Basically, my ideas for businesses have come out of the life experiences and jobs that I’ve had. In 1996 and 1997 I spent my summers as a painter for Trent University, and I got to paint about 500 rooms and dozens of hallways each summer. After that amount of painting, you get pretty quick and accurate with a roller and brush. So in 1998, I decided to start my own painting business. I wanted more flexible hours and I wanted to make more than $6.85 per hour. In the 6 months that I ran the company, I brought in $35,000 and learned a lot more than just how to paint.
In April of last year, I was finishing up my psychology and computers degree and feeling unfulfilled, because in the process of meeting all the requirements and prerequisites of my program I didn’t really get to explore the things that I was really interested in. So, because I’d come to like technology so much, I got the idea for some sort of technology/education company that would provide more inspiring learning experiences and job opportunities through co-operation with other people & businesses from around the world.
In August, I met some people here in Toronto who had the very same idea and we worked together to create the organization I work at now, called TakingITGlobal. Obviously a lot had to happen to get from the stage of an idea, to an actual working organization.
Here's what I learned:
-Research the idea. Make sure there is a need/demand for your business. Don’t duplicate someone else’s services because that's more competition for you. Find out what areas your competitors are weak in and try to fill those gaps with more value. Search the net for your city name and some keywords that describe the business. Once you find them, read their websites and contact them.
-Go through the yellow pages to find similar companies, then phone them or go to their location as a potential customer. Ask the hard questions and see what they say. Try to figure out what they are not doing that could be valuable to the customer and then make sure you do that. You can even ask their customers to find out what they would like to see as an additional service. You MUST do something to differentiate yourself from them!
-Learn all you can about your target market! Demographics: you can tell income from houses, # trees, curvy roads, cars. Psychographics: what they like, or what they are like. If you’re selling incense, you will want to advertise where new-agey people hang out, like new-age bookstores and coffee shops. If you are selling web-hosting services, you may want to advertise on large portals such as Sympatico, or Yahoo!
-If you think you might like some help, look into a franchise. Franchises are great for is research and planning. They know how to plan, or they wouldn’t be successful at franchising. Also, a big bonus is that much of the research (except for location) is already done, and many of the policies are already in place.
General Business:
-Register your company, and write off as much as you can! It's cheap to register it as your name. Maybe even buy a .com and include the URL on any promotional materials that you get printed up. Writing this off requires that you… track your money!
Track your money, even if it costs you money. Use Ms money, quicken, or TD telephone banking. Otherwise you face nightmares and government on you for taxes.
-If you’re accountable to people for your money -- make sure you know what they want, and give it to them!
-Set Goals: if you don’t have goals, you can’t work hard to attain them. Productivity will be lower.
-You’ve got to spend money to make money (advertising, sales people, planning, equipment, forms etc)
-Don’t spend money where you don’t have to! Get a Contractor Account! If you are going into the service industry.
-Specify quick ways for doing repetitive tasks. Once you know the best way, teach it to everyone else, and make them use it. Have a standard script! Practice it over and over, and know your stuff so that if they ask you a question you weren’t expecting you can at least make up the answer. Worst case à tell them you would be glad to find out and call them back!
-Network as much as possible! Easy way to learn more about the business, and business in general. Also, more contacts never hurt! Often, you can find directories of local events on the net or through similar local businesses.
-Try to establish partnerships! You might not do X, but your partner might. And they might not do something you do, so you can give work to each other. This basically doubles your marketing power without increasing costs!
-Do only what you believe in, and never ever lie. Get caught in a lie and you may get sued.
-Stick to your guns: if you say the price is X, don’t haggle very much. If you do, they may think you were ripping them off by charging too much on the first quote and decide not to go with you after all. People will respect you if you stick with what you say. Simply say “if I charged any less, I wouldn’t be able to provide you with high quality work.”
-If you can afford it, do something in a high-profile area for free (maybe even get someone else to donate the materials or pay for your labour). Example: Painting downtown historic locations = free press coverage and more business for only the price of missing a day’s work.
-Get everything in writing! So you both get what you expect. Delivering Refrigerators: I lost $1500 on verbal contract. Working for an Oil Company: I lost $2500 on verbal contract. Doing a paint job for a large Marina: I lost $3000 on failure to get contract signed.
Employees:
-Know The Rules Regarding Payment. You have to pay a certain wage or the Labour Board will crack down on you, and you won’t be able to run your own business again for at least a couple of years or forever.
-Only hire people you get along with, but don’t hire people just because you get along with them. I got along with Sean and Michael, but one time when I got to a house they were painting, there were cop cars all around. Turned out they had criminal records and were in rival gangs. Which brings me to my next point: Check References!
-Don’t be a hard-ass, but don’t be a pushover. Let them know you are in charge and that work can be a fun place, but that it must be productive.
-Reward your employees. If you want them to work hard, you have to give them an incentive to do so. Take them out for dinner once in a while, or buy the best worker each month something cool… like a $100 gift certificate.
Customers & Marketing:
-Don’t sell yourself short, and don’t oversell yourself! You have to know what you’re capable of, and be able to work at that capacity.
-The Customer IS Always Right. I re-painted the house, got a bonus and recommendation, and subsequently got more jobs!
-Face to Face Advertising Works Best. Talking to people is the best way to market to them. Door to door is hard but it works. People don’t like slamming doors in other people’s faces. Supper time is best to catch people at home, or just after. If you can’t sell very well, don’t be afraid to employ a salesperson! Use this tactic in the areas where you know they live thanks to your previous research on locations and demographics!
Summary: You must spend money to make money. Know your target. Know your competition. Provide value to customers and employees. Ask for the job!
With all of this hard stuff to remember, why should you try it? You get to make your own rules, and to an extent, your own hours. When someone thanks you for the chance to prove themselves. When you get a pat on the back for being able to do something yourself. When you get to experience the things that business textbooks talk about, which don’t make any sense when you read them, but become perfectly clear when you live them. When you get that fat paycheque and it’s all because of your hard work.
Good luck!
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