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Start-Up Venture Week 12

what is working? Using CANVA to create presentations and visuals (posts) continue to work really well for me. I feel like I can create quality visuals by using this tool.  Using interact e-transfer instead of booking online has also worked really well in terms of receiving payments and not having to pay a service charge fee like I would have if I continued to use Etsy. 

what is not working? Trying to get sales from my USA followers on Instagram is not working. I am finding that all my sales have been from people in Canada. I feel fortunate enough to have had steady sales, but I know that I’d make more in sales if my followers from the US would book readings with me. 

how do you feel the project is coming? Overall I think that the project is going well. I have weekly sales and have been able to keep up with the demand of completing a reading by email within a week of purchase (my guarantee to customers. Because I cut out the fees through Etsy, I am much more ahead than I thought I would be.

what are you learning about running a business? I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really feel strongly that running a business requires you to be flexible and to be able to change the way you offer supports and services to customers (eg: me shutting down Etsy and promoting solely through instagram)

what are you learning about yourself? I’m starting to notice that I’m more confident now than I was when I first started promoting my services. I’m also quicker with writing up my card readings as I’ve created a standard template to use and modify for each reading which has been helpful with sending out emailed readings on time

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Week 11 - New venture start-up

This week has been a pretty quiet week for my business. i haven't had any new sales but i am determined to at least make 3-4 more sales by the end of this course. I am thinking about offering 2 free readings again to see if i can get more clients.  I’ve been watching videos and masterclasses about marketing strategies and how to grow your clientele. The person speaking on the video said something that stuck with me. she said: people aren’t going to buy a product or service from you unless they get to know a little bit about you. This stuck with me because i haven’t been working on my online presence as much as i should be. i post consistently, but feel i need to do more videos of my daily life or videos of topics related to spirituality to catch the attention of potential customers. So this week i have been focusing on putting myself out there more! I’m learning that some weeks are going to be better than others when running a business. one week i made more than expected, and the next i generated no sales at all. i was able to reflect upon what i was/wasn't doing and modify my approach to connecting with others online. Overall I’m really happy with how things are going and look forward to learning and growing more as the weeks go by. 

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Progress Start-up venture week 10

what is working? Using Instagram as a way to promote my services continues to work really well for me. This includes using the promote business feature and IGTV as it helps me reach more people  that are not currently on my followers list. Using Canva as a way to create posts, stories and presentations has really worked too. This app has really improved the quality of my posts over the last few weeks - I have even received messages from people saying how much they have liked my posts lately! I’m trying to use all Instagram features - Posts, stories, and IGTV because I’m finding that I get more attention on my page when I use these features which could attract potential clients/customers.

What is not working? I have decided to stop promoting and creating worksheets altogether because they are not selling and taking too long to make. Instead, I am adding life coaching services to my business - i am a certified life coach and feel like now is a good time to promote my services along with my oracle card/tarot card readings

how do you feel the  project is coming? Overall I feel good about the project so far, I am consistently selling oracle card readings while keeping my costs lower than expected (no longer selling worksheets means i don’t need an Etsy shop which cuts down on fees). I am also seeing an increase in followers and have been approached by a fellow coach to participate in a free giveaway with other coaches - I will be giving away a free 3-card oracle/tarot card reading as part of the giveaway

what are you learning about running a business? I’m learning that running a business requires patience, time, and energy to be successful. I’m learning that promoting/marketing your business is essential to expanding your potential clients/customers and that spending a little bit of money for marketing is worth it. 

what are you learning about yourself? I’m learning how to put myself out there and pushing past my insecurities/worries and just go for it! It’s been great for increasing my confidence.  I’m starting to network and collaborate with others and it’s been really fun so far!

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Progress of Start-up Venture - Week 8

For my start-up venture, I have chosen to offer intuitive oracle/tarot card readings and self-development/self-care worksheets. Below are the answers to this week’s questions:

what is working? - I’m finding that using Instagram promotions/paid advertisement features are helping to reach more potential clients than just posting an advertisement without paying to promote it. For example, I decided to do a trial and spend $2.00 per day for 4 days ($8.00 total) to advertise my oracle card reading services, and so far I am on day 2 and have already reached 191 people and have booked 3 oracle card readings. I will definitely continue to promote my services by using Instagram paid advertisement during this project and for future businesses because already I am starting to connect with more people and book more readings than if I didn't use this business feature. And the great thing about it is that you can set your own price and how many days you would like to promote! Also, using e-transfer as a method of payment is working really well for me. I promote booking my readings online through my website or Etsy shop, but have noticed all of the people who have booked readings with me thus far prefer to pay by e-transfer. This actually allows me to make more of a profit than expected as using e-transfer for payment has eliminated my costs associated with Etsy fees. 

what is not working? - trying to make and sell worksheets is not working, so I am choosing to focus on oracle card readings moving forward in this start-up venture. I am finding that it is making me a longer time than I had thought to come up with worksheet ideas and quality products. Since opening my shop about two weeks ago, I have created three worksheets and have not sold any yet. Not only is it time consuming, but it seems as though my followers/target market is more interested in oracle/tarot card readings so that is the area in which I will focus on moving forward.

how do you feel the project is coming? - Overall I think the project is going well. I have been able to identify what is and isn’t working/selling and ways in which I can modify my business plan to be successful in this new venture start-up. I have also made money without having to pay any fees, and am on my way to achieving my revenue goal that I set out for myself at the beginning of this course. 

what are you learning about running a business? - I’m learning that although you may have certain ideas and goals for your business, that it might not always turn out the way you want to - and that’s okay! I went from thinking that I was going to sell worksheets and oracle/tarot card readings and one of those ideas (worksheets) didn't work out, but the other idea (card readings) have been selling. - I’m also learning about how many resources (websites, apps, etc) are available to help entrepreneurs in any stage of their business. This information will be helpful as my business continues to grow and for other business ventures I have planned for the future.

what are you learning about yourself? - I’m learning that when selling homemade products and services, being authentic is key to connecting with potential clients/customers. When I post generically on Instagram, I only get a handful of likes (between 12-20) and a smaller reach out people (80-100), but when I post something about myself that’s a little more personal or I share a little bit about myself, I get more interest from others which results in more likes and reach of potential clients. 

         - I haven’t been in school for a few years now, and I forgot what it’s like to have to balance work, school and home responsibilities. This course so far is a reminder to myself to keep going and to follow my dreams no matter how busy life can get that I can and should always make time to work on my dreams!

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Where will I get my money?

I will be solely using a personal investment of between $50-$100 for the purpose of this course to invest in advertisements, Etsy and the Canva App Fees.  When I finish this course, I plan to use the information and tools I have learned to start my own business offering Animal Assisted Therapy/Pet care and staff support to people with disabilities and social service agencies. When I start this business I am planing to utilize personal funds, grants, subsidies and bank loans for financial support. Personal investment: As the article in our required reading material states, it’s important to invest your own money into your company because it shows investors, banks etc that you’re invested and serious about your business. I agree with this statement and therefore will invest some of my personal funds into my animal assisted therapy business. Love money I will not be using this type of financial source for my business. I want to create my business by myself or with a partner whose not a close family member or friend because I wouldn't want to ruin a relationship if we disagreed on a business decision. 

Venture Capital Because my business idea doesn't have a high growth potential nor does it focus on information technology, biotechnology or communications, it would be highly unlikely that a venture capitalist would invest in my company anyway considering it is more of a non-profit/social service agency.  Angels I may consider reaching out to angel funders. I like that these types of investors usually keep a low profile and if my business becomes a non-profit I would have to have a board of directors anyway and wouldn't mind having an angel investor supporting and foreseeing the business. However, I would have to do more research and educate myself further on angel investors to really know if this type of financing source would suit my type of business. Business incubators I would not use business incubators as a financial source because these types of investors focus on businesses in the high-tech sector. 

Government grants and subsidies As a non-profit/social service agency business, I would definitely try to access as many government grants and subsidies as I could. 

Bank loans I learned that bank loans are the most common types of loans for small businesses. Once I have finished a thorough business plan, my hope is to use it to get grants subsidies and bank loans to help start my business. 

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Business Operations Plan - Jessica’s intuitive services

For this courses major assignment, I have chosen to offer intuitive oracle/tarot card readings and self-development worksheets and journal prompts. Below is a breakdown of my business operations plan

Materials Needed Oracle/Tarot card decks to conduct intuitive readings: Currently I have about twenty oracle/tarot card decks to choose from. Out of the twenty decks I have, I will only be offering my card reading services with five deck options because I am most familiar with those decks and doing readings with tools that you are most familiar and comfortable with will result in a more accurate reading and a better experience for the customer. Email address: I have created an email address specifically for this business to be able to send customers their oracle/tarot card readings without using my personal email Apps to create worksheets and visuals: I will be using the app “Canva” to create self-development and self-help worksheets to sell and other visuals (posters, social media posts) to promote my services on my Instagram account. 

Selling Space I will be selling my oracle/tarot card readings for the following prices: - one 1-card reading for $10.00 + tax delivered by email - one 3-card reading for $15.00 + tax delivered by email I will be using Instagram to promote my services using the business feature to pay a small fee for marketing, as well as my Instabio account to link all of my social media platforms together including my website (where customers can book readings and access my blog), Spotify (podcast), and Etsy shop. 

I will be selling my worksheets in packages of 5 sheets for $5.00 + tax on Etsy and will promote these products on my Instagram and Instabio accounts. 

Manufacturing, Logistics and Purchasing The oracle/tarot cards that I will be using are already designed and manufactured from various creators and manufacturing companies so I do not have to worry about how to manufacture these items. Although I have spent money over the years to purchase these decks, for the sake of this assignment/business idea I will not have to spend any money to buy these items because I already have them at home. I will be creating the self-development worksheets independently using the app “Canva”. I have chosen to make and sell themed worksheets (eg: 5 worksheets in one package on different topics such as: gratitude, self-love, spirituality etc). I have been using this app to create vibrant visuals for my instagram account prior to this course at a cost of $16.99/month and will continue to use this app for the purpose of creating sellable worksheets and vibrant instagram posts. 

There is a cost associated with using Etsy to sell my worksheets through their platform. Etsy charges a 5% transaction fee on the sale price and a 3-4% + CA$0.25 payment processing fee when an item is sold.

Policies, Processes and Procedures 1) No refunds on oracle/tarot readings or worksheets 2) Oracle/tarot readings must be booked and paid for in advance. Readings will be delivered by email within 1 week of the purchase. 3) Oracle/Tarot card readings are meant to be fun and not meant to be taken as advice in leu of professional help (eg: if a customer has a question about their health, I make it known that I am not a medical doctor and any readings around health or healthcare should not replace the medical advice of professionals) 4) Worksheets must be paid for in advance and are available for download on my Etsy shop immediately after purchase Business Goals Online (Email) Oracle Card Readings New Oracle/Tarot card readers typically charge $10.00 for a one card reading, and $15.00 for a three-card reading. My goal is to sell one three card reading per week for the next ten weeks of this course for a total of approximately $169.50. I also estimate that I will sell a single one card reading once per month for a total of approximately $33.90 over the next ten weeks. Self-Development Worksheets and Journal Prompts My goal is to sell one package per week at $5.00 per package for the next ten weeks of this course for an approximate total of $56.50. 

Licences and Permits There are no licences or permits that I need for this business idea, however I do have to be mindful of certain business regulations when it comes to E-businesses (security of personal information - emails, names, banking information etc). That is why I have chosen to use Etsy and PayPal as my two sources of accepting payment because they have their own policies, procedures and business regulations when it comes to accepting payments in a safe and secure way. 

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Local Competition

For this blog post, I chose three local competitors (one direct and two indirect) 1) Psychic soulmate   Direct competition - located in the GTA - offers exact services as I do (email readings) - offers more services than I do; telephone/skype readings, Reiki and crystal healing sessions, yoga instructor, psychic readings Market positioning         - She is selling her services as a psychic medium/Certified Tarot card reader, reiki and crystal healer  Services and products Oracle/Tarot card readings          - Email       - 1 Question = $25.00       -  Psychic oracle card reading (3 questions) = $65.00       - Psychic oracle card/tarot reading ( 5 questions) = $97.00             - Complete soulmate + love reading (10 questions) = $185.00         -Phone       - 30 min phone session = $90.00             - 45 min phone session = $120.00       - 60 min phone session = 160.00 Social media/online presence - instagram = 14.1K followers - Facebook = 7.6K followers - Youtube = 1.28K subscribers and 293 videos - Blog 

Strengths Over 30+ years in the psychic field Has a variety of certifications such as Reiki Master, Yoga instructor, certified angel card reader Has a large social media following Weaknesses - No Podcast        -  Website is generic and sound quality in some of her videos are poor   Reviews 48 reviews/testimonials on her website = all positive + Various comments on her Youtube channel 2) Happy Soul Toronto  Indirect competition - small business located in the GTA - sells a variety of different products (crystals, jewelry, incense, tarot cards etc) - Offers various services (reiki, tarot/oracle card readings, courses on different topics of spirituality Market positioning           - They are a metaphysical retail store selling their products and services to consumers who are interested in spirituality/new age practices Services and products Offers workshops/courses in-person and online - over 20 courses available Offers oracle card readings from professional oracle card readers Offers a variety of retail products available in store and online   Social media/online presence - instagram = 14.3K followers - Facebook = 23,703 followers - Youtube = Doesn’t seem to have a Youtube channel, but there is one a interview referencing the company.  - Blog - has a variety of blog topics about different crystals, astrology etc  Strengths - Has a large social media following - Has a retail shop where they sell products and offer in-person workshops - Has a good reputation - known in the spiritual community Weaknesses - No Podcast - Some courses and products are expensive       Reviews - Positive reviews 3) The Rock Store  Indirect competition - small business located in the GTA - sells a variety of different products (crystals, jewelry, incense, tarot cards etc) - Offers various services (reiki, tarot/oracle card readings, courses on different topics of spirituality Market positioning          - They are a metaphysical retail store selling their products and services to consumers  who are interested in spirituality/new age practices Services and products - Offers workshops/courses in-person and online - Sells a variety of metaphysical products/items - Offers oracle card readings and other healing services from certified professionals   Social media/online presence - instagram = 8,548 followers - Facebook = 3,974 followers - Youtube = Doesn’t seem to have a Youtube channel - Blog - has a variety of blog topics about different crystals, astrology etc  Strengths

- Has a beautiful retail shop where they sell products and offer in-person workshops - Nice website - appealing, organized, catches your eye Weaknesses - No Podcast - Not as many followers on social media as the other two competitors

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Create Your Own Message Mapping Assignment  I chose to use The Coca-Cola Company as the company for this assignment.  While researching this company, I learned that they have a charity called the Coca-Cola Foundation that supports the community in three ways: women empowerment, community engagement and environmental initiatives. Jessica 

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Strengths and Weaknesses

Hello and thank you for reading my blog post! This entry is Week 1′s blog post submission for the entrepreneurship course I am taking this semester. I will be touching upon my strengths and weaknesses in relation to the employability vs entrepreneurial skills mentioned in the course content.  Strengths Teamwork/People management/Oral and written communication

I have always considered myself a people-person, and maintaining a positive professional rapport with my team has always been very important to me. I currently supervise a team of about twenty staff who support individuals with intellectual disabilities to live independently and engage in their community. I need to be constantly communicating with others in a timely manner to ensure that the programs I supervise run smoothly (eg: shift cancellations, healthcare appointments, accidents or incidents etc). I have always been told that I am good at communicating both verbally and written format. I have also been told that I have high emotional intelligence that has aided me in my ability to effectively communicate over the years as a support worker and now supervisor. I know that this will be a strength when I start my own business one day.

Weaknesses

Mathematics and financial planning I have never been good with numbers- That’s why I pursued a career in social services to try and avoid having a job that involves math! Little did I realize at the time that I would move up the corporate ladder  fairly quickly and be responsible for supervising several programs with large ministry funded budgets. With the guidance from my program manager and the helpful team in the finance department, I learned how to effectively create budgets, complete payroll duties, cheque requisitions, purchase orders and so much more.  Although I have learned a lot in this short time, I still feel that this is an area that I would like to continue to grow and develop my skills. I know that when I start my own business, I will need to hire an accountant or someone with a financial background to support me with this area of the business. Thank you for reading! Jessica