Category: MKT 353

W02 Reflection: Choosing a Business

Choosing a Business

We’ve been working towards creating and running an online successful business for almost 10 years. At this point, we’re ready to launch several all at once. However, for the purposes of this project, we’ve decided to go with the website option. We had previously shut it down due to lack of my ability to run it when it was ridiculously difficult for anyone to help me run it. However, over the past year we’ve been testing out a new software and it’s working terrifically. We’ve also brought on a third-party team to handle the 24/7 tech support so that I don’t have to be involved. We’ve been asked to do a few speaking events and provide an offer with a discount for Black Friday so the team has put all that together for me while I was down sick (again). The spreadsheet showed some interesting results as to which of the 3 ideas we would launch first, however due to my health and our family situation, we’ll go with the 3rd option.

    Week 4 Reflection

    Deciding what website builder to use can be quite daunting. There are so many options out there that it can seem overwhelming at first. One of the first decisions that needs to be made is whether or not I am going to write the HTML and CSS by hand or use a builder that can automate many of these processes.  I have used WordPress in the past and feel that it can be more than adequate for a fairly complex website but that it starts to get bogged down and complex when more than a couple of dozen addons are used.  WordPress makes a great blogging platform, but I wouldn’t want to pay for the server horsepower to expect much more from it.  I have decided to go with Go High Level because it offers everything that I need to not just run a website but also run a business.  The automations and such are so much easier to setup than anything that I have done previously with WordPress.

      Week 3 Reflection

      When it comes to sourcing products for any type of store there are several factors that must be put into consideration.  Among those are price, minimum order quantities, quality, and lead time.  The price that you will pay for the product will ultimately become your “cost”.  This might be lowered or raised depending on the quantity that is ordered at any given time.  Since many of these kinds of manufacturers are now overseas it is very important to see a sample before ordering any significant quantities.  If the quality of this sample is not what you are looking for you might be able to make changes with the manufacturer or continue to shop around.

      Being able to quantify and compare those options is also very important as doing this takes what could be a very subjective decision and tries to bring some order to it.  In doing this it can be possible to make a more logical decision.

       

      Week 2 Reflection

      We need to be able to validate the feasibility of a business concept before we jump in with both feet.  While some people will get lucky and succeed when doing this it is often those who have the financial backing to make it through lean times and punch through the fact that there are numerous other competitors that have established footholds.  Breaking into a market that already has several established brands can be very difficult with either a lot of financial backing or having a product that truly sets you apart from the competition.

      Knowing how easy it will be to advertise for a fledgling business can be important as well.  If you go into launching a business and think that your advertising is going to bring you all of your clients but later find that you can’t afford to reach your potential audience then you won’t get anywhere.  Cash flow is one of the easiest ways to kill of a business before it really has chance to get going.