and on we go

The last days I felt really dizzy. I think I worked too much. I was sooooo hyped about my idea and its development that I kind of forgot that it is not my whole life. There are other important things as well...like eating...or sleeping...or just relaxing, hang out with people I like and do nothing. Very important. But experiencing that rush helped me to now know that I should not take developing my company too deadly serious. Work on it yes, but just as much as my body allows me to! Although I get so passionate every time I work on it.
Yesterday I started working on a brochure for my product, including a product description. This really helped me to get a clearer image of what I am actually doing here! (I´ll post it as soon as I feel that this is a presentable version...not yet quite. Still undergoing changes.) I expanded my product portfolio by defining the core product and variations to it, finding introductory products (kind of appetizers so that people will want to work with me), add-ons for clients to buy later on when they were satisfied with my product and giving some thought to flagship product, really big fish, kind of Coca-Cola extra large. Not there yet either.
I also defined attributes and advanteages of my product and services. These will help me make a brochure in which I will describe and advertise my product. For the brochure I feel I need iWorks or any other proper program with templates. So I should get this first.
Presenting this work to my fellow Kaospilot students really helped me to get a more realistic view of what I am doing, their feedback was very helpful. They also helped me to think of new market segments that I could target. Plus it made me change my idea of how my product should actually look like...again. :-) It´s an ongoing process, this product and idea development...
Today we learned about packaging the product. Who would buy a perfume in a crappy plastic bag? Nonono, it has to be something special! Something extraorinary! You buy much more than the product, you buy a whole lifestyle, an experience, an identity. So you should better give your customer a clear idea of what you are selling him and make it attractive! Nobody wants a woman in dirty underwear. But give her some really nice dessous and everybody will be after her! She is still the same woman, but the package ist differen. (Maybe I should not choose this as an example, but I am a woman myself, so I may! ;-) )
Anyways, packaging I found really difficult. It made me realize that my idea of my product and my target group is not yet so clear. But that´s what this work is good for, right? To find out what you still have to think about and develop further. So here we go with the next creative act: what kind of people do I want to attract, how does my product "feel" like and how can I express this identity through, say, the way I dress, the way course facilities are set up, the interior, graphic design...even the invoice needs to be designed!
But tomorrow we will learn something about holistic entrepreneurship, so maybe this will be a source of inspiration!