Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Pollinatrix- Readers Business Ideas- Part 2

I've had seen through my years in business that usually, one's

treasure is in their talent.

Certainly this has proved true for Entrepreneur Chick, as I actually started all my positive cash flow now simply from the ability to dance well, which I then leveraged into many other opportunities- and I believe it is especially true for Susan. (The Pollinatrix. "The Whole Blooming World.")

Susan's talent is writing, and writing well.

Recently she launched Illuminated Manuscripts, joined her local chamber of commerce, and has begun receiving work.

Let's evaluate Susan's new venture through Entrepreneur Chick's six point success check list, if you will, that was mentioned in the last post.

(1) Is Illuminated Manuscripts relevant?

Oh, heck yes!

Why do I know that?
Susan recently sent me a link to a literary agent's blog, Nathan Brandsford.
Just guess how many followers Nathan Brandford has?

Three thousand and seventy eight!
Those are just his Google followers.

How many other followers/readers do you suppose he has that are not even listed?
I'd say you can safely double that number.

Now we are up to six thousand one hundred and fifty six readers!

Let me ask you- out of that six thousand one hundred and fifty six readers, how many of those writers and aspiring writers write spot on? Write well? No misspellings, no grammatical errors?

Exactly!
Maybe even only two in ten are up for that task.
That's where Illuminated Manuscripts shines.

Besides that particular market, which is writers, on the corporate end of things, actually, it's not much better.

A corporation needs to effectively communicate their message in a vast and confusing market place.
Would you risk millions of marketing dollars with only a nominal command of language?

What about grant writing? Don't even get me started!

So, we can conclude the Polly's business is enormously relevant.

Remember, if you are not relevant, you are not what?
Nothing. That's what.

(2) What does Susan know about the business?

Plenty.

Her graduate studies have been in this field, she teaches on a college level in this field and also made a comment to me, in so many words that, "I don't mean to sound like I'm arrogant but writing is easy for me- a lot of people don't know how to do it, but it comes easy for me."

(3) What's the R.O.I. or return on investment?

Return on investment or: "how much for how much"?
Though I do not know her exact numbers, I can give a fairly accurate "guesstimate".

Susan's start up costs were not large due to her not having to purchase real estate, sign leases, pay a huge staff, meet outrageous insurance demands, consult with all kinds of attorneys and so forth.

What Entrepreneur Chick absolutely adores about a service oriented business is that it is easier to maximize profit because expenses can be kept low, but all the while, the business will continue to grow and expand.

(4) Where is the break even point?

The break even point, you remember, is reached when the costs for starting the business have been satisfied and anything after that is pure profit.

Her break even point, because of her low start up costs and the fact that work is steadily coming in, was reached quickly.

Yet another reason why I like a service oriented business.

(5) How does the business stand out in the market place?


This is a question only Susan can answer.
What does she do that is superior to her competitors?

Could it be a faster turn around time?
Could it be she actually helps you find an agent?
Could it be she specializes in one type of writing over another?

A business should always ask themselves, not only in the start up phase, but all the time-  what do we do that's better, different, and more compelling than our competitors?

Remember, average is just that. Average.
No one builds a great business on mediocrity.

(6) What is Susan's projected profits?

This is where it gets really fun, kids.
Running the numbers.

To run numbers, it's essential that we take into consideration the geographic realm of the business.

How far does her customer base reach?

Is she bound at all by a geographic location?

NO!

Susan's clients can be literally anywhere in the world.

What does this mean for her bottom line?

She's going to have one nice, round, hip-hop baby's momma booty, that's what!
Bootylicious if I ever saw it.

My suggestion to Susan for even greater profitability, is when her workload becomes such that she herself, can not meet the demands, she simply hire others.

If you want to make more money you simply expand your system and hire more people.

This is exactly how I make all my income today.
I do not physically work myself.

When people ask me about how much business my companies is generating, and I tell them, they invariably say, "Wow! You must be busy!"
Well, no.
I'm not busy.
My STAFF is busy.

I hire other people to do the work for me and make the deferential.

Basically, I'm a pimp.
Yeah, I took it there.

If Susan would also like to be a pimp, she'll really rake in da dough.

In conclusion, Illuminated Manuscripts has all the earmarks that I look for for success.

If she lived closer, we would so be sippng some bubbly right now!




P.S. I do teach ballroom with a little bit of hip hop thrown in on Monday nights because Greg and Lisa are just wonderful people and fellow entrepreneurs who have a real desire to learn.  I do enjoy teaching just a little bit still.  Four hours a month, that's all.











9 comments:

  1. You make hiring staff sound like it is a piece of cake; to me it looks like a big headache, but then, I'm not You.

    Anyway, after reading your post I went to check Polinatrix's blogs. Surprise, surprise, she writes about our Tubishvat, the jewish New Year of the trees. So, how could I not like her writing? I instantly fell for it. I think she's great and you're great too.

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  2. I am SO (mentally, emotionally) sipping bubbly right now! Thank you, EC! This just totally pumps me up and gives me lots of food for thought. As I'm getting a nice income tax refund this year, I think I'll funnel some of that into Internet advertising, and see where I can take this baby.

    I really like the question of what do I do better and differently - it helps me more fully form that in my mind, and then get it into advertising. No mediocrity for me!

    And thank you Duta! I just discovered Tubishvat this year, but immediately fell in love with it, as I have with most of what I know about Judaism.

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  3. Well, this sounds promising, Polly! Well-broken down and analyzed by EC. Have a sip of bubbly for me! (I'd pour it for you if I was there; or try a Princess Diane, that's a glass of champagne with a strawberry for garnish.)

    A pimp? That made me smile. Such interesting analogies you come up with, EC.

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  4. No one builds a great business on mediocrity

    *Cough*... MacDonalds?

    When did you last have a Big Mac and think, "this is the best burger I ever tasted"?

    When did you last have a Big Mac and think, "this is the nicest place I ever ate a burger in"?

    When did you last have a Big Mac and think, "this is the best value burger I ever bought"?

    What McD does incredibly well is consistency. It's mediocre, and will never be as good as a local home-made burger joint, but you know what you're going to get.

    Consistent Mediocrity.

    And damn good marketing.

    Sorry, just playing devil's advocate, 'cos I know you love it :)

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  5. Duta,

    A few rascals get by me sometimes when we are hiring. It hasn't happened since September last year, but it will happen again because a business grows, that business then increases the odds of coming across a few fruit loops.

    You and Polly are a great blog match! I do not know why I didn't think of it and suggest you two to one another.

    I'm so happy you've connected.

    Well, I'm great and Polly's great? YOU'RE great!

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  6. Polly,

    I've had a lot of fun breaking down your business.

    Next time, I'll write about Green Suds and the teen cafe.

    I am SO proud of you.

    xxoox

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  7. Postie,

    Why, thank you! (I knew you'd like the pimp.)

    Yes, Polly has every reason to be excited. She's truly on to something.

    Guess what? The reason I talked to her, besides just wanting to talk to her, is because:

    SHE'S MY EDITOR NOW!

    How about that?

    Your recent post about your novel brought back to me about moving forward with this deal- though Tony met me with some concern that it would take too much of my time.

    Polly and I have worked out a good deal, I think, and also, as far as Tony is worried, he won't need to be.

    I do want an autographed copy of your novel soon, Postie. :)

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  8. Kim,

    You raise an excellent point. In a post a few months ago, I wrote about that very thing regarding McDonalds.

    So McDonalds is just as awful in Scotland as it is here, huh?

    Let's talk about this for a moment.

    Let me ask you- what is McDonald's real business?

    Hamburgers? Fries? Shakes?

    No.

    McDonalds REAL business is real estate!

    Ray Kroc was after A+ prime locations. He knew that if he could position himself in such a way as to stay right in front of the people, the people would surely come to him! (Even if it's not the best place you've ever eaten in your life.)

    Take a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for instance. Is that the best lunch you're ever going to have?

    Well, no. But you eat it anyway because it tastes pretty good, and it's fast.

    In conclusion we can say that McDonalds is less than average when it comes to their product, but absolutely outstanding in getting their product in front of people by use of real estate and also by capitalizing on a basic human need- which is hunger.

    Placement and timing are two of McDonald's strongest allies, both of which they have used to great advantage; therefore not being as mediocre as one might suspect initially.

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  9. Very helpful (and inspiring) post, EC. Thank you!

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