W02-Post 1 - Seeing business in a new way

 This week has been very insightful and a little daunting. While I’ve been comfortable with the content so far, I’m apprehensive about literally starting a business over the next few weeks, mostly because this isn’t my first time. I know first hand what it takes to start a business, I’ve done it twice in the past. I think my biggest concern is the idea of starting a temporary business. I have enough going on right now to understand that while this is an experience that I need, but I’m not really ready to take on another long term project over the next year or so. 

The Google Ads project was very helpful. Both my previous businesses (1 temporary, one still going after 6 years) were services based on predetermined needs. I didn’t need to advertise to get customers because I already had them when the business started. The Google Ads project put me into an analytical frame of mind that was very helpful. I like to see and act on data, not on hunches or passions. That might be why my responses differed so much from my peers on the discussion boards. If I’m going to start something from scratch, I want to know there’s demand and I want to know the competition. Anyone can be passionate about their product, but can it be successfully monetized? That's the real question.

I feel strongly about my position that the model is equally important (if not more important) than the product in this scenario. There are millions of products a small business can provide, and there will almost always be competition unless I invent a new market. So, the model is the difference. Think about that company Stitchfix. How many companies sell clothes from other manufacturers? Thousands at least. But Stitchfix came up with a subscription based model where clothes were curated based on customer interests and sent directly to them every month. No one else was doing that and it started a whole new sector for many retail categories. Lots of companies are doing that now. An intelligent model made all the difference.

I also need the model to be web-based because the class requires it. I can still make it a service if I need to, but I’m not sure I have the resources I need to do a service in the next 12 weeks. Even something that I already do (for example, computer repair) will have time and materials constraints. 

I think this class will be valuable for me in terms of marketing. I’ve been running my own P&L, finances, and taxes for years. Yes, there’s always something to learn, but I’m already pretty comfortable in those areas. Drawing and retaining customers is a new task and I don’t want to shortchange myself in this experience. I think I’ll do some extra time in Google Ads and just browse things until I find a low competition time that I can learn on.

On to week 3!