I love, love, love people brave enough to call themselves gurus, I think it takes a heck of a lot of confidence, so when I ran across one of Maria Simone's articles, I knew I had to put her on the No Limits Ladies interview list.
Why?
Because she is The Manifest Success Guru. She helps inventors and entrepreneurs realize their goals.
So what do I ask The Manifest Success Guru?
How about one simple way to add value to a business...
"Ah! I couldn’t put my finger on just one but I would say the top three for me are 1) to be able to establish traction in your market and have “sell through”---- customers are buying from you but they’re also coming back for more; 2) having Intellectual Property ---trademarks, patents, copyrights--- that can be developed for other markets and product lines in addition to being appropriate for possible licensing opportunities which would add revenue streams; 3) establishing goodwill through Strategic Alliances, Joint Ventures, high-profile advisors, and a growing customer list."
What is a common red flag Maria Simone sees in business plans?
"I see great concepts all the time but if it’s unprotected or too easy to duplicate, it may not be worth developing unless you were able to really hit the market fast and hard which could take a lot of resources. Also, I see great concepts but the people at the helm may not have the competencies to execute or may not be willing to “let go” a little bit to allow others to help them. Those people tend to self-eliminate fairly quickly. My biggest concern is when someone is putting lots of effort taking out a concept they’re not passionate about. If that’s the case, then those people have a tendency to lose steam at the most critical junctures. I would say not to even begin if the passion isn’t there to start with."
Uh oh, the passion vs profit debate... must... resist... commenting... LOL
So we have a solid idea for a business, when should we think about raising funding?
"Raise money early on when everything is fresh, excitement is high and you don’t really NEED the money. It will help you right from the beginning to access the resources you need to really make a hit in your market instead of struggling the first few years. Most businesses fail in the beginning because they’re undercapitalized so I’m all for capitalizing from the beginning."
Too true... raise money before you need it.
For more slammin' insights, visit Maria at her blog http://mariasimone.blogspot.com/