Camden, NJ- LAEDA held an event called Turning Your Hobby Into a Business series, which consists of 6 seminars to gain the most benefit and to help entrepreneurs and or small business owners navigate the swerves and curves of the journey and transitioning from designing and creating for friends and family to producing for customers beyond their inner circle at Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society in Camden, NJ.
The entrepreneurs and or small business owners will be able to lay out a practical road map to get themselves started on his or her journey, and strategies they can put in their wallet to help guide him or her through their small business journey.
All businesses are built on a solid foundation of systems such as the following: Sales and marketing, administration systems and finance, and production and product development. Production involves transformation of raw material into desired product or service by adding economic value, thus it is important to understand the production process and put all of its pieces together to create and match the pathways and goals that will lead to successes and achievements.
Before even jumping to gather those pieces, which are needed, it is vital to be able to unlock the answer to the following question: Do you have a skill or talent that can produce a marketable product? Learning the keys you will need to transition from a hobby to a business and finding the doors you need to open and walk through are crucial to have in your keychain that you carry around.
Some of the crucial keys to have on that keychain are mentioned below:
(1) Time: working the business and improving skills
(2) Family support: can be a source of low cost of labor to help with production, sales, marketing, and administration of the business
(3) Network of potential clients: these are the first group of product testers and customers so placing the product or service in their hands will drive interest and direct people to your sales channels
(4) Assessment: creates a road map for gathering resources that are vital such as talent, money, support, etc.
(5) Solution: being able to answer and fill all the gaps of the following question: “What need, gap, or challenge are you filling or solving?
Think: What Group is most likely to purchase or book that service with me? If you do not know your customer how will you attract, hold and increase market share in your niche? By knowing your customer you will also know in what ways you will promote your business and then be able to determine your marketing budget.
You want to be able to focus your efforts on the following when marketing:
(1) Your best customers
(2) Your best markets
(3) Your best Products & Services
Trying to be the Jack of all traders is not the best strategy because then some areas could suffer. So let us put on our detective hats and research, find all of our ingredients, and turn them into solutions that will be part of the successful recipe of obtaining loyal customers.
“Let’s walk the alphabet together and highlight even the small steps toward success because each step is vital in our journey,” Sehrish Khan concluded.
The last night of this series consisted of the students doing their elevator pitch, which is a short introduction, concise statement about you and your business. This can be used as a sales pitch or elevator pitch. The students even brought in their products and services and we did a show and tell and presented the products and services.
The students took pictures and made long-lasting relationships that will become a support system in the business world where having a support system is virtual whether in business life or personal life.
LAEDA offers seminars and short-term courses in various counties of South Jersey throughout the year. A long-term course is also offered three times per year where entrepreneurs receive 72+ hours of training from industry professionals, business planning, and business counseling. The program is free, but you must qualify.
LAEDA welcomes you to join our community of successful entrepreneurs. Visit our website at www.laeda.com or call (856) 338-1177 to learn more.