8 Steps On How To Own And Run A Successful Business

#Business

Interestingly, a good number of people out there have the latent entrepreneurial ability as well as the desire, and the capability to be self-employed. However, many such individuals lack what it takes to establish and run their business successfully.

In today’s blog post, I’m going to delve into the nitty-gritty of running a successful business. For those of you, who are into business or looking for information on how to start a business, this article is a must-read for you. By the time you finish reading this post, I strongly believe you would have learnt one or two things that will help you tremendously in your business.

 Entrepreneurs are action-oriented and highly motivated individuals who take risks to achieve goals; they have the ability to evaluate the business opportunity and possess the following characteristics.

An Entrepreneur must keep on looking for the opportunity to provide the need of the society. He must be committed, innovative and persistent. He requires efficiency, a knack for seeking quality information, self-confidence and negotiating ability for resources to achieve the set goal.

Most importantly, he must prepare to take calculated risks which are challenging but not gamble so to say. Many potential Entrepreneurs are stopped halfway on their track by failing to navigate one or others of the eight steps they must take to run successful business.

The eight steps to run a successful business is as follows:

1.      Develop a winning concept

Every new business begins with a concept, an idea for service or a product which customers want and will buy in sufficient quantity to build a flourishing business. The idea can come by intuition or by systematic analysis i.e. the idea can be in respect of a talent and skills acquired, experience gained or knowledge possessed through the formal or informal learning system. Sometimes, most business concepts are copies of already successful experience.

2.     A sound view of the future

The environment of the business is very crucial to its viability. An Entrepreneur should possess a fair knowledge of the socio-political history of his environment and appreciate the sensitivities thereof which might affect the business adversely. Before launching a new business, you must be carefully examining the forces reshaping the future for clues to a new trend, once you into a business.

 In the current environment of rapid technological and social change, the traditional approach of reacting to developments on an ad-hoc basis is no longer workable. What is needed is a practically organized system to anticipate threats and opportunities, and to decide what to do about them.

3.     A workable Business plan

Once you have a business concept firmly on your mind, and you are convinced that it will help by whatever changes in the future, then you are ready to work out your business plans.

Basically, there are two kinds of planning activities. First, there are entrepreneurial activities, such as making contracts with Bankers, Lawyers, and obtaining market surveys. Secondly, there are aspects of the business, which may be considered routine. This includes preparing monthly financial reports, monitoring, and revising budget, managing the flow of production and marketing the products or services.

Business planning brings purpose and sense of order to actions taken by the Entrepreneur. A carefully thought out business plan should alert the Entrepreneur to the mass of problems that must be solved if the business is to succeed.

4.     Sufficient Capital

Having successfully planned out the business, the next step to take will be capital. It has been discovered that the most common source of finance for a new business appears to be personal savings.

Savings in cash or kind has laid the foundation for some large businesses. Other sources are a loan from family and friends, bank and also wealthy individuals willing to finance the business with profit.

Read post: How Aliko Dangote Became Richest Person

5.     Non-financial Resources

Although most new businesses start out as sole proprietorship runs by a person, they cannot grow without the help of good employees. If you want to succeed in a business of your own, you have to go and find, hire, manage and motivate people.

6.     Launching the Business

Launching your business into the (dog-eats dog) market place, is every entrepreneur’s moment of truth, and it pays to get a jump on your competitors by doing it with as much imagination and plan as you can muster, grand opening signs, free gift, refreshment, a two- for one sale are some of the strategies to choose from in luring customers to your place of business.

Also, the number two critical ingredients in any launch, strategies are advertising and publicity whose job it is to get your business noticed and patronized.

7.     Growth

Let assume that the general economic conditions may help to determine success planning for business growth but the onus is shouldered on the Entrepreneur. Growth comes from developing new or improving old products and services and selling them aggressively.

It’s important to try and understand the broad trend within your particular industry because new techniques and innovations are always being introduced.

8.    Coping with crisis

To be in business, one must be fully prepared to cope with the adversity and crises, which are associated with human endeavour. While most new businesses fail, a large number just pop along, going on for years and their owners don’t know how to break out unto the big time business.

The reason for this had been found out surprisingly, that during the economic recession, when people are fired from their jobs and denied to start sometimes, so many go into business in which they don’t have previous knowledge needed for Entrepreneur to be successful and grow on, and unless they know what they are doing, they are bound to over-extend and stress their resources and get into trouble.

Entrepreneurial opportunities abound in every nook and cranny of the world, and many people are creating new self- made millionaire day in, day out. The conversion of ideas into business is a process whereby an entrepreneur conceives and formulates projects or business idea.

He must be willing to work for hours and take a substantial risk if his goal is to join that selected circle of entrepreneurs who have made it big in growing profitable businesses of their own. 

To your business success!

Also read: Business:50 Tips For Early Stage Entrepreneur