In 1986 I was in my early 20s and started a company that brought a new and innovative product to market called Winetux.
This product used a new technology to keep wine cool sitting on your table on a hot day.
The design of a tuxedo was supposed to add class to any occasion. Friends loved it. They thought it was going to be the next Rubik's cube. I managed to raise the $10,000 we needed to get the business off the ground from friends and family. I found a designer and contract manufacturer and went on the road selling the product at wine festivals, gift shows and to retailers. The problem was that while the product concept was a fresh and novel idea, it was not a necessity item. Furthermore, we made the mistake of not doing enough market research.
If we had, we would have likely found that many people don't like covering their bottles. In fact, they like showing off the labels.
We hadn't clearly defined who the target market exactly was or determined the best way of selling to them. The One Page Business Plan by Jim Horan wasn't invented in those days, but had we used it, perhaps our vision for the company and the product would have been much clearer. We would have focused on wedding parties and wedding stores where we could see some volume. Perhaps we would have realized that we needed to serve niche marketplaces where covering the bottles was not an issue. In the end, Winetux wasn't profitable because we didn't have the strategy, money or resources to get the sales we needed to ensure its viability. The whole endeavour resulted in a near physical and mental breakdown for me.
Like many small business owners, I was bleeding energy. I was run ragged trying to ensure the operation was successful, doing all the jobs from managing production contracts to marketing, bookkeeping and sales, while figuring out how I was going to pay back my shareholders.
In the end, there was enough value in the business and the patent that we were able to sell it and recouped enough to pay my shareholders back.
Many business owners struggle along the road to success. Having a proper strategy and setting goals for the business is instrumental in that success. The best way to achieve your goals is to surround yourself with people to help you along the way. After writing down your goals, you know what you need to do to achieve them and building a team around you as you grow helps to ensure that you will.
Take the time to develop your dream team.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is a certified professional business coach who can be reached at 250-617-7467 or by email at [email protected]
