Thinking of Starting a Business? The Top 10 Tips

Thinking of Starting a Business? The Top 10 Tips
By Anthony McCune

1. Be brutally honest in assessing your strengths and weaknesses.
2. Accept that you will need assistance to make your company successful.
3. Understand the need to focus on your area of expertise; identify sources of assistance for other operational areas.
4. Establish realistic goals that include measurable results.
5. Thoroughly research the industry including details about your competition.
6. Keep in mind, you are not going to reinvent the wheel. Successful companies – i.e. Microsoft and Wal*Mart – take existing ideas, adapt them as necessary and make them their own.
7. Project things to take longer than you believe they will and to cost more than you want or believe they will.
8. Develop a strategy that includes a reasonable number of contingencies.
9. Take an approach that is proactive, not reactive.
10. Plan your work and work your plan.

Infectious Awareables

I found a great affiliate program. I will have a page of my new business website dedicated to sales; this is one that will get high profile placement.

Infectious Awareables is a company already near and dear to my heart. They, soon I’ll be able to say we, sell products that bring attention to health issues and they donate a portion of every sale to charity.

It’s an interesting opportunity, becoming what they refer to as a joint venture partner. The best thing about this is there is no investment to make and no inventory to carry.

Working with Infectious Awareables doesn’t require anything other than making people aware of the product; it sells itself.

What attracted me to this was not the affiliate opportunity; it’s the product. They describe it as “science-based products designed to promote awareness of important public health issues”. I appreciate the way they go about things, “a light-hearted, infectious approach to some serious stuff”.

I found this aspect of the company especially attractive. A portion of all proceeds is donated to disease research/education. In terms of awareness, I thought this was innovative, there’s a “learning note” and source credentials on the reverse side of the ties.

In addition to ties – both neckties and bowties – there are scarves, boxers, scrubs, teeshirts and caps.

There’s a collection of other stuff too; notecards, a book (the Germ Freak’s Guide), educational posters and a video on preventing the spread of infection.

I think there can be some real potential with this. (Product Directory)

Product shown: a silk tie; testosterone in blue and red