Start up entrepreneurs

 1. Financial Resources

Probably the most important resource you need is money. Another term for money is capital. When you start out you need to buy things, even simple things that help you get your business off the ground:

Branding – design, logo, graphics, business cards

Office – rent, furniture, office equipment, storage

Web – website hosting, collaboration software, email hosting and other essential software and tools.

Employees – money for salaries, tax, healthcare…

Expenses – travel, meetings, food, hotels…

Insurance – insure your business against normal risks.

Accountant – these may be outsourced or internal.

Project Management Tools – software for managing projects.

Marketing – the marketing mix you use will depend on the type of business e.g. B2B vs B2C and market sector.

2. Physical Resources

Physical assets are tangible resources that a business uses to create its value proposition. These could include:

equipment

inventory

buildings

manufacturing plants

distribution networks

A car manufacturer company like BMW needs specialized production plants as a key resource. These production plants require land, equipment, buildings and other infrastructure. In order to innovate though many car manufacturers have transformed how they organize and use their physical resources. As an example, car manufacturers use robots in their production process to improve accuracy, speed of production and lower costs.

3. Intellectual resources.

These are intangible resources like Intellectual Property (IP), brand, patents, copyrights and partnerships.

For industries like consulting and advertising the intellectual property, and in fact, the people, are key resources. At 5.30 pm all of the key resources for an advertising company leave the building. The people have the know-how, skills, customer knowledge and understanding of how the business works. Because the business doesn’t and can’t own these people, it has to have legal contracts in place to protect itself.

Brands are an intangible key resource that has a monetary placed against them. Brands like Apple, Nike and Gillette have invested huge sums of money creating their brand and fostering how people perceive their brand. The name, logo and use of the brand, therefore, is a significant intangible resource that they can use when marketing new products.

Software is a good example of a digital resource that often takes years to code and perfect. Companies like Adobe, Slack, Google and Microsoft have invested millions of dollars to create, maintain and support them. Many of these companies protect their intellectual property through patents.

4. Humans Resources.

Employees are the most valuable key resources of most companies. Not only do employees help run the business, but they also interact with customers, help develop the business through innovating and hold the skills and knowledge that differentiates the business from another.

For businesses that provide services, people are the most important resource. Examples of the importance of people as a resource can be seen across different industries:

Hospitality industries:

Food and beverages.

Travel and Tourism.

Lodging.

Recreation.

Services:

Media

Healthcare

Finance

Banking

Investment

Insurance

Consulting

Design

Sales and Marketing

Research:

scientific research

engineering

design

medical

What makes people so important in these industries is that they involve high-levels of customer interaction, information (often tailored to the customer), creativity and customization.

Friends, wish you all the best for.