If you are just starting out with a new business then you are in for one hell of a ride, the journey which you are about to take is going to be tough, rewarding and you will have to work extremely hard to achieve success in a highly competitive industry. There are more businesses being created than ever before and that means that in order to succeed in the way you want to, you are going to have to be smart, cautious and work your socks off.
I recently watched a lecture that was given to students of Cambridge University by the Chairman of 3i Bob Stefanowski, he was talking about the keys to success for any new business and I want dot recount them to you here.
Always About The Bottom Line
It is a known fact that over 50% of new businesses collapse within their first three years of trading and the large majority of these businesses are forced to close because of financial difficulty. It is therefore important that you always pay attention to you bottom line and seek a great deal of advice before authorizing any great spends on your products or services. Having a great brand, a great product and a great image is all well and good but if you are running your business at break even or a loss then your chances of success are slim at best.
Negotiate Hard But Fair
Making enemies is never a good idea in business and when the time comes to negotiate you should do so in a firm manner that sees you pushing for the deal you want but also realistically and fair, the last thing that you want to do is create bad relationships. Equally, once you have made a deal with anyone you must uphold your end of the bargain, reneging on a decision or an agreement creates bad blood and that decision could come back to haunt you in the future. There amy well be many bad people in business who are always looking to cut corners or get one over on someone and more often than not these people win in the short term but lose when things aren’t going so well and there is nobody around to help them, don’t be like them, you should be hard and fair.
Always Plan For The Future
If you truly want to find great success for your business then you need to be constantly thinking about the future. Considering which direction your business is going, when you should look to expand, how you will achieve growth and also adding some due diligence should things go wrong are all ways that you should be thinking as the leader of your business. Many of the aforementioned 50% of companies who failed, did so because they tried to go too big too quickly or they weren’t on the ball with how things might change in the future and the world passed them by. Keep your eye on the big picture an you are far more likely to succeed.