Product Development and Testing

• Product Development involves developing, testing, and commercializing a product or service to solve a problem for the target market.
• It involves four steps, developing a product or service description, creating a prototype, testing the prototype, and validating the market.
• Idea generation involves brainstorming, researching, and identifying potential business concepts by exploring market needs.
• Idea selection is a structured method to choose the best ideas to develop and test, based on their viability and ability to create value.
• Product testing is mandatory to ensure the product or service will satisfy customers.
• It intends to elicit customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty and retention.

Components of Products/Services

• Products must directly address the primary target market in a personal manner using everyday language.
• Products need to highlight features that cater to customer needs or address customer problems.
• Use realistic superlatives in the product description.
• A modest product satisfies the needs and preferences of individuals who prioritize modesty, often with a focus on religious or cultural values.
• The target audience represents the specific group of consumers most likely to want a product or service
• Methods refers to the processes to be followed in effectively manufacturing or delivering a product or service.
• Manpower are the human resources who handle certain business operations.
• Machines include the technology used in efficiently operating the business.
• Materials covers what is used in creating a product or performing a service, including supply chain management.

Employee Qualifications

• Educational background gives the entrepreneur an idea of the candidate's knowledge of basic subjects.
• Work experience indicates what to expect from the applicant based on past positions.
• Specific skills/knowledge are important in technical jobs that require high proficiency.
• Work ethic deals with the worker's integrity when dealing with coworkers, bosses, and customers.
• A business model outlines a company's plan for making a profit, identifying the products/services to sell, the target market, and anticipated expenses.
• A business plan is a document with a specific aim, including assumptions about the business.
• Start-up costs include expenses during the creation of a new business.
• A value proposition explains the goods/services a company offers and why they are desirable to customers, differentiating the product from competitors.
• The mission defines the purpose of the business and guides in attaining the goals toward success
• Vision is a high-level understanding of the company and business model
• Objectives are the definition of the top-level goals and how they will be measured
• Customer target and challenges describes the types of customers to be targeted including their pain points.
• Go-to-market pertains to channels used to reach and sell to customers.

Pricing

• Pricing is the process of setting the price at which a business will sell its products and services.
• It is part of the business's marketing plan.
• Profit is the positive gain remaining for a business after all costs as calculated by Revenue - Costs= Profit.
• Profit Margin can be calculated using a company's gross, net or operating profit.
• Profit margins reflect net profit margins and pinpoint the percentage of sales that are actual profit as calculated by Net income / net sales = net profit margin.
• Expected cost is the cost estimated in advance of production or construction.
• Mark-up is an amount added on top of the total product cost in price.
• Accounting organizes and understands its financial information.
• Finance includes the management of money, investing, borrowing, lending, budgeting, saving, and forecasting.
• Lost analysis is the deduction in the value of investments.
• Historical trend analysis looks for stable, upward or downward trends, and technological, cultural, and political developments
• Profit analysis measures the profits of a business.
• Marketing is a business's overall plan for reaching prospective consumers and turning them into customers.
• Revenue calculates the value of all sales of goods and services recognized by a company in a period as calculated by sales revenue = sales price × number of sold units
• Customer satisfaction increases with follow-up sales by checking satisfaction of customers for repeat sales.

Selling Strategies

• Cold calling involves approaching potential customers who are not expecting the interaction.
• Consultative selling emphasizes to customers their need and the solution.
• Direct selling demonstrates a product or service.
• Persuasive selling points out compelling reasons for clients to pay for the product or service.
• Record keeping is the orderly and disciplined practice of storing business records.
• Task obligation requires that entrepreneurs comply with. government rules like licenses.
• An investor provides an entity, such as a business, with money for a financial return
• Bookkeeping records documents every financial transaction with a supporting document
• The basic accounting equation for getting the asset is Asset = Liabilities + Owner's Equity
• The formula for profit is Revenue – Costs= Profit
• The formula for expenses is Total expenses = cost of goods + operating expenses

Business Operations

• Business activities include services, merchandising, and manufacturing.
• Business reports simplify business analysis and evaluation of its overall health, and indicate goal attainment to strategically plan
• Business reporting consists of sales, inventory, and payroll reports.
• Sales reports help you create and adjust your sales strategy.
• Inventory reports, help update inventory needs.
• Payroll reports, help review the pay you have given.
• A Debit may mean money that is coming IN to the account, while a CREDIT may mean money that is taken OUT.