The basis of a start up/ business does not only comprise of cash, passion or time etc. Personally, I think the crust of the
entire cake is the Unique Selling Proposition. As the saying goes, "good product sells itself". I agree but also disagree to a certain extent.
"I agree" example:
Yummy
plain regular chicken rice selling at some high traffic neighborhood
food court.
Hungry people need to eat and hmmm we all eat chicken rice. Chances are
residents from the surrounding neighborhood may just return to the same
stall over time if it's good. Assuming uncle does minimum/no publicity,
the potential of business growth is still fairly good. It may however
take a longer period of time with word of mouth and perhaps some luck.
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| Photo credits to JulianaLoh |
Well, we are not here to discuss about how some plain, conventional
stuff may sell itself. That to me is passé. I truly believe in the
beauty of hidden gems and creative marketing.
There was once a friend's friend was keen on applying for business
funding and she emailed me with some queries. One of the question was
"What is novelty?"
To this I responded:
Your unique selling proposition is very important. It makes/breaks.
for e.g. is Janicia Label is the first ever womenswear made from 100% recycled underwear
That is novelty. Then again, it is not about extreme novelties and it
can just be a tweak to an existing product. All about differentiation, innovation and target market.
My point is we have to find that
differentiating element and believe in our own USP
prior to selling the idea or product. A convincing starting point. It
may take days, months or even years but without that what is business in
this saturated-globalized world? There is no certainty of perfect USP that will work and we will eventually analyze, learn and tweak as we progress along.
So, are you scouting around for some ideas? Here are some sites to perhaps ignite a little spark for that successful seed
Entrepreneur.com 100 Brilliants Ideas (check out the doggy sunglasses)
Springwise Top 20 Business Ideas for 2011 (*personal favorite site)
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