Don’t have time to read all this? Scroll to the bottom to the Summary! (You’ll miss out though!)
When we enter business, it starts with a great idea, and bags of enthusiasm.
The effort expended by the founders is rightly immense. The thought, planning, personal investment in both time, and money is beyond that which most employees would ever consider giving a fraction of.
How disappointing it can be when turnover is slow, and profit nonexistent.
For most people entering the new SME startup realm, this is a common experience. Most businesses fall by the wayside before even getting past the starting blocks, a high percentage die within months, the remainder float along, or progressively grow throughout the life of the business, the latter being the goal of everyone surely.
There are many posts on the internet about how to make a business a success, filled with ‘Do this’ and ‘Do that’, none of it guarantees success, and quite often, the advice is founded upon things that cost money – which most new startups simply don’t have.
This post aims to be refreshingly different, and is based on both experience and opinion. It is at times quite blunt. Why? Because I don’t want anything from you, other than for you to succeed!
Firstly, let’s acknowledge that every business is different. Its style, products, and direction are all separate from each other. To that end, there are opportunities present for one business, which aren’t for another. We will assume also that you have a product or service which people want.
Selling a Widget for a Whatsamacallit may be great with other products, but if it’s your only product, well, it’s a no brainer. Just look at some of the stuff being pitched on Dragons Den. Please know your market well.
If your business is missing one of the points below, you are not generating as much revenue as you could do, and there are undoubtedly points which are not covered – so please do add your thoughts, opinions, and experience in the comments!
All Businesses
PMA – Positive Mental Attitude
Never, Ever, Ever, let anyone tell you that you can’t meet your goals and dreams in business. You can, and you will do. Always approach everything with a positive attitude and a smile. Never, Ever, Ever, make an excuse for anything – including the items in this post. You can do, and you will do. And if something doesn’t work out, you switch it with the click of a finger. You will Never, Ever, Ever, fail, unless you let yourself fail, and if you let that happen, just pick yourself up, and try it (or something new) again until it works.
Image
Think 5 star service, 5 star image. Dress to impress, and keep it fresh and good looking. Holistically look at what your company appears like to your client base. Ask for Honest opinions from straight talking friends and forums – even ask me, and I’ll not lie to you.
Pitch 5 questions:
1)What does my company logo / brand look like? (Does it reflect me / us / the brand)
2)What do our premises / vehicles / staff look like?
3)What do our Business Cards look like? Ditto all paperwork.
4)What image does our language represent? (Profanity, slang, tonality etc)
5)What does our online presence look like? (Don’t turn up online? – change that today)
If you can’t answer these 5 questions with the word “Awesome”, or the words “The best out there” you need to rapidly alter the way in which you present yourself. If you do think you’re the best, ask for honest opinions – not from people you know, and preferably from people who will be blunt to help you, and always seek to improve. Being a work in progress is fine - so long as there is progress, and not procrastination!
Time management.
It’s not the hours you work, it’s what you do in those hours. Generally, you must work during the times that clients are likely to need you. You wouldn’t go fishing when the tide is out, equally, working at 1 AM in the morning when your customers are in bed, it not suitable for most businesses. If your customers contact you between 9 – 5, you work 8 – 6. If your business is 24 hours, those are the hours you work (Obviously employing staff to work shift patterns!)
If you hold down a second job – think long and hard about what you’re doing. If you want a business to be successful, you must commit yourself 100% to the task at hand. Perhaps your personal circumstances dictate revenue is required - hence the second job, in which case, you're going to have to work long hours for sure!
Never be late, expect everyone else to be late, never accept anyone being late.
You get paid what your worth – or your company dies.
The way you should pay yourself in business is by taking a cut from the excess. If you pay yourself £500 a month regardless of company turnover and your business produces £505, and its costs are generally £495 each month to sustain itself, you are going to end in serious problems. Take a percentage from the excess, and make that percentage low. 2% for example.
If your company produces £505, costs are £495, you take 2% of £10. Congratulations. This month you earned £2. That is what you are worth.
Pay your staff a wage from your percentage only.
By adopting this attitude, you will make sure, very quickly. Your company will produce more revenue to compensate. To pay yourself £500, you will have to produce £25495 each month.
Easy job!
Keep it in the family
People have mixed views on employing family – so do be careful.
My first ever office cleaner was called Mum. Mum also helped produce prototypes for me in another business (On a sewing machine – which I’m useless at). The outside catering for events was also done by Mum. Removals driver was done by Dad, with his trusty assistant, Brother.
Painting and decorating was done by the entire clan.
My mum works in a hospital, my dad is retired, and my brother works in a bank.
Total cost to me? £Zero
Equally, family may be able to help with things like websites, graphic design, advice, and general hands on when required.
Get online
If your business doesn’t have an online presence, you need one, end of.
It doesn’t need to cost the earth, and you can even make it yourself with a WYSIWYG online provider such as Godaddy.com and Moonfruit.com. Be aware, there are many more, and each one has benefits and disadvantages. Choose the right one for your budget and needs. Ask for opinions before committing. Ask for Honest advice to design and looks at every stage. Most websites for SME's are dreadful.
Needing improvement is fine. Little mistakes are a work in progress. But a dreadful site that remains so for years is not.
Make a change to your website every single day. (Trust me)
Once you’re online, spread the word
You can have the best website in the world, but unless you’re on Page 1 of Google, and in Position 1, 2, 3 for your business, your potential to benefit from a website is stinted. Getting there will take you time – it needn’t cost you money though. You need to learn a little bit about something called SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) so that Google can see your website properly, and understand what you want it to know, then you need to be proactive, and socialise, leaving your company ‘business card’ wherever you go (directory entry, and good unique articles in forums.) Never ever Spam a site though. It's just not British.
Use Twitter, Facebook and all the such daily – even if you don’t quite understand or see the value in it.
And all these things, before you even open the doors...
Opened the doors already? Oh, Ok... then read on....
Now you need to market, and keep marketing, as well as always improving on the above.
Marketing is a process which some people in business don’t seem to understand. They open their business, and then keep it as the best kept secret!
Marketing, in essence is reaching out to people. Informing them, creating desire.
If you have a physical premises, on a high street, and this is your only marketing, fool on you.
If you sell a service, or your store is online, and you’re relying on being found by Google, don’t expect success. In fact, expect your stock to go out of date, and you to lose interest long before customers flood in.
“I once had a friend who in 1995 started his own business selling computers. He bought the equipment with a loan from his dad, and set up in his parents front room. He went to the Yellow Pages, got a free listing and waited by the phone.
Week 2, he stuck a sign in the window saying ‘486 DX2 66, 16MB RAM - £450.
Week 3 he made a leaflet and printed 20 of them out. Stuck them by the door for callers.
Week 4 he sold me all his kit for a loss and went to work in a Garden Centre. He never took an order.
Week 4 I started my first company selling Home PCs
Week 4 I got a Yellow Pages, Thomson, BT Directory listing
Week 4 I got a web domain, webspace, and bought a program called Frontpage
Week 4 I uploaded my first ever website by ftp
Week 4 I designed a black and white leaflet, photocopied it, and stuck it EVERYWHERE
Week 4 I took my first order
Week 5 I turned a profit”
This is a true story, and it is my story – which isn’t one of success in the slightest. A story like this should end with me saying I sold the company for X million. I didn’t. But you do get the idea.
It’s simple marketing, and there are many more opportunities today to reach out than there were back then – it is however more complex, and to succeed, you may have to learn to bring yourself into the 21st Century.
To summarise, and if you’ve skipped through all the text, to make a profit you must:
Live PMA
Give a fantastic image all over
Manage time with extreme accuracy
Pay yourself only a fraction of what the company can afford.
Lower your costs by getting family to help with projects and daily running.
Get online
Spread the word online
Market.
And finally, let me leave you with words that have carried me every day:
"If you always do, what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got"
I'm not a millionaire, so I'm changing day by day!
