Business Plans. Flexible is best.
Just thinking about setting up a small business will invariably and inevitably lead you to consider putting all your great ideas and inspiration on paper. If you're seeking investment or to borrow funds for your business, the business plan is going to be key. In particular, given the current credit crunch and banks' increased resistance to lending, anything short of a comprehensive, well thought out and competently presented business plan will leave you out in the cold with not a penny to pump into your dream venture. One thing about business plans though, is that you might become a little over-attached to it. It's important to always keep an open mind about your business and the difference between the direction in which you wanted it to go and the actual direction it might take when it takes on a life of its own. If you've resolved that your business will never undertake a particular activity, for whatever reason, but your competitors suddenly start doing that exact same thing, you need to be level-headed enough to see the argument for abandoning one or more business plan 'commandments' to respond to changing demands from the market place.
Treat your employees well
Your employees aren't just the life and soul of the office Christmas party, they are your business's life blood. Treating your employees well by offering incentives, good working conditions and generally looking out for their welfare will create allegiances far stronger than the standard employer/employee relationship. As a CEO of one the world's foremost stationery suppliers believes, '...make your employees your first priority...and they will eat nails for you.'
Hire the right people at the right time - understanding the needs of the business
We outgrow shoes, clothes, trends and fads. A business is much the same. As a business grows and develops, the people capital it needs to thrive changes too. A fact of life, it's important to bear the development and changing needs of your business. If you start out on an information technology venture on your own and within 18 months you're employing 20 staff with all the accompanying IT issues that brings, you need to hire an IT manager. Sounds straightforward but, for many reasons, businesses can fail to appreciate what they need, in the moment.
Choose the right target market
Understanding your target market is fundamental, as is market research as you plan for the establishment of your business. Listen to your customers and those who don't buy from you. Why don't they buy from you? Is your product or service what the customers really want? If it isn't, the business is doomed to fail. Employ simple techniques to gather information. Ask customers to complete a short questionnaire with a suggestion or comments section in exchange for a chance to win some kind of, in the grand scheme of the business's success, insignificant prize. Use the information to understand your customers, invite and invoke dialogue about your products and services and, where possible, respond to the demands of your market.
Seek an outside perspective
Running a business, whatever it may be, is an all-consuming responsibility and it's easy to lose sight of the wood for the trees. Obsessed with every aspect of your business and focusing all your energies on keeping it afloat, you run the risk of failing to see potential threats to the business, internal and from competitors which, if unchecked, could be your undoing. Simpler still, you might be missing an obvious opportunity staring you in the face because you're so caught up in the race. Speak to trusted friends and family members and see what they think about what you're doing, you might be surprised!
You don't have to know everything
Allow yourself to believe that you're not the first or the last entrepreneur in your line of work. Know and understand that, unless you've discovered a cure for the common cold, someone's been where you are, done it and got the t-shirt, maybe not here on the Rock, but certainly somewhere else. Look for inspiration in other markets. How do people tackle a problem you've got? How can I make my product more attractive? If someone makes any kind of suggestion, try and make a note of it. You never know when a light bulb goes off in your head and you suddenly see 'the gold mine' that random stranger was going on about!
Set a goal
You need a target. Maybe it's taking on a player in the same marketplace you know you can do better than. Maybe it's taking a certain amount of market share from them or becoming the number one provider of a particular service. Set your sights high though. Isn't it better to set yourself the highest target and miss, than to set it lower and achieve it?