Sophie Hainsworth, Co-founder of LoyalFree, features in our latest success story to discuss everything from the inspiration for their app business to the process of developing it.
customer base
For many industries, outsourcing can mean big gains in terms of revenue and can help ease the burden of certain processes along the supply chain. In some cases, outsourcing can save your business big bucks, especially when it comes to labour costs. For example, in information technology, many companies have turned to India and the Middle East regions with highly skilled workforces, relatively weak job markets, and lower costs of living to meet the demand for apt workers who don’t cost as much as workers in the UK or other areas. And we probably don’t have to explain why many companies often look to China and other economies with more affordable labour standards for manufacturing.
If you are the owner of a business, you, of course, want it to have a welcoming reputation when it comes to customers. A business can offer the most fanciful product on the market, but unless it is marketed correctly, no one is going to buy it.
In the past five years, crowdfunding has skyrocketed in popularity as a way to bring innovations to life and has become a great contender to more traditional methods of funding. It has given entrepreneurs access to capital through the people who are most excited about their idea, and want to help it become a reality. This real-time interaction with ‘the crowd’ provides invaluable insights into the market for a given product, and allows entrepreneurs to tweak their products to better fit their customers’ needs. There’s no denying that there are are some major crowdfunding mistakes which can be made, however they can be easily avoided.
It may seem a bit obvious, but targeted marketing is vital to ensuring that every pound you reserve for marketing is well-spent. Being able to identify exactly who is likely to buy your product, will help you to attract them. But it can be difficult for small businesses to effectively determine their target market.
What started as a way for startups and entrepreneurs to gain access to capital has transformed into a industry worth over $34 billion (£23.9 billion). Most people think of crowdfunding as simply a way of raising funds for projects, but it’s actually much, much more. It’s also a great promotional tool and an effective way to build a community of supporters, so to use crowdfunding as a marketing platform only makes seems natural.
If you buy an existing small business, it may be easier than starting from scratch and it may be ideal if you’re new to entrepreneurship. However, as with any business, running it is never easy. Being a small business owner comes with its own hurdles, whether you are starting from scratch or buying an already existing enterprise. To make sure that you don’t get yourself into unexpected problems, make sure you consider all options and research fully to make an educated decision.
