New Small Business Fundamental Guidelines
Create a NAME: Perhaps the most important decision you’ll make is the permanent identity: your company name. It should reflect the nature of your business, products or services, company founder or celebrity associated with the organization. The name should be individual and distinctive, so you’ll need to do a bit of title search homework. You’ll want your name to be recognizable.
Create an IDENTITY: Brand recognition is proprietary: a signature or fingerprint of sorts. Identity can be developed graphically with the company name presented in a recognizable font as a LOGO or as an iconic symbol like a “swoosh” or a “bullseye”. The brand can be reinforced with slogans, mottos or even jingles: “Finger Lickin’ Good”, “have it your way”, and perhaps the most concise jingle of all time, “I love New York”.
Identity will be on letterheads, packaging and advertisements. Sometimes packaging can BE the identity.
Identify your Target Market: It’s important to know your product, identify your customer base or Market, and to determine the viability of marketing your product to the appropriate demographic.
Specific types of products or services will appeal to different markets based on age, gender, economics, special interests and location. If your company targets an exclusive market, you will want to identify your products as incomparable and your services as optimal. When marketing to the masses, you may want to site competitive pricing.
Develop your Business Plan: You’ll need to identify realistic goals, determine the need for investors, establish key roles, product and service development. Your plan should include cash flow projections, staffing and inventory control. Allow for “plan B” in case of unforeseen events such as illness, economic or market changes.