Starting a business takes knowledge and courage while running a successful business requires discipline in everything that you do .”
What makes your product stand out against the competition ? Spend some time speaking with prospective customers about your product to be sure there is a need . It ’ s important to understand your competitors , know their strengths and weaknesses , retail pricing and product assortment . Competitively shop your competition ’ s stores and look for products that are missing in their inventory - that ’ s an opportunity for your business .
3 .
Businesses Fail For Lack of Cash , Not Lack of Sales
Translate your business plan into a 3-year financial plan by understanding the Sources and Uses of Funds - what it will cost to open your business ( equipment , supplies , inventory ). Determine if you will seek a loan and , if so , what amount . Next , create your budget and sales plan ( items that you will sell and cost to purchase or manufacture ); build 3-year Income Statements , Cash Flow Statements and Balance Sheets . Creating these documents can help highlight any gaps in your financial plan . At the Institute , we create these documents for you . Spend time on pricing your product or service and be sure to allocate both your budget expenses to the products or services you sell . Failure to do so greatly overstates your profitability .
4 .
Develop a Marketing Plan
Some businesses view advertising as an expense , I prefer to think of it as an investment in your business . Marketing can be expensive so be sure that your monies are working as intended - evaluate every marketing campaign to ensure your marketing dollars are working for you .
5 .
Building Your Team It ’ s your company and your Brand so be sure the people you hire reflect your values in engaging customers . The rule I ’ ve followed for many years is simple - Screen on Competency , Hire on Values . Your customers are critical to your business ’ success so be sure that your team understands that good customers are hard to find but easy to lose .
6 .
Vision and Mission Statements
Vision and Mission statements are important documents in keeping the company and its workforce aligned with a purpose and direction . Mission Statements focus on goals and strategies while Vision Statements focus on the company ’ s future . These statements serve as a framework for how the business will operate . They provide clarity of purpose while focusing effort and execution on the business strategy .
7 .
Goals and Objective
Always remember that what gets measured , gets done ! Goals define what is important to the business and outline a future state while Objectives are steps necessary to achieve the goal .
Starting a business takes knowledge and courage , while running a successful business requires discipline in everything that you do . It is this discipline that will ensure that your business has a better chance than most at having their doors open after 10 years . There are no shortcuts to running a successful business . As the owner , you
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