To make a difference in your organisation, you must find ways to instil values in your staff. Such values will create a culture that produces motivated, happy and empowered people.

While you can hire people based on their knowledge and skills, values take time to develop. Your dedication and commitment at imparting these values over time will make the investment worthwhile.

Benefits of having business values

When you successfully impart values in your staff, you’ll find that a healthy culture develops. If your business is spread across physical boundaries or is made up of people from different cultures, then having values helps to improve communication across these boundaries.

Values are an important catalyst for change. Having values will also help you team move forward and upwards despite obstacles they may come across along the way.

You as the leader will need to decide on the core values on which you would like to shape your business and build your people. Here are a few core values for you to consider.

5 Core Business values

It’s not hard to make a decision when you know what your values are ~ Roy Disney

1. Accountability

To be accountable is to be willing to take responsibility for your actions or inaction. Your chances of success as a business is improved when all staff irrespective of their role within the organisation know what it means to be accountable and responsible. Staff members know that they are responsible for delivering tasks to expected standards. Everyone understands the impact their role plays within the overall organisation.

Successful leaders use tangible methods to install accountability. For example SMART goals, incentive programs and progress monitoring.

2. Integrity and Honesty

Integrity and honesty is crucial for all communications within the organisation and across boundaries in communication with customers and other external stakeholders. Integrity in the workplace creates an atmosphere of trust and confidence. Integrity will  help your team to complete its task on time, exceed expectations and honour promises.

3. Innovation

Good leaders and companies encourage employees to think outside the box. You must not be satisfied with just working with traditional solutions. There is always a new and more efficient way to solve a problem. Only an environment that fosters innovation and creativity will produce this newer and better ways.

A good way to foster innovation is by discussing best practices amongst teams and departments during meetings. Recognition should also be given to employees who come up with innovative solutions. This serves to inspire others. In todays world of increasing competition and change, you cannot afford to be complacent. You must seek to be better than what you were previously.

4. Fairness

To be fair is to always go for a win-win solution to all transactions. This means that there is some benefit to both parties to the transaction.

Consistently working with a fair business mentality will ensure that your vendors, customers and suppliers will return to do business with you again and again.

5. Discipline

An environment of discipline requires that the individual adhere to certain behaviours that merit rewards. Contrary behaviour should also attract sanctions. Your job as the leader is to model by example the code of conduct you like. Here, everyone benefits because all staff are inclined to put their best feet forward, be at their best behaviour and adhere to the rules and regulations.

This list is not an exhaustive one. I am sure you can come up with many more business values worthy of emulation. Why not leave a comment and share some of your business values.

Your employers job is to give you a job. It’s your job to make yourself rich, successful and fulfilled ~ Robert Kiyosaki

One of the things I enjoy most as a business coach is working with young entrepreneurs and small business owners. They have fascinating and somewhat romantic ideas about their business. You literarily feel their passion and excitement when they talk about their dreams and what they want to achieve through their business.

As a coach, I have no alternative but to allow the dreamer to dream on. I stir up the entrepreneurial spirit and encourage the can do it belief system. But then I am also mindful of what happens when we “build castles in the sky” or have the “pie in the sky mentality for too long.

Business Ownership Motivators

So why do people start, own or manage small businesses?

There are a number of reasons why people get into business and want to enjoy some of the thrills that come with owning and running your own business. If the business succeeds, then you will get some satisfaction that you took the correct path and made the right call. If it does not succeed, you have put in the effort, learnt the lesson that will give you a better chance at success when you have another go at it.

Here are my list of five motivations for business ownership.

#1. Financial Rewards

There is no doubt that the need to have more money is a real motivation for a lot of people in business. This is quite justifiable and there are hundred of books that teach people how to make money by owning your business.

Many people tied up in low paying jobs believe that they can do better financially by starting their own business. This may not necessarily be true. There are many jobs that that will pay you lot more as salary that you could earn running your own business.

If you are planning to leave your job to seek greater financial returns a s business owner, look before you leap. The world of business is an adventure into the unknown. Properly check out your plans. If you have the knowledge, skills and courage to start your own business, then I say go for it. You just might succeed in getting the financial rewards that enticed you in the first place.

#2. Financial Security

Related to the issue of making more money is the need for financial security. Once upon a time, many people stayed in the same job throughout their lifetime. ‘Job for life’ as it is called is now a thing of the past.

After hopping from one job to another in search of the elusive security, many young people come to the conclusion that they can be better off as a business owners. This is not necessarily so. However you do have a lot more control and flexibility over your fortunes as a business owner. This means that you are now responsible for providing financial security for yourself and for your employees. This can be scary but exciting.

Whether you are in employment or you are running your own business, it is your responsibility to work out a strategy that will give you financial security. Take charge, take control and take action.

#3. Personal Investment.

The greatest investment that anyone can make is in self development. One important area of self development is to learn how to develop yourself as a business person so that you can invest your time and money into your own business to bring you great financial gain.

The most effective way to become rich is to research extensively and invest in a business that you can own and manage to properly generate good profits and bring you the wealth and influence that you probably have dreamed about for so long.

By investing in the skills and knowledge to run your own business, you build yourself as your greatest asset. Should your business suffer some financial loss for any reason, you have the capability to make a quick comeback as a result of the knowledge that is in you.

#4. Special Skills

Several people over the years have realised that they have the talent that can bring them recognition, fame, wealth and happiness. Such people, usually under the guidance of mentors and the encouragement of family and friends choose the path of entrepreneurship.

The entrepreneurial path helps you develop your talent into great skills that is of service and value to others.

Many people set themselves up as self employed skilled workers offering services from plumbing and computer repairs to entertainment and leisure services.

The owners and operators of these small and micro businesses find a more enjoyable outlet to display their skills, make money and make an impact than if they were doing something else.

#5. Independence

We live in a fast-paced and rapidly changing world that places a lot of demand on our time, physical presence, as well as mental, emotional and physical health. These pressures are not going to stop or reduce and many have found the flexibility around working for themselves as a way out of a very demanding job schedule.

More people are moving out of daily commuting to a fixed work location and opting for working from home.

Sometimes, the quest for independence has more to do with the entrepreneur not wanting to lose his or her freedom and vision by working for one boss for a prolonged period of time. Such people will start their own business because that do not want to be subordinate to someone that may not allow their creativity to flourish. They want the space and freedom to spread their wings and express themselves.

Whats your reason for starting your own business or for going the self employed route?

Leave a comment below and look out for part two of ‘The Thrills of Business Ownership’.

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other ~ Walter Elliot

Whenever we talk about business, we are also talking about risk. All successful entrepreneurs are risk takers. They believed in their dreams and take deliberate and calculated steps towards achieving their business goals.

Attitude To Risk

What is your attitude to risk? Are you –

• Risk-averse or risk-avoiding. You prefer certainty and have a low propensity to take risk
• Risk-neutral and are more concerned about the return on your investment than the risk involved
• Risk-loving or risk-seeking person who will still go ahead despite the high probability of a financial loss

It doesn’t matter how brilliant your business idea or plan is, it certainly is is not immune to some measure of risk. Remember that starting or running a business is an adventure into the future and there is always uncertainty about future outcomes.

Before You Start

Before you start your business, you need to identify

• The likely risk factors
• The magnitude of the threat
• The possible ways of mitigating against these risks.

Depending on your attitude to risk, you will be pleased to hear that high risk ventures will often come with the chances of high rewards. Don’t just gamble, understand the risk involved in what you are heading into.

Common Business Risk

When you decide to start a business, you can be carried away by excitement and optimism about a positive outcome and you forget to carefully assess the downside. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are as an entrepreneur, a careful assessment of the risk involved will save you a lot of heartache and headache in the future.

So here are some business risks you need to be aware of.

#1. Financial Risks

The risk of a financial loss is one in which every business owner is exposed to. The initial capital invested in a business start-up, may be from the savings of the owners, money borrowed from other people as soft loans, money borrowed from the bank which is secured and the unsecured loans borrowed by using your credit card to fund your initial business activities.

Some or all of this capital investment may be lost. No one plans for failure, but business failure is a common, even amongst bigger and better resourced organisations.

As a business person myself, I have started businesses that have made financial losses. Even my successful businesses have had periods when it seems to be heading to a financial loss. This is by no means an attempt to scare you, but a cautionary contribution to your success.

#2. Debt Risks

Debt risk in business is closely associated with financial risks. Debt can be a burden for businesses as you get saddled with interest and capital payments that could spiral out of hand. In the world of easy money, debt financing is a tempting way of throwing money at business problems or financing growth strategies.

There is no doubt that you may need to borrow money to finance your business, however, make sure you are disciplined about sticking to your proposed repayment plan. Remember that it is other peoples money and they will want it back at some point in time.

Your bank and other financial institutions will continue chasing you to borrow money even when you do not need it.

#3. Product Risks

This can be due to the product or service you offer bringing in less money than you spend to produce and sell it. Continuous low volume of sales is a clear indication of an impending product failure.

Here are a few reasons why your product or service may not sell enough units:

• Overestimation of the market size
• Underestimation of the competition
• Lack of product differentiation leading to a price war
• Unanticipated changes in customer behaviour
• Changes in regulations

#4. Environmental Risks

Environmental risks can come from three sources.

1. Risk imposed by the global environment – An example of this is the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. This included the bursting of the US housing bubble, the collapse of the world financial markets and the European sovereign-debt crisis. What followed was the 2008-20012 global recession.
2. Risk imposed by country of National conditions – This has a more direct effect on businesses. It includes things such as taxes, trade regulations or deregulation, government policies, infrastructural provision, market access and politics. There are times when government provides grants and other subsidies to stimulate local economic growth. At other times a slowdown in economic activity is encouraged by increases in interest rates and value added tax.
3. Risk imposed by the internal workplace environment – Workplace culture, politics and your business processes may have a positive or negative effect on your business. The dominance of one single individual, often the founder or owner can cause bottlenecks and stifle the growth of the business

#5. Human Risks

I have often said and will continue to say that people are your greatest assets and your greatest liabilities. It is through the enthusiastic support of people who are your investors, employees and customers that businesses are built.

There have also been stories of great and small companies that have been mismanaged, sabotaged or ruined by people that were entrusted with the management of the business.

Human problems in a business can also start with the business owner. These include issues of insufficient planning, wrong strategies, complacency and financial indiscipline.

What Next?

I started off with risk and I will end with risk. Having made you aware of some of the risks of starting your own business, you will need to decide based on your attitude to risk if owning your own business is for you.

Risk is twinned with reward. Do your homework, take a decision and then take the steps towards the fulfilment of your dream of owning your own business.

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle ~ Abraham Lincoln

While you are waiting for your next job interview, here are 10 online business ideas to keep you occupied.

#1. eCommerce.

You can sell practically anything online. From digital downloads to brick and mortar. All you need to do is sign up with an existing eCommerce platform provider such as eBay or simply build your own website.

For more education and information, visit:

Sell Online

Selling On eBay

#2. Blogging

Wikipedia describes a blog as a discussion or informational site published online. This is very easy to start with a low cost of entry. I know what you are asking, what are you going to write about? Write about any topic you consider your self an expert on. If you are not an expert on any, then simply learn about and become an expert on a topic that catches your fancy and then start blogging about it.

For more education and information, visit:

Introduction to Blogging

How Blogs Work

#3. YouTube

This kind of speaks for itself. You simply create video content on a regular basis and upload it to you tube. You will need to market and create a subscriber base for your videos before real money comes in. Since you haven’t got a job at the moment, if you have a video camera or can borrow one, then this is worth trying.

For more education and information visit:

Its Getting Harder To Make Money On YouTube

Earn Money Youtube Viral Video

#4. Creating a Recurring Podcast

Now you can create that radio or video station you have always dreamed of. A podcast is simply and audio or video content distributed online. To be successful at podcasting or anything, you will need to be consistent and disciplined. For more education and information, visit:

Podcasting With Word Press

Launch Your Podcast

#5. Online Freelance Writing 

There are many businesses and website looking for freelance writers to contribute content on a regular basis. If you are good at writing and learn how to market yourself, than you can earn a descent income through freelance writing. Even if you consider yourself just an average writer, you can start writing for free, improve your writing skills and get the experience that will earn you money at a later stage.

For more education and information,visit:

Become An Online Freelance Writer

Become Online Journalist

#6. Photo Editing

Many people will do their photo editing themselves. But if you are good at photo editing, there are still many people willing to pay for a photo editing service. I have had to pay and I would still pay for a good service when I need one rather than spend hours manipulating images. So if photo editing is your thing, why not get yourself out there. You never know until you try.

For more education and information, visit:

Earn Extra Cash With Your Photo Editing Skills

Start A Business In Photo Editing

#7. Create And Sell Your Own Recipes Online.

This could be a challenge for someone like me but if cooking is your thing, then you can create and show off your own recipe. There is always a chance that you can make some money out of this. You can also sell your own special ingredients that is essential to make the recipe.

For more education and information, visit:

Make Money With Your Recipes

Selling Recipes Online

#8. Software Developer

Some level of skill is required for this one. You either have it or you are prepared to put in the handwork to develop the skill. So how do you know what software to develop? Well you don’t. You simply have to do some research, see what skills you already have or can add and then get out there feel the pulse of the market and start turning out products. Not so easy you might add. Well if anyone told you that great things come on a platter of gold, you have not been told the whole story.

For more information and education, visits:

Become A Software Engineer

How To Develop Software

#9. Become An Online Expert

Being an expert does not mean you know everything about your area of expertise. It just means that you know a lot more than some people. Your job therefore is to find those people who will consider you an expert and then make your expert knowledge available to them for free or for a fee. According to the world internet usage statistics, there are over 2.4 billion internet users. The challenge for you is to help your niche market to find you.

For more education and information, visit:

Become An Expert Online

Authority

#10 WordPress – Designer and Build Websites and Themes

WordPress is the most widely used content management website design and building software. If I can do it, then you certainly can. Whats great about this software is that it is free and easy to use. So why would anyone pay you to build a wordpress website when they can do it themselves? Well you learn how to use the software, build a few websites and then let people see what you have done. Its only going to cost you some sweat equity and the cost of your own website hosting.

For more education and information, visit:

Wordpress Tutorials

15 Tutorials To Help You Build WordPress Themes

That should be enough to get you started. These are 10 things you can do to earn some extra income while waiting for the next job interview. You never know, you just might be good at what you start and simply grow it into a thriving business.

Why not share this list with someone you know.

The real source of wealth and capital in this new era is not material things … it is the human mind, the human spirit, the human imagination, and our faith in the future ~ Steve Forbes

Two Groups of Businesses

There are always two groups of businesses and businesspersons.

The first group is comprised of those that have either become, or are gradually becoming history. In this group are businesses that were once successful, but have now failed.

The second group is comprised of those that are set to make history. In this latter group are businesses that are being positioned to become successful and influential, no matter the challenges posed by the operating environment.

What is Creativity?

According to Dr. Betty Edwards, “Creativity is the ability to find new solutions to a problem or new modes of expression; thus it brings into existence something new to the individual and to the culture”. Creativity is therefore the fuel of innovation. It is what stretches the mind of a person or people to innovate.

Creativity and Innovation 

It is impossible to separate creativity and innovation because the two are linked together. Creativity is the process, while innovation is the product. That is why creativity and innovation are expectedly the platform for continued business improvement.

Without the power of creativity, the entrepreneurial spirit and compelling drive of the entrepreneurs of our time become sabotaged and their ability to innovate hindered. This is because it is this the possession of creative thinking ability that makes entrepreneurs the change agents in the business landscape. Without creativity, a business would always lack originality, uniqueness and would be treated like just another commodity.

On the other hand, the ability to innovate in business presents the opportunities for an organisation to remain relevant and influential. It also presents it with the platform and confidence to try out new ideas, processes, designs and operations. The resultant effect is the commitment to making business and service offerings to be faster, easier, simpler, and even more fun. This always brings about improved business performance.

The Most Important Factor

What makes the difference today in business is not just the abundance of money that a business possesses. Rather, it is the abundance of creative thinkers that the business can attract, utilise and hold unto as it continues to reinvent and re-launch itself to leverage the growth and impact opportunities that the marketplace presents.

The business that is set to make history is the one that understands that what is good today in business may not be good enough tomorrow, so it creatively innovates in a manner that would make it relevant today and even more influential in years ahead. If you were to take an impassioned look at your business operations, productivity, sustainability and impact, in which of these two groups would you place your business? Making history or becoming history?

Is Your Business Up to the Challenge?

Is your business taking up the challenge that increasing information and advancement in technology is stacking against today’s business owner and manager?

1. Are you creating enduring systems that would place your business on the path of continued growth and improved performance, especially with increasing competition and extraneous business growth threats?
2. Are your strategic plans developed with retooling options that would ensure that your business can outlast the competition?
3. Are you embracing strategic thinking as a standard business practice and not just a business term?
4. Are you ready for the coming generation of customers, who desire the best at the least cost and desire it now?
5. Are you creating an environment that encourages creativity and innovation?
6. Are you dismantling bottlenecks and hierarchies that hinder the free flow of very divergent ideas?

Business Coaching for Performance

Every coaching and mentoring intervention adapted to a business set up always has performance improvement as its goal. This is to ensure that the accomplishment of a given task can be easily measured against known standards of accuracy, completeness, cost, and speed. Performance thus becomes a real business obligation that is tied to the commitment that a person makes to stretch his personal abilities to perform.

Abilities have for a long time been agreed by coaches to be among the most essential general human capacities related to the performance of tasks. They develop over time through the interaction of talent, passion, knowledge and experience. In this regard, coaching becomes one of the critical processes and techniques that improve abilities and build capacities in a business, making it long lasting. It is only when such capacities are built that true competency can be achieved.

Why not improve your business performance by getting coached.

 The way you position yourself at the beginning of a relationship has profound impact on where you end up ~ Ron Karr

Every product has a set of attributes or features that is useful to the buyer.  But buyers allocate value to purchases based on the perceived value or benefit to be derived from its consumption.

According to a study conducted by researchers Hooley and Saunders, customers care less about the technical features of a product and more about what benefits they can get by buying, using, and consuming those products.

And so here are five compelling reasons why it’s a better idea to market products on their benefits and not their features:

#1. Focusing On Product Benefits Allow For Higher Prices To Be Charged

Selling benefits rather than features makes it a lot easier to charge higher prices. You are able to differentiate your product by creating a story that emphasises intangibles. This helps you justify a higher price than a generic product. For example, there are many products that command a higher price just because they are known brands. They may have exactly the same features, but by emphasising intangible benefits, consumers are willing to pay a premium.

#2. Focusing On Product Benefits Allow For The Expansion Of A Target Market

People use a limited set of criteria, called heuristics, in order to make complicated purchasing decisions easier. As a result, many often purchase a product without knowing the full set of features it possesses. For example, a computer may possess a number of features that may be of use to a customer. However, because of the lack of customer knowledge about these features, users will be more likely to understand and purchase a computer based solely on a few easy to understand benefits that it provides. While a person may not understand the difference between a 4G and a 4G LTE network, they do understand that one may be quicker and more reliable, and thus make a purchase decision based on that simple benefit.

#3. Focusing On Product Benefits Tap Into Powerful Psychological Motivators 

By emphasising the benefits of a product feature, marketers can tap into the base motivators that drive consumer purchase behaviour. The specific features of a product only fulfil the wants of a consumer. However, by focusing on the benefits of a product, then marketers can more easily tap into the needs of the consumer, fulfilling their desires on a much deeper level.

#4. Focusing On Product Benefits Allows Differentiation

Focusing on the benefits of a product as opposed to the features, makes product differentiation easier. Features may be the same, but you can achieve a high degree of differentiation when you begin to emphasise benefits. For example, two cars may have the same specifications, but by focusing on the safety and large cargo space, an automobile company may be more easily able to sell their car to a family audience. By focusing on speed, the car suddenly becomes more attractive to a younger audience. By placing emphasis on product benefits, a you suddenly create a dynamic marketing strategy to make your products different than that of your competitors.

#5. Focusing  On Product  Benefits Makes Consumer Purchase Decisions Easier

As hinted to before, by focusing on the benefits of a product as opposed to their features, the decision making process is made much easier for the consumer. Because of the large amount of information present when making a purchase decision, consumers use mental shortcuts called heuristics to simplify the process. By  focusing on product benefits, then the decision to purchase a particular product is made much easier for the consumer, lessening  their possible confusion and making a clearer case for why your product should be bought. You help to decrease the consumer information overload.

 You don’t close a sale; you open a relationship if you want to build a long-term, successful enterprise ~ Patricia Fripp

Clearly there is much more that goes into the consumer purchasing decision. You put yourself at an advantage as a marketer and you make the life of your buyer’s easier when you clearly spell out what they stand to gain from buying your product as against a competitors.

Emphasis on features will get you to compete on price and thus reduce your profitability.

Spend time to create a product that adds value to the buyer and the make sure that you deliver on this perceived value. You have to be in this game for the long run.

A satisfied customer presents more opportunity for repeat business and more referrals.

One proven success formula in life and business is to find successful people in your area of interest and then model their success. There are thousands of books and articles written by or written about successful people.  Find the ones that appeal to you and read them.

In modelling success, you need to understand that you are unique and so do not try to be like others. But learn from their success stories. This develops your own knowledge bank. Mixing this knowledge with your own unique abilities and gifting serves to unlock your potential and increase your chances of success.

Business Success Formula

There are three things that will contribute to your success as an entrepreneur in business, sports, music or other areas:

1. Your Desire to Succeed

The challenges facing start-up businesses in todays economy are very daunting. There is a crowded marketplace and to succeed you have to stand out. There is the need to raise adequate capital, numerous regulatory hurdles and finding the right partners suppliers and employees. Then there is the discouragement you will face when things are not going to plan and people quite on you.

All this add up to make it easy for you to give up and go back to paid employment. You therefore need a strong desire to succeed and the self discipline to push through the early challenges you will face as a start up.

2. Building Your Personal Capacity

Having a strong desire is not enough to succeed. You need to build your capacity by working to improve your skills and abilities. Take time to think about the things that make you unique. Then continually work at being the best.

There may be others offering the same products and services that you offer. You ability to differentiate yourself and how good you are at being different will get you noticed in the crowded marketplace.

Unlike sports, business competition is not a zero sum game. There can be more than one winner as each person serves different segments of the market. Don’t try to be better than someone else. Try to be the best unique you. This gives customers a choice and makes what you offer difficult to copy.

3. Opportunity To Express Yourself.

You can only take advantage of business or market opportunity when you have a strong desire to succeed and have the capacity to convert the opportunity into a profitable outcome.

Some will call it luck or being in the right place at the right time, and there is an element of both involved. Opportunity and your ability to exploit opportunity is a key ingredient for business success.

Having one or two of the above success essentials will not bring success. For example, a strong desire and opportunity without the ability to perform will only lead to mediocrity.

True success is not a myth and it is not achievable by chance or by a multitude of dreams. Success is a process that starts with knowledge and becomes evident as you develop your skills, increase your capacity, take advantage of opportunity and push through barriers with a strong desire to succeed.

A year from now you will wish you had started today~ Karen Lamb

Why not leave a comment.

It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not ventre, it’s because we dare not venture that things are difficult ~Seneca Jo

There are seven important components of a business. I have chosen to refer to them as the 7P’s that determine “Business Power”.

Let’s briefly highlight the importance of each of them.

#1. Product

As a business, what you market and sell to your customers are your products or services. Your business activities is therefore geared towards the provision of certain goods and services to meet the needs or solve the problems  of your customers.

Expectedly with a good product or service comes customer endorsement and value appreciation. Just as the quality of orange juice depends on the nature and quality of the orange fruit, the value of your business will depend on the quality of your products and services.

#2. Promotion

It doesn’t matter how great your products or services are, if customers cannot find you, there will be no exchange of value and there will be no sales.

As a business, you have the responsibility of educating your target market about your products and services in a manner that enables the potential customer make a well informed decision to engage with you or not to engage with you.

The purpose of promotion is to create a perception in the mind of prospective clients or customers that your products or services offer a better value than that of your competition.

#3. People

People are related to your business in the following ways:

1. Internally as employees who work to ensure that your products and services are consistently delivered to your target market
2. Externally as customers who receive value from the consumption of your product or service
3. Partners such as suppliers, shareholders and financiers who add value by complementing or working together with you to improve the quality and quantity your products or service.

Business is thus about forging and maintaining essential people relationships both internally and externally.

#4. Place

You need to operate from a location which would enable you reach your target market. Factors to consider include distance to market, accessibility for employees and customers, security and comfort for employees.

Many businesses today are not located in one place. Thus location can be distributed.

While you may physically work from a particular location, customers and suppliers may access you via other locations such as a retail shop front or online via the internet.

For some types of businesses, the internet has made the issue of physical location not so important.

#5. Process

In every business, there are sets of processes. Processes are the ways in which you carry out your business activities.

Examples of some types of processes in business include:

1. Strategic Planning
2. Staff Training
3. Product Manufacturing
4. Administrative Policies
5. Sales
6. Procurement
7. New Product development
8. Quality control

It is the proper structuring and adoption of excellent business processes that gives rise to a well-managed business. These processes will become entrenched as systems and culture which will make your business unique.

#6. Price

The pricing of your products and services will require knowledge of the market, price of competing products and services, buyer orientation, realistic profit margins and trends in the market.

Product pricing thus demands some special skills of juggling these variables such that your products and services are not over or under priced. There is a balance to be achieved in keeping customers satisfied and maintaining a healthy profit margin.

#7. Profit

Profit is one of the benefits that result from owning or investing in a business. A business must provide some measure of financial returns for its owners and managers in order to encourage their continued involvement and investment.

Profit in its simplest sense results from the business having more financial gain than inputed cost. A loss will result if input costs exceed income from sales. A continuos or prolonged loss will result in an unprofitable business that will be difficult to sustain.

A profitable business has the opportunity to pay dividend to its investors and have money set aside for investments in the growth and development of the business.

The Purpose Of A Business

The 7P’s will help a business fulfil its two main purposes. The main purpose of a business is to:

1. Create value for its customers by meeting their needs with its products and services.
2. Create value for its owners and share holders by meeting their needs which will include – wealth creation, financial security, independence, better quality of life and entrepreneurial drive.