Today is our first official day of business. My father builds fishing rods, I do the office work, Mom does the taxes. We are located in the South, rural areas & small towns, mostly. Lots of sportsmen/women around. So our potential customers are out there. My question is this: how do we reach such a specific group of people in a rural setting with an almost non-existing budget?
Really any advice you can give on start-up would be so appreciated. I'm a little lost.

Set up a booth at fishing tournaments - hand out business cards and flyers and do demo's of your product! I would find out if you could put your business cards up at the local sporting goods stores, bait shops, etc. You don't mention where you are located, but I'm in Illinois and we have our game and fish magazine (www.illinoisgameandfish.com). Maybe you could inquire about advertising in something like that. IT would take some legwork, but I bet you could find some affordable media to advertise in. If you dont' have a website, get one and by all means, put it on you signature line!!

How great that you have a family business!! Good luck.

Margi

Custom fishing rods is a great niche market! I agree, you need a website, it is the most cost effective method of advertising and works in conjunction with all your other efforts, for example: You hand out a card, flyer etc. with your message and your web address on it and now you have the ability to invite the person to a full color brochure (your website). On the site you can say so much more, show pictures, prices, and even take orders without even having a physical store.

I might be biased seeing that I develop websites but we do it ourselves when we run print ads. Our ads get the potential customer to our website, our website is almost the same as getting them to our office.

Put your web address on everything!

1. On your Car
2. Business Card
3. Email signature
4. All Print items
5. Even on a T-shirt
The list goes on....

Hope this helps, and good luck with your business! Family owned businesses are the foundation that our economy was built on. If you would like more info about starting a website please feel free to call me.

--

Thanks,
Dan La Bate
Creative Director & SEM - Engines of Creation.com
http://enginesofcreation.com


Phone: 518.842.3242
Fax: 866.643.4125
dan@enginesofcreation.com

I agree! Custome fishing rods are a great niche market. I think your biggest flaw is that nobody is your spokesperson/advetiser.. Somebody needs to be spreading the word wheather it be online, tv, mail, radio, etc.

Since your budget is pretty tight, I would suggest a door to door type approach. Get some business cards made and go out and visit your potiential clients wherever they may be. Start with the local businesses; sporting goods stores, pawn shops, furniture stores, etc. Then go fishing... If they are there, then you need to be there handing your card out, telling them your story, and showing off your product. Many times it just takes 1 or 2 good contacts to really take your business off the ground.

Good luck with your endevours,


Chico
Earn 1% **DAILY** Return On Money
AD Cash Generator
http://asdmarketing.110mb.com

First CONGRATS

Now the toughies do you have a business and marking plan/ If not start working on them and follow your marketing plan. There are so many low and no cost options out there you just need to know where to look.

Also set a goal. I want to make X amount of rods in July and base your plans on achieveing that goal.

Joanna Swank
Marketable Concepts
www.jswank.com
info@jswank.com
Joanna Swank

Here's a good free way to help get the word out...

I live in a somewhat rural area as well and we have community bulletin boards all over the place -- supermarkets, supply stores, anywhere and everywhere. Flyers posted there stay up for quite awhile. You can print up some flyers on brightly-colored paper advertising your business - i.e.

"Just in Time for Summer!"

Feel the thrill of a custom-crafted fishing rod as you tackle the waters and catch the BIG one! You'll have bragging rights all summer and your buddies will wonder how you did it!

- then make some tear-off slips at the bottom of the page (similar to the kind used to sell old textbooks at colleges) with your name and phone number/web address.

Hope this helps!
Sherice

Professional and affordable website design and search engine marketing - http://www.ielectrify.com

I love that idea... Better yet what about boating places, or bait shops.


Joanna Swank

www.jswank.com

Hello. My father started my company up in 1963 as a hobby. Dad used to avoid computer technology, mainly because he didn't understand it and he was intimidated by it. In fact, he avoided word processing and stuck with a typewriter until he died in 1989!

Many years later I had a website designed and put it up on the Internet. My objective was for my company to be found by GOOGLE. Unfortunately, I realized that no one was finding us. Business was coming in from our catalog or referrals from other websites. I wanted people to find me!!!

Personally I think you need to get some sort of website up. You can create your own at a minimal cost. If you are stuck, get the local high school geek to come in. They love that kind of thing. Then define your market. Put your website on ads, business cards, etc. I think a website gives a company a stamp of validity. Personalize it. Show pictures of your father building the fishing rods. Show a kid holding a big bass using one of the rods, etc. Then begin to "link." (I can go into that later.)

In short, in this day and age, websites are important. However, you don't have to pay a lot to get started. Again, your designer is at the local high school.

This one is simple. Go where the people are. In this case, the lakes, ponds and rivers. Take some of your products and let folks use them. Set up a free demo day and provide hot dogs or something. Put your ads in the local grocery store and gas stations. Tell the local postman to put in a word here and there. The local hangout for the working man who eats lunch is another good spot. Go for it.

Ocha

website: http://www.potpourriemporium.com
blog: http://www.potpourriemporium.com/blog