Business Start-Up: Plan your business successfully.
Are you planning to start your own business? What does it takes to have a successful business? Lots of money, experienced business partners or just plain guts!! You’ll be surprised; you just need a good business plan. But what constitute a good business plan? There isn’t any specific rule on good business plan, but here are some precautions that you may consider to avoid failures.
1. Set Company Values through Vision statements. First, you had to have vision for your company. The vision will help you to set-up some values that you want your staff to abide as the company. These values will differentiate you from your competitors. Looking forward, it enhances the growth that will make you proud, someday. Develop a mission statement that will help achieve immediate or minor goals/priorities.
2. Financial forecast and budgeting. Create your own financial forecast and budgeting. It is part of your business plan. Without them you’re planning for failure. But your plan should also covers competitor analysis, market conditions including knowing your industry & customers well. Only with those factors can you plan your budget and forecast well.
3. Serve your customers well. If you don’t serve your customers, others will. Sometimes, customers can be nasty. But if you explained and tried to get them understood, these difficult customers may become your loyal customers. They can also be your centre of influence once they become your friends and liked your service.
4. Always be aware and understand your competitor. You have to be updated of what’s going on in your industry. You can be a big player in your industry, but never be complacent. A newbie in the industry has all the ability to capture your market share without you realizing it.
5. Do take risk. Business is about opportunity and taking risk. However, you have to do some research and analysis to take calculated risk. Make a study on the possible challenges and its potential returns. Don’t just jump into the wagon recklessly. In this way, you minimize your losses.
6. Learn from the expert. You may like to get some feedbacks from an experienced business-owners pertaining to your plan that you wanted to carried out. Even the most experienced entrepreneur does that. The different views may help you to build up on your original ideas better.
7. Prepare for the unexpected. You may have drafted a wonderful business plan. Sometimes your plans still need some twinning due to unexpected events. This may result in amending your budget or forecast, or even abandoned the original plan at all. Therefore, your business plan has to be flexible in accommodating those circumstances.
8. Unique selling points. Your original plan may change with time and circumstances but your customers must be able to experience the difference when dealing with you. Develop a unique selling point to make your company stands out and beyond your competitors. Be it after sales service, follow-up system or whatever. Leave that last good impression with your customers.
9. Rewards and praise your staff. In order to keep your business running, you need a trustworthy, hard-working and dedicated staffs. Without them, your business may suffer. Therefore, you need to incorporate some form of reward system in your planning. This is to motivate your staff better and together, the company will reach greater heights.
10. Review your plan. No plan is wonderful unless you follow through. Identify your milestone. Whenever your sales volume or revenue reached several amount, you need to re-look into your business plan to see the possibility of expansions. Reviewing your business plan occasionally helps you to determine whether your existing process is effective or needs further improvement. Remember, it is your business plan that will turn your vision into reality.
