MARKETING BLOG

Think Big, Start Small, Be Smart!

28/1/2013

 

It takes something a little bit special to transform an idea into what we know and recognise to be a successful, profitable and competitive business. But taking the plunge into entrepreneurship and running your own business can be both exhilarating and terrifying. And if you’re like me, you will have been living, breathing and dreaming about your business for what feels like a lifetime and fantasying about its potential in your head with every spare moment you have.

But despite all the anticipation and excitement, the reality of getting started and developing your idea into a business is often much tougher than you’d envisaged. All too often you find yourself doubting the durability of your idea and your ability to get it off the ground. On paper (and in your mind) it can’t possibly fail - can it?
 

So how do you overcome this initial stumbling block, where do you even start and if you have started, how do you maintain momentum?

Think Big! For an idea to work as a business model, it should contain several key ingredients (which will vary depending on the motivation behind your business idea):

• Its ability to satisfy the needs of your audience (customers, clients & shareholders)
• Its capacity to excite, challenge and motivate you (and your employees)
• Its competitive performance within the industry and local market
• Its potential for growth, and/or
• Profitability 

Start Small! When starting out or even a year or so in, it’s very difficult not to get overly enthusiastic, jump in at the deep end and succumb to the urgency to do everything right now.  But this chaotic, scatter-gun strategy is highly unsustainable, uses up far too much of energy (and resources) and can leave you feeling like you’ve lost control.

Regular planning and the prioritisation of all your business activities plays a crucial role in avoiding the sinking feeling many ‘start ups’ feel, even as far as a year or two in to their new venture, and done properly can and should result in a significantly more successful and long–term sustainable business.

There are several key questions to consider when starting and growing a business:

• Purpose: What is the main purpose of your business? What do you want to achieve?
• Focus: What is the main focus of your business? The most important person in your business is your ‘customer’! How do you acquire and retain customers - without them you don’t have a business. What are you doing to satisfy their needs?
• Requirement: Growth and profitability is the positive result of adding value to the customer experience. How does your business add value and what are you doing differently from the competition?
• Planning: What do you want to achieve? Every company should have a robust business plan that drives and acts as a control mechanism for all your business and marketing activities. Do you have a business and marketing plan; if you do how often do you review them and do you follow them?
• Strategy: How do you deliver the plan? What is your marketing mix and how does it full-fill your objectives and customer needs?
• Reasearch: Responding to change within the market, customer and competitive landscape requires business owners to regularly assess their strategy and be prepared to act. How often to you review your strategy, do you know what changes are taking place in your industry and how do you respond? 
• Budget: How much can you afford to invest and what are your priorities?  While a business trip to New York might be good for business long-term - can you really afford it yet?

Be Smart! Do your research first before stating something new and learn from the mistakes of others! Try not to attempt more than you can achieve at any one time and be realistic about your goals.