Startups: What You Need to Start a Business
Starting and Growing a New Business
McKerns Development and PR specializes in providing strong direction in starting and growing a new business. McKerns Development and PR is a strategic consultant to new business owners, providing guidance on each necessary step, creating and delivering expert advice and services for each aspect of the new business development process, getting the business successfully up and running, providing necessary guidance and providing a strategic PR and marketing platform supporting the business once it is established.
Many are reinventing themselves in this new economy.
When do people start a new business? When opportunity or a specialized niche presents itself, upon obtaining new skills, education or advanced degrees, when earning professional licensure, when buying or acquiring a business through merger, when partnerships, teaming relationships or affiliations occur, when opening new offices and services in person or over the internet, when seeking a new direction after a layoff or other financial need, when entering or emerging back into the workforce, and for many other reasons, including Plan B or Phase II careers.
In many cases, the creator of a new business will have a strong business idea, management ability, sound financial projections and even the strategy to turn the business model into a success. What is missing is the time and expertise to actualize the steps necessary to bring this new business to life, the one entity for putting creative and practical services under one umbrella, and the knowledge and connections necessary for bringing dynamic methods, services and products to market, and the skills for promoting and bringing the services to potential clients, and turning the business into an adored and followed brand.
What is Needed for a New Business?
When starting a new business there are tangible needs – office space, equipment and furnishings; or virtual office and storefront presence on the internet, and there are intangible needs – business identity, services and a delivery model.
A new business needs everything including: a mission statement, tagline, brand definition and visual identity, a logo, business cards, basic and comprehensive brochures, stationery, contracts, bid and bidding information package, a website, an HR manual, training programs, services – what your new company offers, Bios of top management and talent, affiliations, links, market definition, project sheets, catalog sheets, testimonials, presentations, presentation books/manuals/videos, articles and press and feature articles to promote your business online and off.
McKerns Development and PR Services for New Business Owners
- Strategic consultation and planning – McKerns Development and PR provides consultative planning, guidance and execution of strategy for business startup or expansion.
- Logo/Logo Brief: McKerns Development and PR develops the logo concept(s) and handles the bidding and oversees the provision of creative services.
- Brochures and Portfolio – Print and Digital: McKerns Development and PR provides brochure concepts, desired layout, brochure content, portfolio, writes the creative brief and oversees the team, the bids and the process.
- Website Brief: We develop the concept, colors, tone, feel, and mood of the website, define the market, find illustrative links and handle the bidding and oversight of creative services.
- Web Copy: We determine content, write the content and direct creative services through to completion of site.
- Web Content: We develop and write website copy. Including (but not limited to):
- About Us
- Company Overview
- Company History
- Services – what your new company offers
- Company Bios – Bios of top management and talent
- Mission Statement
- Affiliations
- Links
- Market
- Project Sheets
- Product Sheets
- Case Studies
- Catalog Sheets
- Testimonials
- News
- Blog
- Blog Roll
- Social Media Links
- Social Media Profiles and Pages
- FAQ’s
- Contacts
- Directions
- Shopping Cart
Strategic Business Development Services:
- Research and Trademark
- Product and Company Naming
- Brand definition and visual identity
- Mission statement
- Tagline
- Business cards (concept, creative direction, bids)
- Basic and comprehensive brochures (concept, content, creative direction, bids)
- Stationery (concept, creative direction, bids)
- Contracts (and coordination with legal)
- Bid and bidding or pricing information package
- HR manual
- Training programs/training manuals
- Presentations
- Presentation books/manuals/videos
- Articles and press to promote your business
- Website updates and posts
- Blog content
- Articles and features
- Newsletters
- Contributions to forums and other posts
- Links
- Directories – listings
- Speeches
- Awards and other Honors
Effective Methods for Growing a Business – Strategic PR
The single most effective thing you can do to market your company effectively is to be visible. And in this digital age, that means being visible on the internet – to journalists, to the public, to your niche market and potential investors. In these days of electronic media, one of the key ways journalists, potential clients and investors find you is on the internet.
Effective methods for growing your business in this down economy include a blend of highly effective no cost, low cost and medium cost marketing and PR methods. No cost methods, including a strategic PR program in print, digital and online can be the mainstay of a marketing program. Further methods for growing a business are through targeted public speaking, writing business or consumer articles, blogging, participating in charitable and other events and social media and social media marketing.
McKerns Development and PR specializes in strategic PR.
What is strategic PR? Strategic public relations is a well thought out promotion, media and marketing and PR outreach program based upon a thorough understanding of the nature of the business, the potential market for the goods or services, and the compelling reasons for the need for products or services.
PR is used strategically to portray how the company stands out from its competitors. The strategy in using a public relations platform is to explain and support your mission statement and your brand platform. You decide – who are we? What are we trying to achieve? What are the main benefits and reasons for our existence? Who cares about this? Why? Once these questions are answered, everything the company does or says is geared to portraying this in the target marketplace, visually, verbally, through management and staff, offerings and products. And the promise made to the customer must be a promise kept – always, each and every time. (Deliver as promised. Make it good, make it right.)
Strategic PR is defined as a no-cost method of promotion because the goal of public relations is to get and contribute relevant editorial copy without having to purchase advertising or other media space. This is called third party testimonial – and it is valuable because it is not just what you say about yourself, it is what others (unbiased) say about you. Does this media exposure have to be in print? No, as media transforms into digital, there is a thirst for quality content and such content is appreciated and often reproduced entirely as written.
Public Relations has the strong benefit of credibility often seen as lacking in paid-for advertising. However, if advertising is in the budget, advertising and PR can work hand in glove to communicate an integrated and deep reaching message.
The internet and the sharing of material and knowledge is a powerful draw. Through their internet search – your potential clients find you – based upon what you write about yourself and what others write about you. Press, newsletters, blogs, articles and feature stories are rich in natural keywords and your content will be served up to your potential clients when your content is a close match to their search.
McKerns Development and PR will develop your business through the startup phase and grow it by getting your company’s content out there. We will publish news releases and create feature stories that explain how customers solve problems and grow their business by using your products/services. We become your expert content writer and publisher and we will use the exact keywords in our naturally written copy that will bring you traffic and interested potential clients.
McKerns Development and PR can assist you in establishing and nourishing customer relationships and networking in your chosen circles.
Developing a Consultant Practice
Think you have the right stuff to make a great consultant? Possibly, you do. McKerns Development and PR will assist you in developing a consultant business.
We’ll establish:
- Market: List and investigate everything you could consult on.
- Business Model: Fee structure, hourly or retainer (by month, by project time).
- Mode and Method of Contact: Content Development (what you do) (how you do it) (why you) Delivery: Website, blog or physical location?
- Database: Existing markets, new markets, contacts
McKerns Development and PR . 264 Cypress Trace, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411.
561-305-4264. lesliemckerns@mckernsdevelopmentandpr.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mckernsdevelopmentandpr
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
