Looks like you've started from the wrong end! It's hard to design an effective website and business cards without first knowing your target market. A technology business is the same as any other business in its fundamentals - most of the work, effort and skill is in finding a target market, understanding its needs and developing channels to satisfy those needs. The actual product is (or should be) a relatively trivial part of the operation.
Start by identifying a niche market for your product. Do you want it to be local, national or global? Are you aimed at B2B? If so, SMEs or Corporates? What size is that market (in financial terms)? What fraction could you hope to squeeze away from the existing suppliers? Or have you got a product that nobody else supplies? In which case,how many companies are willing to pay for it?
Refine your product, at least until you get up and running. A small brand new company with no track record offering technology training, computer and networking solutions, and simple print and publication design needs to have quite a substantial staff to make itself even slightly credible in the B2B market.
Work out your company finances. Start from your market identification (above) and produce at least a 12 month budget (depending on the capital you have available). Don't forget when you look at cashflow that many businesses will expect 30 - 90 days credit (depending on where you are), whereas your landlord, your staff and your grocer will expect to be paid on the nail. Be realistic about conversion rates from opportunities to actual invoiced sales. A top class sales organisation will convert between 25-30% of its firm qualified leads, so you need to generate at least 5 times the volume of good enquiries that you need to invoice. Don't forget you will need (at least) a lawyer and an accountant on retainer to get you legally and safely set up. Your budget will cover potential lead generation (how, who, where, how much), conversion ratio (hope for 20% at first), direct costs (costs of actual product) and indirect costs (rent, staff, communications, professional fees, advertising). Don't forget your salary, required insurances and taxes. Remember that indirect costs are there whether you have invoiceable sales or not.
If your budget is not showing a minimum of 20% net profit on turnover in your first years trading then look carefully at your assumptions. Be pessimistic in your budget (80% of all new start-ups fail in the first 18 months of trading, mainly due to unrealistic expectations).
Now you will know whether the business is realisable, and you will understand the basic parameters of the business. You will know where to start your marketing. Local businesses respond better to local advertising, and personal contacts. Your biggest source of contacts and initial business will be by personal contact. Most towns will have a Chamber of Commerce or business club of some kind. Make sure you are there, with simple business cards, and with a very focussed idea of what you have to offer. Talk to people, friends, acquaintances and business contacts. Your local paper may be interested in running a 'start-up' story if you have something interesting and new to offer, particularly if they can see some advertising coming.
Good luck, with planning and effort you can be one of the 20% who goes on to run a successful business - but go into it fully researched and with your eyes wide open.
If you want the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first.
'If we're supposed to work in Hex, why have we only got A fingers?'
Drive a Steam Roller
