Ruth M. Owades Essay Example

credit card companies... She succeeded in contracting with all the suppliers she needed, by well negotiating the terms.

Unfortunately, the expected numbers she had based all of her strategy on was a bit too unrealistic and she had to revise the figures downward. She has planned and gained investors and now needs to decide whether or not to go ahead with the plans, or to hold back for another year and look for another partner such as another catalogue company. If we look at the situation logically there are several areas of consideratio. The forst is whether or not this really is a viable market segment that has remained un-serviced.

Prior to her experience at Avion, she knew what customers could have been interested in gardening and in the type of products she wanted to sell, because these poeple were alreay using mail order services. Thus the target market appear to be the right target as customers would be willing to purchase those goods. However, the question of the competition is not totally out of the question. Indeed, there are many companies that are seliing in the gardening industry. And the fact that they may not use mail order catalogue service may reflects a failure somehow and that could explain the lack of competitors in that particular market.

This lack may indicate a gap that is to say the market may be not accessible or not viable. But on the other hand, what Ruth Owades was willing to offer was already well managed, in a cost effective manner with regarding the fulfillment and overhead costs. She well negotiated the terms of her different contratcs even though the costs

had been much more expensive than if the project had been accepted by Avion. Finally, I think Ruth Owades was facing a main problem during the organization of her venture: her undercapitalization.

Indeed, in order to launch such a business an entrepreneur need at least a year’s worth of money, and she didn’t have that money that could have allow her to be more persuasive and relevant face to her contractors. However I would recommend to go ahead with her venture as she has already done the tough part. According to Carter Henderson, graduate of the Wharton School, business journalist and founder of the Interracial Council for business opportunity that spent years interviewing and observating entrepreneurs, the key to success results in different things. A good entrepreneur has marvelous interpersonal skills.

He reallyknows how to get along with people and get the best out of them. He also know how to twelve different things at once, which is critical in running a business. Tenacy and determination to overcome obstacles are also good quality that an entrepreneur must have. A good concept is key, but after a great idea, the next crucial step is a business plan. It will warn you of potential problems as well as show you what still need to be done. It seems that Ruth Owades meets all of these qualifications and that’s the reason why she should keep up with her venture.

Nevertheless, I would recommend she revise her strategy towards her contractors. Indeed, the figures updated didn’t meet the ones expected, and the investors are not willing to give more money. The investors want to stick to the terms they already negotiated, which

means 200. 000$ and not more, whereas the figures of a future profit were devise downward. There fore she needs to keep her contractors interested in the project. In order to do so, she should make everyone around her have a reason to do something special to make her successful. She should transform her suppliers into partners.

I suggest she revise the terms of the contracts for instance. Instead of making a one catalogue contract with the printer, she could sign up for a two or more catalogues contracts. There she can prove to her supplier her willingness to make a commitment to them. Another options, more twisty though, would be to kind of blackmailing them saying she has better offer from other suppliers in order to have the best deal with them. But that is of course a more risky alternative. She has likely been suffering some failures on the road to her achievement, but she consider that she might run at a loss for the first mailings.

If I recommend such a strategy it is because I trully think she needs to go ahead with her venture. I do not believe she needs to wait another year as some of her relatives suggested. She take the show on the road without selling her idea to other mailing order companies. Of cours she could benefit from listenning to some advices, getting some help from people experienced, but she started from scratch and has done pretty much everything on her own, thanks to her interpersonal and communicating skills.

Plus, what goes around comes back around. To conclude I would say, in order to succeed in her venture, I

recommend the 8 steps of Carter Henderson. - conceptualizing her service spotting trends in the economy devising a credible business plan assembling the ressources necessary launching your business expanding your business overcoming adversity and crises breaking out into big-time sales and profits Ruth Owades has already fill in the three first steps, but she needs now to assemble the ressouces necessary to launch her business correctly.