Keep Your Ideas

There are a lot of things I want to do in my life. I want to open a bakery and a restaurant, publish novels, and write and direct a movie. Whenever I get inspired with an idea for one of these projects, I write it down on a dry erase board in my room. Sometimes, when I'm not in my room, I'll write it down on whatever paper I have at the moment, then take it to the board. It's so important to keep up with your ideas, because you never know what idea will become a success. It would be a shame if you thought of something amazing, but didn't write it down, and then eventually you saw that same idea done by someone else, who is now seeing major success because of it. So, do what I do, and keep your ideas. It's also great to have them where you can always see them, to keep you motivated to expand on your ideas, and create something new.

The Value of Pricing

Pricing is one of the most important aspects of your business. When people think of pricing, they usually think of what they would charge for their product or service. Obviously this is very important and necessary, but something most people don't consider, and something that I've noticed a lot lately, is that people don't display their prices. Customers are more willing to purchase your product if they know what they are being charged. I, for one, hate when something in a grocery store doesn't have a price on it and, instead of asking someone how much it costs, I usually just don't buy the product. Businesses are really costing themselves a lot of revenue by simply not making sure that their products have visible prices. When I have my bakery, I will make sure that my prices are obviously displayed.

Different from the Rest

How do you make your business different from every other business that has the same idea as you? Someday, I want to open a bakery. How am I going to make my bakery more preferable to other bakeries out there? One idea I've been considering is to only have my bakery open during certain days of the week. I know it sounds risky, because people tend to get frustrated with businesses that keep weird hours, but I think the lack of daily access to my baked goods might create more of a demand. I know of two businesses that operate this way, and both have been running for well over a decade. Another business did this in my small town, and was booming, then they decided to open up every day, and eventually had to shut down. Only opening your business on certain days of the week creates a  demand for your product, and also lowers operating costs. If you choose to operate only four days of the week, rather than seven, you won't have to throw away unsold goods every day, and you save on water and electricity. Every business you open comes with a certain amount of risk, but I think operating this way will be worth it.

Kickstart Your Business

One of the greatest things about the internet, other than Netflix, is the ability to use it to crowdfund your business. Websites like Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and IndieGoGo, allow you to start a campaign to raise money for your endeavors. An example to show you the potential magnitude of online crowdfunding would be Veronica Mars. Veronica Mars is a TV show that ran for three seasons before being cancelled. Fans of the show were devastated, as it ended on a cliffhanger. However, thanks to Kickstarter, Rob Thomas, the writer and creator of the show, was able to start a campaign to raise money for a Veronica Mars movie. Fans of the show were able to contribute money and receive rewards for doing so. Mr. Thomas raised over five million dollars in just one month, it’s really incredible. Not every campaign will be this successful, but many people have found success on websites like these. I may not use a crowdfunding website when I start my own business, but it is definitely something for aspiring entrepreneurs to keep in mind. Raising capital can be difficult in the beginning, but using a website like this just might make it easier.