I though to introduce the sequel of our blog post Why business fail ? Some other succeed I use the picture of one of the great genius Mr Albert Einstein Theoretical Physicist German-born.
He developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics. Einstein's work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. So his quote on what is success is fitting here. "Try to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value"
If you are serious about making it as entrepreneurs, focus on the following:
Planning – It all begins with planning. The biggest mistake many entrepreneurs make as they start their business is that they don’t sit down and write a business plan. The goal is to keep it concise. Ensure it contain the section a business plan should have as picture below.
Your business plan should include the following: Core values
Your core values are the fundamental beliefs that drive your business. They are your guiding principles that should remain constant. Even as your company grows your core values should remain the same. Core values can also serve as a moral compass. Some of the more common core values are integrity, trust, excellence, respect, responsibility, and teamwork.
Don’t allow your core values to become mindless words, make them part of your culture.
Mission statement
A brief statement that defines why your company exists. Your corporate reason for being. It describes your target market and the services/products you offer. If you have done it right, your mission statement, in just a few sentences, will communicate the essence of your business to your business and to the world.
Who are your customers
If you are going to succeed in business you will have a clear definition of your customer. It is not an abstract idea. It is something that can be expressed in numbers. For example, if your target customers are Small businesses you must be able to put a number on it. For example, there are 175,000 (fictional number) small business in the UK and they are our customers.
What is your product/service
It’s key to have a clear definition of the services you offer. Without a clear definition, you will be unable to effectively develop, market, and sell your services.
Customer involvement
Most businesses that fail create products/services without involving their customers. If you are serious about success, you will build your products with your customers. Businesses that fail build products based on assumptions.
How will you sell and market your product/service
Marketing and selling your service could be one of your biggest business challenges. A sales and marketing plan is a must. Set measurable goals. Create systems to manage the process.
Proper preparation doesn’t require a 100-page formal business plan. The keyword is “proper,” not “planning.” If you do everything in your power to properly plan your business, you increase your chances for success. Don’t confuse planning with avoiding action or paralysis analysis. No amount of planning is a substitute for action. Hence procrastinating and not acting on your plan, measuring what work and what not working is a must. “No matter what one does, regardless of failure or success, the experience is a form of success in itself.” Jack Ma, billionaire founder of Alibaba
“Your first action item is to write your business plan". Completing your business plan will give you an opportunity to process your idea in detail. One of the best things you can do is to collect your thoughts before you make a real commitment to starting your business. If you aren’t passionate about writing your business plan, it’s unlikely that you’ll get passionate about your business either.”
One day you might think of a product that could revolutionise life on earth as we know it. You might dream up something so great that no one ever thought of before. The reality is that most successful businesses are without revolutionary ideas. Instead, they modify or improve well-established products or services. If you don’t prepare a business plan, your initial enthusiasm will fade and you will fail. In the end, enthusiasm is not enough to succeed. It takes much more than that. You need to research your market, your competition, the financial feasibility of your concept, and more. As you fight through the battles of making your dream come true, you need to be able to go back to read and re-read your business plan.
The concepts laid down in your business plan will help you to convince your bank to give you the loan you need, or to determine the best marketing strategy for your business. Don’t be emotional when you prepare your business plan. Treat it as a business process with goals and deliverable.
Once you complete it, ask yourself, “Would I invest in this company?” Remember, you are going to have to convince others to support your idea. Bankers, corporate buyers, investors, partners, and the like will look at your business based on facts. Their decision is not going to be based on emotion.
When creating a written business Plan, you give yourself a chance to think about your idea thoroughly. As you put your ideas in writing, you tend to give them more thought. You might think writing a business plan is boring, or a waste of time. Truly, it should be one of the most exciting projects you could ask for. You are writing your future and Girlfridayz can support you write your dream come true with business plan which get you funding and want to update it regularly. You are accountable – Many businesses fail because people treat them like hobbies. From day one treat your business as a business. Treat yourself as an employee. Set measurable goals and hold yourself accountable. If you only plan to work in your business a couple of hours a week, you can’t expect impressive results. Owning your own business requires focus and commitment. Educate yourself about the wide range of options and technologies. You can’t expect to get an ounce more out of your business than what you’ve put into it. If you are only willing to put in a few hours a week, expect to get a few hours a week of income. There are no shortcuts. Entrepreneurs can stay accountable several ways: Write down your goals. Keep your goals in front of you and keep coming back to them, at least once a month. Build an advisory board. Join a peer advisory group. You will get feedback from fellow entrepreneurs. The best kind of peer advisory group is where your business is the smallest business. You don’t want to be the largest or most successful business of your group. When you are the smallest you will be pushed harder to catch up to the others in your group.
Find a coach. Try to work with a coach who has already built a successful business. Find an investor, an angel or venture capitalist. Forget the idea, take action – You should never start a business based on a great idea. An idea is just that: an idea. It’s worthless. It is not going to help you succeed in business. Ideas won’t do; you need action to succeed in another word act on your great idea make it tangible, palpable, a live and kicking and quoting in the middle of the text my new buzz word "In your mind right now you'll be like I am thinking hum Girlfridayz - Shall we asked her to do our plan she is excellent and impressive". Entrepreneurs are full of ideas that never result in action. Entrepreneurs are action takers. Here are some effective ways to turn your idea into action: Believe that you can do it — I don’t mean fooling yourself into anything, but the only way can you make it happen is if you believe that it will happen and your skills, your experience and ability all comes together and off you go on the road to success.
Reach out to mentors. There are many successful people within your own existing network, and you can also make new connections. Connecting with mentors helps you hear what it takes to be an entrepreneur.
Minimise risk, but understand that it is unavoidable.
Give it due time. Ideas are fast, but making them happen will take time. Even if all goes well, almost everything you do in business will take longer than expected. Get others to believe in you. Successful entrepreneurs are great at selling their visions. You might have to convince vendors, partners, landlords, investors, employees, or a list of more people. Prepare to fail
Do not fear failure. There is one thing for sure, you will fail before you succeed. Expect failure but don’t fear it. Think of it as a normal part of your business. It is necessary. It is good for your business. It teaches you. It helps you make the right decision the next time. It is super important that you don’t associate failure with quitting. Only those that take action fail and only those that take action succeed. Pivot, rinse and repeat
Successful entrepreneurs are always adjusting. There are many reasons to adjust. Your customers might ask for a new software feature. Or, the recession might have put your best customers out of business. The price of raw materials might rise one day. Your business and its environment are dynamic. If you are good, you develop a keen eye for changes and make quick adjustments. Most businesses that fail do so because they ignore the world changing around them. Focus on your customer
You customer keeps you in business and puts you out of business too. If you listen to them, you can improve your products or services. If you ignore they fire you. Customers don’t disappear, they go to your competitors. Reach out to your customers. Ask them questions. Ask what they like or dislike. Welcome negative feedback. Don’t be defensive about it. Negative feedback gives you a chance to improve. Stay profitable
Staying profitable will solve many problems. The lack of profit could put you out of business even if you have record sales. Forget sales. Forget your revenue. Forget the total number of customers. Always be mindful of profitability.
Manage cash
Entrepreneurs that fail often confuse cash flow with profit. The two are not synonymous. It is possible for you to go bankrupt with record cash flowing into your business. To succeed in business you don’t just need cash flow, you need positive cash flow. With positive cash flow happens when the cash funnelling into your business is more than the amount of cash leaving your business. It is simple yet often ignored. The companies that ignore this end up with negative cash flow. This happens when the outflow of cash is more than your incoming cash. You should never allow negative cash flow. Here are a few ways to improve your cash flow:
Get paid in advance, ask for deposits or full payment in advance.
Be very selective in offering credit to customers, avoid it if possible.
Increase your sales.
Offer incentives for early payment.
Secure loans for emergencies.
Disasters do happen
Even though Warren Buffet has a hands-off approach to managing his portfolio of companies. He does require the CEOs of each of his companies to have a one sheet in case of an emergency. The sheet of paper contains information on key aspects of the company. While the one sheet of paper might be overly simplified the point is that you have to be prepared for the worst. If you will succeed in business, you must figure out how to deal with the unexpected. It’s not that “what if it happens“, but “when it happens“. What if your best salesperson quits tomorrow? How long before you will replace her/him? Do you have a system in place, so when you hire a replacement she/he can sell? Systems are crucial to recovering from a disaster. Formal procedures are key. Identify the key parts of your business and think about what it would take to recover losing any of them. For example, if your company relies on your e-commerce website, develop a system to recover your site even if your current site crashes and your hosting company goes out of business within the same day. You don’t have to be paranoid about it, but create systems of key parts of your company. Conclusion
To end this ever so long blog post — It's true that 80% business fail and 20% succeed but those that are succeeding have all the above in place, they are very serious about their business, constantly take actions, plan for the future and eventual disaster, move with their time, follow trends and provide an excellent, second to none customers service also have a certain amount of luck too. Entrepreneurs who lead businesses to success understand that it takes a carefully planned well thought out executed strategy and tactics.
In your mind right now you'll be like
I am thinking hum Girlfridayz - Shall we asked her to do our plan she is excellent and impressive.
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