June is Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing Month

By Stacey Anter

The Library Detective

Many of us may get the urge to hang out our own shingle and start a business of our own. It usually starts out as a hobby, something we do part-time, on the side, sometimes to earn a little extra play money. There are so many things we can do: record a song, write a book, paint a portrait/draw a cartoon, teach classes, sell antiques, sell our homemade goods like crocheted or knitted items, baked goods, or arts and crafts like pottery, paintings, sculptures, etc. We can sell items that are already made and ready to sell or we can create them ourselves. Nowadays, there are so many ways we can get our creations out there. We can record and upload songs to iTunes and videos to YouTube. We can write a book and self-publish it. We can blog, we can perform in coffeehouses and clubs, we can sell our wares online, at farmer’s markets, art festivals, and we can offer our services on our very own website.  

There are so many possibilities for a small business, home-based or otherwise. Naturally, it would take up much more space if I were to list all the books one could read on starting a particular business, so I’m just going to list a few and leave it up to you to visit your library to find out more about the business you are interested in starting.  Here are just a few general titles to peruse: Roadside MBA: Backroad Lessons For Entrepreneurs, Executives and Small Business Owners by Michael Mazzeo; The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life by Kimberly Palmer;

The Business Book; One Simple Idea for Start-ups and Entrepreneurs by Stephen Key.

If you’re curious for books about starting a specific business, take a look at these or check with your local librarian for something else you may have in mind: Retail in Detail: How to Start and Manage a Small Retail Business by Ronald L. Bond;  How to Start a Home-based Graphic Design Business by Jim Smith; How to Open and Operate a Restaurant by Arthur Meyer; How to Start a Home-based Dog Training Business by Peggy Swager; How to Start a Home-based Craft Business by Kenn Oberrecht; Start Your Own Tutoring and Test Prep Business by Richard Mintzer; The Renegade Writer: a Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success by Linda Formichelli.

Of course, once we’ve started a business, or even while we’re creating our business plan, we need to consider how we’re going to promote said business. Nowadays, there are many more ways to do this, aside from advertising, and word of mouth, thanks to social networking. We can put ourselves out there on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, just to name a few. Social media is an amazing marketing tool for entrepreneurs. Here are some titles to consider for marketing your business:   Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business by Karen Lelandl; YouTube Marketing Power by Jason Miles; The Facebook Guide to Small Business Marketing by Ramon Ray; Marketing Strategies for the Home-based Business by Shirley George Frazier; The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott; Marketing Plan Handbook: Develop Big Picture Marketing for Pennies on the Dollar by Robert W. Bly.

Books aren’t all that libraries have. We also have access to databases through AskRI.org like the AtoZ Databases for Business and Employment. For legal information, visit www.coventrylibrary.org for our Gale Legal Forms Database. The library is the best place to go for information if you’d like to start a business, and for marketing ideas.

There are so many things to consider when starting a business, including the marketing and business aspects. Planning is important before you start anything. Many people start their own business for the independence, or for the freedom to be creative. Either way, just do what you love. So, what are you waiting for? Go for it!

I call myself the Library Detective because I can find the answers to any question you can think of, or at least I can point you in the right direction.  To find out more about starting a small business, and marketing ideas, visit your local library; there are more Library Detectives there, too. If you would like to read other blog posts, come visit my Wordpress blog at http://librarydetective.wordpress.com/