Time management is of key importance in running a business effectively as it plays a vital role in every business activity from planning to proper implementation of these plans, thus further producing effective results.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Business
One of the best ways to boost the excitement of starting a business and shrink the fear of the unknown is by being prepared. You may not be able to plan for every possibility and challenge that might occur, but you can get yourself on the path to success by considering these five questions before jumping in with both feet:
- Have I set goals, and do I have a plan for reaching them?
- Will I be able to follow my plan without breaking laws or regulations?
- Have I fully considered the financial implications?
- Is my support network in place?
- Do I have what it takes to make it as a business owner?
Start the planning process
“Our goals can only be reached through the vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”
– Pablo Picasso
Effective Planning / Strategy
Planning is an art that is very goal-oriented. It becomes very important for a businessman to have at least two to three best plans (Plan A/B/C), so that if any plan proves to be ineffective or a businessman needs to change a course of action in between he has an alternative plan ready, producing optimum results.
The best way to manage a business effectively is through effective planning. You can easily do this by planning a defined strategy for growing your business. You first need to etch out a great strategy that should focus on both the positive and negative outcomes of a potential business plan. The best way is to prepare for anything rather than certain success as most first ventures have limited chances of success so you need to be ready to adapt to the changing circumstances.
This important area is, in a sense, the “brain” of your business operation. All potential business operators should create vision and mission statements so they understand what they want to do, why they want to do it and how they will do it.
Also, strategists should analyze the competitive landscape and markets to determine where the opportunity for the business lies, and how they will access that opportunity.
When forming a strategy, determine exactly in what market you will be operating, and then perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis on your main competitors and yourself. This will provide a good picture of where you fit in the competitive landscape. This will also help you determine your market access strategy, which involves positioning, differentiating from your competitors and branding.
When starting a business, you must have a business plan. This plan is not, as many believe, to merely have a document prepared for lenders and other investors. It’s also a guide to how the business will be shaped and managed. A plan forces the person who is starting a business to examine and understand all aspects of organizing and running it, so is an important management tool.
Many new business operators caught up in the euphoric atmosphere of creating their own business avoid such essential pre-planning because it’s not as exciting as devising a product or selling a service. However, since about 80% of new businesses fail within five years, largely because they were not managed well, pre-planning greatly enhances the chances of success.
Operations
In most new businesses, the owner is also the person who performs the operation. But there is a danger in this: The operator must always remember that he or she is managing a business, not working in a job.
Authority and Responsibility
Business can prove fruitful only when there is an appropriate delegation of authority and responsibility. There has to be an equilibrium or balance between “Authority” and “Responsibility” as they go hand in hand. In case the authorized person does not delegate the responsibilities constructively, it can create a loophole in the entire system because with authority comes great responsibility. The authorized person is also accountable and answerable for any obligation, trust, debt, or any kind of gap between expected and delivered.
It’s very important to delegate some authority to the person you are delegating responsibility to, as it gives them the power to make necessary decisions rather than running here and there to take permission from the seniors. At the same time, it also gives them liberty and confidence to make decisions, hence developing them as better employees.
Business Development Process
An entrepreneur has identified the business Development Process he or she wanted to start and raised the capital. After due registration and identifying the premises, he/she starts the operations. Running and sustaining a business is as difficult as starting one. For a Development Process, every day is a challenge that has to be tackled and hence needs to have strategies in place to keep going.
Invest in good human resources personnel, they are a vital asset
One of the most important assets for any organization is its human resources department, regardless of whether it is a small retail outlet, a medium-sized manufacturing unit, or a company providing financial, technical or media services.
A common mistake planners make is to stop at the financial aspect of hiring staff. Managers must treat employees like customers, with the same understanding of what motivates their behavior.
Manage time as well as people: Making sure that there are set deadlines for when your team is expected to give you work by – based on when you can schedule some time to review it for example – helps give everyone structure.
Importance of brand building
Consumers perceive brands to be always providing value and quality to consumers. That is the reason why the industry needs to develop brands in order to grow. Branding begins with the creation of a logo, the unique selling proposition (USP), positioning in the market whether it is at an entry-level, regular or premium category. You should brand all your communication so that the consumers learn what your brand is about and what they can expect from you in terms of quality and service.
Advertising and the media – get noticed in order to grow
Before designing a product or a service, business operators should study the market and assess the needs of customers. Find underserved areas. Then shape the marketing of the product or service, and sometimes the product or service itself, to answer those needs.
No business can survive without getting noticed by the people. Whether it is a mom-and-pop store in the neighborhood or a company having regional or nationwide operations or an online business doing development and marketing, they need to get noticed by the consumers. Social media ads, banners, newspaper and TV advertisements all may be required to an extent to make the companies and brand presence vivid in the consumer minds.
Initially, there may not be a huge budget for market promotion activities. However, brand or product awareness is vital for sales growth and can’t be avoided.
Get in touch with clients and customers
Unlike pure manufacturing companies, those providing service and turnkey solutions need to constantly engage with clients to understand their requirements and feedback. Otherwise, the company may be perceived as only focused on gaining Business Development Process and not interested in building relationships. Contacts can be maintained through personal visits, phone calls, email and social media platforms.
“Change is the only Permanent Thing.”
Therefore, it is necessary for the business to adapt to change be it in technology, product line, consumer demand or anything that might affect your business. Any business, large or small, should be flexible and dynamic, in order to be managed effectively. Human resources should be trained from time to time with the upcoming new trends or updated technology.
We live in a tech-savvy world. Therefore, keeping yourself and your team updated is always a good business practice, especially when you’re starting out a new project.
Prepare for trial and error
Whether you’re starting your first or your third business, expect to make mistakes. This is natural and as long as you learn from them, it’s also beneficial.
If you do not make mistakes, you won’t learn what to do and what not to do. Be open-minded and creative, adapt, look for opportunities, and above all, have fun!
The great thing about owning your own business is that you get to decide what you want to do and how you want to grow.
Ensure cash flow and the profits will follow
Many entrepreneurs invest their life savings or even borrow to start a Business Development Process or expand operations. However, great care is necessary in order to manage the finances. If the company doesn’t have enough cash flow or revenue stream, then day-to-day expenses and monthly expenses such as salaries, rent, consumables, payment to third-party service providers would be affected.
New business owners already have many things that they need to take care of and cash flow and other financial reports are often the ones that take up most of their time and are difficult to do properly. Outsourcing your financial reporting and bookkeeping would allow you to focus on other areas of your business, while also saving money that you’d need to pay to an in-house bookkeeper. Outsourcing also avoids the risk of the in-house employee leaving and taking their knowledge with them and allows you to utilize a whole team of professional bookkeepers instead of just one.
Get in touch with us and we’ll take care of your bookkeeping so you can take care of business!