Hi Boyd

I liked your post. I've thought about this for a while - it's an important topic to me... I'd like to be able to approach creating a business "scientifically" too!

Everything I've done so far in business is in reality to some degree towards this aim - UNDERSTANDING entrepreneurship so you can create a profitable business from the beginning. I believe it's an achievable goal...

Anyhow, I think it's complicated because business is not always simple - also there are lots of "little things" which can HELP a business but which are not necessarily ESSENTIAL. I'm interested in the very BASICS - the ESSENCE if you like of what it takes to create and run a profitable business....

The bottom line is that you have to get people to buy your stuff. No matter what it is you do - whether it is a service or if you are selling products - you have to get people to buy your "stuff". If you can get people to do that, as long as your costs are not too high, then you should be making a profit and succeeding.

Anyhow - I think that these steps are essential to running a profitable business:

First you have to have a good OFFER in my opinion. A good offer means something that people will value. They'll see it or hear of it and think - wow that's a great deal! Various aspects of copywriting are actually about improving your offer - things like adding a guarantee or adding bonus products are actually strengthening the offer.

The second thing you have to do is communicate your offer to people. If nobody knows about it then you can't make any sales. This is where advertising comes in.... It's possible to have a successful business without any kind of advertising but it's probably more difficult. You have to "spread the word" somehow - and posting on forums like this one is one way of doing that (by leaving a link at the end of your post).

The third thing I think you have to have is credibilty. You can have a great offer that everyone knows about but if no-one believes your offer is genuine you won't succeed.... So people have to believe what you say. Other aspects of copywriting such as using testimonials helps with credibility. Another way of establishing credibility is to have good relations with your customers. If you've "delivered the goods" to your customers in the past then they'll believe you'll do so again in the future.

Well - that's a quick run-down of what I consider to be three key ESSENTIALS.... I think if you have those three aspects you'll be likely to do well. I know this isn't "revolutionary" - countless people have written about them before. What I've tried to do is cut through the extraneous stuff and get to the real "heart" of what I think lies at business success.

Anyhow those are what I think they are at this point in time. Of course I may add more as time goes by!

- Dien Rice