Taking the red pill

From the article that is included on the syllabus for Week 11, "The Art of Bootstrapping," two key points resonated with me: (1) It is necessary to create demand for your business by learning the needs of your customer; and (2) A good business will ensure that its cash inflow is always greater than its expenses. I am having difficulty researching the consumer base for my business, Mom and Pops Health Shop, and am starting off from tabula rasa with regards to the financial analysis/sustainability of this endeavor. In other words, implementation planning has been quite challenging for me. In response, I have found websites that can serve as templates or outlines for anyone else in the class that is facing the same issues as I am. How to create a cash flow analysis: http://www.sba.gov/content/develop-cash-flow-analysis-your-business Marketing tricks for those of you that are creating products: http://www.forbes.com/sites/siimonreynolds/2012/08/20/a-brilliant-way-to-create-demand-for-your-products/ "Closing the gap between what people buy and what they really want": http://www.fastcompany.com/1777201/six-secrets-demand-creation Interesting side note: The author asserted that businesses should "de-average" the customer. This means that businesses should not create a one size fit all approach to reaching its customer base. Instead, businesses should create a product or service that is adaptable and can benefit varying needs. This is important to consider during implementation planning, and while deciding how cash generation will cover the cost to make your product/provide your service.