Monday

Business Product to Sell, Manufacture and Service to Perform

In the previous issue I mentioned that anyone can start their own business at any time. It's true. A business  transaction requires consideration between parties. These parties can be a seller-vendor, or professional service provider service user’s relationship. The seller or service provider has the intention of making profits as the result of the transaction, either in trade, profession, service, venture, and manufacturing activities.

Also, I mentioned that starting your own business can be so easy if you have done your little research of what’s involved right from the first day until the end of your annual business period (fiscal period). I listed 7 Basic Things You Need To Know During Start-up Year.

In the first issue, I wrote the first item listed for the 7 Basic Things You Need To Know During Start-up Year (please see Part 1 of 7), the “Types of Business Organizations”. This time I will be writing about item two (2), “Business Product to Sell and Manufacture and Service to Perform”. Again, the following is a complete list of 7 Basic Things You Need To Know During Start-up Year:

(1) Types of Business Organizations
(2) Business Product to sell, manufacture and service to perform
(3) How to keep business records
(4) Planning to have employees or sub-contracting
(5) Year-end Requirements
(6) Dealing with the taxman (Canada Revenue Agency)
(7) Preparing for the next fiscal period

Business Product To Sell, Manufacture and Service to Perform

Business Products are items or services that you make your profit from. Over the years I noticed that most businesses that do will have the following on their “business ingredients to success” list.

5 Business Ingredients To Success:

a) Demand of the product or service
b) The price is right
c) The geographic location
d) Reputation of product or service quality
e) The prospect of continuity of the product or service

Demand of the product or service

Even before a business does the legalities, formation and organizing of the business, they already have a good idea of what type of product to sell or service to perform. The product or services that are in demand will likely give you more business. So if you’re just trying to find a product to sell or service to perform, with the intention of making profit, try to pick something that is a necessity and beneficial to buyers, and likely you have a good chance of making good profits.

We definitely need salt in our everyday cooking, even athletes who are watching their sodium intakes!
The price is right

The price of your product or service has to be reasonable for any prospective consumers to buy. As a business person, it is really up to you on how much profit you want to make. You have to remember to take all related expenses into consideration before price tagging your product or pay rate for your service. You have to ask yourself, am going to make a profit or maybe even to break-even with the amount I am charging? It is highly recommended to do a cost allocation analysis schedule, just to give you a good picture, that once all the related expenses are accounted you are still on a positive, making profit! If you are not sure what is the going price or rate for the product or service that you provide, do a little survey with some businesses that have similar product or service like you.

Even in sports business, the fans will only buy tickets if it is affordable.
The geographic location

Your business location is so important to draw traffic to your business. Do your prospective consumers have easy access to your business? Are you planning to either buy or rent or lease a business place or have a home-based business instead? As a seller, are you going to be in a retail or a wholesale, or MLM type of business? Have you thought of a marketing strategy, on how to promote your product and provide your service? Advertising can be word-of-mouth, local newspapers, radio, television, billboards, magazines and even the Internet.

A few members of our family have been members of Fitness World Fitness Club for many years, and recently have been going to SNSC due to better location, just 3kms from our place. (Picture, courtesy of SNSC)
With all these networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, reaching prospective consumers is becoming easier and less expensive. I highly recommend for any business to have a mailing list of prospective consumers of the product or service that you provide. A little research of your prospective consumers will give you more chances of getting more business that way. To make a customers’ mailing list, get your prospective consumers information like: e-mails, phone numbers, and website addresses, they are good to have for marketing and actually buying your product or using your service.

ASEA is an MLM business. We have used the product, and I recommend to those who might be interested. Hopefully, one day there will be a nearby distributor in all cities of US and Canada or even overseas, so the high shipping costs are eliminated.
Online businesses have been becoming a popular way of doing business these days. This type of business will only work if it doesn’t involved expensive shipping/freight costs for the product being sold. Even if the expensive shipping/freight costs are allocated to the buyer, you have to ask yourself, is the price of the product still reasonable for the consumers to buy? Most buyers would rather go to a retailer or wholesaler nearby and just pick up even a similar or generic product than pay shipping costs and in addition, wait for the product to get delivered

Reputation of product or service quality

Reputation is everything for a business to survive these days. If your product is good, or you give good service for the amount you charge, your consumers will keep coming back and do business with you. In addition, if they like your product or service, your ongoing consumers will keep coming back and buy or use your service. Now, we know that not all we sold, or services we performed are 100% free from defects or fault proof, thus providing good service attitude towards past, current and consumers are so important. You know that your product is good, but even a good product is only good to market and actually buy if the seller has a good attitude towards their consumers, especially when a minor problem occurred. Good service quality and making your customers happy are two keys, and likely a good assurance that your consumers will give their continuing support toward your business.

PNE spectators will go and see the annual show every year, even if it costs them hundreds of dollars, because of the fun they get from it.  
The possible of continuity of the product or service

A lot of consumers these days will make their decision of buying a product or using a service based on the possible continuity of the product or service. Consumers will likely have a second thought of buying products that they might get used to for a while, and suddenly discontinued with no similar or generic product that can be found elsewhere as replacement.
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Note: The continuation of this topic, “So You Want To Start Your Own Business?” will be continued on next post, “Part 3 of 7: (3) How to keep business records”. Until then.

Please do not hesitate to leave Comments/Inquiries or you may contact me at:

Earla RiopelBSCom(USA), DipAcc(UBC)
Main Sites:  Website Twitter ; LinkedIn ; Facebook ; Blog

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