WELCOME TO 7 ALERT: success

Membangun kerajaan bisnis sendiri mungkin jadi dambaan bagi banyak orang. Namun memulai sebuah usaha tidaklah semudah membalikan tangan. Ada hal-hal yang harus dipersiapkan, direncanakan dan dilaksanakan dengan ketekunan. Simak beberapa tips tentang bagaimana mempersiapkan membuka usaha sendiri berikut ini.

Melakukan Penelitian Pasar
Penelitian merupakan hal integral dalam membangun bisnis. Lakukan penelitian di pasar dan tentukan siapa konsumen Anda. Tentukan mana yang akan jadi sasaran utama Anda atau konsumen Anda jadi lebih kecil. Pahami perbedaan antara pasar dan dimana Anda dapat meraih pelanggan.

Pilih Patner Yang Tepat
Jika Anda akan mencari rekan kerja, pastikan Anda sudah memilih yang tepat. Anda ingin seorang rekan kerja yang memiliki latar belakang bisnis atau pengarah bisnis. Beberapa pengalaman manajemen juga lebih disukai. Jika Anda ingin rekan kerja yang memenuhi latar belakang financial, mereka perlu memiliki kredit yang bagus atau kemampuan untuk menawarkan dukungan financial.

Jaminan Keuangan
Keuangan dapat jadi tantangan terbesar, tapi ada beberapa jenis pilihan yang tersedia untuk mendapatkan modal usaha. Ada dapat memilih ikut program pemerintah dalam membangun usaha kecil. Anda bisa mulai mengajukan pinjaman pada bank yang menangani usaha kecil dan mendapatkan pinjaman berjumlah kecil. Atau Anda bisa mengambil pinjaman pribadi di bank. Pilihan lain adalah mencari rekanan yang mau berinvestasi untuk memulai usaha bersama.

Ciptakan Image Atau Posisi Penjualan Yang Unik
Mulai dengan membangun keberadaan Anda, branding image Anda di public dan para pelanggan Ikatan ini masuk dalam posisi penjualan. Kembangkan tagline Anda dan temukan angel yang tepat yang mengena pada produk atau pelayanan tertuju pada pelanggan. Ciptakan sebuah image yang membuat Anda terpercaya di mata pelanggan Anda.

Berhenti Berpikir Mendapat Laba Secepat Kilat
Sangat, sangat jarang ada bisnis yang sukses dalam semalam. Kebanyakan bisnis membutuhkan waktu dan usaha, bahkan untuk mulai melihat hasilnya. Saat Anda memahami ini dan Anda tak seharusnya menaruh pengharapan secara berlebihan atau yang tak realistis. Persiapkan usaha, pengorbanan dan bahkan kemungkinan mengalami kerugian. Anda tak akan jadi kaya raya hanya dalam semalam, tapi Anda dapat membangun sebuah usaha yang menguntungkan secara bertahap.

sumber : kl.com

Vermont Teddy Bear Company

SCORE Counselors are the Bearers of Good Advice for Teddy Bear Entrepreneur.

Sortino first got the idea for making teddy bears in 1980, not long after the birth of his first son. “He had 38 stuffed animals, not one of which was made in the U.S.,” Sortino recalls. “So, I made him one—named ‘Bearcho.’ I made others and soon fell in love with idea of making them.”

“Bearcho” became the ancestor of millions of other cuddy, customized teddy bears created by the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, the Shelburne-based business that Sortino founded a few years later. Made famous through its memorable radio ads and wide range of gift options, the company has capitalized on America’s long-standing love affair with the toy by creating customized teddy bears and shipping them to lucky recipients via specially designed “BearGrams.”

But while the Vermont Teddy Bear Company has indeed become one of the nation’s true business success stories, Sortino recalls that he was no different from other entrepreneurs who sometimes need help to turn their vision into reality.

“When possible, people should talk to SCORE counselors and get different perspectives, because they have so much information and experience to share. It’s like the gods of business coming in to help you be successful.”
—John Sortino, business consultant and founder, Vermont Teddy Bear Company

“Having a business sounds like a wonderful dream, but it’s really very tough,” he says. “You’re by yourself, your plans may not be working out, and you’re trying to figure out how to solve problems or keep things growing.”

Sortino faced no shortage of those challenges in trying to get his teddy bear business off the ground. When local retailers were initially reluctant to market the hand-crafted toys, he began selling them from a pushcart in Burlington, Vermont’s famous downtown marketplace. The bears’ popularity led to a small manufacturing operation and efforts to wholesale the products to specialty stores.

“The moral of Jim’s story was that customers often associate product details with quality,” Sortino says. “That story became a life lesson in marketing that I’ve used ever since. We began working details into our ads such as how our bears had 14 stitches per inch. We also expanded our radio advertising to New York City and other Northeast markets. It didn’t take long for sales to start climbing again.”

When Sortino planned a new factory to meet the increasing demand, he again called SCORE. Al Huber, an expert in factory operations, helped to engineer the bear-making process, including setting up the various manufacturing stages.

By the early 1990s, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company had become a national phenomenon. Soon after transitioning from a privately held business to a public corporation, the company was ranked 21st on Inc. magazine’s list of fastest growing public companies in 1994. The company has since added Internet shopping and broadened its product offering to include other gift items.

Sortino left the Vermont Teddy Bear Company in 1995 to pursue other interests, and he is now a highly sought-after business consultant. He also authored the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Successful Entrepreneuring, now in its fifth printing, and he is currently negotiating to write a series of business books for high school students.