I have in past years started several other businesses. I met with varying levels of success on each. One I sold, one I closed down (it was before the Internet and channels for publicity were expensive and tough to get to) and the third I almost sold but in the end it did not go through. No big losses.No big wins. Good tax deductions all. Most of all...lots of fun.
In all this the one thing that was missing was the ability to grow from a single operator to higher levels of success. And the secret ingredient that lets one grow is....drum roll....a sales person(s). You can have a great idea for a product. You actually prototype a great product. You find customers who would like to buy your product. But in the end, you need to be able to roll it out. And that requires a team of people dedicated to selling your product. Let this be the one thing that you plan for if you come up with a great new product idea. Investigate the sales channel in detail and if possible get committments to support your sales efforts in advance of creating the product. The best product in the world will go nowhere if nobody knows it is out there. Lesson learned. I have a great team of sales people for the new line and it seems to be working. It is amazing to have a team of people dedicated to selling your line. How quickly you can move forward. Create a plan dedicated to how you are going to get the product or service in front of the people who might buy it. Make that as important as the original idea.
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