The Dragons Apprentice Guide to Business Success

How many programmes are there on the television at the moment with one business guru or another espousing their own particular brand of corporate salvation.  If the ratings are anything to go by some are good and some are not so good.

Everyone in business is looking for that magic formula to provide instant success.  Some need it, according to these various television programmes, more instantly than others and for various reasons.  If I had £1 for every time someone asked me what this secret to success was then I would not need to do the lottery every week.  If I knew what the answer was then I would be writing this from the luxury of my beachfront estate in the Caribbean which I am not.

The secret[s] to business success are not secrets; they are a number of simple things that many business people start off knowing or realising but soon forget.

Get a plan – A lot of new businesses are started on the proverbial wing and a prayer.  Leave the job on Friday and self employed on Monday.  Monday comes around and it takes along time for the phone to ring.  Where is the work coming from, who are my customers, how do I reach out to them.  All these are fundamental to the success of any new business and need careful thought and planning.  Miracles only happen in fiction.  Success is born out of careful planning and thought.

Budget – What are the costs of setting up and running the new business?  How much do you think the business will turnover?  Is turnover greater than cost.  What can I afford to take out of the business and when.  Customers always need invoicing and suppliers paying.  Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business whether large or small. 

Be realistic – unrealistic budgets, sales targets, cash flows or objectives probably result in the downfall of the greatest number of businesses.  If a new business fails then statistically it is likely to fail within the first 18 months of it being started.  Why, because projected sales figures and costs figures soon become a reality and more often than not are far less (sales) and/or greater (costs) than the budgeted figures putting a deathly strain on cash flow.

Be committed – You have got to want to succeed.  Being in business is hard work and does not start at 9.00 am and stop at 5/5.30 pm or on a weekend.  You have got to be prepared to work hard and make your business successful.  Nobody else can make your business succeed and why should people deal with you on any level if you don’t care or cant be bothered.

Get advice – no one knows everything.  See good advice as an investment.  Consult lawyers about the most appropriate corporate structure for your business and technical and contractual requirements for that business.  Have you got intellectual property to protect, do you need effective terms and conditions.  Not dealing with these issues at the right time or in the right way can kill any business.  Create a relationship with a reliable accountant.  Above all do not be afraid to consult others about any problems, issues or even opportunities that may present themselves.

Make business enjoyable – Being in business is hard work.  Being successful is also hard work.  If you do not enjoy being in business then you should question whether being in business is for you.  Every business has its challenges and its disappointments but the ‘ups’ must greatly outweigh the ‘downs’.

Live within your means – Leave the job on Friday, new flash expensive car turns up on Monday.  The question is not how much and what you want from the (new) business but what it can afford to pay you and when.  You must always be realistic about what a business can afford to pay.  Starting in business is not the end of Dorothy’s yellow brick road but the very beginning of the journey.

Distilled into their basic form the advice espoused by these various television business guru’s is a mixture of common sense and the hard lessons of their own mistakes.  Been there done it and got the Tee Shirt but best of all came out the other end unscathed is as good a qualification as any.  Listening to others, constantly learning, being realistic and above all taking and implementing advice is as good an answer to the question ‘what is the secret to success’ as anything else.  Above all what matters is any successful business is the ability and adaptability of the people who run it.

Sandersons Solicitors

17-19 Parliament Street

Hull

HU1 2BH

Tel:  01482 324662

Fax: 01482 223110

Email: enquiries@sandersonssolicitors.co.uk

Source:  Commerce & Industry, June 2007