Building a Business

[scorpio_e]

I have been at this for a while and now it's time to make some money to feed my habit *LOL*
I actually had a pretty good business going at one point.. Little leagues..Seniors.. Cheerleaders...ect
Well I moved to a new town and I am really having a tough time getting started again. So the tough part is getting my name out there again..Especially since I commute to another state to work.
I had one idea.. a portrait relay..Sounded good but I could never get the baton passed.
Now for my next bight idea *LOL* and I am looking for your opinion..good or bad..
Here is my plan:

Create a blogspot..A home for the project... ( DONE )
Identify the project "DOG PARK" (DONE)
Create a business card to hand out ..
Go to the local park.. Take pictures of our furry friends with involvement of the owners. Pass out the business card
Make the photo available for purchase
Donate 50% of all profits tot he local animal shelter or zoo
Track the money given away on the blog


The thought here is to create a win win situation and get my name out there.


Is this a GOOD-BAD or UGLY?

Thanks in advance for everyone input

[tirediron]

Hmmm... interesting idea. The only difficulty I can see is explaining things clearly to the dog owners, but I think it's got possibilities. I don't see it as being a money-maker, but as a 'Get your name out there' plan, I think it sounds great.

[scorpio_e]

Yeah I do not see it as a money maker but you never know.
I think of it as street photography for dogs *LOL*

I had one very interesting project. I managed a one hour photo lab and I set up a pet day. I only had 5 people show up with their dogs but the sales were unbelievable.

Thanks for taking time to reply

[mindforge]

First, create a goal, usually a monatary or a client/visitor gaining goal. Here are a couple examples:
1. I want to make $1000 this year advertising on my website.
2. I want to have 10,000 unique page hits a month.

Starting a dog park website is not really a goal, what are your short term goals... long term. With websites, I do not think 10 year goals. I think of a 1 year, 2 year, 3 year and a 5 year goal.

Once you have a goal in mind, in your case I would make your goal to establish a certain number of clients or make a certain amount of cash - then your next step is creating a plan to meet the goal.

Creating a simple business plan should coincide directly with your marketing plan. Basically, how you earn clients is a large part of the way you do business. Meeting your goals has to have a plan.

Your plan to meet your goals needs a schedule and a time frame in order to track your progress. Tracking your progress is just as important as creating the initial goal.

Then once you are meeting goals reevaluate them, they might change.

If you sit down and plan, you can usually make some money off of a solid plan. Creating a solid (but simple) business plan includes some monetary research so be prepared for that. You need to know if the plan can make money based on your time, effort and costs.