Business Idea - Opinions!

Quatro24

Hi,

I will try keep this short!

I have completed 4 years in Business and Marketing, and have done a Masters in Public Relations with new Media.
At present I am working in a completely different field as I cannot find work.
I work 2 hours a day 5 days a week - therefore cannot draw any social welfare and cannot do any of the internships which come with that.

I cant keep going like this for much longer to be honest!

Therefore I have recently been considering going Freelance.
I can offer a range of online marketing, social media etc. From my Masters especially I have seen the great effects social media can have for companies. I have also created some websites (basic enough) but for my target audience it would be online presence at a small price.
I can offer to set up, maintain FB pages and attend events to put pics and news up for people who either cannot or will not do it themselves.
I can also offer brochure creation, public relations, marketing, advertising etc.

I suppose my real question is do ye think companies would be interested in this?

So far, I have researched 50 companies in my area and 60% either have no FB pages at all or they are inactive.
Over 70% have no websites!

I plan to build my knowledge on web design but even for now I would be happy to see if I could get some work organising FB for people and doing basic websites for these small companies to have an online presence.

Sorry this has turned out to be a bit long, to sum it up, do ye think I am mad? I can see a need for this service but will others?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and I value any opinions.

Larsist

Firstly I would like to say that I do not intend to discourage you, rather give some advice that may help you better focus your business idea.

Ok, web design is a very crowded market and is the current most popular FAS course. You would also be competing with free software such as Wordpress and Joomla so at a minimum what ever you design would have to beat them. Also web design has moved on from being about technology to being about aesthetics.

My advice would be go down on the on-line marketing road. Offer your service for free to a company, track your results and then use that as an selling point going forward. I.E. 'grew Joe Blogs on-line footfall by 20%'. Prove what you can achieve before trying to sell it.

Any way best of luck.

Quatro24

Hi Larsist,

Thanks for your response.

I totally see where you are coming from and agree with your idea.

I suppose being honest it is just with having such little work at mo I am eager to try anything and was thinking if companies even took me up on looking after their Facebook pages for a small weekly fee it would benefit them also.
My target audience is small to medium sized businesses which may not have the time or knowledge to promote themselves on it or money to hire PR companies.

It is very much at an early stage of consideration and it may not be of interest to anyone! I will definitely take your comment into consideration.
Thanks again.

AndyJB

Quatro24 wrote: »

Hi,

I will try keep this short!

I have completed 4 years in Business and Marketing, and have done a Masters in Public Relations with new Media.
At present I am working in a completely different field as I cannot find work.
I work 2 hours a day 5 days a week - therefore cannot draw any social welfare and cannot do any of the internships which come with that.

I cant keep going like this for much longer to be honest!

Therefore I have recently been considering going Freelance.
I can offer a range of online marketing, social media etc. From my Masters especially I have seen the great effects social media can have for companies. I have also created some websites (basic enough) but for my target audience it would be online presence at a small price.
I can offer to set up, maintain FB pages and attend events to put pics and news up for people who either cannot or will not do it themselves.
I can also offer brochure creation, public relations, marketing, advertising etc.

I suppose my real question is do ye think companies would be interested in this?

So far, I have researched 50 companies in my area and 60% either have no FB pages at all or they are inactive.
Over 70% have no websites!

I plan to build my knowledge on web design but even for now I would be happy to see if I could get some work organising FB for people and doing basic websites for these small companies to have an online presence.

Sorry this has turned out to be a bit long, to sum it up, do ye think I am mad? I can see a need for this service but will others?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and I value any opinions.

Evening,
I fully appreciate your situation. You're being paid for 2 hrs work a day so that leaves you with lets say 6 unpaid working hrs per day to fill.

Unfortunately the country is awash with people in your predicament at the moment.

So, here's my pennies worth for you...

People and most businesses won't/can't spend any money on what they perceive to be a pointless spend. Use the info you've put together already and approach 12 businesses (for starters). Give them the hi-lights of your predictament while also telling them what you can do for them re FB etc. Stress the "it'll be free" bit.

Start by putting your own professional FB and LinkedIn pages together (do leave out the photos of you and buddies on hols in Majorca!). Why not start your own unique blog on the subject with whys, hows, whens, pros and cons etc etc.

If your approach is professional and you know what you're talking about they'ed be foolish to ignore a gift horse. Don't waste a second with people that say no.

Service your initial contacts v-well and then start charging when you have proven results to show people. Besure to have them leave comments on your linkedin page.

All of the above can be done within your free 6 hrs each day, that way atleast you'll keep the few quid that are coming in.

Approach some local web development co's and let them know what you're doing (leave out the free bits!). Tell them that in your line of business if you meet clients with web requirements it would be usefull to know whos local that can offer solutions etc etc.

Anyway, that's my pennies worth.

If you do decide to take the leap, do let us know. It'd be some free advertising.

What sector is the 2hrs per day in? Talk to them they might like a FB presence for free. It would save a phone call!

Best of luck.

paddy0090

I agree with the above two posters, except for the free work aspect. Use what you know to offer Search Engine Optimisation(get a book or look it up online).
Some sites are basically thrown together without any regard for how they appear in the rankings or what their selling point is. Then work in the facebook and online marketing aspects.
Be careful about who you offer free work, some people will try and ride you for all they can, I'm talking from experience.

Best of luck with it!

rolion

@Quatro24
good luck and...what is/are "FB pages" ??!!

kippy

rolion wrote: »

@Quatro24
good luck and...what is/are "FB pages" ??!!

Facebook pages.


As an aside.
Best of luck with your venture OP.
I think a lot of businesses don't see the value of a Facebook page - myself as well to be honest - they are only of benefit to a certain business targeting a certain person, I believe.
As for getting more knowledge in webdesign.
Webdesigners are two a penny now - I wouldnt waste your time getting into the technical side of it - that kind of stuff could be farmed out.
Focus on what you are good at.

Quatro24

Morning,

First of all I want to thank everyone for their response.
Your thoughts are valued and very welcome.

I suppose from thinking a little more in the few hours since my original post I am thinking what do I have to lose?
If I offer this service initially for free or a low fee, either way I know I am not going to make a fortune (not yet anyway!).

The main thing I will need is time! And this is something I have.
By offering this service I will have to research each company, that gives me a chance, in great detail. Therefore being able to know what the company is all about so I can hit their target audience and converse with them and appeal to them in a way the company wants.

As well as this, even if this did 'kick off' I could only take on a limited number of clients in order to give each page the time and effort that will be required as well as attending events for companies so I can talk about each and put up pics etc.

Thanks again

@Kippy - "I think a lot of businesses don't see the value of a Facebook page - myself as well to be honest - they are only of benefit to a certain business targeting a certain person, I believe."
I totally agree, Facebook is def a lot more beneficial to some companies than others and I have and will continue to take this into consideration in my research. Thanks!

@Paddy0090 - "Use what you know to offer Search Engine Optimisation(get a book or look it up online)."
Thanks Paddy, I do have a certain amount of knowledge in this area and ordered a book from Amazon last week! (waiting on its arrival) So I totally agree with you on that one too!

007.57

My advice would be to set up your own site and start trading. Doesnt take much to get going, just need to spot a potential market.

By far the best way of practicing, getting more experience, learning about business online and at the same time earning.

imagine going to a potential employer and saying 'I set up my own successful business, designed it myself, marketed it myself, grew it myself, and then sold it, now I'm looking to join a strong company to learn more' etc.

Dutchie

To OP, please PM me as I would like to talk to you regarding potential project I have in the pipeline.

Many thanks.

Nipaco

Anyone wanting to get off their butt and do something is positive. I actually think you've got a need idea for what you want. Make a few extra bob a week and keep your finger in the pot. I agree that if you expect to gain anything other than that then you will need to do freebies and probe your results. It might be worth doing it for small sme's or one man bands. Give it a go mate

Quatro24

Thanks again for all your posts.

Dutchie apologies, I was away for a few days. PM sent.

Nipaco I have seen some of your posts, hope your business venture is progressing for you.

maxer68

I contacted a company that specialises in online advertising and got a reply back to say they are too busy to look at taking on new accounts at present.

I don't want to employ a company that does general advertising, but would love a specialist that knows all the ins and outs of site specific advertising on a contract basis. My ad spend is 40k+ a year and growing.

Maybe set yourself up as a specialist in this area and contact those already selling online as they may have more appreciation for your work.

Quatro24

God thats interesting Maxer68.
Imagine people turning down business in these times!

I should look into that.