BootCamp for Start-Ups: Mayo Ideas Week

Welcome to the Start-Up
Bootcamp
Designed for budding entrepreneurs

22nd September Boot-camp for Start-Ups
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What are we going to cover today?
What does entrepreneurship mean?
The nuts & bolts of developing your idea…
Steps to get you started…
Practical – testing the idea [incl. 1-2-1]
Q&A

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A little bit about your trainer…
•Owner of Irish Business Intelligence
•I work with start-ups, small businesses, and developing SMEs
•Providing coaching, mentoring and consulting advice
•On planning, development, messaging / communications and
strategy
www.irishbusinessintelligence.com
olwen@irishbusinessintelligence.com
087 7997772

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Timings for Today
9.30 Start
11.00 Break
11:15 Restart
12:00 Practical
12:30 Lunch
1.30 Guest Speaker, JFC

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Let’s get started!

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What does entrepreneurship really mean?
A few definitions…
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which is a French
word meaning "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business
acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods.”
Thinking like a business person, not a banker. Playing to win, not
avoiding losing. Applying lessons from other industries.
Taking advantage of an opportunity no matter how small it may appear to
be.
Someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it.
Simply starting a business and working for yourself.

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What do you think these people have in common?

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# 1 - Vision

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# 2 - Planning

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# 3 - Determination

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What’s the most important lesson to learn from
successful entrepreneurs?

Simply… it’s about:

Knowledge + Skills + Attitude

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So now… down to brass tacks…

How do I get my business going?

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This is where I’d like you to start putting your
thinking cap on!

There are lots of questions you need to ask yourself.

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What is the idea?
Put simply – what is the product / service?
Who are my clients?
How will it improve / offer a solution for my potential clients?
Is there anything else on the market similar to it?
If there is competition – how can I differentiate my product [or do I
have a niche?]
Will I just be a ‘Me Too’ product / service?

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Finance
The tough questions…
How will I finance this business?
Who can I approach to support it?
If traditional funding isn’t available to me – what can I do next…?
How will I survive during the start-up phase?

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Market Research
Where is my position in the market? Size, service offering etc.
Is there competition – if so, what kind? Established, ailing, growing?
Do I need to conduct a feasibility study?
Am I entering a saturated market?
Is there a demand for my product / service?

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This is a practical workshop…
… so we’ll be stopping along the way for questions, and one-to-one…

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Start-Up Item #1: Doing the Research
Take-Away from this section? Know how YOU will
research your business idea.
•Before you can tackle a business idea, or compile your business
plan – you need to RESEARCH it.
•WHY? Because you could be taking quite a bit of a risk if you
don’t!
•Some entrepreneurs go on their ‘gut’ instinct – be careful to back
it up with some actual evidence that a need exists.
•Research will also form the basis of how you develop your
product / service and help you put structure on it.
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•Research can take all forms. Usually, the type of research you do
will depend on the business / service / product you are developing.
•Central to your research should be the audience you want your
information from – and why you’ve chosen them specifically –
make sure they are the audience you wish to BUY your product or
service [no point in getting feedback from a non-consumer].
•Identify CLEARLY the type of information you want to know from
the potential customer – how is that going to inform your
business?
•LIST the kinds of questions you want to ask and critically analyse
how beneficial / useful they are in compiling your data.
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Ultimately – what do you need to find out?
•IS THERE A MARKET FOR THIS PRODUCT / SERVICE?
•You need to be a solutions-provider – someone who will provide
an answer to something which is a problem for the potential client.
•So… how do you find out?
•Ask clear, concise questions – starting with the perceived issue
[the problem you are going to solve].
•Deduce – through clever questioning – how your solution will /
won’t make a difference.

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Watch out:
Don’t communicate any details about your product which may
compromise it [or you may find it ‘lifted’!]

What else should you research?
• THE COMPETITION, of course!
• Why? So that you understand their service offering, level of
establishment – and, essentially, what you are up against.
• Key to your success in business is having a marketplace to trade
in… and ensuring that you can compete in it.

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What else should I know about the competition?
• Can I work with them? Is there room for mutual benefit?
• If I can’t – do I have a stab at competing against them?
Remember: Business is all about competition. It’s healthy!
• What are their Key Success Factors? Delivery? Timeliness?
Service? Portfolio of services / products?
• Can you differentiate yourself from them?
… the list goes on… there may be others based on your product or
service!
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What forms of research can I use?
• The advent of the internet has provided superb opportunities
for research and insight – particularly through social media.
• The one key thing [and I’ll say it again] is the relevance of the
data you retrieve – there’s no point in testing wrinkle cream
sales on a group of 18 year-olds!
• This applies with online – you have to be, ultimately – ruthless
in ensuring the validity of your data. This can be hard when
you’re trying to start a business and are full of hopes and
expectations.

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• However, it’s best to look at all the possibilities before you get
off the ground rather than trying to fire-fight issues when things
are further down the track.
• OK – back to research methods!
• #1: Online
• Surveys
• Forums
• Questionnaires
• Social Media

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• # 2: Offline
• Focus groups
• Questionnaires
• Industry publications
• Newsletters
• Agencies / organisations – State or otherwise
• Consumer surveys
• Universities / schools

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• # 3: People-power!
• Colleagues
• Networks
• Business associates
NEVER, EVER, EVER ASK FAMILY [or some friends]!
You want an unbiased opinion?
You won’t get it there!

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… and now, the fun bit!

Researching Funding

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• Funding and projections will be covered shortly [planning] –
but in the interim – a key aspect of the research process is
in discovering the available sources of funding for starting
up.
• For example: Leader or regional development funds,
assistance schemes or back-to-work / enterprise
entitlements, County Enterprise grants or subsidies, bank or
other lending / capital availability.
• N.B.: Have your story straight and ask the question.

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• What do I mean?
• DO prepare a ‘speech’ [it is daunting ringing some
organisations for the first time] – know what you’re going
to tell them… e.g. How you came to the notion of setting up
/ starting up – the sort of assistance you would like – your
own investment in the business / concept.
• DON’T be afraid to ask about the other channels /
opportunities available to you.
• DO ask what is required from you in the event that you are
successful in your application.

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… so that’s the research… DONE!
Any questions?

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Start-Up Item #2: The Business Plan
Take-Away from this section? Know how YOU will put your business plan
together.

WHY do I need a business plan, I hear you ask!
• If you don’t have one [even a short one] – it’s like driving to a
new destination without a map – you might get there, but it’ll
take you a hell of a lot longer, and you could end up in some
pretty remote places!
• Business plans don’t have to be hugely complicated, intricate
documents. They are YOUR plans for YOUR idea.

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• Your business plan should be a living document, one which you
review over time – your first business plan will often not reflect
your business after 12 – 36 months in business… indeed, some
businesses’ plans change entirely in their first six months in
business. However, this can sometimes be a negative [as in,
where research hasn’t been conducted properly.]
• It is a great piece of business ‘kit’ to help you monitor your
progress, note ‘milestones’ [through projections etc] and
evaluate success.

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• A business plan should reflect the current position of the
business, its long-term goals, plans, development etc. A type of
‘as-is’ and ‘to-be’.
• It needs to be structured and easy to follow – without jargon or
‘fluff’.
• It should be a quietly confident document which clearly
demonstrates vision, commitment and clarity – that you’re not
just giving entrepreneurship ‘a bash’ – but are committed to it.

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What should I put in my business plan?
• Content varies per business and per individual, however, a good
rule of thumb to stick to would be:
1. Objectives
What are the objectives of the business – what is it going to
achieve? What is your VISION for the business?
2. Professional Background
What is the professional background of all those involved in
the business.

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3. Suppliers
Who will your suppliers be? What terms will they offer
you?

4. The Market
Where the research really counts – know your customer,
your competitor, and your place with both.

5. Financial Projections
These guys get a slide all of their own…

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6. Premises / Equipment
What you’ve got and what you need – where will you work
from? What are the costs involved in the things you need?

7. Legal Issues
Are you going to be a sole trader / limited company?
Register a business name? Have you registered a business name
or even checked if it’s available [or its website for that matter!]

8. Key People
Who are they? All the professionals you deal with – advisers,
accountants, etc.

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The Projections & Cash-flow

• Some of you may be lucky enough to have a predilection for
Excel and / or figures, if so – you’ll en joy this! If not, stay tuned
and fee free to ask questions.

• Projections and cash-flow are key to the management of your
business to ensure outgoings can be dealt with on-time, any
accruals can be handled as necessary – and funds are available
to pay your income [if you intend on taking one, some don’t].

• The key element in reflecting correct cash-flow is being HONEST
and as WELL-INFORMED as possible when compiling them.

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The Projections & Cash-flow

• The only person you are fooling by fibbing or ‘spinning’ is you,
at the end of the day – the business can only survive if you
know what costs it is likely to face, alongside projected income.

SO. What are projections?

• Somewhere between creativity and science… lie projections.
• In essence, they are predicted sales based on a set of
assumptions.
• They vary based on the type of product / service you offer, the
price per unit and how many units you are likely to sell based on
demand.
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• Your assumptions [which define the projections] need to stem
from some level of reality / research – e.g. for a retail outlet:
“Based on the surveys and interviews conducted, with an
average of x footfall, and an average of x customers per day,
and a spend of x per customer – projected sales will be x per
month”

N.B. This is where Excel comes in handy.

• These projections form the basis of your annual sales figure. In
your business plan, it is wise to provide year 1 figures, along
with a 3-year forecast.

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Now the adding and subtracting happens…well, mainly subtracting

• It would be just wonderful if you didn’t have to ‘take’ anything
out of the projections figure, however, for the purposes of cash-
flow, it is necessary…

• Ever heard of overheads? These are the things you need to
consider … they are any and all the costs associated with
running your business. The #1 being YOU.

• How do I cost myself as an overhead? You need to understand
your survival income: so how much you need to per month to
meet your obligations, and outgoings.

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Examples of overheads:

• Advertising
• Insurance
• Materials
• Fuel / motoring
• Stationery
• Computers / technology
• Plus many, many more…

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Start-Up Item #3: Marketing & Promoting Your
Business
Take-Away from this section? Know how YOU will market / promote your
business
• #1 in the process of marketing your product / service is understanding
who your customer is [remember, you will have done this in the
RESEARCH section!].
• Remember that you are aiming to offer that consumer a solution –
something which they will be compelled to purchase.
• Driving marketing is clever analysis and communications planning [e.g.
who am I talking to and what do they want to hear?]

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Business
• In applying marketing to your service or product – you need to have a
PLAN.
• This is reflected in your business plan and highlights HOW you will
approach / target / connect with your audience.
• If we look at marketing in a step-by-step process, it looks something
like this:
1. Define TARGET AUDIENCE
2. Review CORRECT CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION [aka Route-to-
Market]
3. Collate MARKETING PLAN & COMMUNICATIONS MIX

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Business
4. Implement MARKETING PLAN;
5. Review & IMPROVE!
• Marketing is a communications process – remember this – and requires
a strategic approach [aka targeted!] – that’s why researching your
target audience is so important.
• When putting your marketing plan together, never lose sight of your
product / service or your customer. You’re working on connecting the
two – and keep that at the forefront of your mind.
• Marketing is CREATIVE – don’t be afraid of this fact – use it to your
advantage.

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Business
Let’s look at your plan!
I know my target audience… how do I talk to them?
#1 Look at the vast amount of media available to you – PR, e-marketing,
direct mail, advertising, social media;
#2 Set an initial timeline for implementation – so, what period of time to
do I want to measure this plan over?
#3 Set a budget, however small, and budget the amount of TIME you are
able to dedicate to the plan;
#4 Select the types of media most effective in targeting your desired
customer [aka marketing ‘mix’].

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Business
#5 Execute your plan and measure the results intermittently [with a final
review period].
N.B. Marketing is not a once-off activity, it’s an ongoing piece of work
which you need to ensure you put time into, in order to remain
in your clients’ [or prospects] consciousness. Think of a “slow-
dripping tap”!
Not sure what the difference between sales and marketing is?
Here’s an easy definition for you…
“Marketing is everything you do to get and leverage a client relationship.
Sales is a one-on-one, non-automated (this caveat is necessary with “one-to-
one marketing” being a popular buzz-concept) aspect of marketing.”

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Business
Brand YOU – How You and Your Brand Develop Your Business
Q: How do you think YOU will influence the sales your business makes?
A: Massively. As a small business owner – you are the face of your
business, you stand for your business’s brand and values, including
customer service, delivery and follow-up.
A business’s brand is very experiential, by which I mean, it’s completely
tied in with how a customer experiences your business. This can be how
they are treated by you, how they perceive your business’s physical brand
[e.g. logo, website, marketing materials etc].
Don’t make the mistake of considering a brand is just marketing. It’s much,
much more.
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Business
Brand YOU – How You and Your Brand Develop Your Business
So – how do I influence my brand?
#1 Know what your business stands for [part of your Business Plan] and
ensure this is clearly communicated in every aspect of your
communications;
#2 Develop your brand through customer experience, clever marketing and
PR;
#3 Deliver excellence and never stop reviewing how you operate – ‘can I
do this better’?

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Business
Finally… the importance of Networking…
• A subject which escapes or frustrates some is the importance of a
network, and networking activities.
• On top of standard marketing practice, networking is key in developing
your business’s reputation – building contacts and awareness of your
business within relevant communities is extremely important.
• What do I need to know about networking?
1. It’s about building relationships and in so-doing, trust;
2. Never underestimate the strength of ‘weak ties’ – you don’t know
who a connection may know – never discount this!

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Business
Finally… the importance of Networking…
3. Have your ‘pitch’ correct and succinct – e.g. have an approx 60 second
‘elevator pitch’ in mind when someone asks you what your business
does… “My business is xx, and we provide solutions for xx in the area
of xx”.
4. Don’t be a shark – but do know your ideal networking contacts. Make
sure you’re attending networking opportunities with a sense of the
ideal type of contact you wish to meet… whilst balancing this with a
sense of appropriateness [e.g. not being perceived as aggressive!].
5. Take opportunities to showcase your business / service – don’t be
scared!

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