It’s time to be bold. It’s time to make a splash. After writing about business and entrepreneurship for over six months now, it’s time to launch an example business startup, myself! This business startup will be on stage, as an example, for YOU to witness. You can read about this example business startup as it progresses, in real-time! So week after week, I’ll write about the hardships AS THEY HAPPEN! Read about the successes and failures AS THEY OCCUR!
Through GravyGrowth.com, I’ve consistently communicated my knowledge and experience about business, blog post after blog post. So far, so good! And since there are so many facets to business, each of which having enough depth to have volumes written about it, this will continue on. There’s no end in sight.
This example business startup will be in addition to my other blog posts.
Adding an example business startup to GravyGrowth.com
I’ll document the entire process as I plan and launch this example business startup. Stay tuned as I report the progress regularly. It’ll be on display for YOU to follow, week after week. You can stand witness to an actual business startup each step of the way. Experience this example business startup from the sidelines!
So let’s learn together! And if I beat the odds and succeed, as I plan to, you can watch it all unfold here on GravyGrowth.com
Example business startup ideas
I already have a business idea. And I know that ideas are cheap. So I’ll turn my idea for an example business startup into something valuable, so I can make a profit.
Original ideas
Winning ideas are usually NOT original. Put your spin on an existing business idea. It doesn’t matter how many people have thought of it before. Turn it into something tangible and valuable to get the credit for it.
Thomas Edison did exactly this, with an existing idea…the electric light bulb. Electric lighting was first invented in 1800, by Alessandro Volta. Then, in 1802, Humphrey Davy produced the world’s first electric lamp.
What followed was a series of inventors who tried to develop the light bulb into something viable, unsuccessfully. Finally, In November 1879, Edison filed a patent for the electric lamp using a carbon filament.
Seth Godin covered this concept when he wrote “Steal, don’t invent. Steal your business model. We don’t have a shortage of business models, it’s okay if you pick one that’s already working for someone else.”
Service business
Teaching is a service business with which I already have experience. It’s an area I really understand. And the advantage to starting a service business is, it only requires minimal overhead. You just need to find the right talent.
For me, finding the right talent is easy. My father is a top-notch piano teacher. He has over 40 years of experience and a Masters degree in music. So I’ll provide a platform for him to teach. His proven piano teaching methods will soon be online and on Skype. How exciting!
eLearning – Online courses
Online Learning Industry Poised for $107 Billion In 2015 – according to Forbes.com. That’s close to double what the industry did in 2014. And THAT was impressive. So I believe I have a shot at success.
There are a multitude of piano lessons online. Some are okay, and some are strange. But there are many! And the key here is, the ones which are decent have hundreds of thousands and even millions of views. That’s a good sign. I will carefully plan and launch a different method – one that will captivate and inspire – one that will have a personal touch, using Skype.
Business model
Your business startup business model is the initial description of how your business will function. It defines your business structure. It includes your value proposition – the value proposed to your potential customers. How will you transact and deliver that value to your target audience? Then, most importantly, how will your business startup make a profit?
The business model of my example business startup is simple. Students will pay for eight lessons at a time through PayPal, credit card, or check by mail. Typically, students should only take one or two lessons per week.
Piano lesson format
Students must master each step before moving to the next step within each lesson. So the lesson will pause after each step. After the students are comfortable, they’ll click to proceed to the next step. Then, when they feel they’ve accomplished the entire lesson, the students will have a live session on Skype, with the teacher, for feedback. Each student will receive one live session for every single piano lesson. This reinforcement process is called programmed learning.
Programmed learning
According to behaviorist B. F. Skinner: “Programmed learning has three elements: (1) it delivers information in small bites, (2) it is self-paced by the learner, and (3) it provides immediate feedback, both positive and negative, to the learner.” This was proposed in 1958.
The typical student will get through an entire lesson in about an hour, but this will be self-paced, so take as much time as needed. The student is the boss.
Eight-lesson courses
It’ll take two to three eight-lesson courses for the students to learn all of the basics and have the know-how to play the piano. Then, if the students decide to advance, I’ll provide custom online piano lessons or references to local piano teachers from my network of approved piano teachers.
Half-price pre-launch signups
I’ve already created the site: NoteByNumber.com. I’m now signing up my first students at half-price pre-enrollment. One eight-lesson course, which includes about an hour of training plus 15 minutes of feedback from the teacher via Skype, is only $59. In September, when the lessons begin, the normal price will be $119 for an eight-lesson course. The web site, which still needs work, has an introduction video in the Introduction page.
Free Lessons
I’ll hold a drawing at the end of July and select a few students to receive the first eight-lesson piano course for free. Those who sign up for the newsletter will be automatically signed up for the drawing. If they already paid the $59 pre-enrollment, it will be refunded if selected in the drawing.
To begin
Below is what I stated in Home Business Startup Options – Part 1:
It takes time to rank with Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines. Get your domain created. Get your web site up and running. Start adding content to it right away. You don’t need to start with a fancy e-commerce site, but you must get something going. The final function, look, and feel of your site will evolve, so don’t worry about that yet.
I’ve created a basic web site showing the highlights of what will be taught. It allows people to sign-up pre-enrollment at half price.
Next, I’ll report the progress in my next Example Business Startup blog posts, week after week, so stay tuned!
Thank you for reading:
Example Business Startup – It Begins!
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Love your transparency, Greg. Going with a service-based business model is a great idea as there will always be people looking for solutions to the challenges that they have and, in this case, it’s learning to play the piano and getting feedback. I believe that will make a huge difference.
All the best with your new business!
Thank you Yvonne. My father is very excited about gaining some students who want to learn piano online. Did you see the video?