Last activity: May 10, 2008
I'd be happy to offer free advice on marketing techniques. I maintain a popular thread on another forum doing the same thing.
Sometimes it can be nice to hear some new/different ideas. So, go ahead, give me some short info about your site/business and I'll give you some feedback. :)
There sure are a lot of people that came here via the NPR bit.
Please respond if you came here after hearing about it from the radio program (like myself).
I like the insightful columns by Guy Kawasaki, so I think I'd probably like his books. I haven't read any yet though.
Who/what do you recommend?
It's important to try to not repeat the mistakes of others, or even more importantly, not to repeat your own mistakes.
Do you have some good lessons learned from starting up your business?
Here's some of mine:
*Find a mentor - If possible, talk to others that have learned the hardway. Don't repeat the mistakes of others, if you can help it!
*Create a business plan - It really is a good idea! Make sure to have a plan to act as a guideline for your growth.
*Accounting software - Research and develop (and keep up to date!) a good accounting software program to help you during tax season. You could also write it yourself possibly using Access and/or Excel.
*Inventory Control - If you have an inventory of products to sell, make sure you have a good way to track it.
*Sell via Amazon only to start - This would have allowed me to do market research and have a clearer idea what is selling without incurring the overhead of having my own ecommerce site or store front.
*Buy small quantities of products to start - This would have also allowed me to lessen my risk of buying a bunch of inventory that is not selling well.
*Ecommerce site (start small) - I would probably have began selling using PayPal or Google Checkout, and not payed for the credit card Gateway and processing. This would have saved me a lot of money.
*Ecommerce (choosing the ecommerce platform script) - I should have done more research on the best and easiest script to maintain. I learned the hard way with osCommerce, as it's not very easy to maintain compared to others.
*Webhost (choosing the best one) - I should have done more research as to the best webhost for my needs. The last thing you would want is to be brought down during peak season because of a bad webhost (as I've learned the hard way).
*Don't take on more than you can handle - This is an important part of maintaining your sanity, especially if you have a full time job and a family besides.
*Passion - If you're not doing something in which you're passionate, then when things get really tough or simply monotonous, then you're much more likely to fail. Find something you're passionate about first and foremost!
I'd like to introduce myself. My name's Shea and I learned about Biznik on NPR a couple days ago. I really like what I saw, so here I am. :)
I currently have a full time job, but about 2 years ago I had started an ecommerce site and began selling triathlon training products. I can definitely say that I have learned a LOT in the past couple years!
Strangely, due to injuries and time, I have not actually done a triathlon yet. However, I am injury free and am committed to doing the Croixathlon in Wisconsin in late June. Wish me good luck, send me some good Karma, or anything you can so I am prepared and don't hurt myself (or drowned!). :)
I'm curious what it was like when you first started Biznik.
How did you first market the idea? Friends and family mostly?
Did you find that people were very receptive to the concept?
Did you ever lose confidence in its future or did you always have faith?
What were some of your mistakes or lessons learned?
I own an ecommerce site (my main side business) and several other sites and domains.
I'm curious how many actually have a website(s) for their business.
So, how many of you?
Anyone in the general Minneapolis/St. Paul area, stop over and post. Who's out there?
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