I was working as a dental technician now am working a tourism company in Dubai. I really love my past job and now am thinking to start one dental lab, recently I heard about one dental lab is going to close and am trying to take that on lease. I kindly request to send me some advice about marketing and name changing.

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Jay’s Answer: Before you take on the lease, can you sit down with the previous lab owner to understand why they are closing their business? What can you learn from their marketing efforts and business expenses?

Next, why change the name of the existing dental lab? The past owner spent time and money establishing the name – why not benefit from it?

Finally,  the key to your marketing is clearly identifying what your lab can do that the other labs in your area can’t or won’t do. It may be the speed of your services, type of services, guarantee of services, etc. How can your lab enrich your client’s lives? Once you understand the message, then you need to figure out how to get the message to them. Can you offer a lunch-and-learn seminar for the dental office managers?

I have two companies:

1- General contracting and general transportation
2- Business set up in UAE.

Like I arrange a local sponsor and manage all government transactions.  The question how shall i get new companies in UAE ? If any foreign company would like to establish company, factory…or any business in uae how shall i knew them before they start as services is to establish their companies and arrange their visas.

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Jay’s Answer: You need to establish yourself (your company) as creating business introductions to UAE. That means making personal introductions to business owners, government organizations, NGOs, etc.  By establishing your value in networking,  you’ve positioned your organization as a UAE “concierge” – making it easier to do business.

Start by taking a look at: http://guide.theemiratesnetwork.com/, http://uaetrade-usa.org/, http://www.uae-embassy.org/business-trade/doing-business, and http://www.communicaid.com/. These organizations have positioned themselves for businesses interested in doing business in UAE to connect with. Can you become a trusted vendor with them? Can you model your marketing after them? Can you do something they cannot? Can you target a country or industry that’s not well-served by these organizations? That’s where I’d start.

I am starting my wedding and event and wedding planning.  I am very creative and have the ability to create high class events and weddings and still keep it on a budget. What name would you think best describes this service?

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Jay’s Answer:   You have some conflicts I wanted to point out. People who are looking for wedding planners don’t think about event planners. People looking for event planners, don’t think about wedding planners. To you, both are parties with guests. But you’re dealing with a very different clientele, and they have different needs (wedding = emotion/love, events = celebration/money).

Also, it sounds like you’re targeting people who don’t have a big budget but want to look like they do. That’s fine, but it’ll limit how your profit (how small a budget are you willing to work with?).

Here are some names to consider:

• Weddings To Treasure
• Events For a Song (or Weddings For a Song)
• Thrifty Events (or Thrifty Weddings)

 I hope you could help me out with a tagline for my cleaning business.  I want to attract both residential and commercial cleaning, but not able to come up with something suitable, even though I been working for a while on this ( this is what I have so far: “Reliable Cleaning. Affordable Solutions”).  I think the first part is good, but the second one is not sitting well with me, I don’t really like the word solutions, and I think the word affordable makes it sound somewhat cheezy and may send the wrong message.  We do quality cleaning and offer good rates, but lately I noticed that people who want to pay the cheapest, most of the time actually
appreciate us the least, so I want to stay away from that.  What could work good for the second part that would describe good results or satisfaction, or something in that line and go well with the first part.  Thank you so much for your time and help!!!

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Jay’s Answer:   The key question you want your tagline to answer is: “Why should I hire you?”. If you’re in the cleaning business, it’s assumed you’re reliable. It’s assumed you’re trustworthy. It’s assumed you have an eye for detail. These are all “givens”. But what makes your business different/special from all the other cleaning businesses in your area? That’s what you want to showcase, otherwise your tagline will be quite generic and therefore won’t help you achieve your marketing goals.

Also – if you have the word “cleaning” in your business name – why repeat it?

So, even though you like “Reliable Cleaning”, I strongly suggest some different approaches to make your business stand out.

My company is called Aliki’s Art House. (Aliki is my Greek name) and the company was started in 1991. I originally chose this name as it was all encompassing and over the course of time, it has allowed me to branch off into many areas: I have taught art (specifically drawing) classes to all stages and ages. I have also done everything from birthday parties, to in-home art soirees, to classroom consulting and teacher development.

Now however, I would like to focus on something different. I would like to do one-on-one counseling sessions using art..a type of art therapy for lack of a better word. Perhaps I would be an art therapy facilitator as I am not a certified counselor, therapist or psychologist. I have simply found that art is very therapeutic and healing.

I would like to work specifically through creative mixed-media journals which record a person’s life journey and progress. I’ve used these journals personally since 1991, and  in a variety of settings: schools and curriculum, women’s workshops, teacher development but mostly they have been used to help people discover who they are and who they may want to become.

I have a few ideas for a name, but don’t really like them too much… (Art as Therapy, Art in Mind, Inner Art Healing, and Aliki’s Art Therapy).  I’m not sure about using words such as therapy and healing because it denotes needing some sort of degree in that area?

I am really ready to move forward and start, however, until I have a name for my promotional material, I feel a bit stuck!

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Jay’s Answer:   I’d start your naming project by interviewing a number of your past clients about the journal/therapy connection. The words they use would be the starting point for naming your new focus.

The names you’ve come up with so far may (or may not) be on-target. Are people looking for therapy/counseling itself or are they looking for the emotional “freedom” that you help them achieve? For someone who’s not an artist – why would art therapy be a useful tool/experience for them? Why wouldn’t they be better off with psychotherapy, music therapy, group support, etc.?

Despite your urge to create your promotional material – I would encourage you to do a bit more strategizing. Otherwise, you’ll have a name, but not an efficient way to put your materials in front of the people likely to become your clients.

I bake pies and am creating a delivery only business.  I have ADHD (but, I find I am not alone). I can’t seem to “finish” my business plan.  Is this project ongoing or is it me? I would like to sell my pies on craigslist.com.  I plan on keeping my job so I meet my business obligations.  I have several people to help with the baking and delivery but I have a problem with being afraid of people ripping me off. Are these all normal concerns?  I have a lot of family and associate support.  Where do I put my foot first?

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Jay’s Answer:   Your concerns/fears are normal. Keeping your job going is also a very smart move. So how to proceed?

1. Make sure you’re using a commercial kitchen. Your local health department has the information you need to understand why it’s necessary (both legally and from a safety perspective).
2. Form a legal company. You’ll want to either talk to a lawyer or at least do your own research (starting with Nolo Press – http://www.nolo.com). The point is that if someone were claim to have gotten sick from your pies, they might sue you. And you don’t want to lose your house because of your pies. The right company structure can help protect you financially. (Note: I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice).
3. You’ll probably need a business license to sell your goods (again depending on where you live). Getting your license to sell your baked goods will also probably necessitate working with your local Health Department to ensure you’re following packaging and food safety regulations.
4. You’ll want to make it easy for people to pay you for your goods. These days, an easy way to solve in-person payment is a mobile credit card processing machine. People could then pay you either in cash or with an instantly validated credit card.
5. Since you’re delivering the pies, you’ll probably want additional insurance to protect the pie delivery vehicle and driver. You’re operating a business, and if there’s a problem, your normal auto insurance provider might not be too happy.

The last steps were all to protect you and your business. Now, you need to market your pies to the public. Craiglist is the easy way to sell something, but it might not be the most efficient/effective. How about your local Farmer’s Market? Or, working with your local charity (they take orders for pies, they get payment up-front, you deliver).

All of these steps take time and money. Taking shortcuts might save you time and money short-term, but may cost you dearly long-term.

I’m in the process of finishing a course to become a wedding and event planner.  Once completed I intend to start out with my own business.  The problem is I am stuck on a business name.  I am after something that is professional enough for corporate events but also has the right feel for wedding planning, many that I think of are already taken, any help would be great.

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Jay’s Answer:   Congratulations on finishing up and best wishes in launching your new business. I get a lot of requests about naming a wedding/event planning business; in most cases my answer’s the same:

http://www.manygoodideas.com/2010/07/21/name-my-wedding-planning-business/

New business owners are excited to launch a new business, print business cards, create a website, and start trying to get business as soon as possible. That’s understandable – you’ve got an idea, passion, and see an opportunity for yourself to make some money. However, if you don’t think ahead strategically, you’re likely going to find yourself stuck. You’ll have a website, business cards, a business phone number, and you’ll be waiting for the phone to ring or emails to arrive. Or, you’ll be handing out your cards to anyone who’ll take them, hoping that they’ll contact you. That’ll quickly lead to frustration and disappointment.

Instead, imagine yourself in the future with your ideal client(s). Who are they? Where are they located? Why did they contact you specifically? What about your personality, skills, knowledge made them choose you from your competition? How much are they paying you? What do you love about working with them? What challenges you in working with them? The clearer you can describe your future, the better you can plan for it:

http://www.manygoodideas.com/2010/09/01/what-is-your-ideal-business-day/

This is probably not what you wanted to hear – you wanted simply a name. But a name alone won’t truly help you unless you’ve done your planning ahead homework (marketing/business strategy). And I do want you to succeed, so throwing out something “cute”, clever, or “catchy” won’t be of long-term benefit to your business.

If the person who’s teaching your course has given you wise counsel for marketing, you might have the information you need at-hand. If not, save yourself time & money now. Plan for your own success.

I bake pies and am creating a delivery only business.  I have ADHD (but, I find I am not alone). I can’t seem to “finish” my business plan.  Is this project ongoing or is it me? I would like to sell my pies on craigslist.com.  I plan on keeping my job so I meet my business obligations.  I have several people to help with the baking and delivery but I have a problem with being afraid of people ripping me off. Are these all normal concerns?  I have a lot of family and associate support.  Were do I put my foot first?

###

Jay’s Answer:  Your concerns/fears are normal. Keeping your job going is also a very smart move. So how to proceed?

1. Make sure you’re using a commercial kitchen. Your local health department has the information you need to understand why it’s necessary (both legally and from a safety perspective).
2. Form a legal company. You’ll want to either talk to a lawyer or at least do your own research (starting with Nolo Press – http://www.nolo.com). The point is that if someone were claim to have gotten sick from your pies, they might sue you. And you don’t want to lose your house because of your pies. The right company structure can help protect you financially. (Note: I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice).
3. You’ll probably need a business license to sell your goods (again depending on where you live). Getting your license to sell your baked goods will also probably necessitate working with your local Health Department to ensure you’re following packaging and food safety regulations.
4. You’ll want to make it easy for people to pay you for your goods. These days, an easy way to solve in-person payment is a mobile credit card processing machine. People could then pay you either in cash or with an instantly validated credit card.
5. Since you’re delivering the pies, you’ll probably want additional insurance to protect the pie delivery vehicle and driver. You’re operating a business, and if there’s a problem, your normal auto insurance provider might not be too happy.

The last steps were all to protect you and your business. Now, you need to market your pies to the public. Craiglist is the easy way to sell something, but it might not be the most efficient/effective. How about your local Farmer’s Market? Or, working with your local charity (they take orders for pies, they get payment up-front, you deliver).

All of these steps take time and money. Taking shortcuts might save you time and money short-term, but may cost you dearly long-term.

I am starting my wedding and event and wedding planning.  I am very creative and have the ability to create high class events and weddings and still keep it on a budget. What name would you think best describes this service?

###

Jay’s Answer:  You have some conflicts I wanted to point out. People who are looking for wedding planners don’t think about event planners. People looking for event planners, don’t think about wedding planners. To you, both are parties with guests. But you’re dealing with a very different clientele, and they have different needs (wedding = emotion/love, events = celebration/money).

Also, it sounds like you’re targeting people who don’t have a big budget but want to look like they do. That’s fine, but it’ll limit how your profit (how small a budget are you willing to work with?).

Here are some names to consider:

• Weddings To Treasure
• Events For a Song (or Weddings For a Song)
• Thrifty Events (or Thrifty Weddings)

I’m in the process of finishing a course to become a wedding and event planner.  Once completed I intend to start out with my own business.  The problem is I am stuck on a business name.  I am after something that is professional enough for corporate events but also has the right feel for wedding planning, many that i think of are already taken, any help would be great.

###

Jay’s Answer: Congratulations on finishing up and best wishes in launching your new business. I get a lot of requests about naming a wedding/event planning business; in most cases my answer’s the same:

http://www.manygoodideas.com/2010/07/21/name-my-wedding-planning-business/

New business owners are excited to launch a new business, print business cards, create a website, and start trying to get business as soon as possible. That’s understandable – you’ve got an idea, passion, and see an opportunity for yourself to make some money. However, if you don’t think ahead strategically, you’re likely going to find yourself stuck. You’ll have a website, business cards, a business phone number, and you’ll be waiting for the phone to ring or emails to arrive. Or, you’ll be handing out your cards to anyone who’ll take them, hoping that they’ll contact you. That’ll quickly lead to frustration and disappointment.

Instead, imagine yourself in the future with your ideal client(s). Who are they? Where are they located? Why did they contact you specifically? What about your personality, skills, knowledge made them choose you from your competition? How much are they paying you? What do you love about working with them? What challenges you in working with them? The clearer you can describe your future, the better you can plan for it:

http://www.manygoodideas.com/2010/09/01/what-is-your-ideal-business-day/

This is probably not what you wanted to hear – you wanted simply a name. But a name alone won’t truly help you unless you’ve done your planning ahead homework (marketing/business strategy). And I do want you to succeed, so throwing out something “cute”, clever, or “catchy” won’t be of long-term benefit to your business.

If you need help developing a strategy, I can help you. If the person who’s teaching your course has given you wise counsel for marketing, you might have the information you need at-hand. If not, save yourself time & money now. Plan for your own success.