One-Paragraph Start-Up Plan for Final Beat Comics
While researching for a business formation presentation a few years ago, I stumbled across Jason Loves Life. Although the article is a bit old, it still held some value. I went on to read Never Get a “Real” Job: How to Dump Your Boss, Build a Business and Not Go Broke by Scott Gerber. Which was pretty good, but like Jason states, it did feel a bit ranty.
So, using his post and the book as a guideline, I started working on a one-paragraph start-up plan.
The Outline:
What am I selling (income)?
Final Beat Comics will make money primarily from the sale of digital products and will be supplemented by merchandising.
How am I selling it?
- Digital products will be delivered using Gumroad, which specializes in online sales and e-documents.
- We will handle all merchandise sales by buying in bulk from Mixam, then storing and shipping products ourselves. Once large amounts are required, we will increase the order size.
- Advertisements will be on social media outlets with a primary focus on Instagram and Twitter.
Who am I selling to? (Target Market/Stereotype)
- Our customers are romance novel and comic book lovers.
- Females between the ages of 17-35.
- Most are already reading comics on digital mediums since they tend to get exposed to new stories through digital means.
- They enjoy new technology, spend an ample amount of time on their computer, love video games, and use social media at a high rate.
Awareness?
Marketing will be primarily online. It will consist of a marketing mix of:
- direct marketing through social media (i.e., contacting people directly)
- buying a small amount of ad space through AdWords and social media sites
- writing insightful, useful, and meaningful articles on the FBC blog and providing links to the referenced comics for people to view
- providing reviews, articles, and meaningful information on other blogs in the same marketing area
- being active on forums
- participating in conventions that are in the market Final Beat Comics fits into
Competition?
There is a large number of competitors – The current comic market is saturated with a plethora of genres which will make it even harder to become visible in the digital comic market.
FBC will rely heavily on its goal to create romance graphic novels that portray healthy adult relationships and fulfill reader expectations. This will also be completed by providing a happily ever after, which is the satisfying release at the end of a successful romance.
Expansion?
Attractive and large market – FBC’s target market in the romance genre. As the largest market for books and many others, it provides the highest opportunities for sale. The comic market is severely lacking in our defined romance department, but we will fill it with a variety of subgenres such as paranormal, action, adventure, etc.
Moving into animation, live-action television series, and video games.
My One-Paragraph Start-Up Plan:
Final Beat Comics is a romance graphic novel company that will release once a month at www.finalbeatcomics.com. The site makes money through the sales of digital products such as .pdf graphic novels and hosting ads on the website and inside the graphic novel and physical goods such as printed graphic novels, t-shirts, stickers, etc. FBC will utilize 3rd party freelancers to draw the pages and all aspects of the company, such as creating the comic book, product design, and marketing will be in-house. Promotional efforts will be made primarily through social media and by providing a high online presence via the website and blog.
This simple plan is in no way near done, and I will be continuously working on it. Gerber describes the One-Paragraph Start-Up Plan as a living, breathing plan that holds a symbiotic relationship with your business. It will always need to be improved and will evolve into a more inclusive plan along the way. As I flesh it out and go through the system of Guess and Checklists mentioned in the book, I will post updates along the way.