The Law of Resources – An Idea Will Not Get Off the Ground Without Adequate Funding

If you have a good idea and you are reading this article with the thought in mind that all you need is a little marketing help, let me through cold water on that thought.

Even the best idea in the world will not go very far without the money to get it off the ground. Inventors, entrepreneurs, and assorted idea generators seem to think that all their good ideas need is professional marketing help.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Marketing is a game fought in the mind of the prospect. You need money to get into a mind. And you need money to stay in the mind once you get there.

You will get further with a mediocre idea and a million dollars than with a great idea alone.

Some entrepreneurs see advertising as the solution to the problem of getting into prospects’ minds. Advertising is expensive. It cost $9,000 a minute to fight World War II. It cost $22,000 a minute to fight the Vietnam War. A one-minute commercial shown during the Super Bowl in 2011 cost you $6 M for a one minute spot.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had a great idea. But it was Mike Markkula’s $91,000 that put Apple Computer on the map. For his money, Markkula got one-third of Apple.

Ideas without money are worthless. Well … not quite. But you have to use your idea to find the money not the marketing help. The marketing can come later.

Some entrepreneurs see publicity as a cheap way of getting into prospects’ minds. “Free advertising” is how they see it, so be sure to liberally create, upload, and distribute Free Press Releases.

Some entrepreneurs see venture capitalists as the solution to their money problems. But only a tiny percentage of entrepreneurs ever succeed in finding the funding they need this way.

Some entrepreneurs see corporate America as ready, willing, and financially able to get their off-spring off the ground. Good luck as you will need it. Very few outside ideas are ever accepted by large companies. Your only real hope is finding a smaller company and persuading it of the merits of your idea.

Remember, an idea without money is worthless. Be prepared to give away a lot for the funding.

In marketing the rich often get richer because they have the resources to drive their ideas into the mind. Their problem is separating the good ideas from the bad ones and avoiding spending money on too many products and too many programs.

Unlike a consumer product, a technical or business product has to raise less marketing money because the prospect list is shorter and media is less expensive. But there is still a need for adequate funding for a technical product to pay for brochures, sales, presentations, and trade shows as well as advertising.

Here is the bottom line. First get the idea, then go get the money to exploit it. Here are some short cuts you could take.

You can marry the money. Georgette Mosbacher married Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher. Three years after their marriage, Ms. Mosbacher bought a Swiss cosmetics firm. Where did she get the money? It came from venture capitalists; distributors in Switzerland and Japan; plus her husband’s resources. One year after her purchase, the sales were up 30% and she sold out at a heft profit.

You can divorce the money. Frances Lear arrived in New York at the age of 61 freshly divorced from her husband who produced the TV show “All in the Family.” Determined to launch a magazine for women over 40, she spent $25 million and by the fifth issue, Lear’s magazine had 350,000 readers.

You can find the money at home. Donald Trump would never have gotten anywhere with out Dad’s millions behind him.

You can share your idea by franchising it. Tom Monaghan was able to put Domino’s Pizza on the map by pursuing an aggressive program of franchising his home delivery idea.

The more successful marketers front load their investment. In other words, they take no profit for two or three years as they plow all earnings back into marketing.

It takes a while but many Internet Marketing entrepreneurs learn the Law of Resources. They learn to identify their target market with keyword research and keyword research tools as they know they can not guess what the market desires and it is difficult to benefit from their idea without resources. Money makes the marketing world go around. If you want to be successful today, you will have to find the money you need to spin those marketing wheels.

To accomplish this, they use various methods, tools, and follow a traffic formula to build relationships with their leads and customers. They build websites that create trust. They collect name and email addresses using an Optin form on a Landing Page. They use email systems with both auto-responders and broadcast capabilities in order to send messages to their leads and customers. These email messages frequently send information, provide knowledge, and occasionally promote an offering. Many Internet Marketing entrepreneurs learn that leads and customers do not like to be sold to however they will browse and shop. Over an extended period of time, skilled Internet Marketers are able to use hypnotic writing skills, in their marketing campaigns, to get leads and customers to take the action they want. This is how they learn to identify a target market, stay focused, and add value to their target market. They learn to leverage the equity in their list and be successful in the world that includes the Law of Resources.

It looks easy but marketing is not a game for amateurs. Marketing is not just a battle of products. It is all about the strategy you use to benefit from the Law of Resources as your idea will not get off the ground without adequate funding.

You can find out more about Internet Marketing and home-based businesses by reading updates that will be posted at my blog over the next few weeks.

Finally, a great book to read is "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Ries & Trout. It is the source of some of the material provided in this article.

In closing, be sure to meet me at my website, WhoIsMikeFarrell, learn some tips about being No 1 on Google at aspenIbiz My Go-To-Market Partners, and learn how to be savvy with your money like the insiders at aspenIbiz The Conspiracy For Your Money Blog.