TP Javeton WebNet

Category: Entrepreneur

Individual skilled in a specific field or area working independent of established “salaried job” setting. Best described by the term “spirit of the entrepreneur”, this type of person is known to carve out his/her own niche, call his/her own shots and work according to his/her own schedule.

  • Trading Equity For Cash In A New Business

    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.

    Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

  • First Steps Towards Your Own Web Entrepreneurship


    First steps: Choosing the business

    When starting an Web-based business there are a few things you should consider must-have requirements.

    1. Business Name – Domain
    2. Web Hosting
    3. Advertising (Marketing) Budget
    4. Web Marketing Tools

    Among the most important requirements when starting your Web-based business is the business name. Since you will also need a domain name to make it possible for Web users to find your business, it will serve you well if you can get a domain name that is the same as, or very similar to your business name. Reason being, in the case of a Web-based business, your website IS your business; so having a domain name and business name that is the same will improve your marketing and optimization efforts.

    Web Hosting is to your Web-based business as commercial space is to your offline (brick and mortar) business. You need a space in which to operate, where your customers can come and visit your store, look around, browse and perhaps make a purchase. Web Hosting provides that space for your web-based business. The Web Hosting company may be viewed as similar to your offline – retail space – landlord. They both provide the space from which you operate your business, making it a must-have requirement.

    Exposure for your business

    Now that you have your business/domain name and your Web hosting, you’re going to need exposure for your business. This aspect of your Web-based business can also be compared to an offline – brick and mortar – business in that advertising is essential to the success or failure of the brick and mortar and is even a more crucial element to your Web-based business because you would not have the benefit of “walk-in” traffic with a Web-based entity. So you must have an advertising and marketing budget.

    In order to be as proficient in marketing your Web-based business – as you must assume your competitor is – you will need a Web marketing toolkit consisting of the kind of Web marketing tools you’re most comfortable with to facilitate your marketing campaigns. This is an area in which you will find several options. Web marketing tools you will be able to choose from include (it’s assumed that you’ll have a computer and internet connection):

    • Website/Blog
    • Lead Capture Software
    • Autoresponder
    • Video Producer
    • Web Conferencing
    • WYSIWYG or Other HTML Editor

    You will also have at your disposal a number of Web marketing methods, techniques and resources that are proven to get results based on prior use by many successful and well established Web business owners who came before you. Types of marketing I refer to are:

    • Content Creation (Article Marketing)
    • Social Media Marketing (Social Networking)
    • Copywriting (Salesletter Composition)
    • PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Campaigns
    • Traffic Exchange Surfing
    • SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

    Profitability: The ultimate goal

    Some of these methods you may not be familiar with in the early days of your Web-based business. However, you will always have the option of hiring someone who is an expert in one of these areas to do a professional job for you, which is why an “advertising and marketing” budget is among your must-have requirements.

    After you’ve put together the best combination of your must-haves, Web marketing tools and types of marketing you intend to utilize, you can then decide whether or not you want to do most of the work, hire professionals to do the work or automate – as much as possible – your Web-based business so as to reduce your workload.

    Let’s not forget what may be the most important element of your Web-based business. It must be Profitable! You may requireme that the business have the potential to generate at least $1,000 per month in profit, so as to replace the income from your job, thus making your Web-based business your full time job.

    Only you will know the amount of revenue you want your Web-based business to generate. Once you’ve set a monetary goal and your other must-have requirements are in place, you can be off to the best start expected of any Web-based entity. Good Luck!

  • Fact-Based Perspective On Web Entrepreneurship


    Stats-based web success

    Who doesn’t want to run a business from their home and wear a bathrobe to virtual business meetings? Since those heady days of the dotcom boom circa 1995, the ideal of starting an online business has drawn many to try their business legs in the challenges of online commerce. And indeed, the statistics were attractive back in 2009 during which time, over fifty-five percent of American households are wired for the Web, and over a third, or 32 percent have made a purchase online, according to the US Census Bureau. Today that number has increased to approximately seventy-five percent.

    Also, according to InternetRetailer.com, “U.S. e-commerce sales totaled $165.4 billion in 2010, up 14.8% from $144.1 billion in 2009, according to non-adjusted estimates released today by the U.S. Commerce Department. The numbers also show that e-commerce is taking a bigger slice of the overall retail sales pie and is growing at a much faster pace than retail sales. 4.2% of total retail spending took place online during 2010, up from 3.9% in 2009, according to Commerce Department estimates.

    When excluding sales in categories not commonly bought online — automobiles, fuel, grocery and food service sales — Internet Retailer calculates that e-commerce accounted for 7.6% of total retail sales during the year, up from 7.0% in 2009. Total retail sales, which includes e-commerce sales, increased 7.0% in 2010 and totaled $3.92 trillion.”

    The Web: A blender of success?

    So yes, there are buckets of money being made online, but who’s making it and who’s not? When some folks think of “making money online,” or Web Entrepreneurship, they create an image of simply turning on a computer and getting money out of it, as if it were an ATM machine. In fact, the Web, and all the commercial features of it, are merely tools in the entrepreneur’s toolbox that should be used alongside other, more traditional tools.

    NAVAN Global, the REAL SEAL!

    When you’re building a house, for example, sometimes that high-tech, laser pointing thingamabob is great; but sometimes you just need a nail and hammer. And so it is with online business, and supplementing all the high-tech with old-fashioned business, or in many cases, supplementing old-fashioned business with some high-tech, is what it takes to be successful. Success online comes not in replacing the old with the new, but blending them together.

    Remember the old Yahoo!?

    With a few high-profile exceptions, most businesses that “make money online” successfully aren’t exclusive virtual sales companies, but instead, they use the Web as just one of several sales channels. While people are buying things online, they enjoy having the Web as an option, but don’t want it to be their only option. More often than not, the Web is used as a vehicle for researching products that will actually be bought in an actual brick-and-mortar store.

    Creating a virtual business doesn’t mean that it should be exclusively virtual. The most successful online businesses are those that have promoted themselves offline as well as on, through traditional media such as television and newspapers plus “click-throughs” and email advertising. Yahoo!, in its early days, was an excellent example of a fabulously successful online company, but what do many of us remember most when we think of Yahoo! these days? The silly yodel from their olod television commercials.

    The online-offline strategy

    Perhaps one of the most important things to remember when starting an online business, is not to get lost in the online mystique. The Web revolution has brought, and continues to bring, us all manner of useful tools and techniques for commerce, but if you want to get customers to visit your new online boutique, it’s a good idea to actually change out of your bathrobe, get out of your den, and actually talk to some people face-to-face, or at least, send out a few traditional newsletters that includes your online store information.

  • Entrepreneurs Making Millions On The Web – Hype or Fact?


    The hype or fact equation

    How much money can you, the entrepreneur, make on the Web? Are there really entrepreneurs making millions on the Web? Can it be both hype AND fact that entrepreneurs are making millions on the Web? All these questions have been asked and answered many times by entrepreneurs who did their due diligence in researching the possibilities of making money on the Web over the last 20 to 30 years. However, we will take another look at this topic.

    First and foremost let’s talk about the “hype or fact” element. Of course there are entrepreneurs making millions on the Web! And it is certainly reasonable to believe that you can be one of them. However, you should not allow any hype surrounding the emergence of opportunities cause you to lose your common sense.

    Entrepreneurs become millionaires by effectively assessing the needs of a market and having a product or service that addresses those needs. There is a lot of hype surrounding the issue of making money on the Web, but as was stated earlier, entrepreneurs can make millions on the Web.

    Before and after the Web

    The Web can greatly expand your methods of selling products and/or services, as well as the market to which you sell them. Some entrepreneurs have been able to use this marketplace to make a lot of money. Some companies that operate only on the Web have made Web millionaires of their entrepreneurial founders. There is probably little doubt that Google founder Larry Page and Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg were young entrepreneurs who aspired to be millionaires before they actually became Web millionaires.

    NAVAN Global, the REAL SEAL!

    Let’s look at it this way. Before the Web there were auctions, but no eBay. With thousands of items sold daily, each one making a profit for eBay, there is no doubt that the founders must be entrepreneurs who had an idea for eBay – or something like it – and are now Web millionaires. And before the Web there were bookstores, but no Amazon.com. Today Amazon is outdoing traditional bookstores. Don’t you wish you were the entrepreneur who founded Amazon.com? Or, at least, one of the founding entrepreneurs?

    An idea and a belief in self

    Web entrepreneurs who become millionaires start with an idea and a belief in themselves. They find a way to set themselves apart from the rest. Like real world millionaires, they often have enough faith in their ideas that they risk their own money and even seek additional funding elsewhere. Once they get started, they make themselves big enough that the other competition does not threaten them.

    Entrepreneurs who become millionaires on the Web, start early in the game. For example, now that we have eBay, people often forget that there are other auctions. The only real competition Amazon.com has today is the traditional bookstores that were always there and since Amazon.com has expanded into several other product lines it is somewhat of and overstatement to refer to traditional bookstores as competition.

    When optimism outweighs pessimism

    If you, the entrepreneur, want to be a Web millionaire, think of a need that is still largely unfulfilled or a market that is largely untapped. After that, you will have to believe in your idea enough to take some financial risks. If it doesn’t work, you lose your investment. If it does however, you might join the ranks of entrepreneurs who became millionaires on the Web.

    In conclusion, let me pose this question: If you have what you think is a great idea, and you believe in it, wouldn’t your optimism that it WILL work outweigh your pessimism that it won’t? If your answer is yes, it follows then that although the risk of financial lost is real and you have taken that risk into consideration, it does not outweigh the prospects of success for your idea. If you agree with this conclusion, then you truly are an entrepreneur at heart!

    A primary business tool on hold

    Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

  • Starting A Business With The Three ‘Ps’ In Stock

    The first of three ‘Ps’? Plan!

    A primary business tool on hold

    There are a lot of factors to consider when starting a business. Primary among these factors are what has commonly been referred to as the three “P”s – Plan, Prepare, Persist. As the business owner you are responsible for eveything that happens in that new business and all decisions are yours to make, so it follows that you must utilize every tool, strategy and resource that will enhance your ability to operate the business efficiently and effectively with an eye towards ultimate success.

    After you have selected some ideas from your brainstorming to base your business around, the next step is to create a plan of attack. List all that you think you’ll need before your business starts.

    What will your ongoing expenses be? Factors may include rent, utilities, permits, licensing, legal fees, inventory, staff, design, marketing collateral, mailing lists, software, advertising and more. Get as much as you can down on paper and set deadlines to get things accomplished. In every business there is goal-setting (or should be) and every realistic goal has a deadline. This will allow you to evaluate your pace.

    Prepare: The second of three ‘Ps’!

    Once you have a plan, you must implement it by working in accordance with the steps set forth in that plan. Preparing to start a business can be a lot of work. Tasks may include getting an identity designed (or logo), creating business cards, brochures, web sites and other marketing material, consulting with CPA’s, lawyers, and HR professionals, in some cases finding and renting or buying a storefront or office, furnishing the business space, getting utilities in place, receiving and organizing inventory, getting a database for your customers and leads and any number of other tasks.

    By running a home business, some of these steps will already be taken care of, yet opening a business of any kind can be an enormous task. While planning your business make sure to leave plenty of time to get it up and running. Better to plan your setup time too long than too short and finding yourself running out of money.

    The third ‘P’ is Persist

    This is the most important step of running a business. Without persistence, you won’t even be able to finish your business plan. Hang on like a pit-bull. When the going gets tough, get tougher. Have worst case scenario plans to fall back on, as well as best case scenario plans.

    Some businesses become over-night successes, while others take a year or two develop. Along the way there will be occurrences and events that will have an effect on your business. If it’s based offline (brick and mortar), you may experience power-outs, acts of God (hurricanes, floods, snow storms, etc.), acts of the local municipality (tax increases, license rate changes, highway construction & repair, etc.), and a host of other changes that could cause you to lose momentum, if not money.

    But the one thing you must have is focus on your goals. If you plan, prepare and persist, you’ve got a very good chance of business success, because you would have a foundation upon which to build.

  • Home Based Web Business – A Network Marketing Affair


    If you have been in the eCommerce market for at least 6 months, you are already receiving offers from many companies promoting their products/services to you, and this will continue as businesses offer you the opportunity to become a distributor of those products and/or services. While many of these businesses offer the opportunity free of charge, others may require you to pay a fee similar to that of a franchise, based on their willingness to set up a website with your name on it and provide instructions on how to make it a success.

    Regardless of the motives behind their willingness to share knowledge, techniques and strategies, you’re still able to share in the wealth of their business operations. Where many people make the mistake, is in getting involved with a home-based Web business and then believing – mistakenly – that just by filling out the online forms and paying the required fees, they will immediately start on a money-making journey to riches, wealth and the realization of their dreams.

    This could not be farther from the reality of what actually happens after getting involved with a home-based web business. Failure to think long enough about how you came to be involved in this type of business, and the fact that someone was marketing this plan to you, can often lead to failure to grow your new business by marketing it to others; as many “others” as you possibly can during the early years of the new venture.

    So the time to relax is not in the beginning of your new business but after you put in the required time (10 to 18 hour days and 7 day weeks, for as long as it takes) to make your business a success. The major portion of your time, work and and money will be spent – or should be spent – promoting and advertising your new business.

    There are numerous ways to promote your home-based Web business, such as old-fashion advertising, handing out business cards or even putting you web address on the side of your vehicle to be seen while you drive to the grocery store or around town. All that may be good to draw a half dozen people or so to your new business venture, but to help it really grow and ultimately succeed, it may be necessary to rely more on the network marketing strategy.

    NAVAN Global, the REAL SEAL!

    Oil millionaire J. Paul Getty is often quoted as saying, he would rather have one percent of the efforts of 100 people, than 100 percent of his own efforts; and that is the basis of network marketing. The Kirby vacuum cleaner company devised its own form of network marketing as far back as 1935 before the phrase was coined and the concept totally understood.

    The KVC company knew that in order to sell their sweepers, a sit-down presentation was needed. They had a few dealers with whom they shared the profits of their sales and using their proven methods they taught others to sell the sweepers and each person who was brought in as a sales representative could also share in the profits off the efforts of others once s/he followed the proven success plan.

    While a few people may make a lot of money in a short period of time with network marketing, most must grow their business slowly, because of the learning curve, as well as the marketing tests (or test marketing as the case may be) that must take place if your home-based Web business is to be a success. Test marketing is a time-consuming activity which cannot be rushed.

    You owe it to your business and yourself (and family, if applicable) to devote the number of hours every day, week and month to learn all you need to know from and about the sponsoring company (if your business is network marketing or milti-level marketing in nature), and anything else you need to know about how to market the product or service you are selling.

    Once you educate yourself, you can train others to be successful by teaching them to market the product or service and make money from their sales as well. The more people they have working under them, the more money they can make; And since you devoted valuable time, money and resources to train them, you will also make more money which you would deserve.

  • Customers: The Entrepreneurial Blueprint For Marketing Success

    TPJaveton WebNet welcomes past readers and supporters of the Web Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs Website!

    As you may already know, the content of Web Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs was recently merged with TPJaveton WebNet in our efforts to consolidate the various Internet properties owned and operated by TPJaveton & Associates into one comprehensive site. If you experienced any inconvenience during your efforts to find the content you’re used to reading at WMTfE, we extend our sincerest apologies. However, we will try to bring you content that is qualitatively as good as what you’ve become accustomed to at WMTfE. Thanks for visiting again!

    Customer discovery

    The headline to this article that Customers Are The Entrepreneurial Blueprint For Marketing Success is a rather obvious statement. However, it is being emphasized here to express the point that what is obvious or may seem routine is oftentimes the very thing that is neglected in entrepreneurships and businesses all over the world, and invariably leads to the failure of those businesses. Thus the question…

    How well do you know your customers? a little introspection can get the ball rolling in you getting a pretty good idea of who your customers are and exactly what is the primary reason your they (customers and/or clients) come to your website, product page or – if your business is offline – your business establishment? What is the primary reason your customers purchase your product or service? What is the Number One problem you solve for them? Do you know? Are you certain? If you don’t know or are not certain, your marketing could be missing the mark, and you could be missing out on sales.

    Uncovering Your “Key Selling Point”

    This is the Single Marketing Message that is central in all of your communications about your business, product or service. You might say it is your Unique Sales Proposition. It can be difficult for small business owners to determine what their single marketing message or USP should be. Why? Because they are too close to their business; And, because they are viewing their business from their side of the desk, or counter as the case may be.

    That having been said, how are you keeping your marketing customer-focused and dealing with the challenges it is most certain to present? And even if you, the forward thinking business owner have figured out how to meet such a challenge, have you considered looking at your business from our customers’ perspective? We both know it’s often easier said than done. It very easy to many business owners to get caught up in all the amazing features of our product or service and the reasons WE THINK our clients are attracted to or buying from us.

    NAVAN Global, the REAL SEAL!

    But sometimes our vantage point is clouded by our own perceptions and beliefs. And those perceptions and beliefs may be inaccurate. So how do you pinpoint the real reason customers are attracted to your product or service and the true reasons they are choosing to buy?

    The easy way to stay on track

    Very simply, YOU ASK THEM! Okay, I know it seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how often we don’t think of the obvious, a sentiment expressed earlier in this post. Your prospects and customers (and yes, even your non-buyers) can provide great insights about the benefits they value most in your product or service and why they chose to buy, or not buy, in the case of the non-buyers.

    Let’s get straight to a very integral part of every entrepreneur’s duty – yes, I said duty – which will bring things more into focus: Research! You don’t have to have a large customer or prospect base to do some research and see if you are on track; because even if you only have a handful of clients or customers, you could contact them and ask them what they like most about your product or service.

    Talk to your Clients or Customers

    1. What is the one thing that got them to purchase?
    2. Have you delivered on that promise?
    3. What do they like least about your product or service?
    4. How could you improve your product or service?
    5. What else (in your business category) do they have a need for?
    6. How else could you help them be successful, be happier, or solve whatever problem your product or service solves for them?

    Talk to & survey your non-buyers (This have been done very successfully by a number of eCommerce companies) – find out why they DIDN’T buy.

    • Ask them what product or service they bought instead of yours? And why?
    • Ask them what that competing product or service offered that yours did not?
    • Ask if there is anything you could do to get their business in the future? Product or service changes, additions, deletions?

    Talk to your Prospects

    Do you have a list of prospects – those who have expressed an interest in your product or service but have not yet purchased? Perhaps they have subscribed to your newsletter or ezine.

    • Ask them for feedback on your newsletter or ezine content.
    • What topics are they interested in learning more about?
    • How can you help them to be more successful, happier, etc?
    • Find out what they want and who they are.

    And in all three cases — Clients/Customers, Rejecters, and Prospects — if it seems appropriate, ask for a little information about who they are. Age, gender, profession, where they live, how much they typically spend in your product or service category.

    This will help you get a better understanding of your target audience and you’ll know if you are attracting the kind of people you thought would be interested in your product or service. And if you need to change your marketing strategy to reach a different audience, or to perhaps change your target audience, doing so will help you better serve them.

     

    The more you can learn about your prospects and customers the better you can serve them. And the more effectively you can market to them. You may be in for a surprise, but customers and prospects will tell you why they are buying from you or not buying, if they are asked. What you hear surprise you.

    Very often what you hear can help you zero-in on a Unique Selling Proposition that you never thought of. And because it came from the mouths of your customers you know it is compelling and effective, but don’t change everything based on a few opinions.

    My only caution is if you only have a handful of customers or prospects to survey, don’t make any major changes or decisions until you are able to validate your findings among a larger group of people… Or at least test any changes you do make before making a final decision to overhaul your entire business or marketing plan. Common sense is the rule here. Just use your own good judgment and don’t over-react to comments made by only a handful of people.

    Don’t be afraid to ASK

    There are any number of ways to collect research from your prospects and customers. You can telephone them, email them, mail them a written questionnaire, or you can meet with them in a group (called a focus group) to collect their opinions. You can be as formal or informal as is comfortable for you, while also making them as comfortable as you possibly can. Typically the larger number of clients you survey, the more formal the survey. If you have only a handful of people to talk to, simply pick up the phone and call them.

    Don’t be afraid to ask for opinions on your products or services or how you can serve your clients better. What you find out could be extremely valuable in helping you to build and grow your business; And…

    Don’t forget to say the magical word(s): “Thanks” or “Thank you”, as the case may be.

    You will also want to consider offering an incentive to encourage your prospects and clients to participate or respond. A bonus, such as a special report, or a discount on a future purchase is a nice way to show your appreciation for them taking the time to respond to your survey.

    Read more about the entrepreneurial experience and business-related topics take a look at some of the following articles published right on this website:

    Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!