3) STARTING THE BUSINESS

STARTING

the

BUSINESS

Business plans are like road maps; it’s possible to travel without one, but it will only increase the likelihood of getting lost along the way.

Sitting down and considering all the ramifications of any given decision is a luxury that entrepreneurs can’t always afford. That’s where a business plan comes in.

Building a business plan allows you to determine the answers to some of the most critical business decisions ahead of time. Creating a robust business plan is a forcing function. You have to sit down and think about major components of your business before you get started, like your marketing strategy and what other services you'll offer.

In this stage teams will be taking their ideas and starting businesses with them. Teams will develop methods to brand and advertise their products.

They will be creating a Final Document in the process, which will include everything about their ideas, their business strategies - down to the very last detail.

A. CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE

1.LOGO

Develop a logo for your project
Integrate the design of your logo into your brand
Define the identity of your brand

2.BUSINESS CARDS

Develop a business card for your team
Enhance the legitimacy of your business
This helps promote brand awareness by facilitating networking processes

3. WEBSITE

Develop an interactive, user-friendly website
Create the foundation of your digital marketing strategy
Improve your business' credibility by showcasing your product or service online

4. BROCHURES

Develop a brochure that give maximum details about your idea and is attractive to the target audience
Accurately distribute the brochures to expand your product’s visibility
Be sure your brochures send out a positive message about your product

5. ADVERTISEMENTS

You can make advertisements in the form of posters, videos, etc about your project
Use favourable topics of interest in your conversations to attract a select audience and get greater connections

6. SURVEYS/STATS/DATA

Conduct surveys to get to know the public opinion
Use a short survey simply to keep your operations in order
Ask for customer feedback regarding their experiences with your product
Ask about customer demographics

7. SOCIAL MEDIA

Define what you want to obtain from social media platforms in order to develop a social media strategy
By keeping your strategy specific, you can determine which social media platforms are the best fits for your business
Setting up robust profiles that you update frequently with relevant content will build your brand’s authority
Let your brand’s personality shine through everything you share on social media

B. DOCUMENTATION

1. PREPARE DOCUMENTS

These documents include all the information about your project - from sketches of your idea to research. It must also include the sources of the data of your research
Business Model Canvas : maintain a strategic management and lean startup template for developing new business models or documenting existing ones

2. REPORT

An analytical report of your growth in the public market (gain in followers, surveys, views on advertisements, likes and effective responses)
Discover trends and make the best decisions
Measure customer satisfaction
Gain testimonials for social proof

STATISTICAL DATA

Plot all of the above in graphs
Visual graphs show trends, gaps and clusters and compare multiple datasets at once
Estimates key values at a glance

C. REACHING THE MARKETS

1. HOW YOU PLAN TO INTRODUCE THE IDEA IN THE MARKET?

Introduce it when the demand is high
How do you plan to showcase it to the public and how easily will it be accessible

2. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ATTRACT INVESTORS?

What strategies do you have to attract investors?

3. WHAT’S YOUR TEAM?

What kind of people would you require for your company?
How do you plan on recruiting them?

4. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO GET PROFIT?

How do you plan to meet your profit margin?