Recently I helped an entrepreneur work thru the details of launching a new start-up business of a personal technology product. His goal was to sell the product thru TV infomercials. A few things concerned me with this and so I asked him if he had ever done an infomercial or sold anything that way? His answer was “NO!” Then I asked if he has a workable prototype; His answer was “No and I am no Mr. Home Depot and so if I build it, then it will not work!” So I mentioned the problems with these factors if he decided to go ahead with his plan to launch this product.

“Something you said greatly concerns me; you want to do a TV infomercial campaign as your primary sales, yet you have never done one before. So in essence you do not want to build it, do not know how to sell it, do not want to invest your own time or money to the degree needed, yet you wish to eat the bread. You see the problem here? You want, but you do not want to make it thru the effort it takes. You cannot make something out of nothing, it takes hard work and simply having money to throw at every problem that comes along is not going to solve the issues or accomplish the goal of making money. The goal is to make money. May I ask you a question? What makes you think that you can start a business you know nothing about, have no expertise in, are not willing to put forth effort and expect it to pay your living while you learn on someone else's money? If your answer is that it is a free country, that is true and you are allowed to "pursue" but you are not guaranteed to succeed.”

Are these comments too harsh? They are reality based? Enthusiastic optimism is great yet the truth is that there is no easy way to start a new company and launch a new product without maximum effort and knowledge of how to get there you see?

That is a lot to overcome indeed; I think some self-assessment is healthy, as you do not want to paint yourself into a corner with irrational exuberance. This is a common trait of salesmen and as Ted Turner says, "It Ain't As Easy As It Looks" you should read that book too. So if you plan on starting a new business and launching a new product will you do me a favor and think it all the way thru first?

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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