To Avoid a Washout in a New Business Venture, It’s Important to Do Your Research
Question: I manage a national chain of Laundromats and want to find out more about branching out into the linen service business, laundering towels, napkins, tablecloths and other items for restaurants, salons, hotels and motels. Where do I start to find out more about this business?
--Errol E. Hingco, Los Angeles
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Answer: Business owners in almost any industry in the U.S. can find help, resources, networking opportunities, ongoing training and publications from the professional organizations established to serve their industry. Start at your local library with a directory called the National Trade and Professional Assns. of the United States.
Our organization, the Cleaning Management Institute, holds an annual trade show and publishes three trade industry magazines. Call (518) 783-1281 or visit our Web site at https://www.cmmonline.com. At the Web site you can register with our organization and post queries on our bulletin board or sign up for an e-mail forum in which you can participate in online discussions about the linen service industry and pose questions for other business owners.
Other organizations that may be helpful to you are the National Assn. of Institutional Linen Management in Richmond, Ky., (606) 624-0177; the Building Service Contractors Assn. International in Fairvax, Va., (800) 368-3414; and the International Executive Housekeepers Assn., Westerville, Ohio, (614) 895-7166.
--Dominic Tom, managing editor,
Cleaning & Maintenance
Management magazine,
Latham, N.Y.
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Q: I’d like to start a home-based business as an independent sales rep. I’m good at crunching numbers and analyzing the marketplace and would like to find a product to market. How do I go about finding a manufacturer or distributor who needs me?
--Virginia Moran, Carlsbad
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A: Finding a product or product line to represent is probably the easy part of the process you are about to embark upon. Many companies want to find effective salespeople who will market their products. The harder part, and the part you need to address first, is determining what you are capable of selling and in what industry you will be most effective.
If you have a home-based business, you need to decide if you want to work exclusively from home and do your selling by phone, or if you are willing to get in your car and sell regionally. Are you willing to travel further and put up with overnight stays--either nationally or even internationally? Your decision to travel or not will either limit or open up opportunities.
Also decide whether you prefer to work part time or full time, on salary or on commission. Then you need to choose an industry for which you have an inclination or education already, if possible.
One way to select an industry is strictly geographic. If you want to sell to the major national retailers or to the major banks, you’re going to be doing a lot of traveling since none of them are based in Southern California. If you want to sell farm tools, you’re going to have a hard time here too. On the other hand, if you are interested in selling to the engineering, high-tech or entertainment industries, you’ll probably have an easier time. If you want to sell arts-and-craft items to gift stores or software to computer stores, you can live almost anywhere and have plenty of work.
Evaluate your skills and interests. Do you have an educational background or personal interest that would lend itself to a certain product, service or industry? Have you studied computers? You might consider software or hardware sales. Chemicals? You may be able to market pharmaceuticals. Are you proficient in language and writing? Books might be a good fit.
Once you’ve narrowed your interest to a particular industry, get in touch with the trade associations and read the trade magazines for that field. Go to the industry trade shows and get a feel for the kinds of products that are available. Get a list of sales reps for the leading companies and talk to some of them--find out how they operate, what the market is like and other details.
Another effective way to do research is to go to the potential sales targets you’ve identified within your interest area. Ask them who they buy from, what they buy and how they do business. You’ll likely get names of sales reps you can talk to and find out who will help you as you get started.
--Ben Tenn, president,
Tenn Consulting, specializing in sales and marketing, Northridge
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If you have a question about how to start or operate a small business, mail it to Karen E. Klein at the Los Angeles Times, 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite 100, Monrovia 91016 or e-mail it to kklein6349@aol.com. Include your name, address and telephone number. The column is designed to answer questions of general interest. It should not be construed as legal advice.
