The NPDC now provides assistance with business plans and business plan reviews.  Please visit ​http://www.npdc.org/advising-request.html for additional information and to set up an appointment.

Networking is a great way to expand your existing or newly formed business entity and cultivate interest for your company's product or nonprofit's service.   However, you want to provide a product or service that is in such high demand that it virtually sells itself or secures effortless donations if your company is a nonprofit!  Expanding your business and acquiring more customers (or donors) comes from having a high quality product or service!  

For the purposes of this entry, a great product or service is defined as one that is in high demand or needed in the marketplace.  Market research is a way to ascertain if clients and customers desire to utilize your product or service.  In a 2014 article entitled How to Determine if There's a Market for Your Business Idea, Entrepreneur magazine staff explain that market research allows you to "create an identity for your product or service that separates it from your competitors."  Essentially, undertaking this initial market research allows you to gauge the potential of your product or service in the marketplace and further hone and perfect it! Networking is great but no amount of excessive networking will substitute for a subpar or unnecessary product or service.  I don't want to have to network but I want to understand the needs of consumers and potential clients so well that I choose to because my service sells itself!