One of my family friends set the scene for building a business forty years ago with the comment" Before you buy something you need to know where you are going to sell it" He had a wonderful knack of seeing a business opportunity and putting the buy and sell together in the one train of thought.
When we set up a business we are often buying ourselves a job rather than creating a business that we can sell. The Technician's mindset is all about the doing and so there is too much emphasis on the doing and none on where the business is going. When this is the focus the Technician becomes a slave to the business and often burns out before they create a business that supports and is saleable.
Before you start your business you need to ask yourself some probing questions about the WHY you want a business. Is it just to escape the frustration of the boss? Is it about controlling your own work life? Is it about doing a better job? These are all Technician focused outcomes but do you see how they do not serve you the person.
You need to ask yourself why you want a business because there are many aspects to you beyond the doing. What are your personal goals? What do you enjoy in life? What motivates you? How will the business serve you and those near and dear?Will the business be congruent with your personal goals? Will you be able to exit the business when you need to?
In my early years I owned restaurants. In the first year my wife and I had an unexpected arrival. Danielle wasn't in our plans but she soon changed our business. We decided not to attract a lunch trade so we could have quality time with her. Best decision we ever made.
If you build your business from the beginning with your personal goals in mind you will write a very different business plan than if you focus on just the business of doing.
A business can eat all your hours and then demand more.You need to plan the organisation of the business. Think about how it's various parts will connect and how you will delegate tasks as it grows rather than accepting the burden of doing it all yourself.
A business can be a small corner shop or a chain of shops. You can try to do everything or you can recognise your strengths and delegate some of the many roles to others with specific skills so that you can concentrate on your strengths.
Before you can delegate effectively you need to know what you will delegate to whom and how they will perform the tasks. So before you start you need to write out the instructions for your business. Work out the essential checklists that you and later your staff will follow to ensure that you can meet your customers needs to their satisfaction.
How will your business cope if you have an unexpected arrival, need to travel for family reasons or have a staff member come down with a serious illness.
In your business who will handle the customer complaints and how will they deal with them and turn them into a positive experience.
More tomorrow
Comments
Thank you for this excellent post, Peter. It is a great outline of how to proceed once you decide to start to build a business. The point you made about focusing on designing a plan in tune with your lifestyle is very important and one which many people miss. I'll share this!
Thank you from Down Under to all of you for your generous support. Cheers to a glass of shiraz Peter
Excellent Wisdom delivered here Peter on Building a Business. Thanks for sharing. Liked and Shared.
Agree with everyone else Peter. You must have that 'why'. Great post and have shared for you.
Building a Business is continued and your why so very important. Thank you for sharing and I will share for you. **Anna Perkins Affiliate & Network Marketer**
Thanks Terri, I may be inspired tomorrow or over the weekend. Cheers to a glass of Shiraz.
Peter
You are so right about having that WHY in place. If you don't then your business will not survive during the rough times. Your why is not about the money, it's about YOU! Shared everywhere Peter. Looking forward to the next segment in this series.
Thanks Bessie, too much is lost buy too many in the business of life. If we can save one we have created a fortune.
Peter, you address a point here that hits home. Desire to start a business is only the beginning. Many are the greatly needed businesses that sputter and fall by the wayside because of the owner needing to do everything, themselves. Either because of economics or a belief, ie If you want it done right, do it yourself.
While we may want to just jump right in, there is a real need for planning as you have stated. No matter how much enthusiasm we have for a project, plans have to be made to see a business launch and stay afloat.
Thank you, Peter. Sharing and looking for more of your posts.