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Good or bad biz idea? Tell me the truth.

shayla2004shayla2004 subscriber Posts: 19
edited July 2007 in Selecting a Business
Revamp your community relations presence

I want to bridge the gap between organizations and education. Students need money
for college, and organizations need a stronger community relations
presence. I want to help organizations develop scholarship programs and
market them to their communities.

For example, I am teaching a scholarship workshop in August to 200 high school students. It would be nice to give the students
actual scholarships to apply for. Organizations could be connected to
those students, their parents, and the Foundation I am working with.
Also, is this a good or bad biz idea?

Thanks!
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    stonesledgestonesledge subscriber Posts: 608 Silver Level Member
    It is a positive idea. Do you have a plan? Conections to companies who will sponsor or match dollars? For profit? Non Profit? Any idea can be interesting and good but you have to fill a need, have a business model to implement it, support and proper cash flow to manage and grow it. If this is something YOU are passionate about, then start planning.
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    shayla2004shayla2004 subscriber Posts: 19
    Thanks. I will plan and then pursue.
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    shayla2004shayla2004 subscriber Posts: 19
    I think everyone has the wrong idea of what I`m exactly doing. So, let me explain.I will be charging businesses a consulting fee to help them with building a philanthropic PR campaign. The campaign will be centered on developing a scholarship program and marketing it to the the community. Businesses are always looking for ways to market their products without marketing their products. By developing scholarship program, businesses build community relations and draw attention to their businesses.My target is mainly small businesses or businesses with bad community relations due to some scandal. With college costs rising, I feel scholarships would be a great way to show the community you care and introduce your products/services.In addition, I want to charge businesses advertising fees when I speak to high school students (which may be their target audience). For instance, I am speaking to 200 students in less than 2 weeks. A business could have their logo displayed or product samples available.I have experience in the scholarship arena and feel confident enough with the marketing/PR side. Check me out at: www.careervoices.comThanks!
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    stonesledgestonesledge subscriber Posts: 608 Silver Level Member
    That explains it better. You seem to have a real grasp on what you are doing. I think it is a smart idea , that you can do well with. Like a matchmaker for business charity and advertising revenue to boot! I like it!
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    shayla2004shayla2004 subscriber Posts: 19
    Thank you so much for this great advice! Do you know any companies who may be interested? Thanks again!
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    stonesledgestonesledge subscriber Posts: 608 Silver Level Member
    I met someone here at sun. He has a company that helps kids get financing for school. I set him up with a marketing whiz named Linda, who also works for me. She is great. I think though that this gentleman would love to bounce off clients with you. He is super nice and down to earth, he is in Ohio. If you are interested i would be willing to set up an introduction via email. let me know, i think you could benefit from eachother. You are going for the same goal but in different ways. Pm me, if you would like me to set you up with him.
     
    Erin
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    jwatkinsjwatkins subscriber Posts: 11 Bronze Level Member
    This is a fantastic idea. If I were a business owner and you approached me to fund a scholarship, what is the "me" factor? How will I benefit besides feeling good about myself? Answer that question and you have a winner!
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    shayla2004shayla2004 subscriber Posts: 19
    The benefits of this service include: Positive exposure about your company to your target audiencePotential to attract new customersBuild customer loyalty Attract new talent for human resources (high school/college students)One-on-one collaboration with your marketing/pr staffExperience from an expert in scholarships (I won more than $100,000 in scholarships)Professional skills in marketing (I am receiving a marketing degree plus I have gotten myself into national publications.)Does this sound like good benefits?Shayla
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    jwatkinsjwatkins subscriber Posts: 11 Bronze Level Member
    The benefits of this service include:

    Positive exposure about your company to your target audience
    Potential to attract new customers
    Build customer loyalty
    Attract new talent for human resources (high school/college students)
    One-on-one collaboration with your marketing/pr staff
    Experience from an expert in scholarships (I won more than $100,000 in scholarships)
    Professional skills in marketing (I am receiving a marketing degree plus I have gotten myself into national publications.)
    Does this sound like good benefits?Shayla
    If you take the first three bullets and can answer the question "How?" i think you will be well on your way to having a plan that works. Good luck!
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    shayla2004shayla2004 subscriber Posts: 19
    The benefits of this service include:

    Positive exposure about your company to your target audience
    Potential to attract new customers
    Build customer loyalty



    If you take the first three bullets and can answer the question "How?" i think you will be well on your way to having a plan that works. Good luck!What would impress you if you were a business owner? How can I explain "how" I would do these top three items? shayla20042007-7-28 11:28:2
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    jwatkinsjwatkins subscriber Posts: 11 Bronze Level Member
    What is the marketing plan?How will my target demographic find out that my business has provided a scholarship?Do I get to be involved in choosing who the scholarship goes to? Which school? Which program?In other words, how does my company get mileage out of this beyond a tax write off.?Ultimately this is a marketing proposition for a company. Please don`t think I`m trying to be difficult. I think this is one of the best ideas I`ve heard and I want you to succeed. As a matter of fact I`m going on record as saying you will succeed!
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    shayla2004shayla2004 subscriber Posts: 19
    Thanks for all the great feedback. So, I basically need to create a well-developed benefit package to present to companies.If you have any other ideas, please post them. Thanks.
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    PinkeyPinkey subscriber Posts: 0
    This is a great idea.  I work in higher education and have had the painful experience of seeing students leave school, stopout, etc., because they do not have the funds to continue (or even enter) the colleges of their choice.   I also know that many businesses want more community involvement and your idea would be a great avenue for that involvement.
    Be sure that you have a solid marketing plan in place before you start talking with potential scholarship donors.  Corporate execs like to see some solid plan that will assure them that their money is being spent in specific ways.  Set criteria for the scholarships, do your research and be ready to answer statistical questions (student demographics, number or students in the geographic area who do not have sufficient financial aid to attend or complete a college program, rising costs of tuition, etc.).  I wish you all the best in this venture.
     
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    LibraLibra subscriber Posts: 0
    I think this is a great idea.  I am a small business owner and would love the publicity.  However, I am doing good to make ends meet now, so how would I be able to affort your services and provide money for a scholarship? 
    If you can solve that then I think you`ll do just fine.
     
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    rookapsrookaps subscriber Posts: 10
    Shayla--
    After understanding what you are aspiriring to do, I love your idea! 
    How would the PR factor be generated for a company that would contract your services?  Would you actually send out press releases or something to that effect that ABC company has a scholarship fund?  Also, for a small biz with a itsy bitsy teeny markting budget, would a scholarship offering affordable -- i..e., what would be the minimum?  Are $100 scholarships feasible?  Or are we talking about thousands of dollars?
    Also, I`m curious as to how you would structure your payment?  Flat fee, or based on the scholarship amount, or some other factor?
    By the way, send me your contact info-- I may know some organiztions that would be interested in such services.
    Good Luck!
     
     
     
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