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chooses to do everything in-house, going at it alone or hiring an accountant to join the staff, or opting to work with an out- side professional accountant or firm. You should also scrutinize services and


products offered by competitors, stresses Simonetti. It is not easy but you can do it anecdotally. Talk to people who carry that product. What are the advantages? You are looking for anecdotal data, which means you have to listen. What if their product is much better and cheaper? You can also purchase the product yourself and do your own analysis. “In the service industry, it’s a battle of


prices,” Simonetti said. “In some cases, it’s based on the price of a product. I can’t tell the difference between bananas of- fered by different companies. In that case, price is a factor.” In the service industry, service is an obvious factor, as well. “Customer service, the quality of a


product, capability of staff, and price. Those are things I look at to compare my business to your business,” Simonetti said.


While lowering prices for services tendered might make a difference, sometimes, it boils down to satisfying the customer. The way you approach and treat customers who come into your place of business, your ability to provide for them exactly what they need, how quickly you can do it, and following up on them all affect the way customers perceive your business.


Avoiding Business Blinders In order to avoid obstacles, Simonetti advised, approach the market with your eyes wide open, especially new business- es.


“You can’t be so enamored with your


product or service that you think every- one’s going to buy it. If you do, you’ll project sales that are unrealistic,” he said. “You have to be conservative with your projection. Assume the worst-case scenario.” For example, if you have a product that


is available in modest amounts and you manage to sell all of it and are faced with more demand, that’s a good problem. However, Simonetti added, if you have a lot in stock and only sell two, your busi- ness many not exist a year from now. “Be realistic with projections. If you


beat projections then that’s very good. It never hurts to be conservative and project a minimum number of sales,” he said. “What’s the worst that could happen if you’re conservative? If you overbuild, you could fail.” 


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