August 29th 2007 Posted in
Misc
SeattlePI:
“I’m not the kind of person who tells aspiring entrepreneurs to abandon their goals. All things are possible, especially if you focus more time on perfecting how you will reach a goal, rather than the goal itself. This is the key to gaining the confidence of investors and other startup partners.
Your first step is to select just one of your rock-solid ideas for business plan development. For your first startup, give preference to the business opportunity that has any or all of the following attributes:
Requires the least amount of startup cash.
Requires the least amount of time to reach the point at which your projected monthly revenue exceeds monthly expenses.
Does not require you to pioneer a concept and educate target customers of the need for your product or service.
Proves to have the largest demand from ready-to-pay customers. Here, you have to test which opportunity target customers like the best, not the idea you like the best. This means talking and listening to your target audience.
Offers predictable, higher gross profit margins. Higher gross profit margins provide entrepreneurs with greater leeway to cut marketing and administrative costs to weather business downturns. They are also attractive to investors, lenders and business buyers.
Is most closely related to your background. For example, you may be better equipped to manage a company in the home improvement arena than a food service operation.”
