A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS

Written by Gopi Nathan


Entrepreneurs who start a small business have high hopes of big success. Yet few small businesses survive beyond five years.

Actually, there are just four broad requirements that can almost guarantee your small business success:

- A few personal traits essential for small business success

- A big enough market that a small business can tap

- Planning and organizing

- Monitoring and controlling

PERSONAL TRAITS ESSENTIAL FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS

People with very different personalities have succeeded in business. Hence, one cannot say that there is an entrepreneurial personality.

But there are certain traits that are essential for business success. The traits listed below are practically self-evident:

- A self-starter - This isrepparttar essence of entrepreneurship. Employees have a boss to tell them what to do and how to do it. Entrepreneurs must decide what to do and learnrepparttar 104420 how. - Persistence - Unless you are able to persist against allrepparttar 104421 frustrations and adversities that are inevitable while doing a competitive business, you are not likely to see small business success. - Learning through doing - Without observingrepparttar 104422 results of your decisions and actions, and learning from your mistakes and successes, your persistence might actually makerepparttar 104423 situation worse. You might be persisting with wrong actions. - The habit of planning and organizing - If you don't haverepparttar 104424 habit of working outrepparttar 104425 details involved in achieving what you want, and then going out and organizing all that is needed, you might be floating around aimlessly. Aimless activity do not lead to small business success.

A MARKET THAT A SMALL BUSINESS CAN TAP

There has to be a market for what you plan to offer or there will be no business. Next, existing competition in this market should be something that you can handle or you will find yourself driven out ofrepparttar 104426 market.

Whetherrepparttar 104427 market is competitive or otherwise, you simply have to know your customers. If you don't know such things as their age, gender, occupation, needs, likes and dislikes, you simply cannot hope to write sales messages that will appeal to them.

Then you'll need a clear idea about what your customers expect from your kind of product or service. These customer expectations will formrepparttar 104428 basis on which you develop your sales messages. You can also gain a competitive advantage if you can meet any expectation that isn't currently being satisfied properly.

Finally, you have to knowrepparttar 104429 places your customers frequent,repparttar 104430 materials that they read, andrepparttar 104431 programs they attend or listen to. You communicate your sales messages torepparttar 104432 customers at these places, or through these materials or programs. Selectrepparttar 104433 most appropriate medium to communicate.

PLANNING AND ORGANIZING FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS

Although a bit of forecasting is involved in planning, plans are primarily an expression of your vision. You have some ideas aboutrepparttar 104434 business you want to do,repparttar 104435 results you want to achieve andrepparttar 104436 way you would go about these.

Networking Basics Turn Yourself Into A Profit Making Giant

Written by Costa Dedes


I would like to introduce you to one of my brick and mortar business I run. It is called AFM Computer Repair. This business takes me about 5 hours a week, yet I usually make a few hundred dollars cash in my pocket spending money a week. Now I know what everyone is thinking, "Howrepparttar HELL do you run a brick and mortar business with only 5 hours of your time a week!". Well its quite simple. Its called networking. Ok I admitrepparttar 104419 location isn't mine, it doesn't have my name on it. Butrepparttar 104420 benefits are great I don't pay monthly bills! This is like a dream come true, your own store with no bills.

OK let me explain a little more. The business sells refurbished computers that are supplied by a local computer recycler. I networked myself with a few local business owner in my home town and managed to find a few people who could be interested in selling PC products. After gettingrepparttar 104421 names and locations of each business I wrote up a presentation and showed themrepparttar 104422 benefits of having me inrepparttar 104423 store selling my products. The owners almost dropped to their knees begging me to setup my displays. A week later I had three shops all selling computer for ME. I had no overhead I did not even need to be inrepparttar 104424 store for more then a few hours each week.

The secrets to networking is to find a product you are interested in. Once you have foundrepparttar 104425 product learn more about it. Once you learned enough aboutrepparttar 104426 product, read about it some more until it is so well into your memory you have no questions about it. Then prepare a list of possible business to market your product in. I recommend small locally owned businesses in downtown parts of your town, example would be a corner store where people hang out to buy beer and cigarettes you know people will be in and out all day. Then prepare your presentation. Make sure you can answerrepparttar 104427 most outrageous questions on your products. Do not forgetrepparttar 104428 part that will make your perspective partner drop to his knees asking you to come sell in his shop. The secret to this is "Make him an offer he cant refuse". No no, I don't mean getrepparttar 104429 mob over and break his knees. What you need to do is tell him that your product will give him extra cash with no investment. The owner does not have to purchase any of your products up front. You own allrepparttar 104430 products until they are sold. Once they are sold you write up a bill and give it torepparttar 104431 shop owner. You make sure you give them a good cut ofrepparttar 104432 money. Depending on your product that can be anywhere from 15% to 60%. If you keeprepparttar 104433 shop owner happy I promise you thatrepparttar 104434 money you see will continue to come for years.

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