dchallender
Established Member
I would agree with Wizer here on this subject as I also work as a business / operational strategy consultant in one of the Big 4 consultancies and people tend to work flexibly nowadays and it is increasingly rare for people to have a desk and if they do there are clear desk policies that tend to negate the need for business card holders - they are a dying medium I'm afraid, most people keep them in a dedicated small holder / wallet or in their laptop bag. My office for instance is in a laptop bag on my back, I don't have a fixed office and carry everything I need with me, which tends to be electronic to save me carrying things around.
From a professional point of view there a few key things you need to do before anyone is going to take you seriously.
1) A detailed market analysis which shows that you understand where your market is, how it is segmented, who your competitors are and the expected levels of demand for your product. I think given some of the comments on here you may struggle, but again you need to do this so that you can show you understand where and how to pitch your product.
2) The next thing is a detailed business case, anyone wanting to invest will want to see this and at the very minimum you need to show,
- your market analysis
- the expected demand for your product and evidential data
- how you will service this market (i.e. make the products and deliver them)
- the expected financial return, i.e. profit and loss statement, cash flow projections and profit calcs, NPV, IRR, EBIT, etc.
- The financial statement should also include any levels of investment required to turn your concept into a viable product.
- Marketing strategy - your go to market strategy
- Timescales and implementation plan
You can pull templates off the internet on how to do this for instance the Business link website in the UK explains how to do this.
Without people being able to see that there is a market and a demand for your product, along with the ability to see the financial justification you are going to struggle.
To make matters worse for you there have been changes recently to the laws relating to money laundering as there have been an increasing number of attempts in the last 18 months to launder money from eastern europe through various 'small business opportunity' schemes / scams. Therefore any business transactions relating to former soviet block countries are carefully monitored through HMRC (revenue and customs), especially when there is cash involved.
I think you have a challenge ahead of you in terms of turning your idea into a firm business proposition - but you need to do your homework if you want to be taken seriously and for someone to invest.
I hope that helps
rgds
Darren
From a professional point of view there a few key things you need to do before anyone is going to take you seriously.
1) A detailed market analysis which shows that you understand where your market is, how it is segmented, who your competitors are and the expected levels of demand for your product. I think given some of the comments on here you may struggle, but again you need to do this so that you can show you understand where and how to pitch your product.
2) The next thing is a detailed business case, anyone wanting to invest will want to see this and at the very minimum you need to show,
- your market analysis
- the expected demand for your product and evidential data
- how you will service this market (i.e. make the products and deliver them)
- the expected financial return, i.e. profit and loss statement, cash flow projections and profit calcs, NPV, IRR, EBIT, etc.
- The financial statement should also include any levels of investment required to turn your concept into a viable product.
- Marketing strategy - your go to market strategy
- Timescales and implementation plan
You can pull templates off the internet on how to do this for instance the Business link website in the UK explains how to do this.
Without people being able to see that there is a market and a demand for your product, along with the ability to see the financial justification you are going to struggle.
To make matters worse for you there have been changes recently to the laws relating to money laundering as there have been an increasing number of attempts in the last 18 months to launder money from eastern europe through various 'small business opportunity' schemes / scams. Therefore any business transactions relating to former soviet block countries are carefully monitored through HMRC (revenue and customs), especially when there is cash involved.
I think you have a challenge ahead of you in terms of turning your idea into a firm business proposition - but you need to do your homework if you want to be taken seriously and for someone to invest.
I hope that helps
rgds
Darren
