[nabentre] new member

[Everett Gavel]

Welcome to the list, Maryann,

A few recommendations for you that will certainly help
you learn more, quicker, are:

Inc. Magazine, Online:
www.inc.com
- Sub to their newsletter(s), scour their articles
sections, and link to or save those articles you deem
worth re-reading again later.  Or better yet, start a
file with various tips and hints and resources you'll
use later.  Copying and pasting from each article you
read, into that file, bits and pieces and blurbs as you
find them.


Entrepreneur Magazine, Online:
www.entrepreneur.com
- Same as above.  Scour the site, sub to their
newsletter(s), and save useful tidbits.

As for finding some stats for your business plan, this
might help:
U.S. Government Census Statistics, A-Z Index:
http://www.census.gov/main/www/subjects.html


Some other points of recommendation are...

Article: "100 Marketing Weapons"
www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/176/100_Marketing_Weap
ons.html
- "These guerrilla marketing weapons should all be
considered for promoting your product, service or
website offline."
** Check out that site, GMarketing.com, too.  Tons of
useful "Guerilla Marketing" articles and advice there.


FrugalMarketing.com:
http://www.frugalmarketing.com/marketingtips.shtml
- This is a link to the "Frugal Marketing Tips" 9-Year
Archive of tips.


A book I highly recommend for getting the management &
running of your business down sharp is Michael Gerber's
book "The E-Myth Revisited."  One point I think was
highly useful is getting your processes down.  So that
even if you were laid-up in the hospital for a week,
someone could come in and run your business
successfully, using a guide you have that explains
every step you take each day or week, to run your
business.  Basically, whether you're a home-business or
a microbusiness with just a couple of employees, this
idea of getting your business running like a franchise,
leads to success. It's about figuring out your most
successful and efficient processes for doing what it is
your business does, and then putting it down so that,
say, if you were to open another location, someone you
hire could do the exact same thing for your company,
thanks to that written-down guide.  Just as with a
business plan, such a guide will help you stay on-track
and know exactly what you should be doing each day and
each week, to achieve success that much sooner.

Anyway, I recommend the book.  It has far more useful
info than just that one point.


And here's one last article recommendation, with an
important and highly relevant tip taken from it...

"3. Ignore the naysayers. Remember the story of the
frogs in the well? If you don't...  Two frogs fell into
a dry well and the other frogs took it for granted that
they would die in there. When both attempted to jump
their way out, the frogs outside discouraged them from
expending their energy on a hopeless task. Listening to
them, one frog gave up his attempts. But the other made
it out through his determination and single-mindedness.
When asked how he made it in spite of the negative
attitude of his fellow frogs, the survivor replied that
he was deaf, and that he had thought the other frogs
were cheering him on as he tried to get out of the
well. Shows what a profound effect a positive outlook
can have."

Taken from the article:
Lessons from the Lemonade Stand: 101 Common Sense
Management Tips
www.businessintelligencelowdown.com/2007/01/lessons_fro
m_th.html



To Your Success!
Everett
www.everettgavel.com


----- Original Message ----- 
My name is Maryann and I live in Utah.  I'm totally
blind and I'm trying to start a business so I'm hoping
that I might use this list for things that I haven't
found in other places.  I've read some of the archives
and there doesn't seem to be much traffic.  I hope that
doesn't mean there aren't many blind business owners.
My  business is still very much in the start up faze.
I want to design and knit baby clothes and blankets,
though lately I've realized that it might not be the
best idea to limit myself to just knitted items so I
guess you might say I'm branching out.
I'm working with our local   voc rehab people, but they
don't do much in the way of business preparation.  I'm
taking a class with our local small business
development center in a month or  so.  I'm hoping that
this class might fill in some of the gaps of my
business stupidity.
And  along that vain, if there is anyone on this list
that has any experience writing a business plan, I'd
appreciate any and all advice.  I've got a few
templates that I've found on line, but I'm having
trouble in the research area.
This will be a home based business, and in my case,
this means working  along side 2 children and a
husband.  I'm reading a book I found at the library for
the blind that helps explain how to cope with working
from home, and when family is involved.  I think I
might have that part of it  under control.
Ok, I'd say that is enough of an introduction.
Maryann
email: nm237 at msn.com
business phone: 435-232-7967