Building a Brand Community with Norty Cohen - (Episode 114)

Today's Business Leaders with Gabe Arnold

So, you’ve got a great idea for a business. How are you going to get the business started? What do you need to get the ball rolling? Today’s guest, Norty Cohen, has years of experience in bringing ideas to life, however, it isn’t as easy as you think.

On today’s show, Norty uses his entrepreneurial insight to explain the essential things every budding entrepreneur needs to know when developing new business ideas.

Norty is a self-taught entrepreneur and has been in business for over 20 years. His marketing agency, Moosylvania, has been helping businesses expand their outreach and build their brand communities. Moosylvania goes beyond traditional branding and media to help turn your one-time buyers into lifelong customers and fans.

What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Have for Starting a New Business

Through his time in the marketing industry, Norty has seen countless ideas come and go and has developed guidelines for businesses to be prepared for developing their ideas. The first thing every entrepreneur needs to know is that an idea only goes so far if you don’t know how to put it in motion. The path to getting started may take longer than you think.

Your next step is figuring out your role within the business. Are you just going to be the CEO or are you going to be involved in the day-to-day? Depending on your answer, you need to have the right people in place to work for you.

Norty explains three must-haves for anyone starting a business:

• Surrounding yourself with good people.
• Having a product or service that is actually needed or desired.
• The ability to start the business with as little money as possible.

When figuring out these three essential components, it’s vital to know what resources you have available to you. Figure out ways to spend as little money as possible by using what you have. Norty calls this the MacGyver approach.

When you have an established idea and are building your framework, the next step is to research your competitors. See what’s out there, study the market and use your connections to obtain information. Once you have more knowledge of how your product fits into the market, it’s time to test it out with consumers. Try to focus on consumers who aren’t your friends and family. While their opinions are valid, you’ll get a more honest response from a stranger.

A key piece of advice Norty gives to any entrepreneur is to run their idea through the Pro-forma calculator. Type in your costs, prices and profit margins to see the true value of your idea. Adjust accordingly, rinse and repeat.

Ideas are Always Valued

The bottom line from Norty is that it’s okay to have multiple ideas floating around in your head on a daily basis. Keep track of them, write them down and always be on the lookout for ways to implement them. You never know what idea will become the next big thing. The crucial thing to remember is that an idea is just the starting point to something bigger.

Are you ready to get your idea rolling? Click here to see Norty’s “Top 10 Things You Should Know When Developing Business Ideas.” If you’re a business owner looking to expand on an idea, grow your brand community and boost your digital presence, contact Moosylvania today to get started. Keep up with Norty on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.