Every business has started from the same place: one person with an idea/vision/talent. It’s safe to say that everyone has an opinion on how something can be done better or improved, but before any successful finished product/service is shown to the public the person/people behind the finished article will have all done one thing: Research. Without research how will they know if they have a viable product?

Image: scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The same can be said for small businesses. Whilst the idea of working for yourself is appealing you should always research your market before taking the plunge. If you don’t it could end up being a costly mistake.

A short time ago I wrote a review about the book ‘Turn Your Talent into a Business‘ which will arm you with all the background knowledge and steps which you will need to take in order to start making money from your idea/talent. It will take a few hours to read through and digest all the information, but it is time well spent and will give you an idea of what you need to do to turn your talent into a profitable business.

Taking a few more days/weeks researching your market and how your small business will function will pay off in the long-term. The extra time spent will give you a clear indication as to whether your vision is achievable.

Your Turn…

What is your small business and how did you research your market prior to commencing trade?

A short while ago I wrote a review about The Small Business Guide to Apps which is an e-book available from Brightword Publishing. Shortly after they asked me if I would like to read and review another one of their books; Turn Your Talent into a Business by Emma Jones, which I was more than happy to do….

I didn’t really know what to expect with this book; I’ve read other books by Emma Jones and found them very helpful and to-the-point. What I was not expecting was a 260 page book to land on the doormat (it is also available as an e-book). The book has 10 chapters which walk you through all aspects of earning a living from your hobby:

1. Making the move from hobby to business
2. I’m Off
3. The must-dos
4. Create the perfect work environment & top tech tips
5. Starting on a budget and basic financial planning
6. Selling
7. Make some noise!
8. Putting on a professional face
9. Happy customers and a balanced business – a recipe for success
10. Grow the business without outgrowing home

As you would expect some topics are covered in a lot more detail that others, but all of that detail is relevant. The book includes a lot of case studies on people who have turned their hobby into a successful business, whilst these are all craft-type hobbies (the book has been written in partnership with Country Living Magazine) the content can be applied to almost every business. Each case study will give you valuable tips about how to start out in business from people who have been there and done it.

Sometimes business books can be hard to read, but this one is very easy and you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can read through it. If you are thinking of starting your own business this book will be a very enjoyable read for you. All the information you need to be able to start on your own is included within the 260 pages, along with some fantastic advice about how to conduct your business affairs and what to do if you need any help.

Whilst it is more geared towards craft hobbies the content does not focus too strongly on crafts, which makes the book ideal for anyone. There is a lot of content about how to sell your product/service and promote your business to let people know that you exist, which is vital for small businesses – chapters 6 and 7 make up nearly half of the book.

The book costs £12.99 (£9.74 at the time of writing this) and the e-book is available for £5.00 (£4.25 at the time of writing this) and both represent excellent value for money. If you don’t mind not having a real book to flick through the e-book is a bargain.

Whilst this book gives you all the information and knowledge to successfully make the leap from hobby to business, it won’t make profits for you. You will still have to do the hard work and make your business a success. Fortunately there is a lot of help on hand for start-ups at the moment, meaning it has never been easier to turn your talent into a business.

What are you waiting for?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a world which is becoming more and more dominated by smartphones and tablet PC’s many businesses are turning to Apps to enhance their brand image and also gain/retain more customers in the process.

There are many questions and problems which are associated with developing and creating an app, some of which you may not even have thought of. This new e-book written by David Howell and published by Brightword Publishing is aimed at arming you with more information about the process involved with creating an app. Be aware that this IS NOT a book that will tell you how to create an app.

The E-book is availble from the Brightword Publishing website for the very reasonable price of £5 (currently on offer at £4.25 as of 28/12/11) and covers several topics from the birth of Apps right through to how to price your app once it has been created. The book is 74 pages long and broken down into 8 chapters (below) and will take a couple of hours to read through. I found that it was better to split my reading time over a couple of sessions to enable me to take in all the information.

CHAPTERS

1. There’s an App for That
2. The Business of Apps
3. Mobile Payments and M-Commerce
4. How to Create and App for Your Business
5. Choosing Your Platform(s) and Building Your App
6. Building and App – Case Study
7. Marketing Your App
8. How to Price Your App

Each chapter gives you plenty of facts and information to enable you to decide whether your business really needs an App. There isn’t any ‘waffle’ to pad out the book, you can be sure that when you buy the book it is worth the money. If you decide that an App isn’t what your business needs right now, the £5 spent on the book is better than hundreds or thousands spent on developing a redundant app.

From my own point of view I never realised how much goes into creating an App and this book has been a real eye opener for me. The case studies in the book just go to show that if your business does need an app, it can benefit massively.

If after reading the book you decide that your business will benefit from an App there are lots of links within the text of websites/companies that will be able to help you. One thing that is crystal clear from this book is that, unless your App is very specialised or very niche, it is very difficult to make a lot of money from it when the development costs are taken into consideration. The developer of Angry Birds (Rovio) had made over 50 failed games before they struck gold.

In my opinion, if you are even remotely considering creating an App for your business this book is well worth the small investment and time taken to read it. You are left in no doubt about what is needed to create an App.

Over the last few years Twitter has become to go-to place for news, online marketing and networking.  But what is it all about? What Twitter isn’t is a market place for direct selling; if you jump in and expect to increase your turnover exponentially with a few tweets promoting your business you will be in for a shock. The best way to benefit from Twitter is by engaging with other people and growing your business and friendship network. Many of you will have heard or Mark Shaw, many wont have, but he is a Twitter guru who knows it inside and out.

Mark has now put his knowledge into a new book ‘Twitter Your Business’ which aims to give you all the information to start maximising Twitter’s potential and make an impact 140 characters at a time. What the book isn’t is a get-rich-quick tool; you will need to work at Twitter to reap the rewards. Thankfully Mark gets all the tips and techniques over in an easy to read and well laid out format. From creating your Twitter account and profile all the way through to #hastags, trends and the search facility.Twitter is real people tweeting about real things in real time. If you wait for the next morning’s papers to be published the news is already out of date. By using Twitter’s search facility you can find out what is happening when it happens. If you have a particular interest (mine is rugby league) you can follow that interest/event whilst it is taking place (just search for the #rugbyleague hashtag over the weekends). Hashtags are a great way to keep up to date with 1 particular topic, and also bring together a lot of like minded individuals. It’s easy to do and Mark explains how in the book.When you first join Twitter you may be at a loss about what to tweet about, how to gain more followers, who to follow and the all important ‘Twitter Etiquette’ (yes as strange as it may seem there are un-written do’s and dont’s). Don’t let this put you off as everything is explained in the book. All you need to do is invest some time and patience and soon enough you will ‘get it’ and be able to use Twitter to it’s full potential.

The book isn’t a long book and you could probably read it in a couple of hours, but it may well be the best couple of hours you ever spend getting to know Twitter. Everything you need to know is in this book, and as it comes from an expert you can be assured that it is all correct.

If you are still unsure whether to buy the book or not, why not just look at some of Mark’s Tweets to get an idea what he is all about. I can save you the time though: Just go out and buy the book.