Running a successful business can mean different things to different people. For some it means just surviving from day to day. For others it is having enough money to enjoy the finer things in life like imported cars and overseas holidays. One common factor for all businesses is the important role that the owner manager plays in developing a successful business.
To manage a business effectively an owner must realise there is more to a business than just efficiently producing or providing the goods or services. It also includes managing the financial, promotional, development and human recourse aspects as well.
ESTABLISH THE REASON FOR EXISTING
A major component of achieving success in anything is to establish goals. To do that effectively in a business you must first work out why you are in business. For some it is not wanting to work for a boss, or others it is to build something that can provide employment and security for them and their children.
When owners don’t take the time to work out why they are in business, they can find they have very little time for anything else. A business should not dominate the life of an owner it should provide the means for having a life.
MEASURE EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN
It is impossible to improve anything without taking measurements. It does not matter whether you are trying to build a house or lose weight. To achieve the desired result measurements must be taken.
All aspects of a business should be measured to provide feedback on how the business is doing, and a benchmark to gauge the success or failure of steps taken to improve the business.
Measuring the time it takes to do tasks in a business is vitally important for all businesses. Once a business owner has measured how long it takes to do the different jobs in a business, the easier it is to work out the least pleasing jobs they do and delegate them to someone else, to give them the time to work on the business and grow it.
PUT YOUR FAITH IN SYSTEMS
The only way to ensure that a job will be done correctly every time is to develop a system that sets out how it is to be done. Without systems a business is totally reliant on the previous experience of the people doing the work or the owner constantly monitoring how each job is done.
The best way to effectively give a job that you do not want to do, is work out how you do the job and what the desired result is. This system for performing the required task should then be written down because for a system to work it must be in writing.
EMBRACE CHANGE AND NEVER STOP LEARNING
Any business that does not change and improve inevitably goes backward. It is also not about looking for the answers to problems, it’s about constantly asking the right questions.
One of the most important questions is “how can I improve what I’m doing now”? This may lead to embracing new and different technology to improve efficiencies. It can also mean constantly reviewing your product or service and making improvements. By embracing change and constantly looking for ways to make improvements a business can not help but grow and prosper.
Too often people find it hard to get away from their business to learn new skills either directly related to their business or for themselves as individuals. By taking the time to get away and learn something it is amazing how often a nagging problem can be solved just by not being totally immersed in it.
PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
One of the major ingredients of growing a business is planning for the future. The information that has been collected by measuring as much as possible can be used to plan and where improvements can be made.
To plan successfully the business should be broken down into its smallest possible components starting with the sources of income. Once you have segmented your income into its different types you can then effectively look at the factors that impact on the income and make plans to increase it.
LOOK ON BUSINESS AS A PARTNERSHIP NOT A CONTEST
There have been many business systems and management ideas over the past 50 years One of the most successful was and still is Total Quality Management. Under that system a major principle of continuing success is all parties to a business transaction should come out winners.
Too often owners treat business as a competition made up of winners and losers. Under this school of thought it does not take long for customers and suppliers of a business to work out they are losing and they take their business elsewhere. If however the critical business relationships are treated as a partnership, where everyone wins, the levels of trust are maintained and the business prospers.
The final ingredient to building a successful business is not a step at all. It is more of a philosophy. That is if you are not enjoying your business and having fun while working in and on it, get out. If you don’t look forward to getting to work each day it will only be a matter of time before either the business fails or your health does.
