By Elizabeth Pekin, Esq.

A successful business is like an exquisite, well-thought-out, dinner party.

It is important to prepare. First, you need a guest list.  Second, plan your menu so you have a delicious meal. Next, shop for the freshest ingredients and check your list twice to make sure you do not leave anything out. When you cook the meal, pay attention to detail – you do not want to burn the food. Then of course, when your guests arrive welcome them to a beautifully set table.

Preparation is Key

Who are your guests? Who are your clients? Without knowing who your customers are, you can’t effectively market your products or services, nor are you likely to find anyone willing to invest in your business. At your dinner, are you going to invite family, friends, adults, kids, co-workers, or just the neighbors? According to Larry Alton, a contributing writer to entrepreneur.com, to determine your customer, you need to know age, gender, race, status and location.

The Meal

Are you serving lobster or burgers? Determining your product or service is comparable to picking your menu. My favorite recipe to make for dinner is Ritz Cracker Chicken. But, depending on my guests, I may not serve it on a particular night. I agree with Richard Lazazzer, founder of the online ecommerce incubator, A Better Lemonade Stand, when he tells his clients to go with their passion, look for an opportunity gap, consider their experience and capitalize on trends early. When we decided to start Momentum Funding, our passion was and still is making the legal funding experience for the attorney the best that it could be. We capitalize on our boutique-niche – we are more nimble in our ability to customize our financing, and with more than 40 years of combined legal and legal funding experience we know the rules and players of the game. The trend of more people needing more funding continues to gain momentum and so will our company.

The Ingredients

There is no better smell than fresh herbs and no better way to please your guests than serving a dinner that delights the palate because you’ve taken the time to carefully select all the best ingredients of the dish. Entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis’ second key ingredient to entrepreneurial success is a company’s product. He advises everyone to carefully examine what’s being sold and its key marketing characteristics, including pricing, packaging, sizing and targeting. When we work with attorneys, we discuss and evaluate each case on its own merits, thus customizing the experience and creating the perfect legal funding experience.

Guests

A good dinner guest is like a good employee or a good employee is like a good dinner guest. They should possess: enthusiasm, curiosity and gratitude. Your dinner party will only be successful based on the combination of those who you invite. Your new business will only succeed if you have the right people working for you. Lemonis also advises you have to have them in the right roles. Seating your guests at places where dialogue will flow with others to their left and right is comparable to creating an enabling environment for your employees to ensure that they can perform at their best for your company.

Finishing Touches

So now you’re dressed and it’s almost time. The table is set. The flowers are placed. The candles are lit. And, the doorbell rings.

The final element, for a start-up is the company’s operations. It’s the key to ensuring a business’s efficiency and opportunities to scale.

In a new business the preparation is key. Our business was launched over my kitchen table on a shoe string budget. We left a corporate environment to create an innovative way to change legal finance. My business partners and I, did not have any idea what the future would hold. What we did know, we were hungry.

Good Luck and Bon Appetit!