Starting small can be the ticket to BIG success

Aspiring entrepreneurs are under the impression they need large lines of credit,  and when they hit obstacles, they frequently keep pouring more money towards the same mistakes rather than having to find creative solutions. It’s my firm belief that this keeps them from ever developing their problem solving muscles.

As a successful serial entrepreneur, I know first hand that starting on a shoestring and  having no back-up capital is the best way to grow a profitable business.

The first business I started at 23 happened almost on a dare. I had no idea what I was doing until I did it  I had planned to start a creative arts program for pre-schoolers and was working to save start-up money. My father had a furniture and appliance business and needed help with advertising. When I realized how much commission an ad agency takes, I walked into my dad’s office and said, “If we start an in-house agency, we can save  (a figure equal to 15%) a year”. Coincidently, the figure was more than double my salary.  He looked at me and without blinking said, “so do it.” I knew that translated to “YOU figure out how to do it on your own.” He didn’t offer to loan me money and I didn’t ask . I’m convinced that’s why I’ve been successful. He gave me the gift of faith in my ability to be a creative problem solver.

So often new entrepreneurs get caught up in lawyers, accountants and business plans. Yes, you will need them eventually but rather than spend on high paid professionals right off the bat, start out simply as a sole proprietor and once you see you are making money, you can hire someone to count and tax-shelter it. You won’t need a formal business plan if you aren’t going to apply for a loan.

When my husband and I decided to open our own furniture business, we didn’t have the money to set up a brick and mortar store so we sold our house, took the tiny bit of equity ($12,000)  to buy a container of furniture, rented a hotel banquet room and started a business that we eventually grew to 17 retail stores grossing 25 million-without ever borrowing a dime. At first, we were literally living out of hotel rooms and a van with a toddler. It was a huge risk so we had no choice but to succeed. Having made the decision not to borrow money, we had to be creative because there was nothing to fall back on. We made some mistakes in the beginning and if we’d had a lot of capital, we may have blown it before we learned some valuable lessons. Instead, we became resourceful and innovative problem solvers.

In 2000, I fell in love with a small seaside tourist town. I knew it was time to get back to art and this seemed like a perfect location for an art gallery. Having no idea how I was going to do it, I signed a lease on a retail space in October with a commitment to open Thanksgiving weekend. Then my son and I headed to the lumber yard for plywood to build display pedestals. My only experience with the art business was selling my work at craft fairs when I was very young, so I spend the next few weeks going to Open Studios, chatting with artists and trying to figure out what sells. Because I don’t believe in putting a lot of money into start-ups, I talked about 50 artists and craftsmen into working on a consignment basis.  I ran the gallery alone 7 days a week for the first several months until the business could afford the first employee. Some of the merchandise I started with turned out to be wrong for the clientele but because it was on consignment, I didn’t lose money. I simply returned it to the artists, grateful I hadn’t invested start-up capital and considered the lesson a blessing. Once there was good cash flow, I began attending trade shows and purchasing contemporary crafts wholesale but I never bought more merchandise than I knew I could pay for within 30 days.

Within the first couple of years, the business had outgrown the first location, I had a great team of loyal employees, an enviable income and a strong following with locals and tourists.
When it was time to move on, I sold the business for a very nice six figure profit.

If you’re ready to start a business and the only thing stopping you is start-up funds, hold that big vision but look for creative ways to start small and grow.

When it’s time to fire a client.

You know that feeling you get when you work with a client who truly appreciates the value you add to their life or business? How you feel all energized?  But sometimes you have a client who drains you and you feel worse after working with them.  If you are in a service or consulting business, your income depends on attracting and retaining clients but not all clients are right for you. Here are some hints it’s time to fire a client:

-She wants 90% of the work for 50% of the money.

We’ve all worked with someone like this. You work up a proposal that involves several segments for a package price. You spend time presenting it to the client and explain how each piece will benefit her business. She’s excited about it and says, “Yes, let’s go for it.” She calls you later and says, “I’ve been thinking about this and I want you to do the part first and then we’ll do the other part later.” She expects you to charge her half as much because she’s only asking for half of the project. What she doesn’t realize is that she is asking you to do the most time consuming work for half the money. It’s time to fire that client.

-She thinks you are available to her round the clock.

If you do any kind of coaching or consulting, you’ve probably dealt with this high maintenance client. You set up a series of phone or in-person appointments and at the end of each meeting, you give the client homework.  Between meetings, she emails this work to you so that you can be prepared and don’t have to “waste time” on your next scheduled call. What she’s saying is, “I want you to work on this during time that I am not paying for.” Time to fire her.

-He thinks taking you to lunch to talk about his business doesn’t count as billed time.

After I sold my last business, I consulted with other retailers to help them increase revenue and profits. I charged a modest fee and my clients saw results. An existing client called and asked if we could meet for lunch and discuss my helping him market his business for sale.  We didn’t have a decent business broker in town so I did all the marketing on the sale of my business myself.  Several other shopkeepers had called to ask how I brought in three offers when their businesses sat on the market  without a bite, so I added this to my consulting practice. I met the above mentioned client for lunch and outlined the exact steps I would take to get his business sold. They included setting up a separate web site for the sale of his business, writing copy, preparing a prospectus, setting up social media sites and writing posts for him. After quoting him a fee, he said, “Oh, I didn’t realize that was part of your business. I can do that myself now that I know what needs to be done.” He paid the check, gave me a hug and said, “Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me about this.”  When a client assumes your intellectual property can be bought for the price of a tuna fish sandwich, it’s time to fire him.

If you’ve clearly defined your services and fees and a client is trying to get something for nothing, let them go. If you don’t feel great working with someone, be honest with them. Tell them the relationship isn’t working. Don’t let them rent space in your brain for free. You’ll be surprised how letting go of one bad one will open space for three ideal clients.

Should you buy a business or start your own?

Have you been considering purchasing an existing business but not sure you should spend the money when you could start your own? It’s important to weigh many factors before you decide if it makes sense to buy or start from scratch.

For years I’ve bucked the adage “don’t re-invent the wheel” because I believe some of the most creative and inspired ideas and businesses are a result of doing it differently, putting your own spin on an existing concept. If you find an existing business that you love and that has a sound track record of profit, ask yourself the following questions:

• How could I take this idea and make it even better?
• Is this business missing a demographic that I could target with a similar model if I tweak it or add something to it?
• Do I like the service or product they offer but not the location?
• Would this concept or model work with a different product?

Here’s an example:
Last week, I spotted a unique business in the parking lot of the community swimming pool. A young man was making crepes on the back of a cool little teardrop-shaped trailer. Of course, I had to interrogate him as I always do when I discover a business I haven’t seen before. I learned that he sets up every Thursday in the summer at this location and at a different location every day of the week. He takes his portable creperie to local soccer games and other community events.
As I continued my walk, I thought of other items this concept could be applied to and taken to various locations where the ideal customers gather. The list of products someone could peddle this way is endless: candy, ice cream and even non-food products.  OR,  what if you loved the idea of starting a crepes business but not moving a trailer to a different location every day? Could you set up on a college campus permanently?
If you spotted this business on vacation and loved the idea, you might consider  duplicating in your own community. Do you know enough or could you research and learn about it to start up on your own or would it make sense to approach the entrepreneur who’s already doing this about hiring him as a consultant to help you start your own traveling crepe cart? Or purchase recipes from him?

While I generally encourage people to start their own business, there are times when it makes sense to purchase an existing business.

Years ago, my partner and I sold our home furnishings business to our controller.  Since he had all the inside information about vendors, advertising, employees and the systems of the business, he probably could have started from scratch, particularly since that business was not dependent on repeat customers. He chose instead to purchase the existing business because we had ideal locations and all the suppliers, vendors and personnel in place, saving him a lot of time which  meant he could immediately begin earning.

If you’re considering starting a personal service business, it might be best to start from scratch. When I decided to discontinue bodywork, it would have been foolish for another therapist to purchase the practice because I WAS the business. My clients liked my style and may have been unhappy with the work of another therapist. The same would hold true for some other very personal services like hairstylist or aesthetician. It is possible to  profit from your knowledge, however, when you are ready to close a business that isn’t really salable and I’ll address that in a future post.

So, when does it make sense to buy rather than start up on your own?

The couple who purchased my contemporary craft gallery made a wise choice to buy rather than start from scratch because I had a favorable lease on a building in an ideal location which was a valuable asset in that community. I had also established strong relationships and exclusive agreements with artist and vendors. I’d already figured out what works and doesn’t so they benefited from my early mistakes which saved them a lot of money. The gallery had a loyal following with locals and was a destination for tourists. All of those factors made it a wise choice for this couple to purchase rather than start a business on their own.

If you’re not sure whether to purchase an existing business or start your own, ask yourself these questions about any business you are considering.

• Does it have an established loyal following or clientele?
• Is the location ideal or would you be able to start-up in a better spot?
• Are there a number of years left on the existing lease and is it transferable to a new owner?
• Does the seller have exclusive agreements with vendors or sources?
• How much time would it take before you would be able to generate income if you started up on your own?
• Does the existing business have a strong reputation in the community?
• Does the market warrant another like business?

What if you spot a business you love but want to open your own in a different location? I’ll address that in a future post.

What’s wrong with creating a job for yourself?

In the previous post, we talked about why bigger isn’t always better. Here I want to address a related issue that keeps cropping up in conversations with new and aspiring entrepreneurs.

There seems to be a lot of buzz these days about starting your business with your “escape” in mind and I think it scares many would-be entrepreneurs because they think they have to create this machine that can function without them.

For some people, this is a great idea, but to me, it gives the same message as Tim Ferris’s “4 Hour Workweek”-that work is not fun and is something to just get over with as quickly as possible so that we can get on with the business of life. Well, that seems counter-intuitive to the flavor of creating work you love. If the purpose of starting a business is to set yourself up to stop working, then, yes, it makes sense to create a business that can run itself without you. But what about those of us who don’t even consider retirement and want to share our special gift with the world or those who want to create income out of interests and enjoy our work?

Whether you’re employed at a job that’s a poor fit or you are out of work, you are likely considering some kind of a career change.  That can either mean looking for another job or starting or purchasing a business.  Unless you’re just putting in time until you can retire, you probably want to do something that has meaning to you and in this economic climate, finding that perfect job is even more difficult.

Not everyone who wants to start a business aspires to be a mega tycoon. Many people just want to escape a job that’s unsatisfying and find a livelihood that pays well and is enjoyable. If you fall into the second category, it’s best to tune out a lot of the chatter about starting a business not a job for yourself because your dream job would likely be one where you work where you want, with whom you want and do the kind of work you love. Well, if it’s your business, you get to choose where you work and who you work with and what kind of work you do because you have a great boss-YOU. You choose your benefits package and the type of retirement investing you want to do and you can design an exit plan that keeps paying you if you at some point decide to stop working.

Not only is there nothing wrong with creating a job for yourself, or in some cases “buying yourself a job”, it’s a damn good solution.

In future posts, we’ll address when buying yourself a job makes sense and how you can continue to earn should you ever decide to slow down.

Is bigger always better? Should you expand your business?

We’ve all heard the advise “Work on your business, not in your business. Leveraging is the key to growing your business. Get your business to the point where it can work without you.”  In some cases that is good advise but often it’s not.

Yes, leveraging can mean you have some passive income or that you can produce more revenue than you could on your own but bigger does not always mean more money, more free time or more satisfaction.

Some aspiring entrepreneurs have a goal of growing a large business and hanging out on a tropical island while employees run it, but chances are you are going to spend a lot of your time in an office planning, directing and delegating. Is that what you ultimately want your life to look like?

Let’s say you are a custom cabinet maker.  If you started your business because you love doing that kind of work with your hands and get satisfaction out of taking the project from design to completion, are you going to be happy doing the work to drum up clients, hiring other cabinet makers, ordering materials, keeping track of payables and receivables and handling payroll? Probably not.

In some circumstances keeping it small is a smart choice. Maybe you don’t want to deal with the administrative side of overseeing a large business. Perhaps you thrive on the actual service you perform or customer interaction. Sometimes growing large can be so costly with payroll taxes, worker’s compensation insurance, remote office rental, etc, that your net profit isn’t much greater than staying small and keeping your costs and quality of service under control.

Years ago after finishing massage school, I intended to open my own body-work center and hire other therapists to work for me for a percentage of the revenue. I’d had other businesses and knew the administrative load involved. To get practical experience in the spa industry, I subcontracted to a few resorts and what I discovered was that while I was comfortable with and good at the work involved in marketing and running a business, what I really loved was the hands on healing work with the client. I didn’t want to give that up in the interest of building a large business.

In the home furnishings business, however, I found I enjoyed the marketing and administrative side more than customer interaction so running a larger business made sense. However, there was a point at which rapid expansion proved less profitable because we grew faster than we could manage.

When I opened a contemporary craft gallery, I loved the face-to-face client contact and knew that I needed to out there with customers to learn their preference. I also needed to do the buying and attend trade shows to keep up on trends.   I didn’t want to be behind a desk doing paperwork so I delegated the book-keeping. Even though I loved working in the business, I also wanted and needed some free time for other activities I love like walking on the boardwalk, in the redwoods and traveling. Some small business owners will just close up shop a day or two to have time off but I wanted to be open seven days a week so I opted to hire additional exployees to work the gallery and have money coming in even if I was away. For me, that was the perfect mix of hands-on and delegating. When I was encouraged to expand and add other locations,  I knew that wouldn’t fit the lifestyle I was looking for at the time.

Before making the decision to expand your business, ask yourself what aspects of the business truly excite you and which tasks you prefer to avoid. If being out doing the actual service is most satisfying to you, it probably isn’t going to make you happy to have other employees or contractors doing the work and sitting back directing. You may be happier for the long run doing the work yourself and having an administrative person handling the appointment scheduling, phone calls and paperwork. Every entrepreneur has to find her own comfortable balance so don’t assume bigger is always best.

How your current job can help you in starting your own business

Are you ready to leave your job but not necessarily walk away from the field entirely? Maybe there are factors about your particular position or employer that make you restless and wanting to escape but you are interested in doing something on your own related to your current industry. Are there things you’ve learned on the job that will be invaluable to you in launching your own business?

Perhaps you like the industry you’re in but your current job is unsatisfying. Maybe it’s personal dynamics or a long commute that you are unhappy with, not the field itself.

I just read a former brand manager at Proctor and Gamble and an account manager at Welch’s who left his lucrative position to launch his own beverage company.  Steve Hatch was senior VP of sales for TradeWinds, maker of ready-to-drink iced teas, when he identified an unmet need. From his experience in the beverage industry, he knew that coffee is a $50 billion business and that convenience is an important factor for consumers. No one was making a ready-mixed flavored coffee with milk and sugar in its own microwaveable container. It was a niche waiting to be exploited.

Hatch’s knowledge of the industry enabled him to set up a canning plant in Wisconsin and collaborate with Campbell Soup Co. to make the container.

Identifying a need and manufacturing the product are all terrific but what really makes a launch successful is knowing how to bring it to market. This is where Steve’s previous industry experience proved priceless. From his work with other beverage companies, he had relationships with key contacts at the major retail chains and managed to get his product on the shelves at 1800 Walmart stores.

What have you learned in your career as an employee that you can carry with you to your own new venture? Are there unmet needs that you recognize or an unserved market sector? What’s lacking in your industry that you can create a solution for? Who do you know from your work experience that can help you make it happen.

What contacts have you made that will be helpful in getting your own product to market. Have you developed relationships with suppliers, brokers or buyers? Would you know how to source products for your new business, where to buy raw materials, how to manufacture and distribute?

If you’re even considering leaving your job to start your own business, begin keeping a list of all the contacts, sources and industry knowledge that you can take with you. Industry relationships and intellectual resources may prove to be your most valuable start-up assets.

5 Signs you are you courting the wrong clients

Do you feel like you spend so much time trying to grow your client list but you aren’t bringing in the revenue to show for all your efforts? You may be wasting a lot of energy courting the wrong customer.

Many fledgling entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to make everyone their customer. Motivated to grow their business quickly, they fear turning any business away so are too general and don’t take the time to define and target their ideal customer.

I see this in every kind of business from coaching to retail to service. In fact, I just heard a story this morning about a young woman who in an attempt to build a Mary Kay business, held a party for all her friends, college students who are mostly on financial aid.  No one at the first party purchased except the host who received a huge discount. But the representative wanted to build her customer list so she asked each of the girls attending to host a party. The idea is for each of them to bring in other friends who will purchase and bring their friends who will refer their friends and become repeat customers. But, if none of them purchased at the first party and they each have a party to get the free hostess gifts she is going to waste more time and effort doing several more presentations to the same girls who will do nothing to grow her business. She’s wasting energy wooing the wrong client.

I saw this in my own businesses as well. Years ago I studied massage and wanted to grow a practice quickly so gave discount coupons to everyone I knew in hopes that some would become regular clients. Thinking I should practice all the different bodywork I had learned,  I would do whatever type of massage the client wanted. What I saw very quickly was that many of them enjoyed the massage but couldn’t afford weekly or even monthly bodywork. Then I sat down and wrote out criteria for my ideal client.  I decided to specialize in one modality and only target clients who could benefit from upper body, neck and shoulder work and who could afford to pay for the work regularly. Then I made a list of people I knew who either fit that profile or who were in a position to refer my target client. Rather than offer discount coupons, I gave this targeted group gift certificates for a free session. Instead of attracting clients who were only taking advantage of a free or discounted service, these were chiropractors, physicians and people with the means to pay and refer. By putting my time and effort into targeting a very specific profile rather than courting everyone,  I very quickly built up a thriving practice.

When I opened a gallery of contemporary american craft in a tourist town, I realized that the majority of people walking down the street patronized the shops that sold souvenirs and imported nicknacks. I quickly learned that only a small percentage of the visitors either valued or would pay for handmade items. I knew in order to make it, I would have to adjust my inventory to appeal to at least twenty percent of the foot traffic. I could have started carrying chinese knock-offs and thus brought in more customers but I had made a commitment to support American crafts people. Also, if I carried the same old trinkets everyone else did, I would appeal to a larger population but what would differentiate me from the other shops in town? So, I made the decision to stay focused on a specific client and added in some more affordable pieces that were still handmade and continued to target the customer who would refer and return. Yes, I missed eighty percent of the foot traffic but the twenty percent who I did reach were my ideal client and became loyal, long-term customers.

If you’re you working too hard to be everything to everyone and finding it frustrating and unprofitable, ask yourself the following questions about your client list:

Can most of them afford to pay you fairly for your product or service?

Do they come in regular contact, either in person or virtually, with others who are your ideal client?

Are they people you enjoy working with who will tell their friends or clients about you?

Will they become long-term repeat clients?

Are they likely to purchase other products or services you offer in the future?

If you answered no to any of the above questions, you are courting the wrong client. Stop and make a list of the qualities your ideal client possesses and then figure out how you can reach those people. If you stop trying to reach the eighty percent who won’t become long-term paying clients, you’ll find the twenty percent you do target will bring in the majority of your income.

What NOT to do when you purchase a business.

It’s always a mystery to me why someone would pay a lot of money to purchase a successful business and immediately change things. This happens so frequently that I feel it warrants addressing.

My friend Cyndy spent a decade building a profitable business selling items from her native country. She had a strong following with repeat customers and great relationships with her vendors. When she decided to return to her homeland, she sold to a local man and trained him in all aspects of the business.

The week the new owner took over, he began “cleaning up” the shop, which meant changing all the displays and straightening up all the inventory. Several of us who knew the business explained to him that part of Cyndy’s success was that she had figured out how the traffic patterns in her shop drew attention to particular items and she had placed things strategically where they sold best. He continued to make changes and complained that business was slow. Recently, I noticed he had moved the store to a less expensive and less than prime location. It’s no coincidence that sales are suffering.

In my little seaside town alone, I’ve seen this happen whenever shops change ownership. It makes sense to make changes if you purchase an unsuccessful business with the intent of turning it around and making it profitable, but if you buy a business based on it’s profitable track record, the biggest mistake you can make is to change anything immediately.  What you pay for when you purchase a successful business is the previous owner’s  knowledge, reputation and relationships. If you aren’t going to follow their lead, save your money and start your own business.

Sure you want to give the business your own style and flavor but when purchasing a successful, profitable business, my recommendation is to soak up every bit of information the previous owner shares, ask questions and listen. Ask for introductions to clients and vendors. Ask the seller to attend your first trade show with you and help you with your initial purchase orders. Then model their practices exactly for at least the first year. Put aside your own preferences for now and do things exactly as the previous owner did, making notes on improvements you think of but don’t implement any changes yet. Listen to clients. Ask what they like about the business and what improvements they would like to see. Note comments that you hear repeatedly.

Assuming your numbers are as good at the end of the first year as before you purchased, you can begin making small improvements a bit at a time. Don’t alter too much at once so that you can monitor the results of each modification. If you see positive results, keep the change. If your numbers begin to slide, either make adjustments or return to the way the seller did things.  Remember, you paid for that know-how.

It’s always a mystery to me why someone would pay a lot of money to purchase a successful business and immediately change things. This happens so frequently that I feel it warrants addressing.

My friend Cyndy spent a decade building a profitable business selling items from her native country. She had a strong following with repeat customers and great relationships with her vendors. When she decided to return to her homeland, she sold to a local man and trained him in all aspects of the business.

The week the new owner took over, he began “cleaning up” the shop, which meant changing all the displays and straightening up all the inventory. Several of us who knew the business explained to him that part of Cyndy’s success was that she had figured out how the traffic patterns in her shop drew attention to particular items and she had placed things strategically where they sold best. He continued to make changes and complained that business was slow. Recently, I noticed he had moved the store to a less expensive and less than prime location. It’s no coincidence that sales are suffering.

In my little seaside town alone, I’ve seen this happen whenever shops change ownership. It makes sense to make changes if you purchase an unsuccessful business with the intent of turning it around and making it profitable, but if you buy a business based on it’s profitable track record, the biggest mistake you can make is to change anything immediately.  What you pay for when you purchase a successful business is the previous owner’s  knowledge, reputation and relationships. If you aren’t going to follow their lead, save your money and start your own business.

Sure you want to give the business your own style and flavor but when purchasing a successful, profitable business, my recommendation is to soak up every bit of information the previous owner shares, ask questions and listen. Ask for introductions to clients and vendors. Ask the seller to attend your first trade show with you and help you with your initial purchase orders. Then model their practices exactly for at least the first year. Put aside your own preferences for now and do things exactly as the previous owner did, making notes on improvements you think of but don’t implement any changes yet. Listen to clients. Ask what they like about the business and what improvements they would like to see. Note comments that you hear repeatedly.

Assuming your numbers are as good at the end of the first year as before you purchased, you can begin making small improvements a bit at a time. Don’t alter too much at once so that you can monitor the results of each modification. If you see positive results, keep the change. If your numbers begin to slide, either make adjustments or return to the way the seller did things.  Remember, you paid for that know-how.

How will your business grow? By replicating what’s working or creating a community of complimentary businesses?

Recent conversations with clients and friends about how they can add additional revenue started me thinking about how we traditionally grow our companies.

When my partner and I had success with our first home furnishings business in Tucson, we knew the easiest way to expand would be to replicate this model in other cities. It never occurred to us to open other, complimentary stores in the same city.  Duplicating our flagship store made sourcing, merchandising, marketing and managing simpler and the lessons gained from our early mistakes benefited each of our next sixteen locations. Expansion was formulaic and systematic. It worked well financially and, for awhile, personally. It served my need to explore new places and meet new people. My restless nature was satisfied by several moves to new geography in the service of expansion, but eventually I became bored and needed new challenges.

I now view expansion possibilities differently. I could have stayed in the first location and grown the business by capitalizing on reputation and an existing clientele, offering the same customer group other complimentary products and services.

The food service industry is a good example. Restauranteurs most frequently grow by replicating their first business in multiple cities. Occasionally, we see one person or company open numerous but diverse restaurants in the same area. One of my favorites is a group in Carmel, Ca who own an Irish chowder house, a seafood and steak grill, a Greek cafe and a couple of Italian bistros all within a few blocks. They cross market to customers, offering coupons at each restaurant for discounts at their other locations. While the menus are different, they can share staff and have the advantages of using local vendors. This model of creating a community of businesses in one area based on an existing reputation and customer base works for brick and mortar as well as virtual enterprise.

Because many of you have online businesses rather than brick and mortar, let’s look at how you can use this method of expansion. If we’ve worked together, I may have suggested at some point that you leverage your knowledge and boost your income by replicating and repurposing what you do. In other words, let’s say you teach a metalworking class. I’ve probably encouraged you to record your lessons and sell them as a home-study tutorial. Using the model of capitalizing on your existing business, you might also think of selling some jewelry making supplies, kits and possibly even doing some affiliate marketing of complimentary materials or classes.

How can YOU create a community of businesses that cater to the clientele you already have? What other products or services can you offer to meet the needs of your existing customers? Can you align yourself with other business owners who already serve your ideal customer and provide complementary services?

AS always, your comments below are welcome and appreciated.

Recognizing a Royal Business Opportunity

Over the weekend I read about a young American woman who started a Princess Boot Camp for little girls in London. The upcoming royal wedding has sparked a new generation of Kate Middleton wannabes who dream of capturing the hearts of their own prince. Jerramy Fine, long enamored with everything British, recognized a great entrepreneurial opportunity and started Princess Prep to teach young girls the proper way to take tea, curtsey and behave appropriately in front of the queen. For $4000. a week, these aspiring princesses learn proper British etiquette.

I’m always impressed to see an innovative entrepreneur spot a trend or current event as a profitable business opportunity, particularly when it’s around such a simple concept.

What current events or trends can you think of that might spark an idea for a business opportunity?

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