Top-level consultants offer tips for entrepreneurs

SALISBURY — A workshop on entrepreneurship drew a crowd of about 30 people, mostly women,who listened raptly as consultants Mark Trager and Lauren Trager spelled out the fundamentals of starting and running a business.

The Thursday evening, Sept. 26, class was held at the Scoville Memorial Library.

Having a written business plan is essential when seeking loans, grants and investors, according to Lauren Trager, who has written more than 150 of them during her consulting career. 

“The business plan is your road map,” she said.

It lays out how the path will lead to profits. 

Equally important is having a clear idea of who is, and who isn’t, your target audience, she said. 

“Babies aren’t your audience for baby clothes, but moms and grandparents are,” she explained. 

“The biggest mistake,” the Tragers said, is “trying to reach everyone and appealing to no one.”

While the talk addressed marketing (including online), operations (“back up everything”), delegating, profit management, relationships with vendors  and finance, a running theme throughout was the importance of continuous learning. 

“The key word if you own a business is research,” said Lauren Trager. Who are your competitors? What are their strategies? Are their customers happy? What do you know about the demographics of your local market? 

The Tragers shared a long list of free and low-cost sources of market information available online. 

“Talk to your customers,” they advised, to find out “what they like and dislike about you and your competitors.” 

Listen to customer recommendations.

Mark Trager underscored the importance of maintaining a substantial internet presence, explaining that having many online mentions of your company in media, blogs, videos, Twitter posts and other social media weighs heavily in how prominently your name appears in Google and similar search engine listings. 

He also detailed how important profitability and efficiency are to success. 

“Don’t sacrifice profit for revenue. Profit is driven by efficiencies,” said Trager, who noted that entrepreneurs often fear passing up opportunities without realizing that some will be unprofitable, such as projects involving excessive unbillable travel.

Among the attendees were a farmer, a design firm entrepreneur and several other small-business owners. About a third of those present said they were contemplating starting a business but did not currently own one. 

While audience questions mainly concerned financing, one questioner asked how small businesses can beat giants like Amazon.com, who can offer lower prices. 

“People who shop online can’t touch, taste or squeeze products,” said the Tragers, noting that while free returns by mail are possible, they’re “annoying.” Brick-and-mortar shops can dispense advice and great service, making a human connection. Local shops provide greener options for delivery, creating less packaging waste and carbon pollution.

Two Twelve Consulting, LLC is the firm the Tragers established in Salisbury after high-level careers in banking, retail and education. They also provide volunteer business advice through SCORE, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship,” according to its website. Another resource mentioned was Northwest Connecticut Community College’s Entrepreneurial Center of Northwest Connecticut, in Winsted.