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Stefan Töpfer
CEO & Chairman of WinWeb Email Me |
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I'm passionate about very small business, it's positive impact on personal lives and for local communities. Reducing small business failure is my aim and that of WinWeb's services. |
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Archive for the 'Small Business / SOHO' CategorySmall Business Lists – Start-Up on a ShoestringBy Stefan Töpfer on May 12, 2008This is the first in a weekly series of lists with the aim of inspiring people to start their own business. The first list is a selection of business ideas that can be started with almost zero capital. 20 Small Budget Start-Ups
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Small Business Start-Up Idea - Apartment FinderBy Stefan Töpfer on May 08, 2008This business caters mainly for young, single professionals moving to your local area in need of somewhere to live. Your clients will fill out a detailed form on your website and you will find them somewhere to live on the basis of their specifications. If you are in a big city or town there will certainly be demand for this type of service. Your income will come from referral fees from the rental office once the client signs a lease. There is a potential to make extra income by allowing classified advertising on your site as well. This could even take the form of a searchable database that would allow site visitors to sort through the advertisements. Skills needed: If you have a background in real estate this business would be ideal for you as a lot of liaising will need to take place with estate agents and property letters in your local area. Good communication skills are essential and you would benefit from some basic knowledge of Web publishing so that you can easily keep the website updated. Business environment and set-up cost: If your business is successful there is potential for you to widen beyond the range of your local area. The only real international potential comes from people moving to your local area from abroad, so this is not likely to be lucrative. Aside from web design, there are very few costs associated with starting this type of business. The cost will rise based on the complexity of the website – for example, implementing a database will cost more but you could generate extra revenue. The overall cost will range from £500 to £3,000 (600- 4,000 EUR, 1,000-6,000 AUD / USD). Marketing Techniques:
Complimentary business ideas: You may wish to form partnerships with or allow advertising from local businesses that can provide services for someone who has just moved into a new apartment, ranging from handymen to furniture stores. Local restaurants and bars may also be interested in attracting the custom of people who are new to the area. Notes: Your website must be kept updated constantly and once an apartment is let it should be removed immediately. It is important that rental offices do not just use your website as free advertising. Do not allow the exact address of an apartment or any contact details appear on your site unless some fee has been paid. If some of your business will be conducted through referrals with estate agents then you must have contracts in place to make sure you are reimbursed for your work. Online examples & resources:
For previous SME start-up ideas, look through the archive here
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Small Business Start-Up Checklist - Financing Your Start-UpBy Stefan Töpfer on May 07, 2008A common barrier that a lot of people feel prevents them from starting their own small business is how to generate enough capital to get things up and running. A large number of SME owners end up working two or more jobs because they cannot afford to give up their previous employment whilst their new business is in its infancy. Although this is a necessary evil, it can only harm the performance of their start-up if they are unable to give it their full attention. These are the most common methods of financing a start-up:
If you are still unable to generate capital through any of these methods it can be helpful to attend a business school. At the school you will get to know like-minded people and they may be interested in going into business with you. In addition, most schools run business plan competitions that award funding to the best entries. For the previous stages of this checklist look here
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Small Business Start-Up Idea - Gift BasketsBy Stefan Töpfer on May 06, 2008Gift baskets are an excellent present for family or friends and are often sent by people who are unable to attend a special occasion or celebration in person. Offering homemade gift baskets online allows your customers a much greater level of customisation than they would otherwise get from a high street store. Besides the revenue from the basket itself, there is an opportunity to make extra profit from services that add value to your product, such as gift wrapping. You can also earn money by selling advertising space to firms that are targeting the same audience as you but are not your competition (e.g. wedding planners). Skills needed: It would be useful if you had some knowledge of online advertising techniques in order to generate high levels of traffic. The most essential asset you will need is an in-depth knowledge of all the products you sell so that you are able to deal with customer queries. Business environment and set-up cost: The only restriction on your business trading globally lies with international customs laws that may prohibit certain items being imported. As long as you thoroughly research this there are no real trade barriers. In order to start this business you will need basic computer equipment and software plus a digital camera to photograph your products. This business is ideal to set up using OnlineOffice in order to develop a professional storefront on the web. You may wish to invest in mailing list management and web traffic analysis software – although these are both expensive they are invaluable in time saving and for using targeted marketing techniques. In addition, some money must be set aside to promote the website and to purchase stock. The overall start-up cost will vary from £5,000 to £10,000 (6,000-12,000 EUR, 10,000-20,000 AUD / USD). Marketing Techniques:
Complimentary business ideas: You could offer a selection of the products sold in your baskets as separate items if there is enough demand for them Notes: Your main priority is to generate traffic to the site and this is where the majority of your workload comes from. In addition, you must carefully manage your inventory levels because offering a product for sale which is out of stock would ensure that a customer never returns. Online examples & resources:
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Marketing – Small Business Quote of the DayBy Stefan Töpfer on May 06, 2008A small business quote a day keeps you thinking, inspired and entertained
Regis McKenna (b. 1939) US marketing entrepreneur
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Small Business Start-Up Idea - Seniors ServiceBy Stefan Töpfer on May 01, 2008The main area of growth in Internet usage in the majority of developed countries is now amongst senior citizens. This group are nicknamed ‘Silver Surfers’ and they have an abundance of leisure time to spend learning, spending and planning their retirement. This business will aim to provide a knowledge base for senior citizens on a range of topics such as travel, entertainment, money and healthy living. The revenue stream from this business will come from online advertising with partners who are interested in targeting the lucrative senior market. Skills needed: It would be useful if you have previous experience in marketing and are knowledgeable about the interests and issues that concern senior citizens. Business environment and set-up cost: Your website will be of interest to senior citizens from all around the world. The only costs you will incur at start-up are related to the design and development of your website, plus the on-going cost of hosting it. You may benefit from purchasing specialist software to aid with the management of your mailing list and to track where visitors are coming to your site from, as this will give you greater insight about which of your marketing strategies are proving most effective. The overall start-up cost will be between £2,000 and £5,000. Marketing Techniques:
Complimentary business ideas: You could sell products from your affiliates aimed directly at seniors on commission through an online shop Notes: A website like this will require constant reliable updating with new content in order to get high traffic. You will need to pay for high-quality hosting to deal with serving a large amount of advertisements quickly because a slow website will turn off advertisers and surfers. In addition, your website must not appear too cluttered or confusing because many seniors are relatively new Internet users. You will need to make allowances for your target market to cater for them such as larger font sizes and unsophisticated navigation. Online examples & resources:
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Successful Entrepreneurs - Small Business Quote Of The DayBy Stefan Töpfer on May 01, 2008A small business quote a day keeps you thinking, inspired and entertained
Michael Bloomberg (b. 1942) US entrepreneur & Mayor of New York City
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Small Business Start-Up Checklist - Setting a PriceBy Stefan Töpfer on May 01, 2008Deciding upon the price of your goods or services is definitely one of the most important decisions you will make at the start-up of your small business. It will be essential that you sell at a price which is attractive to your target market or else you will really struggle. You must also make sure that the price you decide upon is adequate enough to cover the combined total of all the costs you incur (e.g. production and labour) or else you will lose money over the long-term. Things to remember:
In general, the best price for your product or service will fall somewhere between the break-even point and the price the market will bear
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Small Business Start-Up Idea - Weight Loss ConsultationBy Stefan Töpfer on Apr 30, 2008In recent years there has been a far greater emphasis placed on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Many people wish to get fit and lose some weight and you may be able to help them do this whilst also earning some money. This will involve online weight loss coaching and setting up an extensive knowledge base that will serve as a point of reference. The knowledge base will be primarily motivational and should include success stories from your clients. It will be free to access and as such should be seen as one of your major promotional tools. Your income will come from 1-on-1 and group consultations which can take place through a number of mediums ranging from video conferencing to actually meeting in person. Extra income will be generated through affiliation with weight-loss products such as diet pills or videos that you endorse. Skills needed: You will need to have a background in personal training and nutrition or have experience of working as a fitness instructor. If you have a personal success story regarding your own loss of weight it will help immensely when selling yourself as a coach. Because you will be in direct contact with the general public you will need excellent communication skills and an approachable personality. In addition, you will need basic web publishing skills in order to update your website. Business environment and set-up cost: There are no barriers to online international coaching other than language (although even this can be overcome by translation). This is a very low cost business to set up if you own computer equipment already as you will only need to pay to have your website developed and hosted. It would also be helpful if you owned a digital camera so that you could take pictures of some of your local clients throughout their weight loss regime. The overall cost will vary from £3,000 to £9,000. Marketing Techniques:
Complimentary business ideas: If you are creative, design your own motivational T-shirts to sell through your online shop Notes: The main players in this market (such as Weight Watchers) require you to attend sessions at a physical location so you should focus on the niche of people who do not wish to or cannot do this (for example, through shame or busy schedules). You will need to have a legal agreement in place with all your clients because there are complications relating to weight loss that could potentially result in litigation against you. Online examples & resources:
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Do you have concern for your business or only for yourself?By Stefan Töpfer on Apr 25, 2008I had an interesting conversation about my view that management control over employees is a myth. I have believed for some time now that an office is often a total waste of money and completely unnecessary. Most of the time I’m told it’s OK when you work by yourself, but not if you have employees, as they need to be supervised and somehow “controlled”. I have now been working for almost ten years from home, and most of my staff works from home too. Apart from being an eco-friendly way to work, it saves people time and frustration to travel in and around London to come to an office, where we all sit in cubicles or offices. In the days of broadband internet, Skype and OnlineOffice, there is no need for an office, even to have meetings. Offices, like cars are are often nothing else but status symbols - what other reason can there be for a small business to have an office? If that is true then how is the office helping with your business, it’s a big expense. Seriously, if you do not have clients coming thru your office doors several times every day, why have the office. Even if you have, do really all your people need to be in the office every day? I guess not! We are in an economic downturn, what is more important - your ego or your business - ask yourself that every time you walk into your office. I’m sure there a good reasons for some micro businesses to have offices, even so I currently can’t think of any, but I’m convinced in most cases a healthy bootstrapping and outsourcing mentality would be more beneficial for your business. Unless the first business goal is to feed your egomania, you need to have a good hard look at your cost structure to survive in these times. — ST.
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