Question 1

There is so much to do I’m not sure where to start…

Accepted Answer

We always say that writing things down is the way to go, you’re not going to be able to remember everything! It also helps you to be able to prioritize your tasks so you can keep crossing things off your list.    Planning Helps To Enable God’s Best For Us  God wants only the best for his children. When we make Him the center of our planning, we free Him to give us His best.“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed” (Psalm 20:4).   That being said, you don’t know what you don’t know, so it’s good to connect with a mentor or a tribe that can point you in the right direction. The Holiday Firm often works with start-ups who are figuring things out at the beginning, getting you to a strategy that will lay the foundation for success.

Question 2

Do I need to have partners to start a business?

Accepted Answer

You don’t need partners to start your business, but it certainly makes life as an entrepreneur easier. The best way to decide whether you should bring on partners is to look at your strengths and weaknesses and figure out if you can build a successful business without someone filling the weaknesses with a complementary skill set.

Question 3

How do I figure out who my target audience is?

Accepted Answer

You need to develop buyer personas. Remember, you can’t be all things to all people so you need to figure out who would be interested in buying what you are selling. To do that, figure out what problem you are solving and who has that problem. That’s the best way to start. Then you can target further using demographic and psychographic factors.

Question 4

How do I find the best way to market my product or service?

Accepted Answer

That would be determined by your buyer personas. To promote your product or service, you need to be visible in places where you have the best chance to be seen by your target audience. People can’t buy from you if they don’t know you exist.

Question 5

Is my business idea silly?

Accepted Answer

A better question to ask is do you think it’s silly? If you believe that you have a product or service that satisfies a need for someone and they are willing to pay you money for it, then you have the foundation of a viable business. A silly business idea would be one that doesn’t meet any of those conditions.

Question 6

Do I need a full business plan?

Accepted Answer

If you plan on connecting with investors for funding, you will likely need a full business plan. However, to get you started, you can focus on building a framework of your business model.  This will give you a high-level view and detail how your business creates, delivers and captures value for your customers.

Question 7

What’s the best way to sell my product?

Accepted Answer

The best way to sell your product is to find out how your customers want it to be delivered. Then decide how you can provide that to them in the most efficient way possible so that you can build your customer base.Then you just need to develop a sales process as part of your strategy that you can manage.

Question 8

Do I need to get people to sign an NDA?

Accepted Answer

If you are developing proprietary technology or something that really just doesn’t exist (AKA you have no competitors or you are creating a game changer) then an NDA is a good idea to protect your business. However, an NDA isn’t necessarily needed if it is an afterthought for you.

Question 9

Do I need a formal marketing plan?

Accepted Answer

Just like a formal business plan, if you are seeking funding from investors, they will want to see a formal marketing plan. You can build a marketing strategy for your business, set goals, and create tactics to help you achieve those goals without a formal marketing plan.  Did we miss anything? If you’re looking to start your own business but you still have questions and you’re not sure where to start, be sure to give us a call!

Question 10

What is Brand Activation?

Accepted Answer

Brand activation refers to providing a unique, memorable experience to increase brand  awareness. Brand activation can be an event or a product sampling campaign using online  solutions.    A successful brand activation provides a multi-touch brand experience with several interactive  and surprising elements, which helps make the process more memorable.  It highly depends on the brand and its products and services. Brand activation aims to attract more loyal customers and provide a lasting brand experience for the audience or participants.

Question 11

What is a brand?

Accepted Answer

A brand is essentially the personality and identity of your business. It is what forms the first impression of your business for potential customers and encompasses how it looks and sounds. It is how the market identifies your business compared to your competitors and will hopefully make you stand out. Components of a brand can include: ●	Name ●	Logo ●	Tagline ●	Tone of voice ●	Fonts & typography ●	Symbols ●	Features ●	Colors ●	Graphical element ●	Niche ●	Experience ●	Or anything that identifies individual businesses product or service as unique or distant

Question 12

Why is branding important?

Accepted Answer

Branding is the process of creating a brand. It is important as it involves clearly positioning your company or product in the market, devising a brand strategy, possibly creating your name, defining your company’s tone of voice, and designing corporate and/or product identity.

Question 13

I’ve got a logo, isn’t that my brand?

Accepted Answer

We need to get one thing straight; a brand is much more than a logo! While we understand cost can be a determining factor and we certainly appreciate the desire to get a visual representation for your business quickly, we just don’t believe logos alone tell enough of a story about your business. A poorly designed logo can end up targeting the wrong market altogether.  We believe a brand speaks volumes about a business, including:  ●   The experience customers can expect when consuming a product or service ●   How a business highlights their unique selling points or market position ●   How a business understands their target markets by engaging with their interests and needs ●   How a business stays relevant and keeps up with the trends in the market   Your brand describes who you are and what you do, therefore it is important your visual identity your logo, which is utilized for virtually all your marketing communications, clearly communicates this.

Question 14

Can’t I just get my logo branding done for $5 on Fiverr?

Accepted Answer

Ummm….no! Remember, a brand is much more than just a logo. It is the story, look and voice of a brand.  A high-quality branding process involves market research including target markets and competitors, an understanding your industry, checking if trade names and domains are available, creating a mood board, testing color schemes in different environments, creating a unique logo that is memorable and finding fonts & typography that is effective, the list goes on! Our business coaching 1:1 is also a fabulous way for businesses to really clarify who and what you are and who your target market is.  Branding can be a lengthy process which may involve several creative people working on the project and it requires input and collaboration with the client. It is also important that the brand is unique in the market to avoid any trademark or copyright legal problems.  So, if you put all this in perspective, you can see how getting a logo for $5 on Fiverr won't really provide the full brand story for your business.

Question 15

What makes a successful brand?

Accepted Answer

A successful brand pays attention to their market, will come up with new ways to keep the interest of their target market and are not afraid to innovate.

Question 16

What can Public Relations do for a small business?

Accepted Answer

Public Relations is used to raise the profile of a business and portray the business in a good light. As well as publicity, Public Relations covers: supporting good causes; having a social responsibility to your workforce and neighbors; sponsorship; open days; speaking engagements; and producing newsletters.

Question 17

When and where is PR most effective?

Accepted Answer

Public Relations can be highly effective in most businesses. Where it can make a big difference, however, is where the product or service cannot establish and maintain a significant differential advantage by itself. Where this is the case, you can still separate your company from the rest by emphasizing your unique qualities or values.   For example, you may be more caring, more public spirited, more international, or just more adept at creating news that will keep your name in view and help shape positive perceptions.

Question 18

What makes a good press release?

Accepted Answer

Most Public Relations is geared towards generating good and free publicity in the media. The trick is to write it as a news story, not as an advertisement for your firm.

Question 19

How much time and money should I spend on PR?

Accepted Answer

Remember PR is all about getting people to know about who you are and what you do. It will help groom perceptions and create a positive image of your company 'personality'. How much time and money you spend on PR depends upon how satisfied you are with your current image and how important it might be to improve it. Naturally, the more you put in, the more you'll get out of it.

Question 20

When is it time to hire a Publicist?

Accepted Answer

When you have something new to release (a product or service), you have your brand nailed down, your social media is full of engagement, and you have a budget.  You know that feeling you get when you’ve just completed your latest project and you can’t wait to share it with the world? When you know for sure, without a doubt this might just be the greatest thing you’ve ever created? That is a sign that it might be the ideal time to hire a publicist.

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