One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). The implications of the decision you make are huge, defining your brand image, your funding requirements, and your long-term business viability.
Business Plan
5 Steps for Calculating Your Startup Costs
You can’t create a realistic business plan without knowing how much it will cost to get your business up and running. If you don’t have an idea of your startup costs, you won’t know how long you’ll have to bootstrap, how much funding you’ll need, how quickly to scale. In other words, without calculating your startup costs, you don’t really know where you’re going—or how you’re going to get there. And your company could fail before you even hit the break-even point.
How Entrepreneurs Qualify for Funding from Banks
A common question I get is “How do I get a bank loan to fund my startup?” The default answer is that it probably won’t happen, because most banks just don’t make bank loans to startups. The failure rate is just too high, and startups typically don’t have the assets or revenue stream to back up the loan. That’s why Angel investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs.
The Combination That Gives Solopreneurs a Great Chance to Succeed
If you have passion, talent, and a market, then the odds of solopreneurial success are high. But what if you don’t have all three? What combinations will work and which ones won’t?
Do You Feel Pulled in Multiple Marketing Directions?
Marketing has embraced every new channel and technology that it changes at the speed of light. And with those changes come specialists who claim that theirs is the best on the block for your small business or nonprofit organization.
Three Lessons I Wish I Knew Before Starting My First Startup
If I had discovered these top three lessons when I first began as an entrepreneur, perhaps I would have been able to indulge in more than deli sandwiches earlier on in my career. If you’re a first time entrepreneur, taking these tips to heart can really influence your progress…
Don’t Let Your Beliefs Limit Your Pricing
As a business owner, you want your prices to be fair to both you and your customer. But your price should also reflect the value that your customers are getting. Don’t limit your pricing based on your fears of what customers will think. If you’re still offering value, then you’ll find the customers you need.
The Marketing Plan: Essential Elements
Have you thought about your marketing plan? To compete in a crowded marketplace, you have to go in with a plan that you’ve thought about and put together carefully and intentionally. No matter what stage your business is at, you should have a plan for your marketing efforts.
How Big Is the Market
Do you know how many people out there might be interested in your product or service? Any investor or lender is going to ask how big your market is as one of their first questions, and the answer is an important factor in a business’s long-term success.
Applying Political Terms to Marketing Segmentation
There are important insights for product marketing that actually come from the political world. One of the most important lessons is in how to segment the market, identifying which customers to go after and which ones to ignore. You can save time and money by focusing on your most productive targets.
