Struggling in the colder months

As an entrepreneur in the fishing industry I expected my company to sky rocket around Christmas time due to people wanting to buy gifts for their friends and family. What I have found though is quite the opposite. Because the amount of people who fish in the winter is much less than the rest of the year, people are not buying fishing equipment because it is not needed. I have actually had to dip into my own wallet to pay for merchandise to put in stock. My hope is that when the weather begins to warm that people will be ready to get back out on the lake and get a rod in their hands with my lure at the end. Last year with the Bassmaster Classic being held at Guntersville my company really benefited from the multitudes of anglers that wanted to fish with the pros and would stop by my booth at the Classic and buy my lures. I hope that my business will pick back up where it was before these cold months hit and all of my company's marketing will pay off.

Great Idea

I have a good friend who has just started up a business that has become a huge success. He places color shifting halo lights on the inside of headlights. The process takes roughly 10 days to complete but his success has been huge. In just two months hes has made a profit of roughly 10,000 dollars. It costs him $150 to build the lights and he turns around and sells them with prices that range from $600-$1500 depending on what is done. His secret to quick success has been from people seeing his lights and other peoples' lights he's done, and his main source has been from social media where he has 33,000 followers on Instagram who are constantly messaging him asking for him to build them headlights. This has been a huge success and I only see his company growing larger.

Vacant Building

Last week as I was driving through my hometown I noticed that a building that had been destroyed earlier this year by a tornado had been rebuilt, but the problem is that it is not being occupied. The building used to be a grocery store that went out of business but the building location is brilliant. It is less than a mile away and visible from the interstate on highway 31. As I stared at the vacant building I thought about the best use for it and I believe the best use would be a sporting goods store. with the nearest sporting goods store being over 30 minutes away this would definitely be a great location for attracting residents in the area, and the fact that it is visible from the interstate would make it an intriguing place to stop at for travelers. My hometown also contains a population that a majority hunt, fish, or involved in sports so the need for a sporting goods store is obvious. An entrepreneur that takes advantage of this vacant building could find their self very wealthy in a short amount of time.

Ahead of time

Like Apple when they first came out with the tablet there has been many objects that came out ahead of their time. One that instantly pops up into my mind is the personal digital music player. Around 20 years before the first MP3 player was ever invented a man by the name Kane Kramer created a small pocket-sized music player. Unfortunately, he was not able to come to terms with his funders and he lost his patent. If he could have had the idea just 20 years later he would be an extremely wealthy man as the portable music device industry exploded with the creation of the mp3 player and the iPod. This industry is still booming today and entrepreneur Mr. Kramer just happened to come up with a great idea just a little too soon.

Social Media

Social media has become one of the best tools for marketing. The best part about using social media to advertise is that it is free. It is also easier to connect with the younger generation of society due to our obsession with social media. I for one, use social media all the time to promote my business and intrigue new customers. As an entrepreneur I'm always looking for a way to gain customers over my competitors and I saw an oppurtunity when I noticed that I could not find a single social media page for a lure company. I have acquired more sells thanks to social media than any other form of marketing. It is also very easy to receive feedback from customers on what they do and do not like about my products. Social media is one of the greatest assets that an entrepreneur can have.  

Celebrities in business

When I think of celebrities who have started a second career the first person who comes to mind is Michael Jordan. After what many consider as the greatest career in basketball history, Michael Jordan has gained many followers. He has endorsed many companies and items, but the thing that stands out the most to me is his Jordan sneaker line. It is a wildly popular brand of shoe that I believe wouldn't have anywhere near the success if it wasn't for Michael endorsing them. I think an entrepreneur gains credibility when they are able to be endorsed by a celebrity. In my company, Profound Outdoors, we have gained credibility by having several professional anglers use our lures and win major fishing tournaments. I believe that people in the sport of fishing see what their favorite angler is using and they believe that since that angler is using a particular lure, that if they use it they'll automatically increase their chances. I believe that this happens in every other market as well.

Business Location Mistake

Earlier this week as I was driving through a lower income, rural area of Alabama when I noticed a business that did not quite belong. It was an independent electronics store. I understand that the real estate in this area is probably cheaper, but there are not many people in the area that can afford their products. If I was the owner of this business of this business I would find a new location in a city with a middle-class income so that the real estate would be affordable still, but there would be a better opportunity for profit. The new location would also be more intriguing to high-class people who could afford more of the retail. This business definitely made a mistake with their location.