Definition of Entrepreneur
Pronunciation: /ˌɒntrəprəˈnəː/
noun
UK Needs more youth start-ups
1 in 7 young people are launching businesses compared to 1 in 17 general population. They need more support
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/young-enterprise/10380990/UK-needs-more-youth-start-ups.html
Reinvigorate and Refocus
Your Business
As
an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds of your business, spending
each day fending off eMails, dross and putting out fires. But just because that’s an easy mode to be in, doesn’t make
it a good one. And it doesn’t take much time in this routine before your work
will start to feel tedious and your business stagnant.
Less Urgent Urgent
Less Important Important
That’s
why it’s good to conduct a refocusing session every couple of months. Taking a
few scheduled, structured hours away from the computer will do you and your
business wonders. Not only will you get a much-needed break from the daily
grind, but you’ll also be able to immerse yourself in the big picture and find
a focus for the coming months.
Dig in to these three topics.
1. What I Want the Business to do Better
Most of
us have a long list of things about our businesses that we feel aren’t being
done as well as they could.
On a
blank piece of paper, list all the things that “bug” you about your business.
What’s not quite up to snuff? Then looking at that list, pick three that really
matter. Perhaps they impact sales or customer satisfaction, or maybe they
aren’t congruent with the overall brand experience that you want to create.
Next Steps: Determine what it
will take to do them
For each
of the items you noted, decide what it will take to improve them and what
information you need before taking action. Set up any information gathering
initiatives as soon as possible. If they come with a high price tag, then
brainstorm ways to fit them in the budget—like allocating a certain amount per
month or setting new sales milestones that will help ease the financial burden.
2. What I Want to do Better
Myself
Sometimes
we are our own worst enemies. We know that if we sit down at the computer
without a specific task list that we will spend hours doing nothing but
email—yet we do it anyway. We know that most multi-tasking decreases
efficiency—yet we still pinball our attention back and forth between tasks of
varying size and importance.
Give
yourself 20 minutes to make your own “needs improvement” list. Think about your typical work behaviour. When do you feel most depleted,
lost, frazzled or stressed? Why? And most importantly, what would make the
difference? A cleaned out inbox? A clutter-free desk? Less nighttime email?
Next Steps: Pick 10 work rules to
live by
Whittle
down your undoubtedly big list to 10 items or less. Turn each of them into a
rule to live by—but be fair to yourself. Anything too rigid surely won’t be
helpful. Each one should start with “I always try to… ”
Type them
up on one list and post it in a visible place where you work. Then, slowly
integrate them into your work habits by adopting a new one each week.
3. What I’m Currently Thinking
Through
Entrepreneurs
spend a lot of time grappling with big questions: Am I making enough money?
Should I sell this business? Should I take on a partner, have more/ less sales channels? Should I venture into a new
market area? Should I raise some investment?
These are
all serious questions that aren’t easily answered. As such, most entrepreneurs
tend to keep them on the back burner, mulling them over only when it’s
absolutely necessary. The problem is, though, that things left on the back
burner get in the way of what’s currently cooking. They can slow down or
inhibit important business decisions. And the uncertainty they add can weaken
your commitment to good business strategies.
Next Steps: De-clutter the back
burner
Take some
time to think about the biggest questions facing your business. Select three or
less that are most crucial to the work being done in the next 6-18 months.
Clarify
them. Are you really thinking about getting a partner? Or is the question, “how
can make my experience of entrepreneurship less lonely?” or “how can I get the
industry expertise to grow my business in the direction I want?”
Give
yourself a generous number of months to contemplate, consider, and research the
question without answering it or making a steadfast decision. Decide to only be
a consumer of information. Brainstorm a short list of things that you can do to
educate yourself more, then get them on the calendar. Replenish the list each
time you get to the bottom. Most importantly, take the remainder of questions
you didn’t chose and put them on one big list labeled “Not Now.” It will serve
as a gentle reminder that you can’t address everything at once and that in
order to move forward, some questions will need to go unanswered.
These
exercises can be good at any point in your business, but they’re particularly
helpful when you’re stuck in a bad routine. Remember that it’s up to you to set the tenor
and tone for your work. So give yourself permission to play hooky from the
usual and bring back a fresh perspective.
First, look at what consumers are doing differently today, compared to when your sales were still growing. Our bread consumption as a nation has changed beyond measure over the last 30 years. Back in the 1970s, the greatest innovation to date was slicing bread and putting it in a plastic bag. Today, not only has our traditional bread consumption gone down, but also our tastes in bread have broadened beyond measure. Speciality breads are the one category that has seen huge innovation over the last 10 years or so, and the great thing about these types of products is that they are higher in margin.
Great innovation is a mixture of the familiar with the distinctive. Don’t try and create something completely new, but do try and give a known product category a twist. Creating a completely new product is a long and lonely road. Take a look at Yakult, that strange little dairy drink in a bottle with an odd lemony flavour and millions of live bacteria to help your digestion. It has taken that brand over 10 years to even begin to become mainstream, and it is still seen as peculiar by many people. Compare this to the yogurt brands that introduced live bacteria into their products. In this way, beneficial bacteria as a value added proposition became mainstream much more quickly, because people understand yogurt as a live product.
The next thing is to understand why your business has been successful to date. Are your products distinctive, do you have a particular relationship with your customers, is it the location of your shop? What are the aspects of your business that you could leverage further? Is there something in your region you could develop – every part of the country has a different name for a bun. I worked with a butcher, and we identified his local sourcing as a way of adding value and attracting more customers. Could you develop beyond the bakery by selling something else to your loyal customers. How about a small café, or a delicatessen promising the same culinary skills as your baking? The answer lies in your business; the key is to look at it from a different perspective.
No comments:
Post a Comment