matthew A. Griffith, J.D.

I had the pleasure of meeting Annie Sever-Dimitri at a Rainmakers’ Main Event recently.  We had a great conversation about the importance of image in developing brands.  Image doesn’t mean dressing very well, having clean shoes and combing your hair (for those of you with hair).  Annie and I agree that image can be “dressing down” at times.  It means there is a matching of your client’s expectations and how you meet those expectations.  Your image plays a huge part in your brand development.  That is especially true for small businesses and professional services companies.  So, this is a topic that I hope you’ll start to learn and understand.

Please enjoy Annie’s post.

Guest Blog by Annie Sever-Dimitri

As an image consultant, my job is to help my clients create the best first impression possible. Actually, I think we should revise the term “first impression” to be “first and last impression” because what others think of you when you first meet generally sticks for the long run. It takes only 3 – 7 seconds for the visual information we send to be picked up by others. I know—you haven’t even opened your mouth at that point. That is because experts state that roughly 90% of our language is received visually; only 10% of any message we send is derived from the movement of our mouths.

I bet you are now pondering your image, meaning your clothing, grooming, and body language. And your wallet. In today’s restrictive economic climate, business owners are only spending what is absolutely necessary. What you wear, the style of your hair, or how you stand when conversing may seem quite trivial when compared to other aspects of your marketing. But it isn’t when you really let it sink in that your appearance is doing the vast majority of your marketing for you.

Another point to consider is the fierce competition these days. How many marketing companies, ghost bloggers, and web designers do you know? What sets them apart from each other? I love this line from the inside cover of a marketing book called “Differentiate or Die” by Jack Trout : “The only way to truly differentiate yourself is by marketing the product’s uniquely valuable qualities.” When I network, I don’t see many people displaying anything unique with their appearance. Lots of khaki pants with beige shirts for the men; too much black; very few people providing a succinct message about their business because they just fade into the crowd.

We all need that extra edge over the competition. Image consulting provides that. Just like you have honed your message on the web and on paper using the expertise of marketing professionals, you must provide that same attention to your most valuable advertising asset of all: you.

Annie Sever-Dimitri

www.funcoach.biz

317-440-8783

I recently read Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port.  It’s a good read.  In fact, it’s a very good read.  I’ll probably buy the next book he writes.  There is already a follow-up book, but I’m not certain that it is all that different from Book Yourself Solid.

Book Yourself Solid is about generating more business for professionals, service providers and related businesses.  I’ve followed the lessons taught in Book Yourself Solid myself for some time.  Although there’s nothing revolutionary in this book, this author describes these tools and techniques in a clear and easy-to-follow method.  It’s worth buying and reading.

I then went to Book Yourself Solid website, as the book repeatedly encourages.  That was a little disappointing.  The website is one big sales pitch for other companies, books, services, authors, etc.  I felt constantly under pressure to buy something, which is the exact opposite feeling and atmosphere that the book teaches you to create in your customers.  That was ironic but still disappointing.

All in all, I recommend the book Book Yourself Solid but not the website.   There are other web-resources listed in the book.  Those other resources are worth exploring, but don’t bother going to the Book Yourself Solid website itself.  Stick to reading the book.

There is a battle developing between bloggers and traditional print newspapers.  The battle is over content, and copyright law is at the heart of the dispute.  And, I believe that the battle is likely to spread from newspapers to other on-line content providers.

Is this a serious matter for bloggers?

Yes.  There have already been lawsuits filed against bloggers over content.  So, it’s important for bloggers to understand what this new trend is, and how to guard against claims and lawsuits.  I believe in prevention over the cure.  That means that I am first a “teacher” of the law to my clients.  If I can empower my clients with information and knowledge about the law and the legal consequences of their decisions, then they are more likely to make the right business and legal decisions in the future, even when I’m not around to help them.  Knowledge leads to wisdom, right?  So, the more knowledge you have, the wiser your decisions will be.

Plus, who wants to pay their lawyer to review each blog before its posted?

Why a battle now?

Increasingly, newspapers are seeing their markets evaporate as fewer and fewer people read the daily paper.  Subscriptions nationwide have been falling for years, and the trend seems to be increasing in pace.  Just in the past few months, we have witnessed dozens of newspapers stop printing second or weekend editions, or close their doors altogether.  Many newspapers are consolidating sections.    Here’s some of the carnage:

Rocky Mountain News-          shut down

The Journal Register Company-   bankruptcy

Philadelphia Enquirer-     bankruptcy

Chicago Tribune-    bankruptcy

Minneapolis Star Tribune-      bankruptcy

San Francisco Chronicle–    near death

Seattle Post-Intelligencer-    online-only publication

Gannett, owner of USA Today-   dividends slashed

The New York Times-   dividends slashed

Cincinnati Post-    dead

New York Sun-   dead

So, as a result, two things seem to be happening in the newspaper world:

#1-   Some newspapers are becoming non-profit, public interest entities.  Examples of this are ProPublica (“investigative journalism in the public interest”) and MinnPost.com.  ProPublica is funded by the Sandler Foundation and other trusts, while MinnPost.com gets funds from certain trusts, the wealthy and foundations.

#2-  For-profit newspapers are trying to generate revenue on-line. 

And that’s where you come in, my fellow bloggers.

The for-profit on-line papers cannot charge readers for content, if bloggers are copying, re-posting or re-blogging meaningful parts of the newspaper’s articles, especially original stories/works generated by a single paper.  Readers won’t pay the papers for the same content you’re giving away for free.

EXAMPLE OF ONE LAWSUIT-     Silicon Alley Insider, a business blog, got sued for quoting 25% of Peggy Noonan’s article in a February issue of the Wall Street Journal.  And get this, Silicon Alley Insider even gave credit to and referenced Dow Jones, which publishes the WSJ.

Amazing, right?  You’d think that the WSJ would appreciate the free marketing.

The reality is that newspapers are nervous, and nervous companies do stupid things.  Take the music recording industry, for example.  Those geniuses started suing individual music lovers for on-line music sharing.  There was virtually no attempt to be creative in preserving their market share or generating other income streams.  Rather, they elected to sue their client-base and sought huge punitive damages awards.

Today, we are starting to see the same knee-jerk, reactionary approach from print newspapers.  I fully expect the trend to escalate.  So should you.

This blog entry is getting too long.  So, I’ll follow up on this soon.  In a future blog, I’ll explore the arguments on both sides.  This concerns federal copyright law and a concept known as “fair use.”  I’ll explore copyright rules and the “fair use” defense, and I’ll try to help you understand how this new trend might impact your “scraping,” copy-paste practices , and re-blogging.

For now, please recognize that you can’t fight City Hall, and you can’t fight Dow Jones either.  Most bloggers are too small to wage a legal battle with a large newspaper, even if the paper is slowing dying.  So, start to develop the mindset that you’re going to have to exercise more caution than you did before reading this blog; review your policies and procedures for re-blogging content; and develop ways to minimize the risk of drawing fire from an angry source you quote or paraphrase.  It may be that you’ll have to start getting permission in advance to re-blog meaningful amounts of someone else’s content.  You might have to change several things you do now.  For now, just start thinking about this topic.

Keep reading.  More to come.

If you’re serious about saving, growing or starting a business, branding is vital.  Protecting that brand is equally important.  That’s why you should attend this class.

Let me introduce you to Kyle Lacy.  Kyle is a social media mastermind, truly.  Check him out at www.getbrandswag.com or www.kylelacy.com

My law firm does a lot of trademark work for our clients.  We trademark company names, product names, service marks, tag lines, etc.  We also develop strategies to protect names and logo’s

Kyle Lacy develops marketing strategies that utilize great branding.  

Together, we are going to teach how to develop a brand strategy and then legally protect it.

March 10, 2009 ,  12:00 – 2:00 P.M.         8604 Allisonville Rd. Suite 300, Indianapolis, 46250

$25.00  TUITION FEE

EMAIL KYLE OR ME IF YOU’RE INTERESTED.