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Some Practical Startup Hints To Help You Succeed.
In my more than twenty five years of
experience as a Chartered Accountant, I have met many successful
business people who have taught me much and for that I am grateful.
Learning from smart people is a perk of what I do.
One important thing I have
learned is that entrepreneurship is as much a process as it is a skill
as it is a talent some people are born with. And all kinds of people
from all kinds of ethnic communities, from both genders, and of all ages
have successfully started and grown businesses.
As it is all an individual circumstance for the business owner, I have
observed that the following resources are critical to operating a good
business.
First of all, you need one or more mentors and a good support network.
Your network provides information, influence, and introductions to
information and people and organizations you need. Your network must
include the people\skills\knowledge you need to develop and achieve your
goals.
Second, you need a practical understanding of the day to day operations
and activities in your industry and market. You need to know about
commonly used and available technologies, methods and processes. How are
products normally distributed? What are your critical sources of
resources and of raw materials? How will you do what to ensure certain
critical events are brought about?
Third, you need to have a core set of business skills, and an
understanding of strategies commonly used in business. You need
communication skills, business acumen, financial skills, analytical
skills, time management skills, organizing skills, leadership skills,
and a host of other business and "people" skills.
Four, you need the support of your family.
Five, you need to be healthy.
That's it. The big five.
So lets say you have the basics. Now what?
One, articulate your vision, goal and what you do into a clear, succinct
statement. If
it takes more than one sentence, reformulate it. If the language is too
complex, reformulate it. If people's eyebrows arch when you tell them,
reformulate it. The idea is to be able
to convey your idea to others in a single, complete thought. More
importantly, you should always be evaluating your actions against your
objectives so the clearer, more succinct, and less complicated your
thoughts, the easier this exercise becomes.
Two, translate the idea into a practical plan and develop the strategy.
You would first typically ensure the idea is potentially profitable,
that it is technically feasible, that there is a market for it, that you
can organize the necessary resources to realize it. You would then ask such questions as; what do you
need to know?, what do you have to do?, why\when\how do you do it?, How
would you finance it and and
what support do you need?
Three comes from two in that it's about organizing an effective resource mix. Resources are such things as
people with their skills and talents, facilities, technologies, raw
materials, capital, etc. Organization is an art so there are no hard and
fast rules to do this effectively except use common sense. Keep your
objective in mind and understand there are many different combinations
and options for achieving your necessary tasks. Develop a good
understanding of your available options and choose the one that best
meets your requirements now and for the foreseeable future. That part
will be gut feel.
Four, execute the plan. Communicate your instructions and expectations
to those responsible for respective parts of the plan and and provide
them with the necessary resources to make it happen. Monitor the
progress of your people and plans and make whatever adjustments you have
to to ensure your goals are realized.
Of course this is just an outline, much more is required. Your unique
circumstance will dictate what you need to investigate your particular
idea and how you organize your business, and more concrete know how.
And some more good hints I have learned that help you succeed
Have a thorough understanding of your product and a
clear understanding of the needs it fills.
Identify and concentrate on what you're best at. Identify and
deal with your weaknesses
. Find out who and where your primary customers are and
communicate and substantiate reasons
to buy from you
Hire the best people you can. Invest in training and skills
development. Encourage and reward
superior performance.
Produce the best product or provide the best service you
can.
Concentrate on quality, service and customer satisfaction
Start small and preserve cash and other resources.
Invest in productivity and process innovation.
Strive to implement your industry's best practices.
Continue to innovate and learn. Improve your methods,
materials, technologies, skills, facilities etc
© 2007 John B Voorpostel CA www.iaccountant.ca
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