Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Hi N,

just like you, I had a vague idea about marketing when I graduated college. I was an International Business major and took what seemed like hundreds of finance and accounting classes but only about 3 marketing classes, even though I knew it would be my future.

Now you find yourself with a degree, but no real knowledge of marketing. Well, I can tell you that a job in marketing is a mix of the following elements:

1. work experience (I've learned from my career more than I learned in school)
2. continued education (a formal MBA worked for me, but this is subjective of course)
3. self education (every day is a new opportunity to read up on what's happening in marketing. start here on this site. marketing crosses all industries and all continents. get to know what marketing is like no matter where it is applied)
4. creativity (ideas, ideas, ideas)
5. passion (you've got to love what you do)

Don't be afraid to jump into your new business. If you know how to write a business plan, that's where you start. The rest is organization and implementation of that plan.

Start reading and educating yourself as the marketer of tomorrow. Devour all the content on this site. Order books about small businesses. When I was starting out, I actually interviewed some business owners and friends on what they did and how they did it. Oh, and one more thing . . . does your university have a mentoring program? Ask your placement office.

Best of luck!

Go for it. What do you have to lose? I assume you have no dependents. Lee Trevino said pressure is playing a $10 Nassau with $5 in your pocket. If you fail, you'll go interview for corporate jobs where you will tell them that you tried to start your own company, failed, and learned from the experience. I'll let you in on what I believe to be the truth: no one really cares what you do in your 20's. That's my perception looking back at age 40. The prior posts are correct. You really don't know squat. Then again, it really doesn't matter what you know, only what you can sell. I once had a boss tell me I wasn't worth XXX amount of dollars. I told him I was worth whatever someone was willing to pay me. Give yourself a year. You'll kick yourself if you don't.

Best of luck.

The answer to " How To Start a Small Scale Marketing Firm" was never answered at all. I was looking for a responce more on the line of, 1. The Necessary compomponets needed to start the business, such as Idea protection and business liability, Team members needed and there positions, Steps to take when marketing an idea to potential client.

I have been in marketing for 3 years now. My college degree was not in marketing and I have done just fine. What I have found through this brief time is that the best books on marketing is actually sales books. This is the best way for something like what you are speaking of to get off the ground:
1. Get the legalities out of the way
Talk to a lawyer and find out exactly what it is that you will need to have to move on a business in general marketing and obtain that.
2. Figure out what you are going to market
This sounds like a no brainer, but that is something that people mess up on all the time. If you are going to sell apples, sell apples. Focus on the apples until you got a good understanding and are successful with the apples and then look at the fruit basket.
3. Find a neche in the market
You have to understand why and believe that there is not anyone that can offer what it is that you are offering. People are not going to metally listen if it is the same thing that Joe Blow offered him 20 times in the past year.
4. Figure out the customer
Once again, sounds easy but people mess it up all the time. I don't care how good you think you are at sales but you are not going to get a hippy tree hugger to buy into animal skins, so don't offer that to them. Do your research and find out where the type of people that you want to talk to are and what their habits are and how you are going to contact them. Put up a sign at the local high school hang outs if you are selling Mylee Cyrus posters, not at the retirement village. The best way to do this is by surveying the target area. You will be amazed at the responce if you just ask the questions.
5. Go back to the lawyer
Once you have the above mentioned actions taken care of, then you need to check and see if there are anymore legal issues that apply at this point. Tell him everything! What you are marketing, how you are marketing, to whom you are marketing to, and when you plan on starting. There is a law in California that states that you can not shoot a whale with a rifle while driving down the highway in your car; there are a lot of silly rules and regulations that are on all aspects of life out there, but they are still laws and you have to obey them. There is nothing worse for any new company out there than a order to cease business. Don't let that be you.
6. Present to the Powers at be.
Once all that leg work is out of the way and you have that plan to show your father. The key to any successful company is that company's ability to sale. Show your father all the information and be excited! He will respect the work and will see the potiental if you do it right. There is always a good and bad side to everything and your job as a marketer is now to show everyone why the good destroys the bad.
7. Remember the plan and stick to it.
As you can see with the people above, everyone has an option and they love to share it. The most useful thing that I have ever learned is the following statement: "Thank you very much for you imput, I will take that into consideration" Smile and go on your way. You have a plan! You have the road map! Do let people tell you to stray unless they have been down the path you are headed. Obviously your father is a successful businessman or you would not be looking at starting another avenue of business with ties to that company. Listen to him! He knows what he is doing, or he would have gone out of business a long time ago.

Good luck, and if you need anything, feel free to ask me. I don't claim to know everything but like your father, if I wasn't good at it, it never would have become anything. That is the beauty of capitalism.