How do you successfully start a business? How do you take a creative idea and come up with the perfect way to monetize it? That’s the question of the day.
I have a service I’m offering to companies. How do I pitch that service, bring up price points and not get hung up on? How do I avoid coming across as an annoying salesgirl? All day I’ve been contacting companies I think would be interested in my concept. I’ve been emailing HR directors and internship coordinators information about my service, and I’ve received poor feedback.
As soon as people hear that money’s involved, they’re no longer interested. When a company doesn’t know you, it doesn’t trust you. Why should a company give me its money to find interns when the company could find interns on its own?
What companies don’t understand is that we will do the work for them: The interview setup and the pre-screening. We’ll find the best interns for the company. But how does a company like mine build trust with another company? Is it by waiving fees and offering free services? I’m not sure . . . I’m playing with the concept of waiving fees in an effort to build a community.
The more I pitch my concept, the better I get. You learn certain words that people want to hear, and words that people don’t want to hear. People like credibility. Impressive names and projects are always good to drop.
Today was also a good day to get a feel for how I should spend my time. Each night before I leave, I’m going to put together a call sheet for the morning. With no assistant I can’t roll calls, so if I have a list already prepared I can make those calls on my commute to work (I have about 45 minutes each morning). Another idea is to send all of my “blast-like” e-mails out in the evenings. I don’t need people to be up and at work to send those out. If I e-mail blast at night, I can field responses and return phone calls in the morning.
I also think mornings are a good time to target potential online sponsors. Many of the larger corporations tend to be headquartered in New York City, so it’s always a good idea to get on the phone to them earlier in the day. My Los Angeles follow-up calls can be done after lunch. I also like getting a coffee at around 3 p.m. in the afternoon and doing a one-hour heavy brainstorming session where I don’t respond to e-mails for a short time. It keeps me full of fresh ideas and, if I’m feeling “down,” I can just look at my new idea sheet to get a feeling of motivation.
WORKING WITH INTERNS
Today was the first day I had access to the company interns. I had two great guys helping me for about two hours. I think it’s important to give interns work that is beneficial to both parties. Today I had my interns work on researching partner/sponsorship potentials and creating a Facebook page for my company (since that is necessary for any young company these days). I always make sure to ask them to help brainstorm as well and told them that I’d keep them in the loop with the companies they give me to contact. I think this makes the intern process beneficial for them. It helps them see their hard work come alive.
3 Responses to “How Do You Start a Business ?”
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July 10th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Lauren,
I think gaining trust and respect is the hardest thing for a new company to accomplish. Maybe you can give a money back guarantee instead on waiving your fee. If a company knows you stand behind your process and have confidence in your ability to find them the perfect intern then in my opinion I would trust the company and give them a shot.
All the Best,
Rick
July 16th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Hi Lauren,
Starting a business is challenging in itself but sticking with it with proper time management is what is the key to success. Even a great product line will not help unless you exude confidence and knowledge along with sincerity.
All the best to you,
Laura
August 6th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
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