MKT 310 week 10

Respond to the following:

Develop a promotional plan for the store you "inherited" in the discussion, Merchandising Software (Week 7 Discussion).

1). Include your promotional objectives, the promotional mix, and the timing of the elements in the mix.

2). Provide your rationale for the plan.

Discussion Response Requirements

• Copy and paste the question above the pertinent response to make it easy for others to clearly see your answers.
• Fully develop your initial post with complete sentences and thoroughly address all parts of the prompt.
• Do not copy and paste content from the web.

week 7

I will fund my online clothing store made with African prints and fabrics in the following ways: Getting a small business loan I want to retain complete control of my online business but don't have enough funds to start am considering a small business loan. To increase my chances of securing a loan, I need a business plan, expense sheet, and financial projections for the next five years. These tools will give me an idea of how much I'll need to ask for and will help the bank know they're making a smart choice by giving me a loan. Advantages of getting a small business loan Convenience. Every town has a bank or financial institution, and there are also many online lenders that offer small business loans. That means it's convenient and relatively easy to approach a lender for this type of funding. Businesses can access large amounts of capital. Depending on the type of small business loan and the intended purpose for the funds, entrepreneurs can borrow large sums of money to start or run their business. Lower interest rates. Business owners with good credit scores can typically get a relatively low borrowing rate on small business loans

Disadvantages Established businesses are preferred Many lenders prefer businesses with a sound and proven credit history or there is a possibility that they prioritize their current or former customers, the profitability makes a substantial difference, making it pesky for new startups to secure a loan. Prerequisites Cumbersome Banks hold a long list of conditions that could be hidden as well, a business should fulfill before they clear the loan. It sometimes becomes impossible to meet all of them. Risk of losing Collateral Bank loans are generally sanctioned against some collateral, often the business holders' inventory and property. It prompts the risk of being lost to the bank eventually business fails to take off.

Crowdfunding Crowdfunding involves asking a large number of people to fund your business, typically through small donations, and they receive a small gift like branded merchandise rather than financial return. Most crowdfunding platforms are low risk because they don't require business owners to repay the money to the donors. The one downside is that a crowdfunding campaign is also time-intensive to put together, so it is important to make sure it is a good fit for your business. Advantages it can be a fast way to raise finance with no upfront fees pitching a project or business through the online platform can be a valuable form of marketing and result in media attention sharing your idea, you can often get feedback and expert guidance on how to improve it it is a good way to test the public's reaction to my product/idea - if people are keen to invest it is a good sign that the your idea could work well in the market Disadvantages it will not necessarily be an easier process to go through compared to the more traditional ways of raising finance - not all projects that apply to crowdfunding platforms get onto them when you are on your chosen platform, you need to do a lot of work in building up interest before the project launches - significant resources (money and/or time) may be required if you don't reach your funding target, any finance that has been pledged will usually be returned to your investors and you will receive nothing.

Fund my business myself with self-funding Otherwise known as bootstrapping, self-funding lets you leverage your own financial resources to support your business. Self-funding can come in the form of turning to family and friends for capital, using your savings accounts, or even tapping into your 401(k). With self-funding, I retain complete control over the business, but I also take on all the risk myself. I should be careful not to spend more than what I can afford and be especially careful if i choose to tap into retirement accounts early. Advantages I Will Run a Better Business If I have got my own money on the line, am going to look at my business very differently, both in the beginning when am asking myself how to fund my business, and down the road. Am going to want to really do my due diligence to make sure I can minimize the risk of losing my money.

One of the Top Owner's Funds Benefits - It's my Business, my Way What's one of the greatest joys of financing your own business? I have complete control. Am not beholden to anybody but myself. i don't have investors looking over my shoulders asking for specific returns. I decide how the money is being used. I decide how fast am looking for a return. This is one of the big reasons so many entrepreneursas our survey showsdo decide to go the route of self-financing and have business expenses paid with personal funds. It's a reason that's awfully hard to argue with. Disadvantage My Money Might Not Be Enough Strangely, success is one of the worst things that can happen to a self-financed entrepreneur. You now must have to deliver that order. Key cautions against business expenses paid with personal funds, "If you're going to be successful, you're going to need a lot of capital. The whole dilemma of cash flow comes up really quick,". A bank loan can give you more financial room for potential success. A dip into your savings could see your quick start meet a quick dead end. Smith drives that point home very clearly: "You could have the world's best business idea, you can be smart, you can be a serious hustler, but if you run out of cash? Your business is gone. No cash, no business."

The Risk of Personal Debt and Bankruptcy When we think of small biz owners whose business expenses are paid with personal funds, we tend to think of retirement accounts or savings nest eggs. Using funds in retirement accounts can negatively impact business owners in the short term and in the long term. Tapping into these accounts early means business owners may have to pay a penalty fee, as well as taxes on the amount withdrawn. And using these funds may mean not being able to retire when initially planned.

The best funding solutions for my business concept is funding my business with my own saving. My online clothing store made with African prints and fabrics is a new business, it's likely that I will have to put up at least some of the money myself. It can be difficult to borrow from a bank or attract other investors unless am also investing some of my own money. I preferred funding my business with my own saving because the easiest and most cost-effective way to provide my own financing for a new business is to use my personal savings. However, this can be risky, and I may not have enough to cover all the funding I need.

Advantages I Will Run a Better Business If I have got my own money on the line, am going to look at my business very differently, both in the beginning when am asking myself how to fund my business, and down the road. Am going to want to really do my due diligence to make sure i can minimize the risk of losing my money. One of the Top Owner's Funds Benefits - It's my Business, my Way What's one of the greatest joys of financing your own business? I have complete control. Am not beholden to anybody but myself. i don't have investors looking over my shoulders asking for specific returns. I decide how the money is being used. I decide how fast am looking for a return. This is one of the big reasons so many entrepreneursas our survey showsdo decide to go the route of self-financing and have business expenses paid with personal funds. It's a reason that's awfully hard to argue with. Disadvantage My Money Might Not Be Enough Strangely, success is one of the worst things that can happen to a self-financed entrepreneur. You now must have to deliver that order. Key cautions against business expenses paid with personal funds, "If you're going to be successful, you're going to need a lot of capital. The whole dilemma of cash flow comes up really quick,". A bank loan can give you more financial room for potential success. A dip into your savings could see your quick start meet a quick dead end. Smith drives that point home very clearly: "You could have the world's best business idea, you can be smart, you can be a serious hustler, but if you run out of cash? Your business is gone. No cash, no business." The Risk of Personal Debt and Bankruptcy When we think of small biz owners whose business expenses are paid with personal funds, we tend to think of retirement accounts or savings nest eggs. Using funds in retirement accounts can negatively impact business owners in the short term and in the long term. Tapping into these accounts early means business owners may have to pay a penalty fee, as well as taxes on the amount withdrawn. And using these funds may mean not being able to retire when initially planned.