When you have the passion, you will go on extra miles to make sure the business grow. FILE PHOTO | NMG
In Kenya, we have people who know how to be serial entrepreneurs
in every sector of the economy they have invested in. They have more
experience starting new enterprises, turning around underperforming ones
or re-vamping operations.
In the majority of cases,
start-up success or failure is all about knowing both the how and the
why of taking action, and always being clear about which steps to take
next.
To help you in growing your business, below are some of the crucial steps you need to know about running a successful business.
Use
them as a checklist to make sure your thinking and your business plan
are on the right track, or if you need to get more information,
strategic education or clarity for yourself on your overall vision, your
market, or your product or service.
Build something
you have passion in — when you’re all alone, sitting in a dark room
wondering why your business is failing, there is only one true thing to
power you forward – you believe in your purpose. When you have the
passion, you will go on extra miles to make sure the business grow.
Don’t
aim for 20 per cent improvement. Make it radically better and
different; you are competing on your own so give it the best. If you
look around, we also live in the land of me-too businesses. Don’t fall
for it. Dig deep and decide right now to build something radically
different and radically better. Kenyans are good in copy-paste business;
avoid this completely for a successful.
Prepare to be
copied - Kenyans are known to be good in copy-paste business, don’t
start unless you will survive imitation. If your idea is truly radical
and takes off, you can count the minutes before the copy-cats arrive.
How will you survive competition from the big gorillas on the block? Or
even from the upstart little guys? Your key is a system of continuous
improvement innovation.
Build up reserves of money and energy – Nakumatt and Uchumi
supermarkets are dying due to lack of cash flow. Sometimes extremely
difficult to do, what start-ups or growth company has reserves of cash
flow sitting around? Run as lean as you possibly can and do not waste
money or energy. You will endure mistakes and bad luck along the way, so
having a good war chest full of capital and energy can help handle it.
Never,
ever give up control of the business — Some high-impact entrepreneurs
will readily give up control in exchange for the lure of high-growth
through venture capital -- but be not one of them. Relinquish control
and you risk losing the culture and vision of the company you set out to
build.
Don’t compromise on the big things —
compromise on everything else but not your vision, purpose, core values.
Write these things in stone and never budge. But flexibility in the
value propositions, products and services you build to execute your
purpose is vastly important.
Figure out how to achieve
your goals on a lean budget, then cut that number in half. It will cost
twice as much, and take twice as long as you think, apply the
principles of lean to your business from day one. No fancy offices. No
fancy full colour brochures. Your goal is to stay alive until you can
nail your secret formula for success.
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