Tag: entrepreneurship fundamentals

4 Ways in which you can master startup fundamentals

Understanding the fundamentals of setting up a start-up is a huge task and one needs to comprehend them successfully to proceed with his/her venture.

Like every activity, building a start-up is also a gradual process. To continue with this process successfully, one needs to understand the basics and master them. Understanding the fundamentals of setting up a start-up is a huge task and one needs to comprehend them successfully to proceed with his/her venture.

If one follows these basic fundamentals religiously, a budding entrepreneur can actually make it big.

Here’s a list of fundamentals every entrepreneur should master if he wants to become successful:

1. Have a far-sighted vision and stick to it

It is absolutely necessary to have a vision and a goal from day 1 for your start-up as they’d be the only things supporting you on days when you feel unsure about becoming an entrepreneur. Also, having a goal helps you stay motivated and focused on the journey to achieving it. The goal might seem like its far away but by breaking it down into smaller chunks, tasks you previously thought were unattainable can be accomplished. The best part about having a compelled vision is that you’ll realize the accomplishments when you actually meet tick them off your list.

2. Your business needs to make money

You might have a great idea and a solid vision but all that means nothing if your venture doesn’t sell. Every start-up needs to gather money in the till to keep functioning further. So, to make sure your business is a successful one, try and get the cash to flow inwards as soon as possible. This can be done by devising vigorous marketing techniques combined with an extensive sales distribution plan. As a budding entrepreneur, one can look out for investors and funding schemes to get money.



Related Post: Fundamentals of running a successful and profitable startup

3. Make what is required

A lot of entrepreneurs make the crucial mistake of getting lost in the insane journey of making stuff that no one actually wants to buy. Instead, an entrepreneur should do a thorough market research regarding his idea. He should be able to identify the market he wants to venture into, the target customers and also make sure that the product/service is really required. Also, if there is no demand for your product and you still have faith in it, learn to create a demand for it.

For instance, a butler service called Jaadu Inc opened up in the NCR region which delivers food at midnight, repairs appliances and books cabs. The makers studied the market and understood the requirements of the people before introducing a new idea which is why it is doing well in the market.

4. Stabilise a cash flow before wanting to make profits

It is crucial to have proper investors and funding for your start-up for its basic functioning. Profits are very important but secondary. As an entrepreneur, make sure you have the required money to run your business and pay people timely working on your team. Once, the initial cash flow is stabilised, you can move on to focusing more on making profits.

Related Post: How to form the right startup team

Image credit: www.foundingfuel.com



Fundamentals of running a successful and profitable startup

There is never a shortage of people willing to give you the benefit of their wisdom, especially when it comes to running a successful business.

Life is about opinions. There is never a shortage of people willing to give you the benefit of their wisdom, especially when it comes to running a successful business. With this in mind, here are a few pointers that we hope you will find helpful.

Leadership

As Frank Carson used to say “it’s the way I tell ’em”. This famous punch line can apply to running a business. Statistics show that most successful businesses have a clear leadership. Whether this comprises one or a few determined individuals is a moot point, but focus and direction are key ingredients to success. Your goal is to try to make the business take on the unique personality of the decision makers, who should instill their ethos into the management, employees and product range it offers. The business should merely be an extension of the characters of the owner managers.

Product or customer led?

It is often quoted that every profitable, successful business needs to have a tried and tested world beating product; a magical good or service that is sought after by its current and potential customers. Obviously this is a simple basic requirement although is it really that important? A business that relies solely on its products to the detriment of what its customers want is a business that is destined to fail in the long run. The business must always recognise that it is the customer and not its management that knows best. “The customer is always right”. Ask your customers what they want and don’t go on wild goose chases developing what you regard as an award winning product, only to later find out that it’s not what your customers or the market desires. Changing your customers to suit your needs is usually a recipe for disaster. You have to adapt to them!

Little steps

Don’t be putting all of your eggs into one basket. Don’t be developing infrastructure, systems and products or spending loads of money on promotion before knowing that you can sell them. Little steps become big steps very quickly. Keep your eyes and ears wide open and always be receptive to new ideas. Times change quickly now days – to stay successful, always stay fresh and alert.

Over trading

A common mistake is to try to take on too much trade without adequate support and finance. It’s one thing to bring home an order, knowing that you can fulfill it with hard work and a friendly banker or family, but it’s another coming home with, what looks to be on paper, a phenomenal order, only to know, in your heart of hearts that it’s something above and beyond your capability, financial or otherwise. There are many companies that fail because they are underfunded. Management will find themselves spending valuable time doing all the wrong things, daily budgets, phone calls to bank managers, fending off creditors and losing out on valuable discounts for early settlement, and offering unnecessary inducements to customers to pay their bills early. The cumulative effects of these can destroy your company.



Emotional

By all means fall in love with your business, but be aware that love is sometimes blind. If falling in love still lets you see the wood from the trees, then it can be a love story that endures. If however, it means you going off on a wild goose chase, then it will be a love that destroys. Be emotional, but at the same time objective and “usually” let your mind rule your heart.

Wild goose chase

Keep direction. If you start at point A and need to get to point Z, then you usually have to go through twenty four points before you reach your destination. If you decide at point E to deviate very slightly from your aformentioned plan, you could end up very far away from Z and probably not make it at all. That’s not to say that you cannot keep an open mind. Far from it, you must be fully aware what you are doing at all crucial times, but always pinch yourself – remind yourself of what you originally wanted to accomplish and ask yourself am I going in the right direction?

Over planning

Every business needs a general business plan. It needs to know where it is going. But spending time compiling inordinately complex financial forecasts with enormously complicated and fanciful assumptions is usually a waste of time. You will spend unnecessary time and probably take your eyes off the big picture. To be successful, keep it simple and don’t confuse yourself.

Be a company salesman

Everything in business, and life for that matter, involves an element of sales. Whether it be a product or service you offer, or simply selling yourself, every business interaction you are engaged in will constitute a sale. If you are a salesman, and demonstrate this mentality, then so will your staff.

Hiring too quickly

Quite often you may find that you can do the job quicker and better than others. Hire only when there is either a skillset you are lacking, or time elements and volume of work necessitate additional resource.

Don’t think you are perfect!

No one is and it will cost you! Listen and learn but don’t always act on advice. You know your baby better than anyone else. He’s yours and only yours!

Good luck and enjoy the journey!