The number one reason why most businesses get killed by the
competition and fail is because of 'sameness.' The tuition centre that the new entrepreneur starts is just like hundreds of other tuition centres. The electronics store that the
new entrepreneur opens is just like all the others in the
neighbourhood. The hairdressing salon that the new entrepreneur
opens is just like any other. And so on...
When your business is no different from anybody else's (the only
thing different being the name of your company), then you will find
that your chances of success is just like everybody else...very low!
Remember that only 10% of businesses succeed and 90% fail. So, if
you do business the same as everybody else, you can bet that you
are going to be among the 90% that will fold up.
Wherever I conduct my entrepreneurship workshops, people tell me
the same thing. Competition is tough, very tough. They tell me that
business used to be good, but when all the competition came in,
prices fell and profits disappeared.
So they ask me what kind of business they can get into which has
less competition and more opportunities? This is a story I hear all
too often. My reply to them is that every industry is competitive if you do
business like everybody else. However, if you do your business in a
totally different way, you will find that you will have NO DIRECT
COMPETITION.
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
If your busines cannot run without you ...
The reason why most entrepreneurs fail is because they build a business that depends solely on their presence and unique skills set. They are the primary producer of the goods or services. They are the one attending to the customer, making the sale, cutting the hair, doing the accounts, cooking the food etc...
They are the business and the business is them. These entrepreneurs are, in real terms, self-employed individuals and not the owners of a business that works. The business needs them to be physically there in order to function. If they aren't there, they lose the sale, the goods cannot be made, the service cannot be performed and the customers will not come.
So what's the problem with this?
The problem is that if your business only works when you are there, then you have sacrificed the most important reason for being an entrepreneur...FREEDOM. You can never take a holiday. If you were to ever take leave for a month, your business may no longer be there. In this scenario (which is all to common for most entrepreneurs), you will be trapped in your self-created 'cage' until the day you die. You will never be able to sell your company or let someone else run it for you while you retire. You will end up spending seven days a week, working 13-hour days or more, and working to the very end.
Not a rosy picture, is it? I'll share with you how you can escape this trap and work ON your business and not IN your business. To continue reading ...
They are the business and the business is them. These entrepreneurs are, in real terms, self-employed individuals and not the owners of a business that works. The business needs them to be physically there in order to function. If they aren't there, they lose the sale, the goods cannot be made, the service cannot be performed and the customers will not come.
So what's the problem with this?
The problem is that if your business only works when you are there, then you have sacrificed the most important reason for being an entrepreneur...FREEDOM. You can never take a holiday. If you were to ever take leave for a month, your business may no longer be there. In this scenario (which is all to common for most entrepreneurs), you will be trapped in your self-created 'cage' until the day you die. You will never be able to sell your company or let someone else run it for you while you retire. You will end up spending seven days a week, working 13-hour days or more, and working to the very end.
Not a rosy picture, is it? I'll share with you how you can escape this trap and work ON your business and not IN your business. To continue reading ...
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Working on your business instead of just working in your business
Have you ever wondered why some businesses never seem to be able to
grow, no matter how much effort the owner puts into it?
At the same time, I am sure you have also seen many examples of
entrepreneurs who started small and ending up building hundreds of
outlets/ offices in so many countries, returning millions of
dollars in sales every year.
The difference lies in the kind of work the entrepreneur is focused
on.
The biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make is to focus all of their time working IN the business and not enough time working ON the business.
Working IN the business involves doing the tactical work necessary for the business to operate day to day. This work is usually the urgent stuff that must be done immediately to keep the business running. It involves selling the product, making the product/providing the service, delivering the service or product, administration and accounting.
On the other hand, working ON the business involves the strategic work of creating a successful business system and then replicating this system by opening up multiple branches/outlets. The entrepreneur knows that once the business system is created, anyone can be hired to work in the system to produce the same level of service/product quality in any subsequent branch/outlet - and that is to generate profits and income.
Is it by accident that every McDonald's server will greet you with a warm smile and a "Welcome to McDonald's" everywhere in the world? No, it is because Ray Kroc created a system of standards where every server in every one of their 200,000 restaurants will deliver the exact same greeting. The Lesson here is that if you don't plan to focus on the strategic work of building your business system, you will find yourself being consumed with day-to-day tactical work and that will keep your business forever small, and dependent on you.
The biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make is to focus all of their time working IN the business and not enough time working ON the business.
Working IN the business involves doing the tactical work necessary for the business to operate day to day. This work is usually the urgent stuff that must be done immediately to keep the business running. It involves selling the product, making the product/providing the service, delivering the service or product, administration and accounting.
On the other hand, working ON the business involves the strategic work of creating a successful business system and then replicating this system by opening up multiple branches/outlets. The entrepreneur knows that once the business system is created, anyone can be hired to work in the system to produce the same level of service/product quality in any subsequent branch/outlet - and that is to generate profits and income.
Is it by accident that every McDonald's server will greet you with a warm smile and a "Welcome to McDonald's" everywhere in the world? No, it is because Ray Kroc created a system of standards where every server in every one of their 200,000 restaurants will deliver the exact same greeting. The Lesson here is that if you don't plan to focus on the strategic work of building your business system, you will find yourself being consumed with day-to-day tactical work and that will keep your business forever small, and dependent on you.
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