- Once you have an idea of what you will sell, do some marketing research. The purpose of marketing research is to validate your business idea, according to Businessknowhow.com, an online reference site. You want to make sure consumers or businesses will purchase what you are selling. Start out with a phone survey, which is a relatively quick way to gather information. Ask consumers who are most likely to buy your products if they would consider buying your product, based on a brief description. Find out how much people would spend for your product. Phone surveys are probably your best bet as you can gather the information relatively quickly.
- It is crucial that you study your industry before starting a business. First of all, you want to make sure the industry is large enough for another company like yours. Start out by finding out what the total sales are in the industry. Next, you need to determine the market share of key competitors. Market share is the percentage of sales in dollars and units that the competition holds in the marketplace. You can obtain market share information through trade publications or industry reports. Read about your competitors. Compare their strengths and weaknesses to your company's. Your key opportunities in the market lie with your competitor's weaknesses. For example, establish a niche in the marketplace by offering the best customer service, if no other competitors focus their efforts on it.
- A business plan should be an essential part of any startup plan. Outline key aspects of your company in your business plan, including your products, marketing and financial analysis. List the products you plan to sell, including brand names, features, flavors, fragrances, sizes and prices. Write the key benefits that your products offer to consumers. Also, determine what types of advertising you will run, such as magazine or newspaper ads, radio advertising or Internet marketing. Determine how much you will spend on each type of advertising. Additionally, forecast your first two or three years of sales. Estimate when you expect your business to break even.
- You will need a supplier for your products if you are not manufacturing them. You can also look for wholesalers in your own area, which would reduce your shipping costs. One key to finding wholesalers is to make sure you are dealing with an actual wholesaler, not a middleman. Go to Whois.net to verify whether your are dealing with a veritable wholesaler. The wholesaler is likely a middleman if an individual owns the site, according to Entrepreneur.com.
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