May 2012 – Page 2 – TP Javeton WebNet

Approach your entrepreneurship with a
dare-to-be-different attitude, and it will
create the edge you need to succeed.
– Tony Phillips

Your special something

That special something that only you can bring to your entrepreneurship and transfer it to your clients and/or customers has been defined in different ways by different industries. Some refer to it as a “schtick”, others a “modus operandi” or “tactic” and still others, a USP (Unique Sales Proposition/Proposal), the last term used most often in the copywriting business.

That unique touch I refer to adds value to your website and your service or product and is one of the most over looked and under rated strategies for improving your Web entrepreneurship. The Web and modern technology make it possible for anyone to offer that little something extra that nobody else does, and usually at no additional cost.

The why, what and how!

First the Why! Let’s look at why this is a good practice for big and small businesses alike, including your entrepreneurship: It’s a good thing to do because you will make more money if you integrate the schtick into your daily activities by making it a part of your overall business practice!

Second is the What! Now let’s take a look at exactly what value adding is! Value adding is giving surprise high quality and useful gifts. It’s giving something that your competitors aren’t offering. It’s promising the world and delivering the universe. It’s taking care of your clients and always providing something that your clients need and want, when and where they want it.

Third is the How! We’ll now take a look at the different ways this can be done: If you receive a free gift from someone when you don’t expect it, do you remember that person?

The USP example

Answer: Yes, most of us do, especially when it is something we can use or have needed. How can you do this in your entrepreship? The best way to answer this question is with an example as stated below:

If you go out to dinner and order a menu item, what do you expect? You expect to get what you ordered from that menu, right? Now imagine that you ordered a T-Bone steak medium well along with your beverage of choice and whatever side orders comes with the dish.

Say you enjoy your meal and is satisfied with the service as well as the price you pay, which you consider very good or great. You grab the bill and is ready to leave when the restaurant owner comes to your table with a package which turns out to be a bottle of good wine ($25.00 value) from his own cellar and gives it to you with these words: “our special gift to you”. Wouldn’t that make you more likely to go back to that restaurant for future steak dinners? Probably not only steak dinners either!

That’s one simple example, and I understand that it is impractical for you to sell steak dinners in a Web entrepreneurship, but I also understand that everyone may not relate to Internet newsletters or know what an eZine subscriptions is; however, you will agree we all have had a decent restaurant meal at one time or another, so a steak dinner is something we can all relate to. The point is, that restaurant owner got your attention with his unique touch.

The unique ingredient

Think of something you have that many other entrepreneurs don’t or, if others have it, they cannot serve it or apply it with the same skill or touch you can. You may have studied oceanography in college or maybe you’re a good swimmer who never went to college but have a knack for marine life and you own a Web entreneurship/website about marinas. Add something directly from you that anyone else will find it hard to match. That’s the best description of your unique touch / schtick / USP.

So you can see that by offering this free and unique gift you have achieved several things:

You have developed a product (at no cost to you) that you can sell and make a profit on. Think of it this way: Your unique touch, when added to an existing product has the potential of making that product like new. Just like new paint on an old house. “A coat of paint makes it what it ain’t”.
You have used that product to increase the chances of your new entrepreneurship getting repeat customers or visitors to your website (prospects now but future customers), as well as keeping their attention, if not loyalty will ensure that any specials you run and notify them via email they will open, so your list will also be easier to maintain.
You have promoted you site/service to other Web marketers that you may wish to do a joint venture with at some time.

Other ways to add value for less effort is to:

Offer a 110 percent guarantee instead of a 100 percent.
Offer FREE tips about how to get the best out of your product, etc., get the idea?
It’s all just a matter of finding ways that you can give more, because the more you give the more you will receive.

I sincerely believe that and I hope you do also…You’ll be better off for it. Good luck!

Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

The need for seed money

Practically every new business which is created starts out with a great idea that usually needs shaping, molding and a lot of long hours and hard work if it is to become a viable and competitive member of industry. However, most business do not reach the level of industry competitor without some kind of monetary investment.

Let’s face it, after you’ve been awaken in the middle of the night, or stayed awake with a business idea that you’re convinced will change the world, only to learn next morning that you’ll need money to get the business moving. What do you do if you don’t have that ‘seed money’?

If you own a home, you’ll remortgage (refinance) it. Take it from me cause it’s what I did to start my own real estate agency in the 1980s. I was fortunate enough to have owned a home, but not everyone with a great idea for a business owns a home. So what are some other options?

Investors and Equity

Practically every economy is built upon the backs of small business and entrepreneurship practioners. Every day someone comes up with an idea that will make a great business. Every day, these same people wonder how they will come up with the cash to get the business off the ground. The classic answer is to look for investors, and this is where things can go bad.

If you’re seeking investors for your business, you are going to need to form a business entity. Corporations and LLCs (Limited Liability Companies) are the most popular, and give you the ability to trade ownership interest in exchange for cash contributions.

With a corporation, investors will buy shares in the corporation. With limited liability companies, the investors will buy membership interests. Regardless, this traditional exchange gives rise to a problem common among small business owners. They often end up giving away too much equity.

From Joy to Misery

A common mistake made by new business owners is to give away too much equity when getting initial cash contributions. This occurs because they let insecurities impact their evaluation of the business. Instead of giving away two percent of equity in exchange for $50,000, they often give away ten percent. Let’s look at an example.

An industrious person starts a business selling digital gadgets. S/he prepares a business plan and realize s/he needs $250,000 to get everything up and running. s/he has $50,000, but need to find the rest somewhere. So s/he forms a corporation with 1,000 shares and start approaching potential investors.

S/he offers 100 shares for $25,000 and finds five investors that invest $125,000 in exchange for 500 total shares. In summary, s/he now has $175,000, but has given away half the equity in the business. While s/he is not happy about this, s/he is still so excited and enthused about the business idea that s/he shrugs it off.

Compounded misery

The business gets rolling and s/he starts selling gadgets like crazy after one year. This gives rise to a serious cash problem because s/he’s getting orders, but can’t fill them because of cash flow problems. To make a proper go of the business, s/he needs another $100,000.

Where is s/he going to get $100,000? The business is only one year old, so a bank won’t touch it. The original investors haven’t seen penny one back, and are unwilling to put more money in. The only option is to sell another 400 shares for $100,000. Fortunately, s/he sells the shares, raises the money and stays in business. However, there is a major problem.

In raising all of this money, s/he has now sold off ninety percent of the equity in a business S/HE started, but now s/he’s left owning 100 shares and only 10 percent of the business. This is going to severely impact this owner’s physical, emotional and overall motivational well being. Slowly but surely, s/he’s going to become very bitter. It was s/he that had the idea and s/he is doing all the work! It really isn’t fair that s/he only owns 10 percent of the business! But that’s how it is. End of example!

Guard your equity…fiercely!

On second thought, this impression may come on very quickly. Regardless, the business is destined to experience major problems because the primary motivating force is no longer motivational. Unfortunately, many people with business ideas run into this problem.

If you are starting a business, guard your equity at all costs. Selling equity should be a last resort. Try to get loans or trade profit sharing in lieu of selling equity. If you must sell equity, do so only in small percentages. You do not want to be the small business person in the example above.