11 tips to grow beyond the start-up phase
HIRE PEOPLE WHO ARE BETTER AT THE JOB THAN YOU ARE
It’s a fact that companies are built by people, and the best people build the best and most profitable companies. Put simply, great employees may cost you 20 to 30% more in wages, but they can be twice as productive as mediocre employees. Invest in good people.
PLACE HIGH URGENCY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO
Always do everything you can today. Too many people treat their businesses as 9-to-5 jobs. Never put something off until tomorrow if you can do it right now.
GET CUSTOMERS COMING BACK
The road to profitability is through repeat business. Too few business owners set themselves up for long-term success. Your business grows when you add regular new customers on top of existing regular customers. Think of it this way: What if every customer you ever got stayed for life? How many regular buyers would you have?
MAKE DECISIONS QUICKLY
New companies don’t have the time or resources to stand still. General H Norman Schwarzkopf once said, “When placed in command, take charge.” It’s better to make a decision and move than to stand still.
DELIVER MORE THAN YOU PROMISE
If you tell a customer it’ll be three days, deliver in two. If you think it’ll be two hours, say three hours and surprise them. This is the best form of marketing ever.
PRICE YOURSELF FOR PROFIT
Don’t ever be the cheapest. You’re the little guy; you don’t have economies of scale. Big companies can make up in volume what they lack in margin. You can’t.
NEVER SPEND A RUPEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO
You don’t need a new desk, you need a cheap desk. Too many new business owners go and buy the best stuff because they think image is important. Listen, when you get profitable, you can have a big mahogany desk. Right now, just get a desk.
SET A BIG VISION
Start Small, Finish Big should be the title of your book. Don’t aim to be the best dog trainer in your city — aim to be the best in the country. Remember, building a business is a 10-year plan, not a one-year plan.
MARKETING IS MATH
Don’t ever let an advertising sales representative teach you anything about marketing. They will say dumb things like, “Half your advertising works and half doesn’t — and you’ll never know which half.” Rubbish. If an ad that costs Rs 100 gets you Rs 100 back in profit, it’s a good ad. One other tip: Image advertising doesn’t make sense when you’re not yet profitable.
LEARN TO SELL
There’s nothing worse than a business owner who isn’t willing to sell — or even learn to sell. No company makes money unless someone sells something, and you can’t just rely on people you hire to do the selling for you. If you want to grow a profitable business, you’ve got to learn sales yourself.
IT’S SIMPLER THAN YOU THINK
Before most people even go into business, they work it up to be far more complex than it really is. Business is very simple: Sell at a profit and keep at it. Overcomplicating the process won’t help anyone. If your business seems too complex, it probably is — so make it simple and watch yourself succeed.
Reference:
(Adapted from entrepreneur.com)
HIRE PEOPLE WHO ARE BETTER AT THE JOB THAN YOU ARE
It’s a fact that companies are built by people, and the best people build the best and most profitable companies. Put simply, great employees may cost you 20 to 30% more in wages, but they can be twice as productive as mediocre employees. Invest in good people.
PLACE HIGH URGENCY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO
Always do everything you can today. Too many people treat their businesses as 9-to-5 jobs. Never put something off until tomorrow if you can do it right now.
GET CUSTOMERS COMING BACK
The road to profitability is through repeat business. Too few business owners set themselves up for long-term success. Your business grows when you add regular new customers on top of existing regular customers. Think of it this way: What if every customer you ever got stayed for life? How many regular buyers would you have?
MAKE DECISIONS QUICKLY
New companies don’t have the time or resources to stand still. General H Norman Schwarzkopf once said, “When placed in command, take charge.” It’s better to make a decision and move than to stand still.
DELIVER MORE THAN YOU PROMISE
If you tell a customer it’ll be three days, deliver in two. If you think it’ll be two hours, say three hours and surprise them. This is the best form of marketing ever.
PRICE YOURSELF FOR PROFIT
Don’t ever be the cheapest. You’re the little guy; you don’t have economies of scale. Big companies can make up in volume what they lack in margin. You can’t.
NEVER SPEND A RUPEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO
You don’t need a new desk, you need a cheap desk. Too many new business owners go and buy the best stuff because they think image is important. Listen, when you get profitable, you can have a big mahogany desk. Right now, just get a desk.
SET A BIG VISION
Start Small, Finish Big should be the title of your book. Don’t aim to be the best dog trainer in your city — aim to be the best in the country. Remember, building a business is a 10-year plan, not a one-year plan.
MARKETING IS MATH
Don’t ever let an advertising sales representative teach you anything about marketing. They will say dumb things like, “Half your advertising works and half doesn’t — and you’ll never know which half.” Rubbish. If an ad that costs Rs 100 gets you Rs 100 back in profit, it’s a good ad. One other tip: Image advertising doesn’t make sense when you’re not yet profitable.
LEARN TO SELL
There’s nothing worse than a business owner who isn’t willing to sell — or even learn to sell. No company makes money unless someone sells something, and you can’t just rely on people you hire to do the selling for you. If you want to grow a profitable business, you’ve got to learn sales yourself.
IT’S SIMPLER THAN YOU THINK
Before most people even go into business, they work it up to be far more complex than it really is. Business is very simple: Sell at a profit and keep at it. Overcomplicating the process won’t help anyone. If your business seems too complex, it probably is — so make it simple and watch yourself succeed.
Reference:
(Adapted from entrepreneur.com)
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