Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I made the leap from commercial banking about three months ago (it wasn`t a very tough decision in this economy) after starting www.incspring.com. Basically, IncSpring is a new way to brand your business.  Users post complete brand packages for sale including logos, names, and domains.  In some cases users offer additional stuff, such as trademarks, websites, collateral, etc. We`ve done a great job finding sellers in just a few months, but we`re slower than expected on buyers.  As SuN says, 2009 is the Year of the Entrepreneur so we think we`re perfect for the current times.  Any one have any suggestions on how to gain some entrepreneur exposure (other than high cost advertising)?

Thanks,
Wes


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IncSpring

Here`s the actual link:  https://incspring.com/

Hi Wes :-)
I think I get what you`re doing....maybe...sorta kinda. If I understand it, you`re trying to sell a branding "shell" like almost a template? The buyer would take this template and plug in their product or service, having all the other parts already complete? Like the logo, trademark, company name and so on? Is that close?

I went to "Mint Moka" just to see what`s what. I`m assuming I`d be someone in to coffee, and do what...buy the existing package then figure out how to sell coffee under that package?

Have you determined what types of businesses you are targeting? Small, medium or large? Is it a start-up or a well established business looking to re-brand? Is it an individual unsure of how to market and brand? Is it a business looking for a new marketing company?

Is the business owner a kid, adult, male, female, publicly traded?

What specifically would you imagine most of your buyers would be using the site for and what type of business are they?

The reason I ask is depending on these factors, there are different suggestions you might want to look into. For example if the average user is a younger business owner, then a social networking advertisement might be more effective. However, if the business owner is generally older, social networking may not be the best bet.



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Motivation for Entrepreneurs
Entre-Propel.com

I think you have a couple of options - since your business is "not" local, it needs some extra money to get it out there.

 Hey Wes~

I`ve been keeping an eye on your site for some time as I think it`s a unique way for small businesses to acquire a brand/logo at a reasonable price.

Art`s suggestion of matching domain owners with designers to co-op projects may be something to think about. That may bring a new set of customers to your brand designers. However, many domainers are into buying and selling domain names, not branding and not logos. They may need a brand, logo or design to pull traffic to the domain which can help up the value of the domain name or a brand/logo/design may be required in order for them to monetize or sell the site. All in all, I think that avenue would be interesting to explore.

Here`s something else to think about... It appears you promote your company from a branding angle. From what I see, you`re actually an advertiser and/or promoter. Your site promotes designers and advertises ready-made logos and brands. Consider promoting and operating from this angle.

As an example, look at Zappos.com. CEO, Tony Hsieh, makes it very clear... They don`t sell shoes. Their business is customer service, and I can tell you from experience that Zappo`s is very, very good at what they do, Customer Service. Think about that for a moment and perhaps you can imagine that the business would promote, advertise and operate much differently if they were in the business of selling shoes. However, that`s not their business. They sell customer service.

Don`t think, “IncSpring is a new way to brand your business”, think, “IncSpring provides advertising for logo and brand designers.” You`re in the advertising business and looking at it from that angle would most likely call for you to operate and promote differently.

First of all, I get it. I also like the site and the concept is great.

One idea I have is to have some kind of contest for entrepreneurs and offer a free branding package as a prize. That should generate some buzz.



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