According to Dave Airey, VP of Sales and Marketing at OTI, “We started looking for a way to move our application to a GUI “look and feel,” but after two years of investigation it became obvious that it was not a practical goal. As an alternative we investigated upgrading our legacy application to a new product.”

OTI’s requirements for a new system revolved around their customers. After many years of custom changes, legacy system was geared to client requirements.

Airey noted, “OTI’s initial search took us to major ERP players, but none had features we required to support our loyal customers.”

Finding an ERP System with Strong Functionality:

The search for a new ERP system ended when OTI was introduced to PRONTO North America (www.PRONTOerp.com). According to Airey, “We were introduced to Pronto and were immediately impressed with rich functionality. One important feature was that Pronto is fully integrated. We had engineered our legacy system to be fully integrated so this was of major importance.”

Nothing happens. But, that’s what everyone does, isn’t it? Print out some brochures, tell everyone how great you are, and wait for money to roll in.

Stop right there. You have just made top 10 mistakes entrepreneurs make.

Mistake # 1 : First, being a “carpenter” is too general. There are a million carpenters in world, but only successful ones have something to concentrate on. Wood carving, house renovation, specialized pieces. Like old saying goes, “Jack of all trades, master of none.”

Mistake # 2 : If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. An idea is not a business plan, or a marketing plan, or even just a goal. It is simply an idea. Although planning process may seem long and tedious now, it will benefit you more than you could imagine in future. For example, when you are seeking funding, when you are joining an association of professionals, when your goals change, when your business changes, or if you take on a partner or investor. Your plan should guide you, but not constrain you. If something in your plan doesn’t fit just right, change it. Your business plan will never have a final draft.

Mistake # 3 : Brochures and business cards are GARBAGE to start-up businesses! You will spend far more producing them than they will produce for you. Ignoring high cost of printing these materials, and costs associated in designing them if you aren’t proficient yourself, most start-up businesses change too quickly for these materials to be effective for more than a short period, sometimes as little as days. If it costs $1000 to print these first time, and $1000 to design them first time, imagine how much you will pay if your brochures beat statistics and last 2 months. If alterations to design cost $500, it costs $1500 every time your business changes. If your business changes every 2 months, you can expect to spend at least $9000 that year on brochures and business cards. Yes, that is NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS in lost revenue, over something that is less effective than graffiti. Don’t waste your time, or your money, on brochures and business cards until you can keep your typical sales presentation same for at least 6 months. Otherwise, these things aren’t worth trouble.

Mistake # 4 : Okay, Yellow Pages. Let’s take a look in Yellow Pages and see how many other trillions of carpenters there are. Which ones stand out? Definitely not tiny ad in corner. Probably not one-liner. And as a start-up, that is all you would be able to afford. For one or two clients per year this would bring you, it is better to wait until your marketing budget can afford to buy large, extravagant and eye-catching ads.