How to start, maintain and run a profitable business

  We all know that a company's success is based on two components: operational and marketing. One can't function without another. There are many examples when great innovative companies that have been destroyed without effective marketing.  Many companies don't have an effective marketing strategy, because companies think that their invention will be sold by itself. In fact, marketing strategy is very important and should be based on careful research and analysis. How can a company conduct R&D? What information can be used for marketing segmentation?  The most popular approach is to find demographics and geographic data. We can add also firmographics (information about industry and company), and psychographics( information about customers' motives to buy). Data on demographics, geographic, and firmographics aren't that difficult to find in the Internet Era. Although, psychographics are the most important. According to Thomas V. Bonoma and Benson P. Shapiro's...

      I' ve noticed lately that many people want to start their own business. That's great. However, to start a business you need to have a character and a business idea. Also, it is important to do a research on your potential customers or clients? Who are they? Where do they live? What is your business idea about? If you've decided to start another courier company or website design business, how will your business be a different from hundreds of other businesses in your area or in that industry? How will you market your business? Then you need to figure out where you're going to operate? Is it going to be an Internet business or bricks and mortar business? Also, very important how easy to enter an industry where you want your business to be? If it is easy, then most likely you will compete on price.   Do you see how many questions? Nowadays it is difficult to come up with some unique business idea. Unless, you are a great inventor and had created some new technolog...

  How did you design your business structure? Did you imitate someone or did you design your business model yourself? We all want our business to be successful and of course profitable. Nowadays, because of social networks, we witness a boom of innovations in marketing, technology, biomedical research, pharma. Our time is revolutionary. It seems like anybody with a new idea can become rich overnight. Many people try to follow in the footsteps of those entrepreneurs who become successful in business and independently wealthy. Let's face it we all have different personalities, educational backgrounds, skills set, talents. That is great because life would be boring. We all can't be the same. When you design your business you should ask yourself a question what is your goal? What do you want your business to be in about 10 years? It all starts with those questions? There are plentiful amount of business structures: functional, teams, stimulation, system design. Although, all those ...

I have run my business for 23 years. I always wanted to be self-employed. Since 1991 when I came to America my dream was to be a business owner. I've entertained different ideas from a pizza parlor to music CD distribution. It was a time before the Internet, and newspapers ads,books, and brochures about how to open your own very profitable business were quite popular. They all promised you to get rich quick ideas. Does it remind you of some modern-day scammers who promise you magic systems to get rich ASAP?😅 I tried one or two ideas, but quickly realized I didn't like it. Then, I've completed a small business owner training program and decided to act. One thing when you study and another when you try to build your business in reality. My new business idea was a delivery service for dental laboratories. A friend of mine was a dental technician and started to give me some business. Although, very soon I understood that find new clients would be a challenge.  English is my ...

  America always had a reputation as a country of entrepreneurs. It was a magnet for freedom-loving people who wanted financial prosperity. I can tell you that even in current times there are plenty of opportunities. We live through transformation time. Some industries died, but some were born. It happened many times during human history. The best example of current business success is the Internet platforms. Nobody even dreamed about such a business model even 10 years ago. Who can imagine life without Amazon or Uber now? Many years ago I've started my own business. I always dreamed about being a business owner.  I believed in  BS I've heard from books, media, TV. They've sold the public with a great number of energy ideas about small business ownership and achieving an"American dream". Have you noticed nobody uses anymore this term an "American Dream"? The American dream became a fairy tale nowadays. Almost,like Cinderella. It reminds me of my home cou...

  It's not a secret business environment is tough now days. All small business owners wait for that miracle when someone calls and places a huge order or requires your service. Then telephone rings and ...... and...... spammer.Damn it. Right away your feel cheated. I know that there are a lot of opinions about marketing. I can tell you mine. Spammers not only ruin your day,but almost never win your business. I'd prefer cold calling to spam. Yes, I understand, that bothers someone too. However, at least I've called from a legitimate phone number and made some personal effort. Also, I didn't buy lists of owner's personal information from those shady so called " digital marketers" who run around someone's websites to snoop for some personal information,such as business owner's name or last name along with phone number.  I agree with another way of getting personal information. For example,if someone signed to your blog or seminar. In this case person ...

 I remember like many years ago I've tried to break into delivery business. I always wanted to be a business owner, however I didn't have enough money to buy an existing business. So,here it goes. Courier business! Low starting cost, relatively easy operation, seems like plenty of work everywhere. Well, like famous Russian proverb says" measure 7 times and cut only 1". My desire to be a business owner blinded me completely. I didn't do any research about  potential competition or need for another delivery company on the market. Actually, I found one article about some courier company located 25 miles away from Boston. Courier industry has been unregulated recently and many guys out of blue started to do deliveries. Thankfully they needed only own vehicle and cell phone, almost forgot about pager and fax machine. It is laughable now, but back there those too things, I mean fax and pager were extremely important. So, his business suffered a loss,because of people wh...