Comments on: Starting a business on a shoe-string budget

By: Riscario Insider

Riscario Insider — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:10:41 +0000

TMW: We’ve had different experiences but what we’re saying is more similar than I first thought.

Indeed, too few have substance as you get to know them — even with fancy designations and/or years of experience. That’s great if you’re in competition but disappointing in general. Ignoring those folks, you’re left with the eagles: those with competence and substance and perhaps in need of better packaging. They’re the ones I meant.

You’re fortunate to have found a helpful landlord with nice facilities at a low price. Brochures and dinners are probably a waste for the reasons you’ve given. In a service business, consistently providing timely, relevant information can be cheaper (email, phone, online) and more effective.

Thanks for clarifying/expanding.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:15:31 +0000

Riscario- I should put my comments in context. I piggy-backed off of the optics of my landlord who had a nice reception area and a nice boardroom so, again, I got lucky and didn’t need to spend on the optics of success someone did it for me. My experience speaking to most other people who had started a practice was that the fancy brochures got promptly thrown into the garage and the first fancy dinner was a nice treat then the client would complain about the 2nd one.

Your assumption of substance is also, sadly, not my experience in business. Most people have a great look but little after that. If you begin to drill down on the service provider, I found that most were fancy suits and not much else.

I like Selling the Invisible but it assumes competence and substance is present and needs to be wrapped up in a nice sales package. Alas, there is a lot of nice sales package wrapped around not much else.

Thanks for the comment; they are always appreciated.

By: Riscario Insider

Riscario Insider — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:01:35 +0000

“The longer your office says starving young attorney, the longer you’ll be one.” — Selling The Invisible, Harry Beckwith (an excellent book if you’re selling services)

I don’t mean to argue (especially with a lawyer!!!) Let’s assume you’ve got substance (a prerequisite for going into business), you’re spending judiciously, and you’re in a service business. The optics of being successful then seem very important. They help instill confidence and create a better first impression. That leads to more business and helps justify the fees. Clients experience what they expect to experience (a placebo effect)

There’s another benefit: looking successful makes you feel successful which makes you more successful. This may seem silly but it works. Once again, you need to spend carefully. For example, a nice suit is probably more important than a nice chair.

I visited a suburban “905″ BMW dealership that looked like a Toyota dealership and used a Ford minivan as the courtesy shuttle. That wouldn’t matter if they charged Ford or Toyota prices. In contrast, visit the 5-storey BMW Toronto. The building and views take your breath away. Which helps justify the prices

By: Curt

Curt — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:56:35 +0000

Great article. Spending the little bit of money you have on the many things that need it is difficult. One of the best ways is to leverage your job or another business to help subsidize your new business. For example, you could use your computers, cell phone, business phone line, supplies, suppliers, marketing, etc. from your job when starting a new business. Sometimes you can just use the ideas from your job or other business to help get you started. Starting from zero is impossible. Look around you and find the tools you need to help start your business.