Steps to grow your business

 BY UDEME EKWERE 

   

 

 

UDEME EKWERE examines critical steps to nurture a business venture

Before embarking on any business venture it is important to answer the critical question, ‘Am I cut out to be an entrepreneur?’

Not everyone can begin and run a business successfully. No wonder it is easy to see some businesses folding up after one or two years.

However, experts believe anyone with the desire and the initiative can be an entrepreneur.

Usually, a fundamental desire to control their own destinies ranks very high on most entrepreneurs’ lists of reasons for starting their own businesses.

This need is so strong that entrepreneurs will risk family, future and careers to be their own boss. Unable to feel truly fulfilled working for someone else, these individuals can’t be happy following someone else’s plan or taking orders from a boss.

They are often convinced they have a better way, or an idea that would really revolutionise their industry, or at least their little corner of it, and working within a corporate structure is simply stifling that improvement.

According to experts, through surveys and research, successful entrepreneurs share some common personality traits, the most important of which is confidence not only in themselves but also in their ability to sell their ideas, set up a business and trust their intuition along the way.

They note that small business is fiercely competitive, and it is the business owners with confidence who survive.

The Lead Strategists, Businesstoday, Mr. Godswill Obi, says that it is rare that one person possesses all the qualities needed to be successful in business.

“What is important is to understand your strengths and weaknesses. To do this, you need to evaluate the major achievements in your personal and professional life and the skills you used to accomplish them.

He adds that the following steps can help:

Create a personal resume

Compose a resume that lists your professional and personal experiences as well as your expertise. For each job, describe the duties you were responsible for and the degree of your success. Include professional skills, educational background, hobbies, and accomplishments that required expertise or special knowledge. When it is complete, this resume will give you a better idea of the kind of business that best suits your interests and experience.

Analyse your personal attributes

Evaluating your personal attributes reveals your likes and dislikes as well as strengths and weaknesses. Some of the questions to answer are: Are you friendly and self-motivated? Are you a hard worker? Do you have common sense? Are you well organised? If you don’t feel comfortable around other people, then a business that requires a lot of customer interaction might not be right for you. Or you may want to hire a “people person” to handle customer service.

Analyse your professional attributes

Small-business owners wear many different hats, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a jack-of-all-trades. Just be aware of the areas where you’re competent and the areas where you need help, such as sales, marketing, advertising and administration. Next to each function, record your competency level—excellent, good, fair, or poor.

In addition to evaluating your strengths and weaknesses, it is important to define your business goals. For some people, the goal is the freedom to do what they want when they want, without anyone telling them otherwise. For others, the goal is financial security.

Setting goals remain integral part of choosing the business that is right for you. After all, if your business doesn’t meet your personal goals, you probably won’t be happy waking up each morning and trying to make the business a success. Sooner or later, you’ll stop putting forth the effort needed to make the concept work.

In addition, Obi explains that when setting goals, an entrepreneur should aim for the following qualities:

Be specific

You have a better chance of achieving a goal if it is specific. For instance, “Raising capital” isn’t a specific goal; but “raising N100, 000 by July 1” is.

Be optimistic

Be positive when you set your goals. “Being able to pay the bills” isn’t exactly an inspirational goal. However, achieving financial security” phrases your goal in a more positive manner, thus firing up your energy to attain it.

Be realistic

If you set a goal to earn N500,000 a month when you have never earned that much in a year, that goal is unrealistic. Begin with small steps, such as increasing your monthly income by 25 per cent. Once your first goal is met, you can reach for larger ones.

Differ between short and long term

Short-term goals are attainable in a period of weeks to a year. Long-term goals can be for five, 10 or even 20 years; they should be substantially greater than short-term goals but should still be realistic.

You should also consider your income, lifestyle and type of work when setting goals. There are several factors to consider when setting goals.

This is because many entrepreneurs go into business to achieve financial security, therefore it is essential to consider how much money you want to make during your first year of operation and each year thereafter, up to five years.

Experts add that the most important rule of self-evaluation and goal-setting is honesty. Going into business with your eyes wide open about your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes, and your ultimate goals lets you confront the decisions you’ll face with greater confidence and a greater chance of success.

source:PUNCH.