“Starting up any great lakes development business is difficult. In our case, it took about 6 months of planning, a year of fund raising, and then another 6 months of building infrastructure before we made our first sale,” states Tricia Valerie of the Boyers Tellefson Partners and Ltd. Company. Also key to success in the great lakes development field is logistics. Believe it or not, even though we live in the world of the internet and instant information exchange, postal, parcel, and delivery services are still extremely important. Many great lakes development proprietors recommend getting a Fedex, UPS, or DHL business account setup right away, so as to avoid comming out-of-pocket for routine mailings and shipments. Without a doubt, planning for the launch of your great lakes development firm is crucial. Think of it as the launch sequence of a space shuttle. Every last detail, figure, and step is checked and double checked. This is the only way to succeed in the great lakes development industry and get the competitive edge. Once investment is secured for a great lakes development venture, and proper planning has been realized, start networking within your industry. “I find that attending industry related social functions, conferences, and even my neighbors’ cocktail parties help me find new ways of growing my company,” claims Wittner Landrus, director of the Limehouse Bueter Brothers firm, “By asking the right people the right questions, you’ll find that you can learn new things and different strategies for your great lakes development firm that you may not have thought of before.” “Don’t forget about accounting,” warns Dione Scholten, CFO of the Alena Derosier Corporation INC, “Many great lakes development companies go pel mel spending money when there is a good cash flow. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to expand, it has to be done in accordance with accounting standards and detailed record keeping. This is especially true for public companies. Private great lakes development firms can sometimes let this aspect of the business slide alittle.” One often over looked area in online great lakes development businesses is infrastructure. Many focus heavily on budget, growth, and employment indicators, but fail to acknowledge tell tail warning signs generated by insufficient hardware and networking software. For any great lakes development business, this can spell disaster. Acklin Serna, Human Services director of the Corsetti Cazares and Partners great lakes development firm, states that the working dynamic and human capital of your company should not be ignored. Becraft Santeramo agrees: “I’ve seen companies with nearly everything - perfect budget, great IT, good distribution - but a terrible working dynamic between the employees. Though the great lakes development product makes it to store shelves, the people working within the company feel miserable, unappreciated, and unmotivated.” And as always, when setting up a business, the following applies: ‘There’s no right way or wrong way, just the profitable way’. Once you’ve found out how to get your great lakes development firm off the ground and it is generating ROI, you’ve won half the battle and are on your way to continued success. Additionaly, fundraising for any great lakes development business venture can be a daunting task. It is always hard to ask for money from others, especially when then nature of the request is highly speculative. Tracie Amores, a highly successful great lakes development capital management consultant, believes that planning is the key to selling your idea: “If you walk up to someone and say, ‘I’ve got a great great lakes development business idea, would you contribute $100K’, they’ll probably laugh and consider you a lunatic…but, if you approach someone and say ‘Look, I have this great idea, and my plan is the following…’, it will reassure an anxious investor that things will move forward with thought and purpose.”