I am all about free things
So when I heard about Business Gateway at an event, I was ecstatic. As you may or may not know, I always have my hands in numerous projects. My latest venture is a site called Love. Writing. Adventure., which I run in conjunction with two other MSc students at Edinburgh Uni. The project started with the desire to travel to Australia and the idea that the easiest way to sell books is to write romance novels. So the blog is about writing, romance, and travel.
But back to free things
One of the most important things for any new venture is to come up with a business plan. That’s where Business Gateway comes in. Business Gateway provides free courses (in Scotland) for budding entrepreneurs in a wide range of topics. You can find similar resources at your local Small Business Association. Today we focused on marketing.
Most valuable thing I learned today
While it’s important to be passionate about your product, it’s equally–if not more–important to have a viable business plan to back up your passion. That means assessing the market: research your competitors, determine your target customers, decide the medium through which you will sell your product or service. While I agree that many people can get stymied in the work of market research and therefore never get the business off the ground, it’s also important not to go into a venture blindly.
Though the majority of the things we covered in the three hour long workshop today were “common sense” it’s helpful to have exercises that request specific information. To translate this into writer’s terms (the mode my mind is in right now), we essentially received a character diagram to fill in with information about our potential businesses. Just as I would not dive into writing a novel without first getting to know my characters, I cannot dive into a business without first getting to know my product and the market in which I’ll be offering it.
As a side note, if you are not in Scotland and are unable to take advantage of the workshops, Business Gateway also offers free downloads on the basics of starting a business.