Posts Tagged ‘new startup’
Startups Technology blog by John from www.complex.ie
Introduction
From 15k RAID 5 SCSI HDD’s to that all important 1920×1200 WUXGA Matte display, yes with rubbish bamboozling terms like that you might be tempted to put technology for your business way down the “todo” list. Well this is a big mistake. Your business needs to use IT from the very beginning to have any hope of even matching the competition. Yet if used correctly, technology can help any small business punch way way above their weight. Follow these few tips to have your business roaring like the God of thunder gargling with nails!
The Landline
Forget about phone land lines such as Eircom, you need what is known as a “VOIP” phone system. Get a fast internet connection, any VOIP phone handset and sign up for a www.blueface.ie account. This will give you 1) your all important land line number with the ability to take 5 calls at the same time, 2) Fax line and 3) it’s VOIP so you can move that landline number anywhere with an internet connection or even route calls to your mobile at your leisure. Don’t forget that’s only scratching the surface of a VOIP phone system’s capabilities.
The Mobile
A mobile phone is not just used for taking calls. Pick up a smart phone (such as blackberry) for instant access to email. Your phone’s calendar and contacts will also be linked into your main email system (Google Apps). Adding an entry to your calendar on the phone will sync it on all your computers automatically wirelessly over the air. Even your business partner or secretary can add in calendar reminders for you on their computers that sync to your phone automatically.
Domain Name
Register a domain name and try to get one with words related to your business in the name. If your business is called Contoso and you are wedding DJ, well www.contoso.com is of little no use, you need to try register www.weddingdj.ie and yes if your business is based only in Ireland, that needs to be a dot ie not dot com – Google.com will redirect most Irish searchers to Google.ie and Google.ie always gives higher ranking to sites ending with a dot ie. Registering a ie domains used to be expensive but www.Blacknight.com have fantastic deals.
Website
Before you run wild looking at designs creating a site, don’t forget the purpose. Sales and Marketing. You may have a pretty site but if people can’t find it well I’m sorry but let me whisper to you…..it’s useless… For a website to generate business you need to have it at the top of Google. There are three top spots in Google. 1) If you pay for Google adwords 2) Submit your business to Maps (these appear under adwords for any search that has a place in the search term e.g. wedding DJ Dublin) and finally 3) Google Organic listings.
For 1) Adwords, make sure your web development company has your site ranked at least 7/10 with Google – the higher the rank the cheaper the ads. Adwords is a bidding war but if you are not up on top it’s a waste of time and money. The worst is to be paying just that small amount under the competition and only appear on the side right panel. Increase the bids until you are at top.
Submit your business to maps for point 2) at www.google.com/local/add and please take time to fill in everything loading in as many keywords related to your business as you can.
Finally, to get to the top of Google organic listings, ask your web developers to optimise the website for search engines and install a wordpress blog. You must run a blog and make regular posts , at least once a week in the correct way -by this I mean ensure you have loaded up the title of your blog post with keywords “Wedding Music Service by Wedding DJ in Cavan” and follow this by adding keyword tags “Wedding DJ Dublin” “Wedding DJ Cavan” etc.
So as you can see, getting the website to the top is a job in itself but put in some hard work and it will become your entire sales team.
The Email
Less than 5 people? Google Apps. Google Apps. Google Apps. Nothing can beat this for a new small business. It acts like a central email server storing all your email, gives you SPAM and Virus free access over the internet, through Outlook, on your mobile phone. All email is synced too which gives full access to all email including sent items from anywhere. You can always move to a server running email software when you are a bigger company.
The Network
Again, with Less than five people do not buy a server. A real server will cost 3k to 5k – and please don’t even consider the cheap “fake” sub 1k servers that are nothing more than glorified PC’s. Use your own PC in the office to act as the server, sharing out files and keeping the files and folders in a central location with two USB external drives as backup. Swap the backups disks every Friday and bring one home for that all important off-site backup. There are other options too like www.dropbox.com and www.idrive.com if you trust having your files with a third party. Antivirus software is essential as is your office productivity software – Microsoft Office 2007 or Open Office are the typical choices.
Remote Access
A free option here is to use www.logmein.com or alternatively a firewall for your network will provide remote access with additional security features. Remote access will let you work on your office computer from anywhere as if you are sitting at your desk.
General Tips
Going that extra mile is absolutely essential to any new business starting up and IT is like the coach running along side shouting words of encouragement. Whether it’s the technology that allows you to take that vital call/answer that important email out of hours or perhaps finish that tender document remotely on the office computer from home on a Saturday morning. The extra mile turns into an extra 26 mile marathon with success at the finish line.
Great Blog John Thank You.
Contact John at www.complex.ie for great web design and IT Support
Selling is often a dirty word among small business owners. Of course, that’s kind of silly because it’s selling (and more of it) which keep us in business. But, for many small business owners, this is an activity they abhor. They would rather have their teeth pulled at the dentist than to cold-call or attend sales appointments. That’s because the activities they enjoy are usually associated with what they are good at – for example, fixing people’s backs (chiropractor), crunching numbers (accountant), working out (fitness trainer). If they could spend all their time involved in their area of expertise, they would be happy. The last thing they want to focus on is sales.
As a result, some small business owners don’t have a sales plan or strategy in place. It’s something they fit in around their other work, to be done grudgingly when the appointment book looks bare or when cashflow is tight.
However, if you put some simple strategies in place, selling doesn’t become so arduous, especially when you incorporate it as part of your daily/weekly routine. So what can you do?
1. Dedicate a specific amount of time
Block out a set amount of time every day/week where you only focus on selling. When you try to fit it around your other activities, there is always an excuse not to do it. Instead, diarise it so that you ensure you can give it the attention it deserves. Remember, that doesn’t mean you have to spend the entire time cold-calling, there are a whole range of other (less painful!) activities you could be doing to boost your sales.
2. Automate your marketing
Sales can seem so time-consuming, especially if you think that it can only be done on a one-on-one basis. But your sales can be an easier process if you support it with an automated marketing campaign. Here is an example. If a customer has bought a particular product/service, it can be useful to send an automatic message (whether by email or snail mail) letting them know about another product they may find useful.
The key here is to ensure that you are upselling them with a product/service they are likely to find useful. So, based on the product they purchased originally, consider what other product most customers also purchase. When you are targetted, many customers appreciate being told about other products that will help them (and which they may not have come across unless it was brought to their attention). It’s only when you try to sell them an unrelated or irrelevant product that they may find your marketing annoying.
3. The fortune is in the follow-up
It’s not your customer’s job to remember that you are in business. Sometimes, a friendly phone call or email can simply remind customers that you are there. If you haven’t heard from a customer in a while, get in touch. This doesn’t mean you have to sit on the phone for hours (although some customers do require that personal touch). You can automate this to a degree as well. Use a customer relationship system that can flag when it’s been a certain number of months since your customer’s last visit or purchase. After that period of non-sales activity, send them a friendly reminder about your new stock or specials.
4. Ask for the sale
Years ago, I learnt one of the most useful strategies about sales which I still use every day. And that’s simply to ask for the sale. For example, I run a training business which offers writing courses. When I first started out, people would call and enquire about courses. I’d happily tell them about the courses they were interested in and I’d finish the conversation with: “Well, have a think about it and if you’d like to enrol, give me a buzz back.”
While that might sound fine, I eventually realised that if people were already taking the time to call, they were already pretty interested in the course. So I changed that script to: “Ok if that’s all the information you need, would you like to enrol now?” My sales conversions increased immediately with that simple tactic. Think about when you can ask for the sale. And make sure you do!
Ultimately, we need to stop seeing sales as a chore. If you integrate it into your business systems, it will soon become an easy part of the process. Remember, as Zig Ziglar once said: “For every sale you miss because you’re too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you’re not enthusiastic enough.”
Boom time is over and we are slap bang in the middle of hopefully the worst recession we will ever see.
So is it time for aspiring entrepreneurs to hunker down and wait for the sun to come back out before starting a business?
Not at all.
Recession does indicate a contracting economy but it doesn’t mean that businesses across the board are shrinking and dying. Many businesses and industries buck the trend by growing through the downturn.
You can increase your chances of running one of these businesses by starting a business in an industry that tends to remain resilient, or even prospers, in economic downturns.
So which types of business are good to start in a recession?
Start a business selling essential goods or services
Most businesses are discretionary, meaning that their products and services are non-essential.
Essential items tend to be bought in roughly the same quantities whatever the economic weather. Businesses dealing in food or shelter, two of life’s most fundamental needs, tend to be resilient in an economic dowturns.
There are stark exceptions, however.
Restaurants are enormously susceptible in a recession as the difference in cost compared to eating at home is huge, so meals out are often the first thing to go when people have less money in their pocket.
And the mortgage market can seize up in tough times, like at present, where there’s a squeeze on credit. However, people always need somewhere to live so the lettings market, by contrast tends to remain stable.
Other examples of businesses bracketed in the essential category are law firms, funeral parlours, healthcare businesses, law firms, schools and home maintenance businesses.
Start a business selling guilty pleasures
And yet, somewhat paradoxically, people often increase their spending on non-essentials too, on indulgencies.
For example, Cadbury’s announced a 28% jump in profits in July, and analysts suggest it was, to an extent, because of the recession rather than despite it. In gloomier times people often turn to comfort eating and buy chocolate, ice cream and other treats to make themselves feel better.
People do tend to be more price aware, however, so the emphasis is on affordable luxury. So they’re more likely to plump for Cadbury’s Dairy Milk than Hotel Chocolat truffles.
Start a business selling budget goods
Starting a business selling budget ranges are, unsurprisingly, more prosperous in lean times.
‘Everything for a pound’ shops tend to do well. And with the credit crunch making bank loans hard to come by, pawn shops and cheque cashing shops are enjoying a spike in custom.
In contrast to restaurants, retailers selling budget food ranges are very successful.
Start a business selling goods and services used by the over-50s
They’ve got equity in their property, and they’ve got savings so their earnings rise with interest rates: over 50s have more to spend than younger age groups and they’re also more resilient in a recession.
Buy a franchise
An established franchise will invariably stand a better chance of thriving than a start-up. Many franchise brands have come through previous recessions unscathed so you can be confident they’ll have the means and savvy to do it again.
When the economy contracts some businesses inevitably go under. With their time-honed, streamlined processes and systems, franchises are usually leaner and fitter than their rivals and much less likely to fall by the wayside.
“We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”
Warren Buffett
God decided to take the devil to court and settle their differences once and for all. When Satan heard this, he laughed and said, “And where do you think you’re going to find a lawyer?”
Legal advice is a necessary evil. My advice re lawyers is as follows; to succeed you will need a good team of professionals around you. You will need a great accountant, a Tax adviser and at least one good solicitor. The danger when dealing with professions such as lawyer, accountant etc is to assume that because the person you are dealing with is qualified they must be good.
You need to get the sense that your solicitor is taking you and your case seriously. If your calls are not being returned promptly and you get the impression that you are wasting their valuable time, tell them that you have resolved the issue, settle your surprisingly large bill and walk. Bring the work that the previous crap solicitor did for you to another one and tell them that you fired the last guy because he was not up to scratch.
One letter from a solicitor can cost up to €500 so make sure you have an idea of costs before you engage one. Let them know how much you have to spend. Most business disputes can only be resolved in the high court which will set you back at least 10K so avoid even venturing down the legal road at all costs because the only people who win at the end of the day are you know who!.
Company: Kids in the Kitchen and Whip It Up
Website: www.kidsinthekitchen.ie and www.whipitup.ie
Founders: Victoria Mackechnie
Age: 29
Based: Dublin
Staff Numbers: 1
Date started: November 2008
Tell us what your business does?
My business involves providing cookery classes to children and adults. The Kids in the Kitchen constitutes the main part of my business through which I work with a number of primary and secondary schools as well community centres in the Greater Dublin Area to educate children about healthy eating and equip them with practical skills to produce tasty dishes for themselves. All of these classes are practical cookery sessions where children are involved in all aspects of cooking from beginning to end. Children then bring home their dishes to share with family and friends.
The Whip It Up business which was just launched in October 2009 aims to teach adults a number of tasty easy recipes and give them new culinary ideas. Each class has a different theme from Mediterannean to Mexican and shellfish to sinful desserts. These cookery classes are demonstration and take part mostly in chq, IFSC, Dublin 1. I work with Mitchell & Son Wine Merchants who teach participants about wine pairing and how to choose different wines to complement food flavours.
Where did the idea for your business come from?
I took a year out and lived in Sydney for a while and had the chance to run children’s cookery classes there. I have always been passionate about food and cookery though and did my first course when I was 9! Starting young stood to me. By acquiring this important life skill at a young age, I feel strongly that children are equipped to make healthy eating choices for themselves.
Have you always wanted to run your own business?
Yes always. In fact I wanted to launch this business when I finished college but felt the market wasnt yet ready. Since then, the obesity epidemic among children has exploded and I think as a nation we have become alot more aware of nutrition and healthy eating, while cookery has gained enormously in popularity, particularly now that people cant afford to eat out as much!
What planning did you do before you started up?
I had already tested the market by speaking directly with schools and also had the benefit of hands on experience from Australia. I was fortunate in that I didnt have a big capital outlay in order to start the busines so was in a position to start trading immediately after setting it up.
How did you raise the money?
I used savings to start the business. However the financial challenges ahead lie in the fact that these programmes are needed most acutely among schools in disadvantaged areas so I am constantly lobbying public and private bodies to fund these cookery programmes in these areas.
What challenges have you faced how have you overcome them?
Financial challenges are always going to be a feature of running your own business. Not having a consistent steady income stream is a big change and one that takes time to get used to. Obviously having a business degree and coming from a financial background helps. You have to become a lot more self disciplined and adept at financial planning. Another challenge for me has been adapting to working by myself. I miss working as part of a team and all the interaction with work colleagues.
How have you promoted your business?
Mostly it has been word of mouth and I have been lucky enough to get some good press coverage.
What has your growth been like?
The business has grown to incorporate a wider number of schools and has expanded to run adult programmes. I soon hope to turn this one woman show into a two person show!
What’s the impact on your home life been like?
I suppose my home life and work life are now very much intertwined. There is no longer a clear delineation between the two. However, I definitely have more flexibility which is something I really value.
Company: Corkage
Website: www.corkage.ie
Founders: Stephen Dillon
Age: 33
Based: Dublin
Staff Numbers: 4
Date started: June 2009
Tell us what your business does?
www.corkage.ie is a supplier of wines for weddings primarily but also for any special occasion or function. We also provide information about the whole topic of corkage, food and wine matching etc.
Where did the idea for your business come from?
The idea came about after several requests from friends and family for advice on wedding wine. I have been interested and involved in the wine industry for years. Many of the people who conatcted me were not happy with the price and quality of wines being offered to them by hotels, venues etc. They were looking for better quality and more choice and were smart enough to realise that by organising your own wine you can save a small fortune and give your guests better wine.
Have you always wanted to run your own business?
Yes. In addition to corkage I also own an off licence and previously an internet cafe.
What planning did you do before you started up?
I did a lot of research on what hotels were charging for corkage and requested copies of wine lists. As I am already in the trade I had a good idea of what they were paying for the wines on the list. The difference convinced me that there was an opportunity to give people an alternative choice.
How did you raise the money?
Luckily the website did not require much investment. I found a great web developper who got the site up and running very quickly (www.complex.ie). Much of the required infrastructure for the business was already in place from the off licence. Raising money for the off licence is another story!
What challenges have you faced how have you overcome them?
The economic downturn was obviously a major challenge. The whole wine industry in Ireland is under massive pressure at the moment. The government raising VAT last year just as the UK government dropped their rate sent lots of people shopping up north particularily for big purchases like 200 bottles of wine!. This also created an oppoprtunity as we were able to buy lots of liquidated and bin end stock from hard pressed suppliers in the south. This meant we could find great ‘clearence’ lots for our customers. On one occasion we sourced a wine that normally sold for €20 per bottle for well under €10.,
How have you promoted your business?
Most promotion has been done through google adwords, although this can be expensive you do get pretty instant results once you use the right keywords. I have also linked up with a number of wedding websites again this reaches the target market.
What has your growth been like?
Growth has been steady, we started by supplying wine to people we knew, slowly word started spreading and enquiries and visits to the site are growing every week. We also offer free delivery and a sale or return service this has definately helped sales.
What’s the impact on your home life been like?
There has been no major impact on home life as I have been doing long hours in the off licence already. I have enjoyed updating the blog and checking the number of hits on the site. Compared to retail web based business is a dream!
Starting a business general advice from Ruairi – www.kro.ie
Kro IT Solutions is only a baby still (12 months old, and only about 6 months trading) but already I have learned some serious lessons. I’m happy to share them in the off chance that you are six months behind me and starting out on day one.
My Top Five Tips for New Business Owners
1) Don’t listen to anyone’s advice unless they are a business person who is a success and has walked the talk. Enterprise this and Resource that and your local Rural whatever office are full of farmers daughters who couldn’t sell a bone to a dog. Take their grants if you can get them but don’t let them direct your company. My mistake was almost to stay in Roscommon because the local board there offered me a few bits and bobs. Instead I moved to Galway and opened up much more work for myself. Of course I am asking you to listen to me and I am not a huge success yet, but my advice hopefully takes that into account!
2) If you decide to work for free or at a discount then work as if you are getting paid full price. Lots of people advise against working for free. I agree to some extent but you also need to prove yourself. However my mistake was to take on a fair bit of free or low cost work and then not give it the attention I gave paying work. The result is that work you didn’t get paid for ends up becoming a bad mark on your record and you ultimately begin to lose money because of it. If you decide to do something at a low cost then don’t be fooled into thinking you are working for someone for nothing. You are working for yourself to further your position. If you work for free for a family member then you are giving them a gift so make it the best you can.
3) Don’t offer credit to strangers. Why in this climate would you offer credit to complete strangers when banks won’t offer it to their own customers? An exceptionally good book about starting a [custom software] business is http://www.hentzenwerke.com/catalog/sdg3.htm which outlines some advice to ensure you get paid. The main advice is to draft an acceptance letter stating what work you will complete, how much it will cost, and when you will invoice. Your client is required to sign the acceptance letter and return it before you start work. For all projects over a couple of grand I ask for an acceptance letter to be signed and I insist on staged payments or a retainer. So far only one client has refused and informed me “just do the work and then you will get paid”. As they said in The Holy Grail “run away, run away”.
4) Forget about marketing – it doesn’t work in Ireland (although do it anyway just in case I am wrong). Twitter, advertising, Facebook, etc are all pretty much useless. We all know the old cliché that word of mouth is how all business is done in Ireland. That is unfortunate when you have a big mouthed client who for reasons beyond your control ends up unhappy with your work, however it is also a blessing as it is a damn cheap way to market yourself. You need to start at day 1 and treat your customers like gold. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they are like – if they are your customer then they are your business. Treat them right. I made mistakes with customers and probably will continue to do so but I keep striving to do better every day. In recent weeks I have had to revisit three websites that were completed by my company as the customer was (rightly) not entirely happy. I’ve broke my back and lost a fortune reworking those sites and getting them right but I am now very proud of them and would happily stand over them. So would my customers.
5) Don’t trust anyone, and don’t rely on anyone. Once you enter the world of business it is shocking how people treat you. Everyone considers you a cash cow and everyone is willing to drop their moral standards when dealing with you. You are no longer the bread winner for your family who is doing their best to get by and make an honest living. Once you become XYZ Limited expect your bank to treat you like an almost guaranteed failure and protect their every five euro as if it was the only one they had. Expect former friends to ask you to sponsor every charity event they get involved in without a second thought as to whether you have it or not. Expect people who you get on well with and form a bond with to pay your invoices two months later than they are due. The type of people who would formerly be co-workers that you could have good relationships with are now employees who want to ride you for every cent they can get. To paraphrase Rudyard Kipling “If you can keep your decency when all around you are losing theirs then you’ll be a man my son”. Wish me luck on that one – it’s early days yet. Although being the next Mr Burns has it’s attractions. Exxxcellent.
If I had a 6th tip it would be to find a mentor and make use of them. However 5 tips is a nice length. This is a bloody hard time to start a business in Ireland, but if you didn’t like a challenge you wouldn’t be doing it to begin with. I could finish off by advising you to get a great website and then mentioning that we can do you a deal, but since you have just read number 5 you might not believe me.
Thanks for the post Ruairi!!
http://www.kro.ie/blog/
We rewiew the good, the bad and the ugly of business books. Do you have a favourite business book? why not review it on Startups.
Entrepreneurs –Autobiography/ Biography
Business Stripped Bare – Richard Branson (Virgin Books)
This is a sort of update on Sir Richard’s business empire taking a more philosophical view on what makes a business successful. This is not a patch on Losing My Virginity and in fact many of the same stories are repeated. Unless you are planning to take over a chain of banks, buy a railway monopoly from the state or build a spaceship you can live without this one. 2/5
Anyone Can Do It – Building Coffee Republic From Our Kitchen Table – Sahar and Bobby Hashemi (Capstone Publishing)
Sahar and Bobby Hashemi are the sister and brother team who built Coffe Republic the UK high street coffee chain. Giving up highly paid professional jobs, she as a lawyer in London and he an investment banker in New York, they staked everything on their dream. This is a great little book and well worth a read. It takes you step by step through the process of building Coffee Republic , from the original idea and brainstorming to Growth and customer service. 4/5
Making Bread – Brody Sweeney (Liberties Press)
A refreshingly honest, direct and jargon free book, Brody shares his experiences, good, bad and difficult of setting up O’Briens Sandwich Bars. This book is well worth a read as it offers good practical advice from an Irish perspective. The chapter on bank finance is particularly relevant i.e ‘Banks only like lending money to those who don’t need it’ and how to get around this. 4/5
Anyone Can Do It – My Story – Duncan Bannatyne (Orion Books)
Grumpy dragon Duncan tells his story from a tough upbringing in Clydebank, Scotland to multi millionaire entrepreneur. Duncan was a self confessed dosser until he finally set his mind to making money in his thirties. Starting with an ice cream van business he built business after business each more profitable than the last. This book also shows Duncan’s charitable side which is pretty inspiring stuff. 4/5 This book is also reviewed by FiscalStudent (See post below)
Enter the Dragon – Theo Paphitis (Orion Books)
Theo Paphitis has built one of the most successful retail empires in the UK. Theo founded his first company at 23 and his big skill is in seeing untapped potential in loss making business which he then makes profitable. Of particular interest to anyone in retail this is worth a read although there is a big middle padding section where he covers his period in charge of Millwall football club, this is just boring. 3/5
Tycoon – How to turn dreams into millions – Peter Jones (Hodder & Stoughton)
I hated this book and to be honest could not finish it. From the arrogant title ‘Tycoon’ to the incredibly annoying ‘Tycoon Tips’ throughout the book you get the impression of someone who is a bit too dizzy in the glare of fame. Tycoon Tip – Avoid. 0/5
Business Nightmares – When Entrepreneurs Hit Crisis Point – Rachael Elnaugh (Crimson)
A novel approach from the fallen dragon. After the high profile loss of her business ‘Red Letter Days’ and subsequent removal from Dragon’s Den, Rachael interviews other high profile contacts such as Jeffrey Archer and Doug Richard. The book has a pretty bitter and angry tone particularly towards some of the remaining Dragon’s. Despite this it is relevant to see the dark side of business when things go wrong as they do more often than not. There is also some good advice and tips that could save you lots of money and heart ache. 3/5
Dragons’ Den – Success from Pitch to Profit – Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan (Collins)
This book is a bit of a con. Someone got an hour interview time with each of the Dragon’s and turned it into a lightweight mish mash in order to cash in on the show’s popularity. You will walk away none the wiser. 1/5
How They Started – How 30 good ideas became great businesses – David Lester (Crimson)
This is a great little book, each chapter is a perfect bite size, just long enough to tell each story while maintaining your interest. The book covers businesses such as Bebo, Moneysupermarket.com, Pizza Express and Cobra Beer and gives a brief outline of how they got going and the challenges that they faced along the way. 4/5
Marketing
Purple Cow – Transform your business by being remarkable – Seth Godin (Penguin)
A good ‘Loo’ read. Marketing Guru Seth Godin urges everyone involved in creating, designing or selling to think in new ways about their market. By adopting alternative approaches to your business, you and your company will survive to innovate another day. 3/5
Online Marketing Heroes – Michael Miller (Wiley)
Terrible and boring. Interviews with 25 ‘succesful online marketing guru’s’. If you are having trouble sleeping, this one is perfect for you. 0/5
