9 Critical Steps That Will Help You Hit The Bull's Eye - an Expert View

Starting a business is such a huge challenge that it simply scares off a lot of people - even those who really no longer enjoy their paid jobs and would rather run their own business. In our environment where the odds are even more heavily stacked against a newbie, getting a business to take off and actually blossom into success would obviously require some magic. Or genius?

Well, in spite of the monumental odds, we didn't accept the idea that it isn't possible to succeed here anymore,. So we sought expert view on what you must do, if you really want to get off the block and run creditably. And we weren't disappointed. This guide will give you a sure-footed trajectory for nurturing and growing your business. Before you decide it's time to throw your hat into the ring, check again to see if you measure up on these counts:

1. A Thorough Homework
Experts say that business is not just something to dabble into, because the journey could be tortuous (albeit potentially rewarding). You therefore need to do your homework, covering key ramifications of the business. Are you mentally prepared? Do you have the basic resources to carry through the initial period that could be very lean? What business idea have you chosen to embark on and is it in synch with your circumstances and natural endowments? Have you checked out the market potentials? Is there a market need to fill? If you are to sell a product(s), are your producing or reselling? If the latter, are there reliable sources of supply. Have you identified supply sources that assure you a price level that leaves a fair margin? If you are to produce, how to you deal with the gamut of issues relating to raw materials procurement, production processes, quality control, etc? Now, this doesn't mean, they say, that every facet of the business must be in perfect control before you can venture out. You learn on the job too. But to stand a good chance of success, take time to do some serious planning and preparation as this can easily cut the odds drastically.

2. Absolute Determination
Determination is important in any venture, but for a business, experts recommend absolute determination. The reason is that the odds and challenges could easily erode your confidence and wear down your resolve, unless you have absolute commitment. "Burn your bridge" is what they advice, if you want that level of commitment that leaves you no other option than to succeed. When you permit many possibilities to float in your mind, you will fail to muster single-minded focus you need to face obstacles and bore through them. If you mean business, be absolute in your resolve and permit no distraction.

3. Deliver Value
You embarked on the business because you identified a need to satisfy, so you must deliver fair value. To continue to offer their patronage, customers who part with hard-earned money to buy your product or service must end up with an enduring sense of satisfaction that they got a fair bargain. If you've been smart one way or another to get them to buy without commensurate value, you may not get them to commit the error a second time. More importantly, you won't get the positive buzz-word that can give your business a lot of mileage. If you go on that path, don't bank on a long stay in the business, because you may not have the customers to sustain it.

4. Hard Work
Your firm determination must be given purpose in the level of work you do. To be determined to succeed but fail to stretch yourself as far as it calls for, will be mere self-deceit. Starting and building a business is a hydra-headed, herculean task. Many unanticipated challenges will crop up, no matter how well you've planned. Experts say there are really no short cuts to prescribe. You just have to do the long, arduous hours and draw from the depth of your mental and physical strength. If you don't think you can work 24 hours if need be, especially before you attain cruising height, then you better think again. Maybe you aren't ready yet!

5. Marketing, Marketing, Marketing.
Every function in a business is important for its success, but the prime place of marketing needs special emphasis, experts say. If you don't sell, you can't make money and, in that circumstance, it's doubtful if you have a business. Getting potential customers to know what you have on offer and getting them to buy, repeat the process and refer their friends and family are critical processes for the survival and growth of your business. Create a special focus for those activities that will deliver on that objective. And keep working on them repeatedly and consistently. If you succeed in creating a huge traffic inflow of customers and achieve a satisfactory conversion rate, you've established a business. Getting them to come and convincing them to buy is crux of the matter: if you don't actively work on it, no known pill delivers that cure.

6. Customer Focused Business
You could work hard to build a customer base through an active marketing system, but keeping customers and getting their repeat business (a vital ingredient of success) requires a customer focus that should permeate your entire dealings with them. Managing your relationship with customers should therefore rank high in the priority listing of your winning strategies. Your customers will become your loyal evangelists, spreading healthy vibes about your business, if you nurture a rich relationship with them. If, on the contrary, you take advantage of them or turn your back after you've closed the sale and pocketed money, your doors will be shut sooner than you imagine. Customer care should be a system-wide attitude, a culture factor that sees the customer as the soul of your business.

7. Resourceful Manager
If developing a business is tough, doing so in our local environment that easily sets you up for failure is the mother of all tests of mettle. Complaining has never done it for anybody and giving up defeats the commitment to success. Many of the challenges of our environment today have no standard solutions. The way out? You must draw from your inner being and put on a sharp thinking cap. Only the depth of your resourcefulness will determine how much you can devise creative solutions to intractable problems and obstacles that have the potential to stall your effort and decimate your business. You must be very resourceful to get far, experts say.

8. A Disciplined Business
Discipline must be a way of life if you want to pull through and have a business worth its name. And it has to start from you. The first is to draw a clear line between the business and you: they are different entities. Run your personal account and let your business run its. If you set the tone, your employees will get the message and act with prudence too. Internal controls must be in place and be made to work effectively. So, tracking activities, reporting, reconciling and balancing should be understood and made the creed of day-to-day operations. This interprets as accountability - ensuring that resources are properly managed and accounted for. The policies of the organisation and rules of engagement have to be imbibed and lived. When you get all employees to dance to the same rhythm, you've started building an organisation.

9. A Learning Organisation
You must run a learning business, actively and hungrily seeking knowledge, information and ideas to continually move the business forward and higher. Ideas can make all the difference and could be: new systems for doing things, new tools to get better results, new people to use, etc. Always keep you eyes open for better ideas, but better still, develop mechanisms for tapping new ideas.

Get this guide up and working for you and, our experts say, you won't be far from getting you business off to a success track that will soon take you to cruising speed.

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• Business Registration: Why You Need it And How to Get It Done
• Get Organised for More Effectiveness! (1)
• Corporate Briefs
• SME Headilnes