Small Business: Money & Management
How to Fix Your Business on the Fly
Lan Nguyen
03/20/08 - 10:38 AM EDT
David Wadler, David Wegman and Bruce Wang thought they had a fantastic business idea: create a company that offers customers a means to publish, manage and distribute video online.
A year later, in 2005, they launched Vlogville, a user-generated video portal, but quickly discovered they were ahead of the curve and couldn't get funding. They tweaked the idea in 2006 to help corporate clients figure out how to post video. This time, they were on point and
Twistage racked up 25 customers, including Perezhilton.com, by the end of 2007.
Twistage's tale of trial and error is, unfortunately, not uncommon.
Whether you're starting a new business or fixing your current one, here are some things to keep in mind:
Know Yourself
Take a good look at who your current clients are and what are they buying from you. More importantly, what need are you filling? If you're not sure, poll your customers and also ask them if they would continue to buy from you if you changed the business from X to Y, recommends Bill Morland, management counselor of Orange County SCORE. "Selling more or something else to existing customers is by far the easiest way to increase revenue."
Think About Your Comfort Level
Being ahead of the curve hurt rather than helped the founders of Twistage. Unfortunately, after they built their video portal site, YouTube launched and came to dominate the market. So they turn their eyes back to business clients. "The decision to switch from a b2c to a b2b play was like coming home for us," says Wadler. "In the tech arena, it was an area where we felt much more comfortable."
Meanwhile, Jacqueline Tarrant started the
Style Infinity Hair Trauma in Chicago after 20 years as a salon owner and a product developer and director of education at L'Oreal USA. She tweaked the salon model a bit and with this new center is offering one-on-one consultations with clients who face hair loss.
Let Go
Is the business plan not working? Drop it, advises Barry Moltz, an entrepreneur expert and author of
Bounce! Failure, Resiliency, and the Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success (Wiley).
"When we fail, we should feel sorry for 24 hours," says Moltz, who also blogs about small business at barrymoltz.com. "Then it gets boring to people around us. We have to let it go. We won't be able to move on and see another chance to succeed."
Got a story idea? Email lan.thestreet@hotmail.com.
