The Cost of an Effective Launch Before you can bring a new idea to the market, you have to understand the costs associated with developing and launching your business

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The Cost of an Effective Launch

Before you can bring a new idea to the market, you have to understand the costs associated with developing and launching your business. As we have learned from the case of Tio, there are many costs associated with a new concept.

Review the definitions below: 

KEY RESOURCES: Describes the most important assets required to make a business model work. 

KEY ACTIVITIES: Describes the tasks or milestones that need to be accomplished. Examples would be creating a website, developing a prototype product, purchasing or renting real estate and equipment, etc. 

COST STRUCTURE: Describes all the costs incurred to operate a business model. 

For your initial post, respond to the questions below:

• Which Key Resources that you identified in the Week 4 Discussion are the most expensive?
• Looking at your current plan for your business model, which Key Activities are most expensive? 
• What is the one thing you will have to do to brand your product to your target market? 

Post your initial response by Wednesday, midnight of your time zone, and reply to at least 2 of your classmates' initial posts by Sunday, midnight of your time zone.

 

Time for the Launch!

A launch event to announce the official arrival of a new business or venture has many advantages, including marketing benefits, possible press coverage, and a chance to invite supporters and prospective partners to see the business in action. However, such an event is usually the culmination of a lot of hard work, planning, and experimentation.

This week you explore how to move from planning into the launch phase for your new business or initiative. In the Tio case, you VVwill hear  Austin explain how the business model for his company evolved over the first two years, including a change of location, new marketing strategies, and hiring two employees. These are typical of the changes that occur in a new venture during the launch phase.

This week you will:

• Identify the stages of starting up a business or developing a new initiative
• Explore the types of resources needed to launch an innovative venture
• Discuss the cost of resources and activities to support an effective launch 

Building a Company - The Tale of Tio

This week Austin talks through the process of building and growing the company. When he started in 2013, he moved to Florida, thinking the hot climate would make a good setting for a cold soup. He was doing everything himself, from production to packaging to sales. Over time he realized that, although consumers in Florida loved his product, other key resources were missing. New York City (NYC) is the hub for emerging trends of all kinds, with easy access to media outlets and retailers. By 2015 he had moved back to NYC, signed with a co-packer, and hired two employees to manage accounting and production.

1st person to respond to

 Dear Dr. A. and Class,

Which Key Resources that you identified in the Week 4 Discussion are the most expensive?

The most expensive resources I identified last week are human resources such as a graphic designer and marketing and advertising specialist. Even hiring such resources on contract at a minimum will amount to thousands of dollars per project. In comparison, the technology subscriptions required right now are at around a thousand dollars annually combined. Cloud-based apps for solopreneurs and small businesses have become very affordable (Kawaski, 1).

Looking at your current plan for your business model, which Key Activities are most expensive?

The most expensive key activities for launching my program will be ensuring the program name and coaching model are trademarked/ patented and the copyrights protected. I have set up an initial consult with the patent lawyer for this week to get a deeper understanding of the process and cost. Additionally, the Diamond Effect program re-launch marketing campaign will be the second most expensive key activity. The costs can vary depending on whether I chose to promote the program organically or with a combination of paid Facebook advertising. The sales funnel setup is a cost that I will incur regardless of the promotional model. The core activities include creating a landing page, preparing free sales webinars and e-mail sequences to nurture potential clients (Garago, 2).

If I decided to run a paid advertising campaign, I would need to determine its goals and budget. So far, I have been bootstrapping my business, and I intend to do so as long as possible (Kawaski, 1).

What is the one thing you will have to do to brand your product to your target market?

Because I already have certain visual branding aspects in place, such as website, logo, Diamond Effect program graphics, my main goal is to build brand awareness in my niche market.

I found this in-depth definition of branding that describes well what I am and need to be continuously doing: “Branding is the perpetual process of identifying, creating, and managing the cumulative assets and actions that shape the perception of a brand in stakeholders’ minds” (Dandu, 3).

My business and program are new, and with limited funding, I rely on organic marketing to do so. That is one of the reasons why I have just started the Diamond Effect Podcast (Perotin, 4) and almost two years ago created a free Facebook community for women entrepreneurs (Perotin, 5).

Best regards,

Maggie

References:

1. Guy Kawasaki. 2015. The Art of the Start 2.0. Portfolio. Penguin.
2. David Garago. 2021. Guide to Building a Sales Funnel. Business News Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15989-how-to-build-a-sales-funnel.html
3. Radu Dandu. 2015. What Is Branding and Why Is It Important for Your Business? Branding Mag. https://www.brandingmag.com/2015/10/14/what-is-branding-and-why-is-it-important-for-your-business/
4. Maggie Perotin. Diamond Effect Podcast. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1816207/episodes
5. Maggie Perotin. Women Entrepreneurs with Passion 4 Life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/BusinesswomenWithPassion4Life

2nd classmate to respond 

Hello Dr. A and Classmates,

 In Week 4, the identification of  Key Resources included people for the majority of our Customer Relationships.  Additionally, the tools, marketing collaterals, distributor relationships, and program support were mentioned (Johnson, 1). The most expensive resource is definitely the headcount.

As for the most expensive Key Activity, which describes the tasks or milestones needed to claim accomplishments, ensuring digital presence was spotlighted (JWMI, 2). Girl Scouts of the USA requires digital presence in our to maintain engagement with our target markets across the nation.

The one thing we must do to brand our product is to invest time and talents into the value proposition, ensuring it resonates with our target markets. To protect the brand, there must be a clear, concise, and differentiated message that clearly sets one apart from the pack. While our reading this week mentioned launch marketing campaigns as one of the six steps towards starting a business, it is essential to have a solid value proposition to "launch" (Totka, 3).

1. Johnson, J. JWMI 575 New Business Venture and Entrepreneurship. Week 4 Discussion Post

2. JWMI, JWMI575 New Business Venture and Entrepreneurship. Week 5 Lecture Notes

3. Totka, M. 2017. Small Business Trends. "6 Steps Towards Starting a Business." Online:  6 Steps Towards Starting a Business - Small Business Trends (smallbiztrends.com)