Many people think that marketing is synonymous with advertising. The truth is advertising is only a small part; a single step in a never ending process.
The American Marketing Association defines marketing as:
"the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives."
This is obviously a very important part of planning your business. Therefore, in our seminars there are two weeks allocated for marketing, the 4 P's (product, price, place, promotion), target markets, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, 0pportunities, threats) analysis, market potential, product life cycle, etc. All these things are crucial to knowing the environment your business is currently in and planning for "what if" scenario's.
In our seminar last night one of our speakers mentioned statcan.ca. This is a fantastic website to do some research on your market, its potential, and your place in it. There is another government website that I would like to direct your attention to; Industry Canada. It is a website with fantastic resources that goes more in depth about what we were talking about last night and what we will talk about next week.
Specifically, http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/stco-levc.nsf/en/h_qw00016e.html talks about marketing if your still a little hazy. On the right hand side there is a link that takes you to an interactive worksheet that helps you to assess your strength in the market. One thing the government does is make pretty decent websites for the people needing more business information.
There is tons, literally tons, of information on marketing and examples of anything you may want about business plans, online. This wealth of information does come at a cost. Sometimes it is not a reputable site. Just be aware of this fact. Usually government websites are pretty reliable, so they are a great starting place.
Good luck marketing and I hope to see you next week.
Showing posts with label Entrepreneur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Entrepreneur. Show all posts
Friday, June 15, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Great Resources
At our seminar last Thursday Craig reminded everyone that research is a key component of the business plan. In my mind, if you do not do research on your business, market opportunity, or target market, you are unprepared. If you are struggling with research the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge (CEC) website has some great resources at http://www.chinookchallenge.com/Resources.html. There is everything there from sample plans to assistance in financial planning to government research pages (stats can). I have not had the opportunity to browse all 70 websites, but I will direct you to some that encompass what we talked about this week.
I would like to draw your attention to the Business Development Bank of Canada (www.bdc.ca). If you browse it you will find:
You can customize the site to your industry sector
Step by step how to guide to start your small business
Sample Plans
Financial templates (very in depth)
but also....
A self Entrepreneur assessment.
All these things will give you a great understanding of what you are up for.
Also, for research purposes, the government has some excellent statistics. On the CEC Resources site there are over a dozen sites that would help. I hope this gets you started in the right direction. See you at the next seminar on Thursday, June 14.
I would like to draw your attention to the Business Development Bank of Canada (www.bdc.ca). If you browse it you will find:
You can customize the site to your industry sector
Step by step how to guide to start your small business
Sample Plans
Financial templates (very in depth)
but also....
A self Entrepreneur assessment.
All these things will give you a great understanding of what you are up for.
Also, for research purposes, the government has some excellent statistics. On the CEC Resources site there are over a dozen sites that would help. I hope this gets you started in the right direction. See you at the next seminar on Thursday, June 14.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
FREE Seminars
Some food for thought...
"...it’s important not to confuse perfectionism with success. Endlessly pursuing the perfect product can mean never delivering a good product, or the right product. Successful start ups are about effective use of limited resources. While it’s critical never to limit the vision of what the company can be, having the discipline to package that vision into manageable pieces is perhaps more important still. "(For the complete story go to http://www.foundread.com/view/go-ahead-push-the).
This is true of entrepreneurs; people get caught in the vision of what might be, and lose focus of the primary objective of their company. Their endless visioning and farsightedness may be their downfall. Lack of demand is not the only reason for a new company to fail. The great entrepreneurs can take the good ideas, set goals, achieve them, and move on; not make goals, make more goals, make still more goals, and then achieve the first goal.
This is why a business plan is so important. It keep the visionaries on task and focused on the issues at hand. That is why the free business planning seminars are such a useful tool. We have an amazing instructor and some great guest speakers from professionals and long time business people.
Our FREE Pre-Business Planning Seminars start in 2 weeks. They are every Thursday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm starting June 7th. They cover everything you need to include in your business plan. You must be registered to take the business planning seminars (its free, we don't even ask for a credit card number)
The calendar of events is online at www.chinookchallenge.com. Also, all the information is in the Handbook at the same site.
"...it’s important not to confuse perfectionism with success. Endlessly pursuing the perfect product can mean never delivering a good product, or the right product. Successful start ups are about effective use of limited resources. While it’s critical never to limit the vision of what the company can be, having the discipline to package that vision into manageable pieces is perhaps more important still. "(For the complete story go to http://www.foundread.com/view/go-ahead-push-the).
This is true of entrepreneurs; people get caught in the vision of what might be, and lose focus of the primary objective of their company. Their endless visioning and farsightedness may be their downfall. Lack of demand is not the only reason for a new company to fail. The great entrepreneurs can take the good ideas, set goals, achieve them, and move on; not make goals, make more goals, make still more goals, and then achieve the first goal.
This is why a business plan is so important. It keep the visionaries on task and focused on the issues at hand. That is why the free business planning seminars are such a useful tool. We have an amazing instructor and some great guest speakers from professionals and long time business people.
Our FREE Pre-Business Planning Seminars start in 2 weeks. They are every Thursday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm starting June 7th. They cover everything you need to include in your business plan. You must be registered to take the business planning seminars (its free, we don't even ask for a credit card number)
The calendar of events is online at www.chinookchallenge.com. Also, all the information is in the Handbook at the same site.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Off and Running
Well, we are officially launched and the 2007 campaign has been kicked off with a success all over Southern Alberta.
Keep an eye on your local paper and and ear tuned to your radio to get more information on the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge.
Now that we are getting down to business, I would like to share some useful online resources with all aspiring entrepreneurs. There is a start-up business blog. The founder said, "the lessons I am learning [from starting my own business], thousands have learnt before, and might actually have a wider (and better) perspective on trials and tribulations of being a founder of a business. Not just a tech start-up, just any business. Why isn’t there a resource that captures this tribal wisdom? What if we could build one – one that can be shared by one-and-all?".
The idea is a breakthrough and it gives advice by people that have been there and have been through the turbulent start-up stages of entrepreneurship. If you are interested and want more information, the site is: http://www.foundread.com/view/introducing; or if you want to jump right in: http://www.foundread.com/.
This could potentially give you some insight into your future business and perhaps help your business plan be more sustainable. This site, coupled with our 8 pre-business planning seminars should give you the insight for a great business plan. For more information on the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge contact info@chinookchallenge.com or visit www.chinookchallenge.com
Keep an eye on your local paper and and ear tuned to your radio to get more information on the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge.
Now that we are getting down to business, I would like to share some useful online resources with all aspiring entrepreneurs. There is a start-up business blog. The founder said, "the lessons I am learning [from starting my own business], thousands have learnt before, and might actually have a wider (and better) perspective on trials and tribulations of being a founder of a business. Not just a tech start-up, just any business. Why isn’t there a resource that captures this tribal wisdom? What if we could build one – one that can be shared by one-and-all?".
The idea is a breakthrough and it gives advice by people that have been there and have been through the turbulent start-up stages of entrepreneurship. If you are interested and want more information, the site is: http://www.foundread.com/view/introducing; or if you want to jump right in: http://www.foundread.com/.
This could potentially give you some insight into your future business and perhaps help your business plan be more sustainable. This site, coupled with our 8 pre-business planning seminars should give you the insight for a great business plan. For more information on the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge contact info@chinookchallenge.com or visit www.chinookchallenge.com
Friday, March 23, 2007
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge, the only business planning competition of its kind in Canada to be held in a non-metropolitan setting. Set in Southern Alberta, Canada, this competition is designed to encourage new entrepreneurs, small businesses and start ups to act on their business ideas, their talents, and their energy to produce tomorrow’s leading firms. Through seminars, mentors, and this blog, participants will have guidance and support while preparing their plan. This blog will be the spot to learn of upcoming events, tips for business plans and updates on the competition. To register for this years challenge go to http://www.chinookchallenge.com/ and fill out the online form. Keep checking this blog for updates and helpful links. Good Luck.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
