her material and the time to produce it. Perhaps you can develop some similar ideas for your business.     Antoinettes Dress Shop:Costs of Reaching My Target Customers     I have about 20,000 potential customers in the greater New City trading area. I dont anticipate reaching customers beyond this area.     1.I like direct mail, since I can develop lists of active businesswomen in the area. Id like to bulk- mail a flyer announcing our opening for about $.30 to $.50 each, for a total cost of $6,000 to $10,000.     2.Limited ads in the New City Monthly will run about $300 to $500 per month for a few months.     3.When anyone comes into the shop, Ill ask for her name and address and later Ill send notices of fashion shows and fashion tips. The cost will depend on the size of my list and the frequency of mailings.     4.I can place announcements of my fashion shows in the two daily papers serving the area at no cost.     5.Ill see if one of the local papers will carry a column Ill write for free on fashion tips.     6.Ill join all the professional womens groups in the area and become a visible spokesperson for my shop. 6. Create a Marketing Budget     Now that you have a wish list of things youd like to do, its time to decide which of the promotional ideas you can afford and which are too costly. In Chapter 7, Section B, you prepared a Capital Spending Plan and estimated how much money youd allow for an opening promotion to let people know youre in business. In Chapter 6, Section D, line 4d, you prepared a Profit and Loss Forecast that took into account your monthly marketing costs. If you allowed enough money to provide the sort of promotion you want, you can finish writing your marketing plan now.     However, if you didnt allow enough money, or if youre not sure how much money is enough, youll want to stop here for a moment and think about it. Ask yourself these questions:     How much money do I need for an opening promotion? I suggest that you allow enough money to tell all your target customers one time that you are open for business. If you tell them all once, they can decide when to come see you. And if you have designed your business so that it truly addresses a customer need and is different from the competition, your target customers will be very alert to your opening. Even if they dont see your first message, they will hear about you by word of mouth.     If your opening promotion plan exceeds your budget, youll need to go back and revise your Capital Spending Plan to allow for the promotional expense. If thats your situation, complete this chapter, then go back to Chapter 7, Section B, and revise the cash totals.     Are my methods of promotion cost-effective? Once youve estimated the cost of reaching all your target customers with the first message, compare that cost with the amount of money in your budget. Your job is to get the most exposure for the least outlay. Making that final decision may