anelgisselle

[anelgisselle]

Progress on Start-up Venture-Week 13

What is working?

I am still receiving positive feedback and more and more people are getting to know Busikeeper. I also recently decided to expand the website busikeeper.com so that customers can book consultations and buy or request resources directly from there. These adjustments should launch soon.

What is not working?

My business plan changed from what I expected from the beginning. Even though this has not affected the profitabilty of Busikeeper, it proves that there were things missing in the initial plan.

How do you feel about the progress of this project?

Even though the initial plan had to be adjusted, I reflected on what we had learned throughout the course. I've been taking extra time to analyze what went well and what could be improved on in future projects. Otherwise, I do feel like this project is expanding in a good way, especially with the addition of website consultations.

What are you learning about running a business?

I am learning about the importance of having a detailed business plan that takes into account contingencies and allows for changes when needed.

What are you learning about yourself?

I am learning that it is important to be adaptable and willing to adjust plans as circumstances change.

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Progress on Start-up Venture-Week 12

What is working?

I'm receiving positive responses from the market and positive feedback about my resources. I'm building a strong customer base and I'm starting to see a steady increase in sales. I'm now spending more time on increasing my marketing efforts to attract more potential customers.

What is not working?

I'm re-evaluating my pricing strategy as my prices are competitive but not leaving as much revenue as anticipated in my cash flow. I'm concerned that the prices are too low and that I need to adjust them to ensure profitability.

How do you feel about the progress of this project?

I think it's progressing well so far. Although it is not easy to focus on two businesses at once, I will continue to dedicate part of my time to Busikeeper even after the course is completed. This business has the potential to become a great passive income stream.

What are you learning about running a business?

As mentioned above, I am learning that it can be challenging to focus on more than one business at once. However, it can also be rewarding. This has given me the opportunity to experience different perspectives and gain insight into different industries.

What are you learning about yourself?

I am learning that it is important to prioritize responsibilities and set deadlines to manage multiple businesses successfully. I have also become more efficient in my time management skills, which has allowed me to concentrate more on the most important things.

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Progress on Start-up Venture-Week 11

What is working?

Word of mouth seems to be working so far. It has been helping create brand awareness. Word of mouth marketing has also shown to be a powerful tool and relatively inexpensive. This has helped Busikeeper increase trust and credibility.

What is not working?

Posting new listings on Etsy is harder than I expected. I guess they created new restrictions for digital products making it harder to get listings approved or public. I've been following all the steps to make everything public so I can start taking card payments and not just e-transfers.

How do you feel about the progress of the project?

I feel positive that Busikeeper could grow into something big even after the course is over.

What are you learning about running a business?

I am learning that running a business requires lots of dedication. I believe that staying organized, setting clear goals, and focusing on customer service are the keys to success.

What are you learning about yourself?

It is important to be able to shift gears quickly. I am learning the importance of being flexible and willing to adjust my plans as circumstances change. I am also learning to take ownership of my mistakes and learn from them.

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Customer Showcase

Hi everyone,

Please find below the link to my customer showcase video for BUSIKEEPER.

[anelgisselle]

Progress on Start-up Venture-Week 9

What is working?

With the help of my personal social media accounts, I have been able to get people directly to purchase my templates.

What is not working?

As Facebook and Instagram ads are more expensive than I expected, I'm reevaluating my advertising budget.

How do you feel about the progress of the project?

Things are slowly coming together for the project. I have learned that consumers rarely buy something they've only seen or heard once, so using single view ads might result in a loss. It would be better if I ran repeatable ads instead. The same niche groups are targeted repeatedly.

What are you learning about running a business?

I am learning that perseverance is the key. Similarly, I believe that word of mouth has a great deal of power. In addition, I am aware of the importance of creating a positive brand image.

What are you learning about yourself?

I need to be able to take risks and think outside the box. I need to be open to new strategies and be prepared to make changes right away when needed.

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Progress on Start-up Venture-Week 8

What is working?

My word-of-mouth marketing strategy is working well now. I've already made a couple of sales outside of Etsy's e-commerce platform. This sales data is being tracked using my very own spreadsheet template. I'm confident that this marketing strategy will continue to work in the future. I'm planning to refine my spreadsheet template to collect more data and track my progress more accurately. I'm also planning to expand my reach by starting social media marketing campaigns.

What is not working?

There are still some adjustments I need to make to my marketing plan. Additionally, I didn't realize listing a digital product on Etsy would be more challenging than I expected. Due to this, I have been promoting my digital resources to friends who run businesses and through my Instagram account. This is until everything runs smoothly on Etsy. I am using Interac E-Transfer for now as a method of payment.

How do you feel the project is coming?

The project is still in the early stages. It's taking a little longer than expected, but I still believe I'll reach my revenue goals. I may need to make adjustments to my timeline and budget, but I'm still confident that I have a good chance of success.

What are you learning about running a business?

To avoid stress and mistakes, I am learning the importance of time management and organization. I am also learning about the importance of setting realistic goals and having clarity on my objectives. To better promote my digital products, I have also focused on improving my communication skills and problem-solving abilities.

What are you learning about yourself?

During stressful situations, I've learned how important it is to remain calm. I am also a strong believer that good things take time. I'm learning to trust my instincts and to be more patient. I'm also learning to be more mindful of my choices.

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Progress on Start-up Venture

What is working?

The process of creating blog posts, tutorials, and videos that demonstrate the functionality of Busikeeper’s digital planners and templates. These posts will demonstrate how they can help customers organize and achieve their goals. Also, my plan to provide excellent customer service should help boost my business’ customer experience.

What is not working?

Marketing will be challenging still. Unlike physical products, which can be touched and felt, digital products often require additional marketing efforts to educate customers about their value and benefits. This is why I am creating videos and manuals on how to use Busikeeper’s digital resources.

How do you feel the project is coming?

This project is coming together a bit slower than I had anticipated. However, I wanted to make sure everything was functional before submitting it to Etsy for review. I am also exploring ways to expand my product offerings. While my focus is currently on digital planners and templates, I am considering diversifying my product range to include other digital products or complementary services. This can help provide additional revenue streams.

What are you learning about running a business?

I am learning about the importance of setting clear goals and tracking progress. Setting realistic and measurable goals enables me to measure the success of my initiatives and make informed decisions. I have been able to stay focused, motivated, and positive because of this.

What are you learning about yourself?

This experience reinforced my belief in the importance of continuous learning. As an entrepreneur, it is absolutely necessary to stay updated with industry trends, marketing practices, and advances in technology. I have been continuously educating myself in these areas to ensure the success of my current jewelry business, and my new start-up passive income business Busikeeper.

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Sources of Financing for Small Businesses

Taking into account financing options for my startup business, I didn't realize that not all financial sources were available to me. Most financial sources are available to businesses that have been selling for some time or make a certain amount of revenue every year. For a digital small business like Busikeeper, I believe there are a couple of sources that may be viable to consider.

Bank loans for small businesses are at the top of my list. Banks are popular sources of business financing. Loans of this type typically require repayment with interest. Bank loans have the advantage of being easier to obtain than investor loans because it is easier to find a bank willing to lend. However, some banks require your business to be operational for at least 24 months and prove they have generated good revenue. The RBC bank offers loans for start-up businesses that might be worth looking into though. https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/business/loans/canada-small-business-financing.html

As a second financing option for my business, I would consider grants. Businesses benefit from grants since they do not require repayment and provide funding without restrictions. Additionally, grants often offer additional benefits such as mentoring and networking. There are tons of grants available in Ontario. However, to apply for a grant I need to have a solid business plan and a strategy on how to explain why Busikeeper deserves the grant.

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Business Operation Plan

Busikeeper's operations plan will entail the following:

Identifying the target market and understanding its needs. This includes conducting research to see what templates are trending in the entrepreneurial community. I will also need to research more into Etsy's advertising options to grow my brand. I would likewise consider collaborating with experts in the future. This will allow Busikeeper to offer specialized templates and planners, which will add credibility to my store. It would be interesting to consider updates and future expansion options. In order to make improvements in the future, I would gather feedback from customers. I also have plans to turn Busikeeper into some sort of software where all planners can be accessed everywhere. This would be a subscription-based program. Once I have a solid market, customer base, and business structure, I will begin planning for these. Copyright protection will also be imperative to protect Busikeeper's intellectual property. As soon as I obtain copyright protection certificates for my digital products, I will include copyright notices indicating that they are protected.

Additionally, I will need a domain, premium subscriptions to editing platforms like Adobe Photoshop and Canva, an Etsy store, and a marketing plan to launch this business. Last but not least, I would also consider adding watermarks to all of Busikeeper's digital resources to discourage unauthorized usage and identify people trying to resell them.

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Creative Advertising Exercise

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Customer Persona

Miranda Thompson

About her

Miranda is the owner of a jewelry business called Yesterdam based in Vancouver, BC. She is in her late 20s and has a background in jewelry design and business administration. She is the CEO of her sole-property business which means she is in charge of keeping track of finances, inventory, packaging and marketing.

Benefits she would receive from Busikeeper.

• Miranda would be able to access these templates anywhere, even without an internet connection.

• She will be able to customize the aesthetics of Busikeeper's digital resources to fit her brand.

• She will ultimately stay more organized and keep track of things professionally.

• Some of these templates can be accessed through Google Docs and Google Sheets, which means she can add access to her staff if she decides to expand her team, so they can ultimately make edits and keep track of things as well.

Use case

Miranda will use Busikeeper's resources to stay organized and have better business management. After buying and downloading a digital resource from Busikeeper, Miranda will be able to upload the template to Google Docs, Google Sheets or Canva. She may also download Goodnotes to write on PDFs. Regardless of which platform is used to open these templates, Miranda will be able to control access and get notifications whenever edits are made. These digital resources can also be edited and viewed on a phone, tablet, or laptop computer.

Previous solutions

Miranda used to keep track of inventory in a notebook and had no other methods of organizing her finances other than following what she revenue reports on Etsy at the end of the month. Although this was useful for some time, with an expanding business, Miranda had issues creating an end of month report that was organized enough to keep track of all expenses. On another hand, as all of this information was in a physical notebook, it was very difficult to access this information when Miranda didn't always have this notebook with her. There was also a risk of discarding important information and there was more room for mistakes.

Buying trigger

Miranda has been jugling multiple tasks, such as inventory management, client communication, and financial tracking. With limited time and resources, she often finds it challenging to stay organized and maintain efficiency in her business processes. She recognized the need for a solution that can simplify these tasks and provide her with the tools necessary to streamline her operations. This encouraged her to look for digital resources for her business online.

Buying process

Most small businesses buy from Etsy, Amazon or search up what they want on Google. With sponsored ads, Miranda was able to find Busikeeper's products on the first page on Etsy after searching for "Small business planners". She then saw the reviews for Busikeeper, added the resources of her choice to the cart, created an account, and paid using her credit card. Upon finishing the checkout process, the digital resources from Busikeeper were available for immediate download. The resources also came with a PDF showing instructions on how to upload these resources to editing platforms. She is now able to access these anywhere. She then left a review because of how easy it was to manipulate these templates. 

Choice factors

Some of the things Miranda kept in mind when choosing a digital template store:

• Background of the designer of the templates.

• How soon the templates would be delivered, which was immediately in Busikeeper's case.

• Variety, affordability and reviews.

• User-friendly and made for people with little to no experience in Excel.

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Local Competition 

These are three top competitors in the digital resources market:

Manjasheets

Strengths:

 Modern and user-friendly website that likely attracts more customers. 

Products are organized by category. This creates a seamless browsing experience.

Instructions are provided on how to use and download their digital products. This facilitates easy navigation of the purchase process, increasing customer satisfaction.

They keep customers informed and engaged with a newsletter.

Weaknesses:

Pricey compared to other businesses in the same industry

No social media presence, only posted once this year. A wider audience is not being reached.

Digital Planner Boutique

Strengths: 

Compatible with multiple iPad and Android tablet apps. This makes it easier to take notes for those who do not wish to print physical copies of the planner or spreadsheet.

Their good reputation can be seen from the many great reviews. Positive reviews also mean that the planners are of good quality. The prices are mid-range.

Active blog available on the website with valuable tips and guidance.

Weaknesses:

The About page on the website is missing and there is not enough information about the mission and values of the company. A good about page can improve customer relationships.

Although they have a website and a newsletter, their social media isn't really active, so there isn't much brand awareness.

Simply Organized Pro

Strengths:

Strong presence on etsy. This store’s products are mostly bestsellers and have significant popularity on Etsy.

Customers tend to give this business 5 stars, which indicates a good reputation.

Provides very affordable pricing and deals on multiple items, further enticing customers to purchase more from the store.

Weaknesses:

Limited brand information. Customers may find it difficult to connect with this business on a deeper level.

Some of the templates appear to be a bit basic and easy to find online in other places for free.

Their e-commerce platform, Etsy, is somewhat restrictive. Also, there are a lot of competitors on Etsy, which can make it difficult for them to differentiate themselves from others.

[anelgisselle]

This is my message map based on one of my favourite companies featured on Dragon's Den. This episode is part of season 15. I used the episode and their website Bushbalm.ca to make this message map. Thanks for reading!

[anelgisselle]

Strengths and Weaknesses

One of the biggest strengths that I possess is that I am an extremely hardworking individual. My goal is to always put the effort needed to go the extra mile and reach my future goals. I constantly see myself finding ways to efficiently achieve my goals because of this strong ethic I have developed. Being extremely organized and capable of working under pressure are two other strengths I possess. In the past, I worked in both small and emergency clinics in the veterinary field. At the emergency clinic, I often saw myself doing well even during the busiest days. However, I always remained focused and composed when dealing with difficult situations. Even during stressful times, I found myself able take quick decisions and provide assistance to anyone who needed it.

On the other hand, a weakness I've been working on is my impatience. I can be a bit impatient whenever plans are not progressing as quickly as I expected or when I am not getting the results I want within a short period of time. I can also find myself having trouble picking between options when I am provided with multiple choices. I am very aware of this weakness and I've been working on it by reminding myself to trust the process and my instincts. Furthermore, I'm always researching as much information as possible before making a final decision on a choice.