Archive for business:

Business Strategy 2009 – 2010

Recently I posted that I intended to follow a strategy that will last until 2018, when I turn 30. The 9 year plan will definately be succeptible to change, however my intentions are to hit specific targets year by year and so providing I am able to do that whilst building my business, it should be a success (fingers crossed!)

Over the past year my $100 a day challenge has come back with mixed results, and on some months I have smashed the target, whilst on others I have failed. Developing and selling websites is profitable, but the true money lies in retaining your profitable assets for long term gains, rather than short term cash flow.

Unfortunately, whilst I had student debt looming over my head I didn’t have this luxury, and so I continued to sell everything I owned until I was “out of the red and into the black”. Now I want to concentrate on retaining assets unless I cannot add to their value.

Between now and 2010 my targets are as follows..

• All valuable domains have a fully functioning website
• 1st page ranking for 50% of live websites
• Monetise ranked websites
• Sell assets that cannot be built on

The first year will allow me to generate further revenue from any sales and plough that money into websites I intend to retain and/or new ventures.

Check back soon for next year’s business strategy!

Good luck with your pursuits,

Khalid.

Selling Leads

One of the ways I generated revenue with previous networks and continue to do so with my sunrooms site is by selling leads to related companies.

This game is difficult as the conversion rates can be lower than Adsense (2%) click through rates so traffic is key i.e. a good natural ranking in the SERPs.

However, there are benefits to selling leads. Some markets, such as dental insurance and landlord insurance, can be profitable and when selling leads you are pretty much immune from invalid clicks that can result in account terminations, which regularly happens with Adsense accounts.

If you have the time, ability and confidence to take on the big boys in these areas and compete then it can be extremely profitable, with some lead purchasers paying up to £100 per valid lead!

Good luck with your persuits,

Khalid.

Upon My Return

When I get back from Spain I’ll have a week to complete my “to do” list and relax further. Here’s whats on it so far…

• Girlfriend’s 21st Birthday Party - This is definately the first thing! We return in the early hours of the morning on the 30th and Christy’s birthday is on the 1st. After a few minor drama’s trying to sort a plan out, I’ve managed to get something together and fingers crossed it’ll go according to plan.

• Launch Bar Vacancy – I’m still waiting for the coder to fix two minor issues then the site is ready to launch! I’m really excited, with just a few postings the site is already getting enquiries from potential employees. Again, fingers crossed that’ll go to plan too! I have a number of e-mail lists ready to be used for bars and nightclubs across the UK. I also intend to run a few AdWords campaigns, seek partnerships from agencies and sponsorship from drinks wholesalers.

• Start Edinburgh Ironing – My best friend Stephen and I launched Edinburgh Clean not so long ago. After distributing 100 A4 flyers we managed to get a couple of clients. Through a family friend we’re also getting a free advert in a directory publication. Hoepfully the business will expand and we want to diversify into other areas. My father recently purchased a larger property and his partner has taken some time off work. With the staff and space we seize the moment.

We decided to this after a a few friends expressed the opinion that they may feel slightly uncomfortable having a cleaner enter their property but wouldn’t mind giving someone their ironing to do.

I think we’re going to order about 5000 flyers and test the water, perhaps hiring some equipment to begin with rather than. This seems more sensible as it is going to cost a lot more for the commercial ironing products than it was for the cleaning supplies.

Watch this space!

Good luck with your persuits,

Khalid.

The Price of Rice – The Answer

Yesterday I posted a story my father told me relating to entrepreneurship, The Price of Rice. I had a few interesting comments that highlighted how my fellow entrepreneurs/readers think like business men/women.

Bob – “One thing that came to mind was Adam is cooking the rice before selling it which would make it weigh more than Akbar rice.” – I never thought of this and don’t know any retailor that cooks rice before selling it but good suggestion!

Aaron – “Perhaps Adam is selling a larger volume of rice which decreases his cost price. ” – Econonmies of Scale would allow for this, but in this story, the prices are controlled by the government so unfortunately it is not correct. Thanks for your submission though!

Luke – “Adam is using the method of drawing customers in using a cheap price and making them buy others things from his shop, just like some of the big boys do now!” – This is a possible answer (not the answer I have), well done!

Anand – “Adam gets his investment very fast so he does not pay any rate of interest. He is building a customer base and also making their mindset that everything is cheaper which might not be” – This could be an answer but there was no mention of interest or loans so unfortunately it is not correct. Thanks for your submission though!

The answers you supplied are all plausible generally, but for this story the true answer lies here:

“Both shopkeepers bought rice at 10p per kilogram in 100 kilogram sacks“

Adam’s answer to Akbar’s question – “Once I have sold all the rice in the sack, I then sell the sack“.

Good luck with your persuits,

Khalid.

The Price of Rice

The following story was told by my father and is a mini test to see if you have an eye for entrepreneurism.

In some Middle Eastern countries, prices of certain commodities are controlled by the Government. Years ago, in a small town, there were two convenience store shopkeepers – Akbar and Adam. Both shopkeepers bought rice at 10p per kilogram in 100 kilogram sacks.

Akbar sold rice at 15p per kilo, netting him 5p for every kilo sold. Adam, a Jewish business man, sold rice at 10p per kilo, cost price.

Adam’s queue was out the door and along the street whilst Akbar’s custom was far less. Akbar said to Adam “If you are selling at cost price, how do you make money?”

Can you answer the question? If so, leave your answer in a comment.

Good luck with your persuits,

Khalid.