Denise is starting the Senior Assistance Project to help this elderly demographic:

“The Senior Assistance project is a non-profit organization designed to assist low-income senior citizens with everyday, non-health related issues.”

The seniors Denise is looking to help are often plagued by financial issues, confused by dealing with government agencies, and sometimes the target of scams. Some of the things that the Senior Assistance Consultant Project will help with are:

• Obtaining credit reports
• Identity theft monitoring
• Dealing with creditors
• Basic budgeting
• Medicare programs, benefits and deadlines
• Insurance co-payments and coinsurances
• Navigating government agencies
• Dealing with junk mail & tele-marketers

Denise has already started serving a few seniors but is looking for ways to finance the organization. She certainly has a market in need, one of her main problems is finding money to pay for the resources necessary to service these needs ( a job that will likely be even more challenging due to the tough economy).

Fund Raising

Business Sponsors

Denise could approach some of the many senior targeted businesses to be sponsors of her organization. This could be a challenge since a lot of the people she services won’t have a lot of extra income to potentially spend on the proudct or service of these businesses. With this in mind, she could target businesses that sell lower cost proucts that might be more affordable to her low-income clients.

Another offer Denise could make to businesses is to offer testimonials from seniors that are helped by sponsorship. The sponsors could use the testimonials as part of thier marketing materials.

Individual Donations

Asking for money from individual donors is different from businesses, since instead of a financial or branding benefit that companies are looking for, individuals are looking for an emotional return on investment. They want to know how the money they give is going to help others so providing emotional examples and proof will help encourage donations.

Leveraging the Internet

One of the ways to do this is to let donors get to know the people they’re helping by telling the story of needy seniors. The Internet is a great tool for this purpose, with the ability to publish interivews, thank you notes, pictures, and videos of people that are helped by the Senior Assistance Project.

She’ll need to get signed releases, giving permission to publish this information, but the time spent on legal compliane will be worth the ability to publish before and after stories and testimonials.

The website should be setup to not only accept donations but also to allow people to sign up to follow the story of seniors. Even if individuals don’t donate right away, people who are signed up for an email list that delivers periodic updates may donate in the future.

A popular approach that’s worked in other fund raising efforts is allowing donors to “adopt” a person in need, perhaps a “adopt a grandparent” campaign?

Government Funds

I don’t know much about getting government money but I’m assuming that one of the qualifications they look for is the ability to demonstrate and quantify the impact on people receiving the benefits. The testimonials speak to the emotional side of this question but I’d also make sure I kept records of the services provided and the outcomes of the assistance.

If you have any suggestions or ideas for Denise about ways to fund the Senior Assistance Consultant Project or any other feedback please leave them in the comments below.

She works for a restaurant and noticed that the buckles on the high chair belts got a lot of wear and tear and would break 4-6 months after buying new high chairs. She realized that the failure point was typically the buckle and made her own replacement belt with a higher quality buckle.

After installing her belt at the restaurant for a successful trial period, the restaurant manager ordered a set of high chair replacement belts from Nancy.  Realizing she might be onto something, Nancy signed up for some small business consulting:

“I met with a member of SCORE (Service Core of Retired Executives) just before Thanksgiving. During our one hour meeting, they expressed excitement with my business proposition and more so by my projected profit margin.  We talked about the longevity of such a business knowing the need for replacement seat belts are necessity not a luxury.”

Business Stats

Industry - restaurant Service Supply

Market - restaurants that use high chairs to serve young kids

Competitors - Four competing companies

Need - Lack of quality replacement parts

Trends - Disposable income is down for customers and food costs are higher so many restaurants are tight on cash

Unique Selling Proposition - Better quality, stronger buckle

Product Costs & Pricing

The first thing I would do if I was Nancy would be pricing research on her competitor’s replacement belts and on the costs of her own production.  I’m assuming the competitor’s buckles are cheaper to make since they’re a lower quality. 

If they can be more price competitive since thier costs are lower then it could be a hard sell to businesses to buy a more expensive product.  Of course, if Nancy can prove that the belts last 2–3 times as long, that could save the restaurant owners money depending on how Nancy prices her product.

Another area I would research extensively would be the costs to ramp up production of the belts.  If Nancy is profitable making them herself but due to demand has to spend money on people or equipment to produce larger quantities, how will that effect her pricing and profits? 

I would interview restaurant owners to find out who they buy from and why.  I would ask questions about the importance to them of the trade-off between quality vs cost.  Many small restaurants are dealing with higher food costs and customers with less money to spend.  Would these restaurants be looking to spend money on replacement belts in tough economic times?

I know I’ve been to many restaurants where we go to strap in our son and the belt is broken or missing.  So the belts do break, but how often do restaurants replace them?  Are restaurant owners content to let them sit broken from an extended period of time before replacing them?

Legal Issues

Any time you create something for kids you have to deal with legal concerns, especially if it’s a safety or restraint product.  I don’t know if there’s a certification process the belts would have to go through and how that would impact the cost and time of production. 

I would definitely do my research on the liability questions and consult an attorney on the matter.

Marketing

I would come up with a memorable product name that conveys the value of her belts.  Nancy’s unique selling proposition at this point is quality and durability, perhaps a name for a belt that’s secure and durable would be DuraSecure Belts.

Another place I see broken belts all the time is in shopping carts in grocery or retail stores; this could potentially be another big market for Nancy’s product. 

Small Business Assistance

Nancy has designed her marketing postcards and business card through VistaPrint but is still in need of a business logo.  She’s creating a website using Microsoft Office Live Small Business but needs design work done on the site and also wants to set it up so she can take orders through her site.

Nancy is also a little low on funding.  She’s used her seed money to buy the supplies to make her first round of belts that’s shes going to be marketing to local restaurants next month.  Of course if she can win the Small Business Stimulus package she could certainly use the cash prize  

If Nancy’s response from area restaurants is positive and she needs more capital for growth another funding option is to borrow money from Lending Club.  A lot of small businesses are turning to Lending Club to raise money during the credit crunch, this Lending Club review walks you through the process of applying for a loan there.

If you have suggestions or comments for Nancy’s venture, please leave them below.

“I will be taking calls, scheduling meetings, gathering information, creating reports, and all of the things that a normal administrative secretary does.

 

Many companies are laying clerical off yet they need us.  These businesses will benefit by getting the help they need yet not having any overhead, no benefits or insurance costs to pay and they won’t pay for accumulated sick days or holidays.”

Business Stats

Industry – Business Services

Market – Small businesses and home based professionals

Competitors – Wide variety of individuals (on eLance) and companies (GetFriday.com)

Need – Necessary administrative tasks that small business owners don’t have time for

Trends – Bad economy may send businesses looking to cut costs by contracting rather than hiring full time.

Client Base
Dee is familiar with the role of office assistant and all the services that potential customers might need.

“I’m good at what I do and I’ve worked at home before. I have 10 Sales Executives and one Sales Manager who worked closely with me who will back me up on that.”

There are certainly many businesses, big and small, that are looking to cut costs but if I was Dee I might try and focus on a certain industry.  Every industry has its own vocabulary, deadlines, and regulations that can make communicating through a third party more challenging.  On the other hand, being intimately familiar with those industry details can give a virtual assistant a competitive advantage over general purpose assistants.

Of course starting off, Dee will probably just have to take any customers she can find, but I think it would be wise to target a certain industry.

I would also think it would be wise to target small companies since they may be easier to break into since they don’t have to go through big human resources departments to budgets and legal issues approved.

Unique Selling Proposition

I’ve never hired a virtual assistant but I can imagine the task would make any small business owner nervous.  It’s a customer facing position so communication skills and professionalism are vitally important.  I’d want to make sure that I found someone who represented my business well and portrayed a professional image.

That being said, small business owners always have to consider costs and globalization has made virtual assitants available from different parts of the world for a pretty low price.  I would imagine anyone looking to hire a virtual assistant would be trying to find the right balance between cost and competency of the service provider.

One suggestion for Dee is to compete on quality, not cost.  I’d guess that there are many other virtual assistants out there that could work for the fraction of what she might charge.  However, the quality of their work is unknown, while her service comes backed with years of experience.

An additional differentiator could be focusing on an specific industry so that business owners are getting an assistant that knows the business.

Marketing

My guess is that the best way for Dee to find customers is through word of mouth.  If I were Dee, I would get testimonials from each of the 10 Sales Executives and the one Sales Manager that she’s worked so closely with.  Written testimonials are good, audio ones would be better, and a video testimonial would be best.

Dee was recently laid off, as were the above mentioned sales professionals.  It would be wise to contact them immediately while their memories of working with her and what she’s done for them are still fresh in their head.

Business Press Release

I would also put together a press release announcing her company that focused on her experience and the services she provides, and send it to everyone she’s had professional contact with in her career as an assistant.  The press release should reference a website that contained the testimonials, highlights her experience, details her services, and specifics how people can start working with her.

Dee already has an idea for a name for her business:

“I’ve chosen MsJonesOffice as my business name so that anyone who would like to have me take calls for them will have clients greeted with “Ms Jones Office, this is Dee”.  It’s neutral and professional sounding and a more common last name than mine.”

I’m not sure what I think of the name, what are your thoughts?  You can leave comments or suggestions in the comments at the end.

Small Business Assistance

Dee certainly has the background to launch this business and there is certainly a need for it.  I think that coming up with the proper pricing of services, as well as a good marketing startegy to brand her from a quality and industry perspective are key to making her business a success.

Here are the things that Dee would like assistance with from the Small Business Stimulus package:

“I have already purchased a domain name but could really use help with my website and business plan to get started.”

Please offer your opinions or suggestions for Dee below.

“I live in central _____, and there are no places to purchase cool, modern sewing and crafting supplies other than online. 

I would love to open a small store that would cater to the local area crafters and DIY-ers who are looking for something different than what Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and Jo-Ann have to offer.”

Business Stats

Industry – Crafts & Sewing

Market – 18-40 year old females that are actively into crafts in her county

Competitors – Jo-Ann, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels. Online retailers.

Need – Lack of local retailers with fun and modern craft materials

Trends – Recession tend to lead to more Do It Yourself’ers

Customer Base
Sara seems experienced in this field so she should be able to connect with the needs of her target market.  Based on her market research so far, demographics suggest there is a large enough customer base in her region to support a store if she can get customers in the door and coming back for more.

Unique Selling Proposition

So how will Sara find and keep these customers? She plans on offering products and services that the big craft stores can’t provide. 

One thing I think Sara should spend the time and money to research up front is what specific items or services the crafters and sewers in her metro area are looking for but can’t find locally.

If she’s going to brand her store as the place to find supplies or services people can’t get anywhere else, I think it would be smart to estimate the cost (time & money) of providing these items and the premium that she can charge for them.

Market Research Tips & Ideas

I think Sara really needs to tap into her local market to find out where the unmet needs are before she puts up any money for rent, supplies, or equipment.  Here are some ideas for reaching out to the craft community.

Become the “Craft Hunter”

One thing Sara could do is promote her services around the metro for a while as a type of craft hunter.  “Can’t find a craft product or service, I’ll get it for you”.

This approach would do several things:

• Brand her as the go-to lady for unique or hard to find craft supplies
• Help Sara understand what types of things people were looking
• Give her a feel for how much unique supplies & services cost her and what people would be willing to pay for them

I like this approach because it’s not just giving people a survey that asks what they’d like to see in a local craft store.  From my experience people’s eyes tend to glaze over when you give them a general, open-ended question that requires them to think or be creative.

If instead you can make it specific, nail it down to a specific project they’re working on and what they need for that you’re more likely to get answers.  Plus you will stick in people’s head if you can help them get what they need.

Create a Web Presence

Sara intends to start a website and I think that’s a great for both brand building and community building.  A small business web hosting service like Bluehost or 1&1 is under $10 a month and a valuable investment in her marketing efforts.  She would also like to sell her products online at some point down the road but for now the site should be about research and branding. 

If I were Sara I would setup a blog on her website devoted to the local craft and sewing community and use it to both showcase her expertise and to spread the word about her Craft Hunter services.  One thing she could do is start a crafts & sewing email newsletter using an email marketing service like Aweber to keep in touch with the people that come to her site.

Finding Potential Customers

Sara mentioned attending local craft shows to meet potential customers. She should definitely take along business cards to hand out to anyone who is interested in her services.  She can actually get free business cards, paying only shipping, by using a VistaPrint promo code.

The business card should at least have her email address listed, it would be best to have a contact phone number as well.  If Sara doesn’t want to give out her home number, or wants a professional sounding setup she can get her own toll free number and voicemail with a RingCentral free trial.

What are some other ideas she could use to connect with people to pick their brain about their craft needs?