Posts Tagged ‘Entrepreneurs’

The Miami Herald:

Eric Poses rolled the dice in 1997, when he founded All Things Equal and took off on a cross-country sales trip in his car. Since then, revenue has grown and he now finds himself in a countercyclical sales boom.

Board games traditionally do well during tough economic times. After all, Monopoly was launched in 1935, during the Great Depression. Last year, as total U.S. toy sales declined, board game sales rose 6 percent to $794 million, according to market research by NPD Group.

Poses said All Things Equal brought in $1.45 million in revenue last year. This year he projects that to grow to more than $2 million. But he will have to wait to find out if that projection is accurate, since about 75 percent of his company sales occur during the fourth-quarter holiday rush.

Board game makers attribute the recent boost in sales to consumers looking for a way to socialize without going out.

“When the economy is bad and people are feeling financially pinched, board games are very attractive,” said Cliff Annicelli, editor-in-chief of Playthings Magazine, a toy industry publication. “You can play them over and over again.”

Everyone — from kids and parents to young adults — has been getting into the game, according to industry leaders.

“It’s growing across all demographics,” said Pat Riso, vice president of global communications at Hasbro Games.

Reyne Rice, a toy trend specialist at the Toy Industry Association, said board games have been selling well even during the spring and summer, a time when sales normally experience a lull.

Poses said his company is having a good year. The company added Kmart as a distributor and sales were bolstered by a deal with retailer TJ Maxx, which bought the entire inventory of four games that had not sold well. Poses said ridding himself of the slow-selling inventory was not just a financial boon, but also an opportunity to start fresh.

Image from All Things Equal, Inc.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

 
photo credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

So you have made the first step and decided to start your own business, congratulations! Now you need to know what it takes to run your own business, resources, who to hire, how to market, and all of the other avenues that need to be explored. For now, I will give you some basic steps on starting your own business which should get your plan into motion.

1. Know your customer. NYTimes recently stated that your customer is your number one priority, and this I would have to agree. They are your bread and butter, they are what will make your business bring in profits or not. Focus on a specific group in your area, people who may have the most stress or hardship in their lives at the moment, these people will be more willing to bet on new ideas as they don’t really have anything to loose.
2. Know the market. This is very key, you need to drown yourself in the current market and know everything you can about what is going on right now. The newest trends, the trends that are expected to grow and go far in the future, who is investing in what type of market and more.
3. Do research on your start-up costs. Know what your ball park figures are going to be, what you will need to have down, your monthly loan payments, any equipment purchases, hiring employees, utilities, taxes and stock to name a few.

Once you’re satisfied with the business plan, the next step is to test it. This means answering the question: Do customers really want to buy what you intend to sell? It’s a brutal question, but you need to be realistic. One idea is to talk to potential customers, but avoid your friends; instead, identify a list of likely customers and call them.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

photo credit: Dawn Endico

If you’re thinking about starting your own business, then you really should be thinking about what business books you need to be checking out of the library or buying on amazon.com. Famous business men such as Donald Trump and Warren Buffet have both said that reading business books are key to your future as a business person. Below is a short list of the best business books to read as listed on Young Entrepreneur.

• The Practice Of Management by Peter F. Drucker.
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials) by Robert Cialdini PhD.
• 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management by Hyrum Smith.
• How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Always keep in mind what you were told in school “knowledge is power”, and one of the best ways to obtain a lot of knowledge in your spare time is by reading everything you can get your hands on.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.