Lesson 6 Entrepreneurial Journal

Lessons Learned:
I learned from the video "In Praise of the Purple Cow" that in order for a business to be successful, you have to stand out from the crowd.  It's important to find a niche market or produce a product that is new and different from what is currently on the market.  My favorite example from this was Dutch Brothers Paint.  It was such a simple thing, yet remarkable because everyone who has done any painting can relate to the frustration of the paint can.  That is a great example of thinking outside the box.  You don't necessarily have to come of with a new product, you can package it or vary it in a way that is remarkably different than everyone else.  I can also see the genius behind suggestive selling.  It really is much harder to find a new customer than to up-sell and bundle to your existing customers.  A fresh example is my husband's company. Everyone comes in to purchase landscape rock, sand or gravel and asks them "Do you carry Portland Cement?"  For years they have said no, and the customer has had to go elsewhere.  Just yesterday the boss finally caught the vision and is now going to carry Portland Cement, shovels, and work gloves.  I also see the value in having a good marketing strategy and plan in place before you open your business.  It's important to do your homework before launching into anything, including needs, markets, competition, pricing, etc.  I also learned that you cannot just put a product or a service on the market and never change a thing.  While you may have a great product or service, your customers' needs and wants tend to change over time and it's important to pay attention to changing needs and change up your products or services so that your business doesn't go extinct.

$100 Challenge:
My business is going at a slow, steady pace so far, which is great for me.  I have had a couple of missed opportunities where I should have promoted my business but did not.  I have had a former client ask for my help with minor projects and should have asked her to pass the word among her writer friends that I was available for more work.  I will do that this week.  I have also finished a project this week for another person who teaches adult creative writing classes and I will ask her if I can give her some business cards to offer to her students.  I have set up a "Documents Done Right" Facebook page which feeds from my Facebook account.  This next week I will create some social media ads to run on it and ask my friends to share it.  My biggest concern right now is figuring out the right pricing for my services.  I have always charged by the hour, but am considering charging by the page.  I need to do more research on competitor pricing.  I have made a couple attempts to get pricing from Craigslist advertisers, but they have not given me price quotes without having an actual project.  Freelance.com does a bidding system, so their prices end up being much lower than I am willing to do the work for.  Financials are:  Total Revenue $25.00; Expenses $0; Net Profit $25.