New business: Mail order, eselling, ads and "pit falls&

[Anonymous]

Probably been done tons of times before but bit of a neat freak so all in one thread (humour me its better for your sanity )

Okies

Mail order.. what exactly is it, how does it work, and what do you need/need to do to set it up

ebusiness... its pitfalls, disadvantages, and advantages (in your experience), and recommendations for setting up (how was it for you )

Advertising.. the good the bad and the creations of dr frankenstien.. is any publicity "good" publicity?.. whats the WORSE and best methords of advertising?..your experiences of ads, ad companies etc?

pit falls (doom doomdoom doom doooooom)
what pit falls have you faced? what was your biggest obstical when you first started out? if you could give one peice of original advice to a newstarter what would it be?..

I and probably many others await your stories laughter and tears..

 

[Anonymous]

hmmm 34 views and no responses?.. no one brave enough?

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

I would describe mail order as supplying goods to purchasers without having a physical shop, so clients browse either a catalogue, leaflet, advertisement or website, then order via post, telephone or e-mail.

You would need either a) stock or b) a good list of dropshippers, a means of advertising products, a means of collecting payment and a way of supplying goods to the clients.

I love ebusiness, I started of working from home on my own, then progressed to a small office, then a larger office with more employees. Now I am back working from home whilst my employees work from the office.

Self motivation is extremely important when starting out, you have to work every hour possible and make sure the service you provide is exeptional. However it does allow you a lot more freedom as long as you keep the freedom under control

Advertising is tricky, we have had low budget advertising campaigns that have worked really well, and more expensive campaigns that have totally failed. For us it is just a case of trying different advertising methods on a small scale, finding out what works, why it works, modifying it so it works better then enlarging it.

Most difficult thing when starting out for us was getting a client base large enough to pay our salaries, whilst leaving a bit in the bank to use on marketing. No social life and feeling tired all the time are also negative side effects. However the satisfaction of making it work totally overcomes all the negatives, I still smile every time we get a new client, no matter how small as they are "My client" that join the family of other well looked after clients who receive a fantastic service

You also need 110% faith in your product, service and ability.

Apart from that, go fo it.........

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I'm sometimes paid by newstarts to save them a lot of money and time they'd waste going down dead-ends, so I'll give some advice

ebusiness... its pitfalls, disadvantages, and advantages (in your experience), and recommendations for setting up (how was it for you )

Before you start designing a lovely website with all the bells and whistles, you should work out how you're going to drive a meaningful number of people there and how you're going to get cash out of them.

If you can't do that, your website will be a waste of time, effort and money.

Advertising.. the good the bad and the creations of dr frankenstien.. is any publicity "good" publicity?..

I was talking with a PR consultant last week and she said the hardest part of her job is managing her client's expectations.

If you want to go down the PR route, remember the cold, hard reality that the media doesn't care about your business. They care about being interesting enough to their readers (or listeners or viewers) that the reader buys the paper (or tunes in) again tomorrow.

If you can help them do this, they'll love you as they're always desperate for good stories. If you can't do this, they'll not give you the time of day (unless that time is lunchtime and you're paying).

whats the WORSE and best methords of advertising?..your experiences of ads, ad companies etc?

Most advertising loses money. Fortunately for advertising agencies, businesses rarely track the results of their ads so they keep running them.

If you can find a place to advertise where there's a strong correlation between readers/viewers and your target market, then advertising could be good for you. Otherwise, I'd be reluctant to try it.

There are plenty of other forms of marketing that cost less, are more effective and can be more easily tracked and measured.

if you could give one peice of original advice to a newstarter what would it be?..

The best business is one where:

(1) you can bring a unique, self serving (to the client) benefit
(2) there is a large market
(3) you can market to your ideal prospects in an effective and cost efficient way
(4) the clients will buy repeatedly (either the same or a different product)

Finally, before you invest a single penny in your business, work out the numbers.

Work out how much you can charge, what your margins will be, and how much you'll have to sell to make the minimum income you'd be willing to accept as a reward for running this business.

And, unless it looks well within the bounds of probability, go back to the drawing board.

I realise that my advice might come across as "negative" or "doom-laden", but it's not intended that way. I've yet to meet someone who enjoyed failing in business and, I believe, the best way to make sure your business succeeds is to stack the odds heavily in your favour while your business is still in the planning stage.

I hope this helps.

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

as mr burns would say...... EXXXXCCEELLLEENTT
good good stuf..anyone else?

give me your 2 cents
(hmm if everyone gave their two cents everyone would be rich )