When starting a business, you start small and wish to finish bigger than you started. These 15 lessons should help build your business into a exciting and fulfilling retirement.
· Lesson One: Start Small
Some people have the idea that a small business doesn’t amount to sizeable income, or expansion. Debatable, but I disagree. While your business is small you will have the time to learn the lessons that are essential to your success. If you want to finish big, starting small is a not a bad start.
· Lesson Two: Earn a Few Pennies
It’s not how much you earn at first; it’s learning to earn something, even if it’s a few pennies. It can set you up for bigger things to come.
· Lesson Three: Begin with an Idea
Take a look around you. What needs to be improved? Where is there a void? Think, think, and think. Ask other people for their opinions. Eventually you’ll find a good idea.
· Lesson Four: Think Like a Visionary
It’s not enough to have an idea. You must look beyond that. If you implement an idea, then what? It’s really important to ask the “what” questions. What will result after you open the business? What can it become? What value can it provide? What is it about this business that will capture my commitment, my energy, and money ? From those questions you will come up with answers that will help you create a vision. Think big and give yourself the opportunity to get excited about your idea and future.
* Lesson Five: Keep the Faith
Building a business is a challenging commitment. Some days your chances for success are slim, you are short on money, employees and customers will take advantage of your business . Many things can go wrong. Stay positive, don’t give up the faith in what you can do and accomplish.
* Lesson six: Ready, Fire, and Aim!
It’s better to fire in the direction you want to be, and then adjust your aim, than never fire at all. Get started, because sometimes talking about it and dreaming about for too long will take away your energy to get started. Make your adjustment along the way.
* Lesson Seven: Profit or Perish
It’s easy to make a lot of sales and still not profit. There are only two ways to make a profit: increase sales and decrease costs. Learn this lesson as soon as possible.
* Lesson Eight: Be Positive
When life throws challenges at you. Seek solutions. And if one solution doesn’t work, seek another and another until you find a solution that works. It doesn’t do you r anyone any good if you be negative. It takes away your energy and others. Keep a positive mind-set.
* Lesson Nine: Continuously Improve Your Business
This lesson may not become apparent until you’re faced with competition. Introduce new products, new ways to serve your customers, new ways to market, and new ways to get ahead of everyone else. This is not a once and done thing. It’s continuous. If you don’t do it, someone else will.
* Lesson Ten: Believe In Your People
The people are one of your greatest assets in any business. Reinforce yourself that. They can work with you, or against you.
* Lesson Eleven: Never Ran Out of Money
You can make mistakes; you can have a bad day, a bad week, even a bad year. You can get low on money, but you must never run out of money. Money keeps you in the game. 10% of what you earn is yours to keep.
* Lesson Twelve: Attract New Customers Every Day
Awareness, Trial, and Usage. Make people aware of who you are and what you do, invite them to try your product or service. Then turn them into regular users.
* Lesson Thirteen: Be Persistent: Don’t Give Up
If you quit, you fail. If you give up, you’re out. If you stop playing, you can’t play anymore. Not giving up requires something more than faith, and a positive attitude. It’s about persistence. Faith, and a positive attitude go hand in hand with persistence. But you cannot make it with 2 out of the 3. If you give up you have to start all over again. Never give up!
* Lesson Fourteen: Build a Brand Name
People will spend a little more on a brand name product than an unbranded product. Despite they are both exactly the same. Branded products sell, and they sell for more than unbranded products.
* Lesson Fifteen: Opportunity Waits for No One
When you’re faced with an opportunity it’s important to be prepared to say yes before the opportunity goes elsewhere. This is not to say that you must say yes to everything that comes along. Bu you got to say yes if you want to start something.
Conclusion
You can adapt these lessons to your business , either one that already exists, or one that you plan to start. You can use these lessons to build an exciting and rewarding business. You can use these lessons to start small and finish big.
Derived from “Start Small, Finish Big! Enterprising advice from the Cofounder of Subway” By Fred DeLuca with John P. Hayes
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