To begin this blog, I have to say this – I love business! Nothing beats having to turn dreams into reality and making alot of money from it. On the flipside, it is very painful to fail at something you believe and worked hard at.
Business is indeed like warfare – as evidenced by the translation of Machievalli’s the Prince and Sun Tzu’s Art of War being translated into strategies for business.
The basic essence of business, I believe, is to help others get what they want. The greater the need you fulfil, the greater the reward. Look at property magnates. shipping etc. I learnt a Chinese phrase, the ‘best’ businesses to be in cater to “Yi” – Clothing, “Shi” – Food, “Zhu” – Accomodation, “Xin” – Transport. However, those are highly competitive businesses to be in.
As a small business owner, it is important to be in a niche, stand for something. Be the expert/specialist in a tiny niche that the ‘big boys’ will not find interest or value in actively pursuing. Do it well and slowly expand from there.
In all things, keep costs down and try to boost sales. Watch cash flow, profit margins, dead stock, pilferage etc. and at the end of the day, despite all the niceties about helping others, MAKE SOME MONEY AND KEEP IT!!
Learn the concept of leverage – hire staff if need be to run your shop if you are in retail – also consider outsourcing – letting the experts do your work for you. This can be especially useful in accounting and logistics.
Build a system – have a systematic way of doing things. Educate your staff on it. Have control measures in place.
Alliances – like the saying goes, ‘keep your friends close but your enemies closer’ – build strong, strategic alliances with your competitors but being dealers for them.
Unpredictability and misinformation – have a reputation for being unpredictable in the marketplace – WOW and SHOCk customers, suppliers and your dealers every now and then. Also, don’t be afraid to send out misinformation to confuse your competition. A little ruthlessness is sometimes necessary.
Prioritise – time management – remove the time suckers such as going to buy stock, meeting people unneccessarily, especially people who are trying to sell you products/services or to ask you for money.
Focus – set goals, focus and get things done. Take action. Try to progress and grow your business a little a day.
In lean times, do not be afraid to sit back and let things go by. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to do nothing at all. Moves made in desperation usually do not turn out well. Also, live in the present. Do not look back at wrong moves in the past and live in regret. Take time to think, consider your options, discuss with associates, friends and family and then make a well considered move.
Business, like life, is like war. You need your troops i.e. your money. The more troops you have, the better your position. You need generals – your management staff to fight the different fronts. You need a system, training programs, logistics, finance etc to run your army/business. You need market intelligence to find out what your competitors/enemy is doing and above all, you need yourself, the visionary leader to inspire and lead your troops to VICTORY.
Be positive, choose to be happy. Enjoy life. Remember the 80/20 rule – you achieve 80% of your results with 20% of your time. So don’t be afraid or guilty to relax and take things easy. Sometimes, your best ideas come when you’re feeling relaxed and happy.
I believe that you have to identify what you feel passionate about and enjoy doing and use that as a basis to decide what business you want to go into. Do NOT go into any business that you have no knowledge nor interest in purely for the sake of money. There is a reason why 80-90% of all businesses fail within the first 3 years.
From a Christian perspective, I also believe that God loves us and wants the best for us. Do not settle for anything less than the best. Dare to ask for what you deserve and God will give it to you. Believe, trust and have faith that you will be blessed and go out there, fight a good fight and claim what is yours! VICTORY is yours. It also helps to learn to pray and mediate and ask God for help or just to thank Him for everything.
I love Christian principles. You reap what you sow, Ask and it shall be given. Godliness with contentment is great gain. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as upon God and not unto man. i.e. give a 100%, full-out effort.
I guess that does it for now. Will be updating whenever inspiration strikes.
Tags: business, entrepreneurship, failure, knowledge, power, singapore, strategy, success, warfare
