Be sure to write a mission statement
for yourself and to set goals for yourself.
What Is A Mission Statement?
In order to do
your mission statement you need to be able to answer the following:
Why should
this business exist?
Who will be
its customers and how will it benefit them?
Why will they
be better off?
These
questions are easy to answer for The Past Is A Blast. Why should it exist
because it provides a solution for those interested in both learning and
reliving the past and helping children learn about the history of a wide
range of topics. It saves them time and in many cases money, gives them more
options, etc. Who will be its customers and how will it benefit them - easy.
Individual car owners love the movies, car clubs and charitable
organizations use them to get members and for fund raising, other automotive
businesses use them as give-a-ways or bonuses. How will it benefit them,
again, by providing a solution in helping to find movies for educational and
entertainment purposes, saving them time and in some cases money and giving
them more options. The last question, why will they be better off - who
doesn’t want to save time and money and to be able to find what they need in
one place quickly and easily.
Our
distributors and reps approach car clubs and offer the DVDs to them for
their events as prizes. They also will sell them to clubs as a benefit to
the clubs’ members. For example when someone joins a club for their
membership price they also get a Hot Rods & Models DVD.
Our reps and
distributors also approach businesses who sell cars and offer the DVD to
them with their business name and address on it (co-branding) to give to
their customers as an added bonus when they buy a car.
Our reps and
distributors also approach charitable organizations who want to promote
their cause and offer a bonus with a donation. Many charitable organizations
promote car events as a way of getting donations and offering the DVD is
another way they can give value for the donation.
Another source
for our distributors are those in the business of restoration products. They
can approach these businesses to offer the DVD as a bonus to their
customers. And remember, this approach works for virtually all of the
categories of vintage and nostalgia DVDs we offer, so they actually have a
very wide range of business opportunities.
Another
excellent venue are flea markets. There you can set up your portable DVD
player and have your previews playing to draw customers in and then show
them your collection. This method works well in video and large appliance
stores, why not use it yourself. You can find a portable DVD player for
under $150.
For those of
you thinking of becoming a representative or distributor for a different
kind of company, you need to look at these questions and answer them very
thoroughly, before you move on to your business plan.
For example, a
computer training instructor might answer the above questions in the
following way.
Why Should The
Business Exist? To provide computer instruction to those unemployed, those
looking to improve their skills, to provide companies with the ability to
re-educate, or update their employees.
Who will be
its customers and how will it benefit them? Customers will come from
employment agencies, small to mid-size companies utilizing certain computer
programs, and state agencies.
Why will they
be better off? We will provide one-on-one instruction, with notes and
follow-up calls for a six month period after the class. We will walk them
through a problem they might have at work.
Now you've got
the concept of a mission statement. You need to apply it to the business
your interested in running, and see if that business passes the test. Many
times, a great idea dies because there is no real need for the business to
exist. Don't let that happen to you.
However, what
is so great, in the case of becoming a representative or distributor for a
company, they already did the majority of work for you. They came up with
the great idea, you just need to answer the questions for the market you
want to distribute to.
Next, How To Set Goals You Can
Profit By
