Entrepreneurship has always been the cornerstone buzzword of a successful capitalist economy. How many people can make a change in the conventionality and think out of the box? Not much. Yet, on the other hand, entrepreneurs can create history! Can we even imagine the current economic status of Bangladesh if there were no entrepreneur in our country? It’s just unimaginable.
Did you know that it is easy to have powerful ideas for business yet to implement those ideas is completely the opposite? The concept of “with great risks come great rewards” is not everyone’s cup of tea. Starting a new business could be one of the frightening things until you get hold of it. To get every single thing in order especially when you’re working hard to establish a solid foundation strategically is never an easy thing.
I have seen the entrepreneurship journey of my cousins, whom one of them succeeded and the other failed miserably. Both situations happened right before my eyes and to be able to closely observe those journeys is completely priceless.
So here are the five solid business foundations you may want to consider before embarking your business ventures – from the marketing perspective.
Evaluate your idea and yourself.
Is my idea worthy enough to start a business? Will I be able to implement it well and monetise it? Can it be relevant in the long run? It’s obvious that your mind will be flooded by thousands of questions similar to these during your business plan stage. But, being too worried and carrying a clouded mind isn’t going to help much in bringing confidence needed. So, I’d like to recommend that you start to initiate a phase where you need to really evaluate your idea. How? Use these as a guideline;
- It improves people’s life.
- It helps people financially.
- It is relevant to people’s life, better than the existing product.
Now you must be thinking of how to evaluate yourself? Simple, just be very honest here – which department do you think you can handle the best, better than anyone else. Is it strategy, sales, marketing, finance, marketing, operations or others. In other words, find out where your strength is and build the rest of the ecosystem around it. Then get help on the rest. This primary step is very critical before you begin to dive into the business. Clear out all hurdles and keep things simple.
Know your market.
“If you form a strategy without research, your brand will barely float and at the speed industries are moving at today, brands sink fast.” – Ryan Holmes.
That being said, before venturing into a business, as an entrepreneur, you must know the end-to-end details about the industry in depth he’s going to be operating in. By having a proper understanding especially on the behaviour, trends, weaknesses and so on, he can go with the best probable strategy and this will result in improving results. For instance, customers’ mindset varies from one area to another, so as the demand for products. One product can be very popular in one geographical area, yet at the same time, no one even bothers about it in another area. So, if you were to launch something in a place where no one keen to know more about it, definitely the result will be zero. Disaster. Therefore, you have to come up with a thorough strategy that is well sync with what’s happening in the market. And, this only can be achieved via the market research.
Communicate and listen to your customers.
Customers are the asset of every business. No point you have a great strategy, yet it can’t even fulfil their need. Thus, you can’t run away from the fact that you have to build empathy with your customers. To achieve this, you need to properly communicate and listen to them. Some people say that customers aren’t always right, but again without them, your business won’t be around long either. No matter what they inquire, be it relevant or irrelevant, believe in listening and then clarify politely and wholeheartedly. Always speak the truth. Social media or online can be of great help to reach them where you can communicate and build a healthy relationship with them, anytime. Ask your customers for sincere feedback. Be encouraged by their comments, be it positive or negative.
Have an agile business plan.
Not having an agile business plan usually becomes an impassable barrier for most of the entrepreneurs. A rigid business plan will ensure a tough path moving forward. Agile or flexible strategic plans will work as a great saviour as you’re able to fluidly pivot from the original plan to a new adjusted plan, yet still moving forward to the same vision. You surely will experience a better and predictable result.
Keep a healthy office environment, surround it with positivity.
Did you know that a company’s success is also pretty much depending on a healthy office environment? The employer-employee relationship works beyond than just mutual respect. Being a leader, you have to be the role model that drive great auras of positivity within your organisation’s atmosphere. Be a great example to your colleagues and encourage them to maintain the same discipline during your absence.
