Entrepreneurship. Rhonda Abrams

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       Barriers to entry

       Certain obstacles will stand in the way of a company—either yours or a competitor’s—attempting to enter a given market. Significant barriers to entry make it harder to succeed in an entrepreneurial venture. But once you’re established, these same barriers to entry stand in the way of competitors coming after you:

      ■ Substantial initial investment required

      ■ Limited distribution channels

      ■ Entrenched customer loyalty to existing offerings

      ■ High “switching costs” for customers to move to new offerings

      ■ Aggressively low prices from competitors

      ■ Intellectual property protections, such as patents

      ■ Government regulations, tariffs, trade restrictions

      ■ Language or cultural differences

      ■ Market saturation and oversupply

       For more on barriers to entry, see pages 132–134.

       Types of business models

       WHAT YOU DO

      ■ Design physical products/merchandise

      ■ Manufacture physical products/merchandise

      ■ Sell physical products/merchandise

      ■ Create information/content/data

      ■ Aggregate or distribute information/content/data

      ■ Provide personal or business services

      ■ Provide expert advice/consultation

      ■ Provide money/financing

      ■ Provide labor/human resources

      ■ Transport products/people

      ■ Provide infrastructure/telecommunications

      ■ Provide a marketplace—physical or online—for others to sell goods or services

      You will very likely employ more than one business model. For instance, let’s say you have an e-commerce, transaction-based website that sells yoga clothing and accessories (made by other companies) directly to consumers. If your website attracts a lot of users, you may also want to sell advertising on that site to manufacturers of yoga clothing or other items that appeal to a yoga clientele. If you’re highly successful, you might decide to also open brick-and-mortar stores, design some of your own yoga products, or even offer yoga retreats.

      It’s also probable that your business model will change over time. But it’s important that you have a clear sense of which business models will be primary at the time you launch your company.

       See pages 44–45

      If you submit your business plan for an online business to a potential investor, include a clear statement of your business model, specifying what percentage of your income will come from which business models.

      HOW YOU SELL IT

      Direct sales to consumer/end user: Either as B2C (business to consumer) sales as a retailer, on the Internet, in-person, and so on; or B2B (business to business) or B2G (business to government) by selling directly to other companies or governmental entities.

      Wholesale sales: Using intermediaries, whether brick-and-mortar or online retailers, distributors, and so on, to reach customers.

      Brokering: Bringing others together for transactions; taking a commission on sales (such as in real estate or financing), or providing your service on a subscription basis (such as with online dating sites), or charging a flat or hourly fee.

      Leasing: Providing your product, service, or information to customers for a set period of time for a fee but without their taking ownership of the asset.

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