When it comes to selecting a name for your business you would assume it is the easiest part of the start up process. But in fact, there is a lot you have to take into consideration. After all, your business name acts as your identity. A poor name could keep people from even coming to your site, let alone becoming a customer.

Creativity is key when selecting a name for your online business. Anybody can come up with a bland name like Jeff’s Home Business. But throwing in creativity can help separate your business from the thousands of other businesses on the internet.

While you want to be creative, you do not want to have the name be too far out there. Creativity is good, but it is vital you stay as professional as possible. After all, it is still a business that you are running. Keep it clean and relative to what your business is about.

The next thing to keep in mind when selecting a name for your business is keeping it short and to the point. You do not want to have a business name that is long and drags on. This only makes it difficult for people to remember. The shorter it is, the easier it will be for people to remember so they can type it into their search browser.

What can be difficult is trying to keep the name short while still including keywords. Targeting specific keywords within your business name can help you climb higher on the search engines. It is a great way to generate traffic without spending a penny. If you can, try to include a couple of different keywords within the name.

The last thing to take into consideration when selecting a name for your online business is including something that represents the company. If you have a sports web site, have sports or some kind of word that represents sports within the name. If you have a home business web site, makes sure to include internet marketing or home based business within the title. You want to let people know what to expect prior to getting to your site.

The tough part about selecting a name is taking all of the tips listed above into account. You obviously want to select a name that suits you and sums up your business. But you want to make it as visually appealing as possible to internet searchers. You have one chance to grab their attention through marketing, and sometimes it is the business name that can do it.

Please visit Ruth at Top Tee Designs Occupation T-shirts and Gifts
Novelty Neckties

So you want to ditch corporate America, work for yourself, be your own boss. You want your commute to be a trip to your downstairs office where you can work in your pajamas if you want to. Nice thought, but what on earth would you do to make this dream possible?

Maybe know some witty sayings and thought they would look cool on t-shirts or maybe you are artistically talented and want to sell some of your creations on t-shirts. I personally went this route a few years ago when I started selling my own creations online. I overcame a few stumbling blocks along the way and can share what I wish I knew at the beginning.

Where do I go?

There are many websites where you can sell your designs but the three biggest are Cafepress, Printfection and Zazzle. Each company has its own line of t-shirts and gifts. These companies are best bets for first-timer to open a shop and be successful.

Cafepress is the leader by far. You can open a free shop with limited products or you can open a Premium shop for about $5 a month where you can have an unlimited number of products and designs. You can also personalize the shop any way you like. In addition, your designs are available in the Cafepress marketplace, where the buying public can find them with a keyword search. Cafepress makes it easy to put your images on many products at once with their bulk upload tools. You pick a product name, description and image and put these on all the shirts and all the other products you select at one time. None of the other online vendors have this feature.

One drawback is that Cafepress has become a victim of its own success. As it has grown, the marketplace is crowded and the print quality is spotty. Sometimes the site is down, or slow.

Another company, Zazzle, is giving Cafepress a run for its money and with a $16 million investment from Google investors may blow Cafepress out of the water.

I first discovered Zazzle years ago when my husband custom-designed a motorcycle shirt at the request of the local Harley dealership for the top executive at Buell motorcycles. My husband, a graphic designer, was impressed with the retail quality of the printing. I didn’t initially open a store with Zazzle because I could not name my markup.

This has changed. You can not only custom design a t-shirt or gift but you can put the creation in the Zazzle Marketplace and in your own Zazzle Gallery for sale to the general public and name a markup up to 50% of the product price. Each image is featured on a model rather than just on a boring old t-shirt stock image. Your customers can then further customize the products before they purchase them. I have tested the Zazzle features myself and am very pleased with the results. The images upload quickly and the products are available almost immediately in the Zazzle marketplace. The only thing lacking at this writing is the bulk-editing tools available on Cafepress. Those tools are coming to Zazzle as of first quarter 2008. And this isn’t a pie-in-the-sky promise. Zazzle is a serious competitor. I have had the opportunity to beta test one of the bulk tools, the bulk uploader for images. I recently uploaded 100 images in about 10 minutes to a folder of my choice with no downtime and no connection drop-off. All I can say about this tool is WOW!

Printfection is the third online vendor. It has a nice selection of shirt styles but no infant apparel and a limited selection of gifts. Printfection probably wanted to combine the best of both Cafepress and Zazzle but has not grown in the past year. There are no bulk editing tools for putting your design on multiple products at once, and none seem to be on the horizon. Opening a shop is free and the owners are enthusiastic and listen to their shopkeepers, but without a big capital investment, market visibility for this company is limited. Customers visit Cafepress and Zazzle websites more often.

What do I sell?

So what the heck do I sell, is one of the first questions people ask. What kinds of designs do people like? The most successful sellers find a niche. Popular niches include life changes such as birthdays, weddings, moms and babies. Also popular are international and ethnic designs, politics, holidays, and awareness designs for breast cancer or autism. Photography and very arty designs such as fractals do not seem to sell very well unless you already have a following before you open your shop. It does not mean that your art is not very good; it just means that the buying public is looking for something else. That is the most important thing to keep in mind. It will save your ego!

How much can I make and is it worth it?

How big are the checks? The simple answer is that the more unique designs you have, the more you earn. Some people earn as little as the minimum check amount, which is $25, but others earn as much as $3000 a month and some others even make Cafepress’ 20% bonus category, which is $10,000 in base sales.

The most important advice for success at any of these websites is to keep adding new designs. Equally important is to give your products good titles and descriptions using words that a customer might type into a Google search. And do not even think about copying somebody else’s design because your products will be removed. Read the message boards on each of these sites because they are an excellent free learning environment with tips for building your shops and trends in the business.

Happy Selling!

There are many new up-start companies being formed everyday, especially in this modern age where people are able to create successful businesses even on the internet. Thousands of people in the UK each year will give up their daily job in order to start their own business and enjoy the freedom and responsibility of working for themselves.

The trouble is that many of these new business ideas may be high risk and if the internet is anything to go by, your business idea may be a bit too wacky and out there to get your self a loan for the new business. Programmes like “Dragon’s Den” have inspired many people to go forth with their ideas and schemes to potentially form a new business and not everyone can afford to.

This is not the end of the road for the next Bill Gates among you; many new businesses will actually use credit cards to fund their venture. This may be risky if your business fails but credit cards can actually provide a number of advantages if used correctly. Obviously making sure you don’t spend more than you can repay is a big factor when using credit cards to fund start-up businesses.

As well as this there is a type of credit card that can help you called 0% credit cards, the zero percent relating to the amount of interest you pay on purchases, this will normally be for a period of 12 months but can vary between creditors. This gives you a suitable window for getting the money you need for your business at least! After that period expires you will be charged interest on purchases so make sure you keep a hold of the reins when it comes to expenses when the 0% period elapses.

Repayments are the main stumbling block when it comes to credit cards, normally if you don’t keep up repayments you can find massive APR charges and interest meaning you’ll be paying back much more than you originally borrowed. With using a credit card for business it is best keeping up with your payments each month with an amount you are able to comfortably repay as your business may not turn a profit or generate much money in its first year, or if things go really bad it may fail and you’ll need to pay back a large amount. So take care with monthly repayments, don’t simply choose to pay the bare minimum back, pay back as much as you can realistically afford.

One of the great things about some credit cards is that they can offer rewards for simply using them. Some of these benefits include travel discounts, cashback offers or even discounts on some goods or services, when you think that your new business will need all the help it can get to be successful this would make for a great bonus that may help your business along.

So credit cards can actually be a help when it comes to starting a new business as we all don’t have endless capital behind us to fritter away on business ventures and we can’t all win over the acerbic millionaires on TV. Credit cards are an avenue that budding entrepreneurs can explore but as with all lending you should exercise caution and make sure you don’t cripple yourself financially.

There are many reasons businesses fail such as lack of direction, impatience, greed, taking action without thinking it through first, poor cost/poor product, insufficient working capital, bad or nonexistent budgeting, inadequate financial records, loss of momentum, failure to anticipate market trends, lack of managerial ability or experience, indecisiveness, bad human relations and diffusion of effort to mention a few. But, you there was a but coming right? But until you have a strong a “Why Statement” you are spinning your wheels to be successful in the entrepreneurial arena.

On average every one is conditioned from birth to go to school, get good grades, graduate from high school, go to college, get a degree, get a job, work for 40 years, and retire on 60% of the wages you couldn’t live on when you were making 100% of your salary. Now here is the kicker; life expectancy upon retirement, depending on the industry, is on average 10 years. Now that’s something to get excited about! There is a trend afoot that is showing that the average age of retirement is going up drastically. You may ask yourself why? Simply, the state of the economy is a mess. Social Security is broke and there is a general fear that the retirement promised through the Social Security Administration will not be there when you plan to retire. Company retirement plans are being reduced or eliminated and in many cases the funds are just not there. This does not paint a rosy picture for the future of the working class.

Here is the problem; people trade hours for dollars all the time. In fact 95% of the population is competing for 5% of the wealth. Whereas 5% of the population controls 95% of the wealth. There is only one way you can personally place yourself into the 5%. You MUST be a business owner! But there is another problem, statistics show 90% of all businesses fail. Now there is a sobering statement. So most, i.e. the 95%, won’t even try or give it a go for a few of months and quit and return to trading hours for dollars. There are a lot of reasons why businesses fail but the main reason is that you don’t have a strong enough “Why Statement”.

Your “Why Statement” is the most critical part of any business start-up and its longevity. Your reason or WHY must be so strong nothing, I mean nothing can stand in your way of success. You must get way outside your comfort zone. It must be your main focus! If you don’t have a strong enough “Why Statement” you will fail. You will fall back into your world of complacency, your comfort zone and your trading hours for dollars. Simply, “if you don’t have a strong enough Why Statement you will keep doing what you’re doing and get what you got!”

As stated at many of my seminars, “A strong Why Statement is the vehicle that will help you get the heck out of your own way!”

“The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.”
- Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese’s

So you think you’re an entrepreneur?

Wikipedia defines an entrepreneur as follows: An entrepreneur is a person who has possession over a new enterprise or venture and assumes full accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome.

An entrepreneur is not just someone who wants to work for himself or herself. It is someone who is driven to do so. I have been self employed for the past 8 years. Overall, it’s been great, but there have been times when I wished I had someone to lean on, to fill in, or to blame. But ultimately, I fill all those roles and I’ve found that I have a lot more drive and talent than I ever gave myself credit for.

I think the hardest thing to learn is that you have to operate outside your comfort zone. It’s the only way to grow. If you continue to do only those things that you feel comfortable doing, you probably won’t be very successful. I used to hate to call people so I started making myself do it. What I learned was that it wasn’t so bad. I never thought I could blog or write an article so I made myself do it. I’m not a very good writer, but I’m not the worst. I never thought I could build a website but I did. The first attempt was not bad, but I got better at it. Just like learning to ride a bike – you try, you fail, you get up and try again until you succeed.

The fear of doing something is often much worse than actually doing it. We’re afraid of what other people will think about us – almost to the point of paralysis. It’s easier to do nothing and avoid being criticized than it is to attempt to do something new. Just remember that your worst critics are most often the ones sitting on the sidelines doing nothing, wanting you to fail so they don’t feel so worthless. You’ll find that other entrepreneurs are much more supportive and helpful and truly respect the fact that you’re trying.

So just do it. Whatever it is that you’re doing, stick with it and push yourself. Don’t let fear hold you back.

A residual income opportunity is one of the easiest ways to make money. Who would not want an income that you no longer had to work for. Residual income is the goal of many people, yet few ever get to realize residual income.

Residual Income differs from Linear Income in that it pays a person over and over again for the same “sale”. An example would be Insurance sales. An Insurance salesman is paid a commission every year a policy is ative, even though he only had to sell the policy once. A simple linear income example is that of a laborer. He trades his time and labor for a one time payment.

It is quite apparent that a residual income is much more desireable yet harder to acheive. Many people use the MLM Business Model to acheive a residual income they can retire on. Yet 99% of the people who attempt to build an MLM Business to earn residual income fail.

Most people fail to build an Mlm Business and earn residual income because they fail to understand that it takes time to build an MLM Business. In the beginning is when the MLM distributor is building the foundation of the business. This is the most important time in the business, yet it is the least lucrative.

Putting in a foundation for a building can be tedious, take up a lot of your time, and be hard work. The untrained observer will think nothing is happening. When will the building go up, or for an MLMer, when will distributors start to signup and begin working?

At the start you will be setting up a lead capture page with autoresponder followup messages to build the foundation for your home based business. You will begin to sign up your 1st distributors. Training these first distributors is of upmost importance since they will duplicate you. If you fail at this critical stage of duplication you will fail to build an MLM Business which will produce a reliable residual income.

It will cost you some money to lay a good foundation in order to earn a residual income in your home based business. You will not earn money during this period. Breaking even is the best you can hope for. This is the reason the failure rate is so high. Few people can overcome laying out money for 6 months, while it “seems” that nothing is happening. Get past this crucial period, and you probably couldn’t stop the momentum if you wanted to.

Success in MLM requires patience. The time factor which is a inherant component of building a residual income cannot be rushed. Accept it, build a strong foundation, and you can’t help but to succeed.

I’m having sort of mixed feelings about Zazzle’s service at this point. First of all, I am thrilled that Zazzle is able to actually make me money. I have uploaded 130 some odd items for them to take a crack at selling and they have sold a fair amount considering the selection that I have given them.

Kudos to them on that point. But beyond that I quite a few bones to pick with Zazzle.

First of all, I don’t know how Zazzle operates but generally when you ask someone if you can talk to them and offer up such as a possibility I think you should at least make an effort to do so. As I mentioned before, Zazzle approached me about adding my items to their data base. The first email I got was from a Mr. Robert Greenleaf.

I responded to him and told him when I was available to talk. He responded back after missing the couple dates and times that I told him I was available. So I sent him another set of dates and times. Those have come and gone without so much as a peep.

Being very busy I don’t have the ability to say “just call me whenever you get a chance”. Perhaps Mr. Greenleaf and others over at Zazzle are not used to recruiting potential contributors who actually are busy and have a business to run. I do not know. I am preparing to send him another email today to see if I can get a response because I do really have some questions, concerns, gripes, suggestions and so on that I would like to discuss with him.  And since I can’t get them on the phone, I will cover them later in this post.

If I can’t get him to give an interest after he recruited me, I’ll call Zazzle and see if I can find someone who gives a darn.

Things I don’t like about Zazzle:
Creating products: It takes too long. You have to make a t-shirt then make a mug then a whatever. This is vastly inferior to other sites which allow you select a series of products and apply a single image to them in literally one step. The faster you can create products the faster you grow. I can create vastly more new products on other PoD sites in the time it takes to create just a t-shirt and a mug on Zazzle.

Product Design “Rating”: I don’t know whose brain child this was but I hate it. What Zazzle allows you to do is rate a product with a star based system. You only have to be a contributor to rate someone’s designs.  Here’s what I have found however. People don’t actually rate the product. They either rate the “message” of the product or they use it to put up poor marks for products that compete with their own Zazzle products.

The “rating” system is what we call in the business a “point of contention” which people who might be inclined to buy a certain product might decide based on someone else’s opinion (even if it is uninformed, slanted or bogus) not to do so. That hurts me, but it also hurts Zazzle.

This feature should be kept IF they only allow people who actually purchase products to rate them. Give a link to the rating screen in the receipt they receive with their purchase or something, but allowing just anyone to rate items is bad for business especially when those doing the rating are doing it from spite or other less than pure motives.

Luckily however I have enough friends that I could ask to go over to my gallery and counter out these sorts of folks with honest opinions.

Product Comment Section: Yet another nuisance along the lines of the rating system. The comment system has already been abused and I have had to deal with deleting the weirdest and dumbest comments one can imagine. Providing such a section is yet another “point of contention” which can turn off potential buyers depending on what is said in it.

Limited Customization: Nothing ticks me off more than not being able to do serious customizing of my sites. Zazzle galleries are customizable to a very limited extent only.

Everything in one gallery: Now this is just plain bad design. On other sites you can separate your designs into individual stores. On Zazzle you can have subsections of a single gallery. Very bad especially if you are trying to keep different themes separate to avoid turning people off because they might not like or be offended by other themes you offer.

Yes, you can open up new galleries, but they are treated as separate accounts for billing purposes best I can see which means you have to reach minimum commissions in each gallery in order to get paid for that gallery. That is not a problem for me, but I don’t want to be receiving multiple (and smaller) checks each month once I get everything up and chugging along.

Sub Par Commissioning System: This one really gets my goat. If I create a shirt and set the commission at 20% I make one amount on one type of shirt and a different amount on another type of shirt with a different base cost. I would like the option of placing a straight markup ($4, $5, whatever) on those items and know how much I will make with each t-shirt sale rather than getting $3.99 for one type and maybe $3.78 for another.

Yeah, I know I’ve complained, but remember I did say that I was happy that Zazzle has actually been able to make sales for me over the past month. Problem is that these sales have only been for one category of item designs and themes which worries me a little. But I am going to keep plugging along over the next couple months, see if we can get some of Zazzle’s faults corrected and make a little more cash with them.

—————————————————————–
J.J. Jackson is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. and Cafepress “Top Shopkeeper”. He has been selling t-shirts on-line since 2004 and is the owner of the T-Shirt Entrepreneur, a site dedicated to helping people get involved in the T-shirt Economy. He is also the owner of Funny When Wet T-shirts, American Infidel Tshirts, Uber Gamer T-shirts as well as many other online t-shirt and gift stores.

For many business owners, it can be difficult to understand the differences between various types of legal business organizations. Across all types there are benefits, drawbacks and rules that apply in reference to tax, liability and structure. What’s important is to be able to clearly understand what is right for your business.

Below is a brief compilation of the basic forms of business ownership in the United States, emphasizing those that are most attractive to small business owners Remember: specifics of each can vary from state to state, so be sure to check with your state’s Secretary of State Office to understand what is best for your business.

Sole Proprietorship: A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business that is owned by one person. In this way, it is the simplest form of legal organization to start and maintain. You, the owner, include the income and expenses of the business on your own tax return. Similarly, you are also personally responsible for any business liabilities.

Limited Liability Company (LLC): Authorized only in certain states, an LLC is a mixture of a corporation and a partnership. LLCs are becoming a popular structure for small businesses due to their flexibility and low maintenance costs while still offering most of the advantages of a corporation. With an LLC, you separate your business and personal identities, distributing the ownership percentages, P&L and voting powers among owners. LLCs can also offer tax savings, depending on how the LLC chooses to be taxed (either as a partnership, S Corporation or C Corporation).

S Corporation: After the corporation has been formed, the stockholders may elect “S Corporation” status by making a filing with the IRS. Like an LLC, this is another attractive option for many small businesses. An S Corporation is taxed like a partnership — the profits and losses of S Corporations flow through to the federal tax returns of the owners in proportion to their stock ownership. However, they are protected from the liabilities of the business as in a C Corporation.

Corporation (”C Corporation”): In a C Corporation structure, one or more stockholders are the owners, managed by a board of directors elected by the stockholders, and run by officers appointed by the board of directors. However, a single individual can be the sole stockholder, director and officer of the company. All parties are protected from the companyÕs liabilities, including liabilities for their own negligence when acting in their corporate role, except in a few extraordinary circumstances. The corporation files its own tax return and pays taxes, which are graduated based on the company’s taxable incomes.

The ins and outs of each type of business organization as well as the state variances can appear to be overwhelming. Most important, educate yourself, talk to a professional, and consider all your options carefully. For more details, visit http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98202,00.html

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/sole-proprietorships-llcs-corporations-a-guide-to-legal-forms-of-business-254412.html

About the Author:

Andrew Brown and Small Business Guru provide Coaching, Inspiration and Practical Advice for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs. Subscribe to the free, weekly newsletter at www.small-business-guru.com

This is a conundrum that many entrepreneurs are faced with as they are developing their ideas and putting the business together. I hear “How do I test my product or service so that I can attract investors and the resources I need if I don’t HAVE the money or the resources to test my product?”

You can actually do it all!

Plan for milestones of beta-testing and validating every step of the way so you can continually attract the resources you need that will help build momentum. Momentum attracts investors and buyers.

Here are 10 things you can do during the planning process:

1. Start out by doing “dry testing” of your concept with live or online focus groups BEFORE you have an actual product to test. There are professional services for this but you can start by getting feedback from people you know who may volunteer for this. If you can validate the concept, move on to the next step.

2. Your product idea may need some major engineering before it’s ready for actual prototype creation and testing but you can prepare a non-working prototype sooner than later. Start doing “esthetics” testing with your groups to make sure people can appreciate it visually before you invest in a working prototype.

3. Get a panel of experts together who can mastermind with you to solve any issues you may have about product design, obsolescence, esthetics, marketability, etc. Document all participant credentials and any analysis made for possible inclusion into your business plan.

4. When a prototype is available, begin testing extensively with your customers (usually buyers) and end users (consumers) BEFORE you commit to full production. You could receive pre-orders at this stage.

5. Use your prototypes to acquire letters of intent and actual purchase orders from buyers or whoever would be purchasing large quantities of your product.

6. Create Joint Venture opportunities with individuals or organizations who have large mailing lists of potential clients for when you’re ready to launch.

7. As soon as possible, consider doing small manufacturing runs of your product for local or regional testing in a controlled market. When people start buying your product within that market, you have achieved “traction”.

8. Document in your business plan the various stages of testing and localized selling you have established to help build investor confidence.

9. During this timeframe, create activities which will build your database of prospective customers for a future launch. Offer pre-order discounts, host a contest, offer a newsletter or something else of value.

10. Want to sell into major retail stores? Consider meeting with local buyers in your desired markets to establish a time to do a “trunk show” or a short run in that store to test the product. It is much easier to achieve large national vendor contracts when you’ve had success in the local markets.

Many of these activities can be done prior to product development and all of these can be used to attract investors, contracts and other resources to help you achieve success with your business!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/small-business-funding-10-ways-to-actually-sell-your-idea-before-you-launch-250092.html

About the Author:
Maria Simone is a dynamic business development expert and coach who has launched several companies and has raised millions of dollars in funding. She helps inventors, start-ups and service providers attract experts, customers, resources and capital. Subscribe to her free business building e-zine at http://www.manifestsuccessguru.com

Flying an airplane can be likened to running a business. At some points in the life of a business, during the startup and initial growth for example, it is necessary to “hand fly” the business – you as an entrepreneur (pilot) must “control” the business directly and make large changes to its direction. In an airplane this is during takeoff and climbout and only lasts a few minutes. In business, it may last a few years.  
Airplanes are amazing pieces of machinery. During some portions of flight, it is required that a pilot make large changes and major corrections to the path of the aircraft. Takeoff and landing are obvious places where this comes to mind. This is called “hand flying” an airplane.
 
Other times, however, it is unnecessary to “hand fly” the plane – during straight and level “cruise” flight for instance. During this phase of a flight, the pilot will use what’s called “trim” to make very slight corrections to the flight path of the airplane. If it is descending slightly, the pilot will use “nose up trim” to stop the descent. If climbing slightly, “nose down trim” will be used. Some aircraft have trim for rolling (aileron trim) and turning (rudder trim) as well. I am not talking about any kind of “auto-pilot;” this is just a way to more carefully and precisely control the plane once it is in “cruise” flight and flying at a constant altitude and in a constant direction for some length of time.
 
In business, startup and initial growth are not the only times when a company must be “hand flown.” If you plan on selling or in some other way “exiting” the business, you will also need to “hand fly” for awhile. You may not be “hand flying” the business directly, but you will be directly and significantly involved in the process of finding a buyer and negotiating a fair price for both of you. This roughly coincides with the approach and landing of an airplane – again a time when the pilot must be significantly involved in the aircraft’s control. 
 
Most other times during a business’s “flight,” small corrections and tweaks are all that is necessary to keep the company moving in the direction you want it to go. This is, of course, assuming you have a good business plan (flight plan) and a good team (crew). You also must be in a well-designed company (stable aircraft). See  The Aviation of Business  post on  Tradeoffs  for more on business design and aircraft design.
 
There ARE times during cruise flight when a business (or an airplane) DOES need to be hand flown – any time a change of direction is necessary. In aviation, it is all about navigation or avoidance of other aircraft, and in business it is during times of change, when a new direction is needed to grow to the next level or to outmaneuver competition.
 
Times to hand fly an airplane / business:
 
- Takeoff / Startup 
 
- Climbout / Initial growth phase (combination of trim and hand flying) 
 
- Change in direction / New business opportunity 
 
- Traffic avoidance / Response to competition (can be proactive or reactive) 
 
- Initial descent / Considering exiting (combination of trim and hand flying) 
 
- Approach to landing / Decision to exit made (combination of trim and hand flying) 
 
- Landing / Exit of business (sale or other exit strategy) 
 
The reason it is important to understand this is that it is possible to “hand fly” an aircraft (and a business) when it should be “trimmed.” It is very easy to “overcorrect” when you hand fly an aircraft during cruise flight… this will cause large changes in altitude and direction because the pilot feels the need to directly control everything the aircraft does with relatively large control movements. But in a stable aircraft, small adjustments with trim allow the plane to “fly itself” – and that is exactly what aircraft (and businesses) should be designed to do.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/stages-of-business-are-like-stages-of-flight-in-an-airplane-242787.html

About the Author:
Andrew Hartley  is a professional trainer working in the transportation industry. Andrew has a Bachelors Degree in Aviation Management and an MBA in Entrepreneurship. He has years of training experience in both aviation and shipping, both in operations training and in leadership and development training.
 
Visit his blog,  The Aviation of Business , at   www.aviationofbusiness.com  , and learn to make your business soar!