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MenuI Need a way to get My service out in the general Public
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First, this is such a cool thing you're doing for the sake of serving humanity and the greater good. Don't give up on the media outlets, though, you may be able to come up with a newsworthy angle as your own "Brand Story" develops. Stories are everywhere.
I'm assuming you have social media accounts? There are various ways you can capitalize on Facebook, twitter and Pinterest just to name a few off the top of my head. What you do just needs crafted into a compelling story that people can connect with.
Things you've mentioned like:Saving a Company 40K in one year, not charging $$, and saving the American Business Money to Grow are all marketable stories.
Can I ask, What have you done so far? Anything at all?
Have you attempted to use Social Media?
One way or another, you're going to spend money and/or time putting yourself where you can be found. Don't be afraid to spend money on publicity. Sometimes that's more efficient than putting in hours or "free" leg work. After all, your time is worth money.
Basically, you want to insert yourself into those moments and places where a qualified company is looking for a service like yours -- or, at least, would be open to hiring you if they discovered you exist.
You seem to be thinking mostly about scattering news stories about your company in broad outlets like TV news. However, in my opinion, you should look at more focused, niche advertising. Appearing on the nightly news once may feel good. Getting lots of likes on Facebook may make you feel like you're getting a lot of admiration and buzz. But how many of those people can actually hire you?
I'd look at 2 options: (1) SEM such as Google AdWords, and (2) Domain-based or content marketing. I have some sense of #1, but I'm a specialist in #2.
You need to define your story. Were do the items go? If it is computers you have a HIPPA issue to worry about. If you are repurposing the items then selling them, then what is the value to the "giving" company. Think Goodwill - if your org is a non profit the giving companies can write off the donation.
If you are profiting I would give some of the items to charity and small business owners. And make it a community initative, then you will get publicity.
You may think “advertising” is the key but know that advertising is just one form of marketing. It is a tool for marketing. Without understand your brand strategy, there is not a right way to determine if advertising is the one of the best tools to get the word out. And before marketing, you have thinking about branding. Creating the right brand will determine who you should market.
Related Questions
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I have this social media idea,but no coding skills. How do I get someone to do the coding (cant afford to pay them) and not give away half of my idea?
Dilip was very kind in his response. My answer might be a bit on the "tough love" side. But that's for you to decide. My intention, just for the record, is to help you (and those like you) on your path to success. And that starts with having a viable philosophy about entrepreneurial-ism and business. And I'm going to answer this because I get asked some form / version of this question very frequently from newcomers to entrepreneurial-ism. The scenario goes something like this: "I have a great idea. It's amazing, I love it, and I just KNOW it's gonna make me a ton of money. But I have no money right now so I can't afford to (fill in the blank with things like "to build it / create it / market it / etc" or "to hire the required staff needed to work in my business to sell it / develop it / etc"). And I don't want to tell anyone about my great idea because I'm worried someone will steal it and make MY million / billion dollars. But I can't afford to legally protect it either... So how do I launch without the skills to personally create the product AND no money to hire anyone else to do that either??" The answer is ... You don't. Look - let's be honest. All you have is an idea. Big deal. Really. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I'm not saying that if properly executed it couldn't make you a million / billion dollars... But an idea is NOT a business. Nor is it an asset. Until you do some (very important) initial work - like creating a business model, doing customer development, creating a MVP, etc - all you really have is a dream. Right now your choices are: 1. Find someone with the skills or the money to develop your idea and sell them on WHY they should invest in you. And yes, this will mean giving up either a portion of the "ownership" or of future income or equity. And the more risk they have to take - the more equity they will want (and quite frankly be entitled to). 2. Learn how to code and build it yourself. MANY entrepreneurs without financial resources are still resourceful. They develop the skills needed to create what they don't have the money to pay someone else to do. 3. Get some cash so you can pay someone to do the coding. You'll probably have to have some knowledge of coding to direct the architecture of your idea. So you will likely still have to become knowledgeable even if its not you personally doing the coding. (This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of options... And I'm sure some of the other experts here on Clarity have others to add - and I hope they do) To wrap up - Here's my final tip to you that I hope you "get"... It's FAR more valuable to have an idea that a very specific hungry crowd is clamoring for right now - One that THEY would love and pay you for right now - Maybe even one they'd pre-order because they just have to have it - Versus YOU being in love with your own idea. [Notice I didn't say "an idea that some as-of-yet-undetermined market would probably love"] I wish you the best of luck moving forward.DB
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What companies have successfully implemented both B2B and B2C products or services? Which should I start with for the non-profit sector?
I would suggest the first question to ask is "what problem do I solve?" And of those people I solve problems for "who do I create the most value for?" In the non-profit world you need to add "How does my business help the non-profit run better and/or help the group the non-profit focuses on?" For example, if you've created a platform that drives donations, your company "has created a platform that helps you reach fundraising goals faster." What you don't want to do is market and sell to B2B and B2C audiences simultaneously. They have different ways of buying - a B2B audience needs to have their benefits quantified (using your thing makes me x amount more) - and it's extremely hard for a startup to be able to do both well. Better to start with one, execute really well and move into the other. Feel free to give me a call and we can dig into who your most valuable audience is.AV
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If I have a business idea for a large company, how can I give it to them and mutually profit, without them just taking the idea and squashing me?
Probably not the answer you're looking for, but companies have so many unimplemented ideas that the likelihood of partnering to implement someone else's idea is really low. And besides which, the idea is not something that has much value in and of itself. If you're passionate in the idea, build it yourself. That's the only way you can have leverage.TW
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How can I make a million dollars?
First, I agree with Chad in that the pure pursuit of money is unlikely to render anything significant. By using a monetary value as a primary goal, you're only diluting the real drivers of success: passion, crafting great customer experiences, building an incredible team and culture etc. That said, making $1m isn't that hard. :) I love this thinking by Amy Hoy and that's how I would go about making $1m: http://unicornfree.com/30x500. Using that logic, this is what I'd do: * To earn $1m in a year, I need to earn +- $80k a month. * To earn $80k a month, I need 1600 customers paying me $50 per month. * So what can I build that could attract 1600 people to pay me $50? * Or, what could I build that could attract 400 people to pay me $200 per month? This logic works on two drivers: * Cumulative revenue and growth. So SaaS works best in this regard, as you only need to focus on having new signups that are greater than your churn. * Building something that people are willing to (really) pay for and going for quality over quantity. If you are building something that sells for $5 pm, you'll need to sell at much higher volumes (which are tricky). In terms of doing that, these are the areas of my business that I would prioritize: 1. Build an awesome team that do things they're passionate about. 2. Prioritize customer experiences above anything else. Do everything in your power (regardless of whether it can't scale) to add value and help your customers. 3. Build a brand and reputation that has long-lasting value.AP
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What environmental and personal characteristics allowed Larry Page/Sergey Brin to be so successful?
They met a need for lots of people. Their values lead to long term success, but their short term growth was due to meeting a need in the marketplace and doing really well.JM
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