Horse and Jockey… which came first?

When starting a business or getting a business idea off the ground, think of it like starting a horse race.  Many times the person with the idea is so excited; they just want to start the race!  They fail to plan and make adequate provision for the infrastructure, marketing tools, advertising etc. that will be needed to sustain its growth to full potential and ultimately establish its longevity.  The proverbial horse left the starting gate so quickly, that it has left its jockey sitting on the ground…. assuming of course that the idea catches on quickly.  Maybe the idea simply fizzles out to yield nothing.  Either way the jockey is WALKING aren’t they?
How can you avoid this trap and set yourself up for success?  Well the answer, unfortunately, is not a simple one, but I will continue to share points to think about on your journey to be on the winning side of your idea if you are committed to reading this weekly column.  You have most likely heard the statistics about the failure rate of new businesses or business expansion on the news or radio.  Perhaps you have read about them in the newspaper or business-related magazine.   These truths are widely publicized.  Writers often fail to write about the simple reasons that surround the demise of new business ideas, or expansion projects with existing businesses and organizations.  Here are this week’s points of contemplation:
How many small business owners have you been networking with that, when asked for a business card to “keep in touch”, fail to furbish one?  Of the (let’s be generous and say HALF) business owners that have cards, how many are truly well designed, professionally printed, and accurately reflect what the business has to offer?  Personally I have seen very few indeed.  Why does this happen?  I mean to say, if the biggest reason of networking is to expand your business potential, why wouldn’t you begin by investing time, THOUGHT, and a few bucks into truly great business card that you will be proud to distribute?   Don’t fall into the trap of starting out thinking “I will get to that later” because the truth of the matter is that you probably never will as your idea begins to unfold.  The workload and focus on other things will keep you from establishing a fundamental of your initial infrastructure… your business card.
Ponder for a moment how your idea or new business is announced to your audience.  In days past, your sign in the front of your shop would certainly generate interest… that is if you had a physical location.  Of course there are locations and there are LOCATIONS… but that is a topic for another column.  Yellow pages were the choice for many to get the word out; as they hoped that by listing with other businesses in their same field that they would win the “get noticed” fight with paid advertisements.  Remember listing your business in the local newspaper?  Taking out a quarter or half-page ad to let readers know about what you now brought to the marketplace was a viable means of communicating your presence.
You may be reading this column and defending your positions in each of these chosen advertising venues.  I will submit that they are only few of many areas you must list yourself to get noticed and STAY noticed and top of mind in today’s consumer market.  Again, organizations and individuals alike fall prey to launching their idea or business without thinking and budgeting their advertising and marketing to support and sustain their initial launch and growth.  In the horse and rider metaphor, again the jockey is sitting on the ground due to poor planning; having a SUPER idea completely run wild with unexpected growth, or simply never leaving the barn due to poor planning and even worse execution.
Start by truly getting a clear picture of WHO your target audience is.  Crystal Clear.  Answer age, male/female, geographic locations, economic status, etc. when arriving at who your efforts will be focused toward.  Be sure that you’re marketing and advertising touches several key media types that your audience is most likely to encounter in their everyday life.  For example, if your target audience is present day teen-aged boys, you will most likely go unnoticed if choosing a printed media to communicate; as most teens do not read.  Anything.  The information age is here and brings with it video media, television, streaming messages from the internet, etc.  You will have to work on your own education about what alternatives are now available to communicate to your target audience; as they will most assuredly be ahead of you and your marketing plan unless you are committed to keeping up with the latest types of media to be effective.
New businesses and expansion or growth ideas are fun to contemplate.  When taking real action backed with real money, time, energy, etc. be sure to have the “little things” thought out and executed as part of your plan.  Remember the old saying?  “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” (unknown)

Randy Noxon
Freelance Columnist and Business Owner

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