So, how to make a business amazing? I can spout off the A-Z of Business Studies I learnt many years ago but honestly it was over 20 years ago and I can’t remember it all now.
I have been involved with the successful 020 London for the last six years and recently I have worked hard to help set up Whatswhat.ie and put that on the right path for future success. So from that basis I will just make a few suggestions that I think will help a business have a standing to hopefully become successful and maybe even amazing. Obviously there are so many outside factors that can help or hinder but maybe if you have these basic principles you’ll have a good footing.
Hard Work
Be prepared to work very hard, especially in the set up of the business and subsequent first few years. Having your own business is miles apart from working for someone else. You never stop thinking and even dreaming about the business – new ideas, better strategies, more fluid procedures plus lots more. A good friend of mine once suggested that everyone should run their own business for at least two years to realise the hard work that has to go into it and make you appreciate what your boss is going through. I previously wrote “Working Nine to Five, What a Way to Make a Living!” and I still stand by that in respect to being prepared to work far more than nine to five if you want your business to be successful. Hopefully the overtime and hard work doesn’t last too long of course.
Delegation
Ensure the owners and staff work to their own strengths and expertise. Don’t waste time trying to do something that someone else can do far better and quicker. If you’re good at sales concentrate all your efforts into that. If you’re good at logistics, accounts, administration etc then stick with those. This is ideal if more than a one-man-band business however you can outsource if needs be. If accounts or admin is your worst nightmare then why try and wade through it for a week when someone else can do it in a day? Your time can be better spent doing what you are good at and could therefore cover the possible expense of outsourcing. As a very simple example when I lived in Dublin and just doing sales from home for 020 London I used to have a cleaner plus get my shopping delivered. Thus saving me at least six hours a week – in those six hours I could have earned a lot more than I was paying the cleaner or delivery cost. Also avoiding the horrible chores which was a bonus 🙂
Efficiency
Always do your best to be efficient. Customers love it and it gives you pride in your work. I have been called many things regarding my work ethics (and on a personal basis I’m sure) but the main consensus is that I am quite “anal” in getting things correct – spelling and grammar, accounts balancing to the penny (is there any other way?), rules and regulations adhered to, etc. If you can have pride in your work then other people will see that too and that can’t be bad, can it?
Belief
Finally, believe in your business and colleagues completely. If you don’t believe then how can you expect customers to believe in it? The whole Positivity versus Negativity comes in here – law of attraction. It’s quite obvious to me that if you are being negative about something then other negative things tend to happen. And of course the opposite for positivity bringing all good things. Well that’s what I have found the majority of the time and I’m sticking to it.
I think with these fundamentals in place if you have a viable business idea then this should give you a good basis to work from. There is so much more to cover which is why books have been written on this topic many times over. Financing, PR, advertising, costs, market, pricing… The list is endless but I hope my basics make sense. I’m sure you’ll let me know.
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