Paper To Product: Bringing Your Ideas Into The Real World

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |From Paper to Product|Paper To Product: Bringing Your Ideas Into The Real WorldPeople are great at coming up with completely new ideas, though far too few are able to act on their ingenuity. It’s not too hard to think of new products or inventions, but turning something like this into a reality can be much harder, and most won’t have any idea where to start. To help you out with this, this post will be going through the whole process from paper to product. Exploring each of the stages you will need to take on before you can bring a product to market, this should give you a much better idea of the path you should be taking, while also giving you the chance to get started on your dream product.

Research

The first stage in this process is going to involve some research. This will serve more than one purpose; giving you the opportunity to make sure that the idea doesn’t already exist while also ensuring that the idea will be possible in the first place. You can do all of this research online, and there are plenty of forums and communities around the web which can be used to help you to test your concept. If a lot of people think you’re onto a winner, this will be a good sign, though you should avoid giving away your idea if you think it will be a success.

Inspiration & Design

Next up, it will be time to start thinking about designing your product. This process should always start on paper, even if you aren’t very good at drawing, as this will give you an easy way to get your ideas into the real world.

The sketches you make don’t need to be perfect, but will serve to make it much easier to come up with the form and style of your product. Most designers will look for inspiration at this stage, using sites like Pinterest to look at other products to fuel their creativity.

Once you have a good idea of how you’d like your product to look and work, you can begin to create a 3D model of it. Tools like Solidworks are perfect for this, though they can be tricky to use and you may need to watch some YouTube videos before you’re able to make beautiful models with it. This sort of model will enable you to make the product very easily, as you will already have a CAD design for it, but it will also give you the chance to get an idea of what it will look like when it is made.

Most modern products involve some sort of electronics, and this is something you may have to design at the same time as the physical form of your product. Designing a PCB isn’t easy, and you may need to use a microcontroller, like an Arduino, to get started with this. Once you’ve managed to make a circuit and script which works, you can start to think about designing a dedicated PCB for it, though you may need to hire someone to help you with this.

Prototyping

With a 3D design made, the next stage in this process will involve some prototyping. This stage is crucial, as it will ensure that you are creating something which people will want to use, while also giving you a chance to test your concept before you spend loads of money on getting it made. Of course, though, you have to use the right tools for something like this, or you will end up wasting a lot of resources.

Companies like rapidpsi.com can offer rapid manufacturing services which will make it much easier to prototype your ideas. Using 3D printers, rather than regular CNC machines, companies like this are able to make products extremely quickly without having to invest money in special tools for the job. This gives you the chance to make a range of different prototypes without having to wait for months each time you make an improvement to your designs.

Testing will also be a big part of this stage. You can handle this largely by yourself, though it can be worth getting other people to put your products through hell to make sure that they work properly. Prototypes are usually more fragile than a finished product, but you will still have the opportunity to make sure that they function well, while also establishing the weak points of each product to make sure that they don’t break when they are used by customers.

The Manufacturing

After you’ve done some testing and are happy with the prototype you’ve made, it will finally be time to get one with manufacturing your product. This can be an expensive process, and there are quite a few different ways to handle it. Some people will want to make their product themselves, and will buy the machinery and tools they need to do it from home. For larger operations, looking to countries like China can be a good idea, as there are a lot of businesses in this part of the world which specialize in manufacturing for other companies.

In some cases, you may be able to get another company to buy your product from you. This can be trickier, and you won’t get the chance to work on your product anymore, but it can also make the whole thing far more cost-effective. Most people will be happy to see their product on the market, and it won’t matter how it got there as long as you’ve been paid fairly for it. Of course, though, this will be a last resort for a lot of people.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of bringing your product ideas into the real world. This process can be a difficult one, but the results will almost always be worth it. Even if your product isn’t successful, not many people can say that they’ve achieved something like this, and this makes it well worth all the work.

How to Grow Your Ecommerce Startup in Year One

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Ecommerce startup|How to Grow Your Ecommerce Startup in Year OneAs many proud business owners can attest, the growth cycle for ecommerce businesses doesn’t necessarily adhere to older principles related to the growth of physical stores. Indeed, when you’re setting up online, you’re bypassing many of the difficult aspects to scaling that you’d have had to work through with brick-and-mortar stores.

In this article, you’ll learn about your priorities in year one in order to make a sustainable and profitable business that scales effectively into your second year of operations.

Marketing

To scale, you need more people to visit your website, and more people to make purchases to boost your ecommerce business’ profits. It’s really that simple. While there are some other underlying elements to scaling mentioned later in this article, you’re going to need to build out a marketing campaign as a priority in order to draw in traffic, clicks, shares and sales to your site.

You can do this in a number of different ways, depending on your budget and the personnel you have on-side. If you’re a small company, you may prefer to outsource marketing to an experienced digital marketing firm, which will help you build a long-term strategy to increase engagement. Otherwise, look online to uncover some of the fundamentals of digital marketing, enabling you to slowly bend your strategy to fit with the wants and needs of your audience and your target customer.

Operational Efficiency

Many ecommerce startups begin with manual processes, and slowly move into the automated software world as they scale. That’s exactly what you should be looking to do in your first year, so you spend less time managing orders, responding to emails, and doing all those little repetitive jobs that end up consuming most of your waking day.

As a starting point, you should automate orders on your website, and automate emails through to confirm orders, confirm subscriptions, and add individuals to mailing lists. Mailing lists are incredibly important for your data collection, and to offer deals and discounts seasonally, so they’re also best set up in your first year in business. Once you’ve taken a good look at your operations, and made as many of them automated as possible, you’ll be able to deal with scaling far easier.

Deliveries

The only physical part of your ecommerce business is delivering parcels to customers. You want this to be as effective and efficient as you can possibly make it. You’ll know only too well that one of the main market differentiators in the ecommerce world is customer service, and that’s primarily driven through cheap yet swift delivery services. You need to get your parcel to its destination within the shortest-possible timescale.

The problem with distribution is that you can ship your products easily to local distribution centers – but it’s the final mile that’s the kicker, adding costs to your overall logistics operation.

Indeed, last mile delivery costs are one of your greatest overheads, and something you’re going to want to keep low in order for you to succeed in your first year in ecommerce. Be careful when signing contracts that you’re getting what you want to get from your delivery deal, and that you can hold delivery companies responsible for late packages, too.

Funding and Cash Flow

Finally, you need to be cognizant of your funding situation, and how much cash you’ll have in the kitty to support a growing business, before you enact your scaling plan. If you’re unable to meet soaring costs related to providing more for your customers, you’ll miss out on delivery times, you’ll miss payments to clients and subsidiaries, and you’ll endanger the soul of your business just as it shows promising signs of sustained growth. You need capital – some saved for worst-case scenarios – before you scale.

This capital will help you bring in new personnel if you’re swamped with orders to process. It’ll enable you to buy in bulk, reducing your order costs in anticipation of larger order volumes and it’ll enable you to invest in made-to-scale, cloud-based software – the kind that’ll help you to build your audience through automation, and meet the extra demands placed upon the entirety of your operations. With financial security in place, you won’t need to worry about your labor and your investments going to waste as you’ll be prepared for your next great step into ecommerce profits for 2021.

These tips are all designed for ecommerce startups in their first year – those which are ambitious to scale, but a little concerned about how to achieve sustained and sustainable growth into 2021 and beyond.

Should I Open a Private Dental Clinic?

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |dental clinic |Should I Open a Private Dental Clinic?New and experienced dentists often wonder if they should open a private dental clinic. It’s a question without a clear answer but with the right facts in hand, you can arrive at an educated decision that’s right for you.

It’s true that opening your own dental clinic offers unique advantages not found anywhere else. On the flip side, there’s the aspect of risk and stress that comes with getting a new business off the ground. Is joining an existing dental practice really that bad?

Let’s make sense of these complicated considerations. If you’re thinking about opening a dental practice or still weighing your options, read this guide to work through the decision-making process.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Opening a Dental Clinic

Most people can agree: They’d rather be their own boss. It’s hard to put a price tag on autonomy, but if you often disagree with the practices of other dentists, why work for them? Opening your own dental clinic is an opportunity to build and run a business however you see fit.

It’s also no secret that joining an existing practice comes with inferior income packages. It’s not to say that dental employees receive inadequate pay, but it pales in comparison to the owner’s income potential. If you’re trying to earn a small fortune, it may be worth the risk to create your own dental clinic.

But income and autonomy aside, not everything is rosy. If success was guaranteed, everyone would create their own dental clinics. Buying and renovating a property can already cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Not to mention, you’ll have to worry about paying employees and creating a profitable client base. The income potential is there, but the first few years will no doubt be a stressful, uphill battle. In the worst scenario, you could lose everything you invest in the company.

Unless you already have business experience, your dental expertise does not lend itself to business management. To truly find success, you’ll have to further your education to get a grip on the ins-and-outs of running your own business.

Opening a dental clinic is a risk. If executed well, you’ll likely enjoy significantly better pay, prestige, and self-worth.

Creating Your Own Dental Clinic

Still unsure? That’s the nature of risk-taking. But according to the statistics, only about 2% of dental clinics fail within five years.

Still, you could be that 2%. Understanding everything that goes into creating your own dental clinic can help you determine if it’s the right call. Let’s take a short look at the startup basics.

1. Discover Financing

You don’t have to be rich to open up your own dental clinic. Lenders everywhere are happy to finance dental practices, especially since they are likely to find success. However, your personal credit score could impact your ability to find adequate financing options.

Always keep the interest rate and loan term in mind while shopping for dental financing. Fixed rates are usually a better option whenever available. Unless you are sitting on a small fortune, it’s best to take the longest loan term possible, giving you more time to make your clinic profitable.

2. Connect With Advisors

It’s true that you’ll eventually have to hire employees. First, you’ll be working with specialized contractors and certified public accountants. To keep everything up to code, you’ll be paying a premium on contractors with dental renovation and equipment experience.

Why does this matter? Because you should know the upfront cost before seeking out a lender. Building a dental clinic is more than purchasing the space.

3. Get Licensed

As you know, the dental industry is highly regulated. Your dental license won’t be enough to get started. For example, you’ll have to endure the lengthy process of earning credentials and getting approval for a variety of different insurance agencies.

This is to say that it could take you much longer than expected to open up your dental clinic. For this reason, it’s best to secure additional financing for any hiccups along the way.

4. Build Clientele

While it may seem overwhelming, most dental practices are able to get up and running with only a few hitches. The most important factor in the success of your new dental clinic is attracting patients. After all, you can’t build a steady stream of income if nobody makes use of your services.

Opening a dental clinic in underserved areas is a pivotal way to start off on the right foot. In urban areas, you may notice dental clinics just down the street from one another. Although there is more competition, it’s still possible to find success.

What’s the secret? A thorough marketing plan. From magazines to television, consider getting the word out as your opening day approaches.

Whether or not money is an issue, search engine optimization is a must. Create a website for your practice, claim your dental clinic on Google my business, and hire a talented SEO expert like Webileo. Soon enough, your new dental clinic will appear in suggested searches for customers in your area.

Ready to Open a Private Dental Clinic?

Hopefully, this quick guide has given you better insight into what it takes to open a private dental clinic. Most dentists will work at an existing clinic for several years before making the jump. Others are happy to work as employees all their lives, avoiding the stress and uncertainty that comes with running their own business.
Still not sure? Give it some time. You’ll know when you’re ready.

Looking for the latest business strategies and insight? Search our site for more.

How To Prepare For Launching Your Niche Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Niche Business|How To Prepare For Launching Your Niche BusinessWhen you have always wanted to go into business for yourself, it can be such an exciting venture. But at the same time, it can be really nerve wracking. You may find that you need to make sure that you’re really prepared. This is always the case in business – it’s handy to put the work in first and see where it takes you. Not only that, but you may also find that when you’re looking to move into a set niche, that you have to be extra prepared. You can’t always follow general advice when you’re working in a set niche and it could be the case that you need to do extra research. So, when you’re thinking of getting things up and running, you may find that these following steps help to prepare you.

Do Your Research

You’ll always want to make sure that you begin with market research. Not only do you want to make sure that there is an audience for what you’re trying to create, but that you know your ideal customer well and can tailor everything you do towards that.

Create A Solid Plan

But the research is always just the starting point. From here, you will want to make sure that you create a business plan. It doesn’t always seem like you need one – but it can really help you to get to know your business idea better and give you a good sense of direction.

Know Your Strategy

From here, you’re going to want to make sure that you are aware of what kind of strategy you’re going to take with your marketing. It can be essential that you know just what kind of approach you’re going to take and even to start building up some marketing and interest in your company before you launch. So really make sure that you’ve thought over everything and you know what you need to do and when.

Build Your Network

You may also find that one of the most important things for you as an entrepreneur and your business altogether, is your network. Contacts can be everything. So making sure that you meet the right people for your business is essential. Whether you need mortuary supplies or a marketing team, branching out can help you to connect with the best possible companies and people. So start to do this as early as you can.

Focus On Growth

Finally, you’re going to want to make sure that you really do put the work in. If you are serious about making this work, you have to know that you are going to grow at the rate you want. It might be slow and steady, but growth is important. Even if it takes you two years to break even, you need to have that planned in. And, where possible, the more aggressive you can be the better. Because you’ll make your mark and establish yourself among your niche market sooner.

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Business: The Top 3 Funding Options

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |how much does it cost to start a business|How Much Does It Cost to Start a Business: The Top 3 Funding OptionsEvery year in the United States, about 600,000 new businesses open up.

Are you planning to join the list of entrepreneurs who will start a small business this year? Thumbs up!

However, if you’re anything like the average entrepreneur, there’s one burning question in your mind: How much does it cost to start a business?

Considering that 82 percent of businesses that fail do so because of cash flow problems, you don’t want to start your business without adequate capital at hand.

The good news? You can raise funds from other sources.

Continue reading to learn more about business startup costs and some of the top funding options.

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Business?

You’re probably expecting a ballpark figure, but that’s not how this works. Every business has unique capital demands.

As such, the amount you will need to open a new business will depend on the nature of the business, as well as factors like industry regulations and economic conditions.

For example, it costs a lot more money to start a restaurant than it costs to start an ecommerce store for selling handmade crafts. A restaurant is space and equipment-intensive, which cost tens of thousands of dollars. On the other hand, an ecommerce store owner’s biggest expense is setting up a website.

A good way to know how much your business will cost is to hire a small biz specialist to write your business plan. This professional will analyze your idea and use their expertise to make a fair estimate of the business’ capital requirements.

The Top Funding Options

Now that you know how to determine your business startup costs, let’s focus on how to raise the money. Here are some of the top funding options.

1. Business Loans

Thirty-four percent of entrepreneurs rely on bank loans for startup capital. This makes business loans a top funding option for you.

The first step to getting a business loan is to identify your preferred lender. Ideally, this should be a local bank or credit union with a reputation for making loans to small businesses. There are also online companies that specialize in offering business loans.

Although it’s possible to get an unsecured business loan, your best bet is to pursue asset based lending. If you’ve got an asset, such a car or a house, you can use the title to secure a loan. Use the money to fund your business idea.

2. Equity Investment

When you set up a business, you own 100 percent of it. Did you know you can give away a certain percentage in exchange for funding? This is known as equity capital.

However, equity investment isn’t for every other kind of business. Equity investors love startups with high growth potential.

3. Personal Funds (Bootstrapping)

If you want to retain full control of your business and not have any debt obligations, consider self-funding.
If you can raise the money you need to start your business from your savings or day job salary, well and good. But if you’re low on cash, don’t shy away from withdrawing from your retirement account or selling personal assets. As long as you’ve got a good business idea, you’ll make enough profit to refund your retirement account.

Funding Your New Business Simplified!

So, how much does it cost to start a business?

In truth, there’s no specific figure. But having read this guide, you now know the factors that will determine your startup costs. You also know how you can raise this capital.

All the best and keep reading our blog for more small business tips.