Ten tips on how to start your own business

If you want your new solo business to flourish, it makes good sense to review these tips on how to start your own business.

As a soloist starting your own business today, you have the advantage of being able to learn from those who have gone before. The business success statistics are well known: a staggering 40% of all new businesses fail within the first 12 months. Within five years, more than 80% will have failed.

Here’s ten ideas on how to start your own business and avoid that fate.
1. Define your unique point of difference

Why will a customer come to you instead of anybody else? Are you better, more accurate, cheaper, more convenient, easy to install? Whatever your unique difference is, this is the question that, once answered, becomes the basis of all of your marketing messages.
2. A powerful vision

Why are you in business in the first place? What’s the inspirational dream that convinced you to go out on your own? There may be times when you doubt yourself, but if your vision is strong, it will be the thing that sees you through those times.
3. Repeatable, scalable systems

Any activity that occurs more than once in your business needs a system or process so it gets performed exactly the same way, every single time. This consistency means that you can handle extra volumes in the most efficient way, and that the customer gets the same experience (hopefully a great one!), every time they do business with you.

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4. Love the numbers

You may not be an accountant, but you must have an overwhelming interest in the numbers side of your business. You don’t have to create the reports - outsource by all means - but you definitely need to look at your cashflow, budget and profit and loss on a monthly basis. And if you don’t know what it all means, get your bookkeeper to sit with you each month and explain your financial position.
5. Always add value to the customer’s experience

No matter what service or product you provide, you can be guaranteed that someone out there is trying to do it differently, better, or cheaper than you are. You must consistently focus on adding great value to your customers – always try and delight them in some way. Then they’ll never feel inclined to take their business elsewhere.
6. Continually add to your skills and knowledge

A business can only grow as quickly as the person who owns it. Your investment in your own development is super important. When you learn new skills and come across new ideas, you apply them in your business which in turn drives evolution and innovation.
7. Plans

The purpose of planning is simply to work out how to spend your time, money and other resources effectively. Without considered plans you may find yourself spinning your wheels, jumping from one priority to the next, or simply being undecided. Plans allow you to:
prioritise activities
step back from the day to day issues and take a longer term view, and
anticipate problems before they arrive
8. Product innovation

All products have a defined life cycle. People’s needs change, and so must your products or services. Solo businesses have a tendency to retain unchanged products and services for too long. Be conscious of reframing, restructuring, or refreshing your offer on a regular basis.
9. Surround yourself with the right support

Successful business owners know what their skills are. They also know exactly what skills they don’t (and probably will never) have. Believe me, you are not ‘saving money’ by doing it all yourself, you are wasting time. Outsource those things that aren’t your specialty, and use that time to go and get some new business!
10. Stay close to your customers

The best people to give you feedback about how you are going are your customers. Successful soloists regularly ask their customers for feedback and ideas for improving what they do. And more importantly, they follow through on the feedback they get.


source:www.flyingsolo.com

Financial strategy

Financial strategy aimed at the use of financial resources to support business strategy, both long term and short term. This strategy includes the financial capital acquisition strategy, capital allocation, diveden allocation and management of working capital.
The acquisition of capital usually involves consideration the reasonable cost of capital, the proportion of short-term debt and long-term, the desired balance between internal and external funding, risks and limitations of ownership and the level and form of a lease that must be used. Microsoft to develop the company do shares with a sales price of 21 dollars and 28 dollars closed in 1986. Microsoft’s stock price reached the peak price of 119 dollars in 1999.

Capital allocation priorities include the consideration to the allocation of capital projects, the basic selection of the end of the project and the allocation of capital is allowed without the approval of operational managers managers higher. Microsoft does not share dividend from 18 September 1987 until 16 January 2003. Capital that are used for a project to develop the Microsoft Office launched in 1989 and Windows 3.0, which is issued in 1990. In 1993 the Windows NT 3:01 and in 1995 launched Windows 95 equipped with Internet Explorer and MSN (Microsoft Network). In 1996 the Windows CE.1.0. and in 1997 launched the Internet Explorer 4.0. and in 1998 raised a Windows 98. Windows XP, released in 2001.

The allocation of dividends and management of working capital include consideration of the division of the profit should be distributed as dividends, dividend stability, the form of dividends other than cash, cash flow needs, the minimum cash balance and the maximum credit policy, credit policy billing, the provisions and procedures of payment. Berkshire Hathaway more pressure on the company’s net wealth rather than allocate greater dividends in the division, such as AOL Time Garnet, Exxon Mobil and Toyota.

Toyota Motor Company on 31 March 2007 net profit to total 23.95 trillion yen, an increase of 13.8% compared to the previous fiscal year. Contribution of positive operating income of 720.0 billion yen from 330.0 billion consists yen from marketing efforts, 290.0 yen from the positive effects of exchange rate changes in foreign currency and 100 billion yen from cost reduction efforts. Toyota Motor Company to share half profit as cash dividends for the six months worth of 70 yen per share, up 15% compared to the past period, so the total dividend paid a full year is 120 yen shares. President of Toyota Motor Company, Katsuaki Watanabe, said: “The result is the ratio of dividends distributed increased from 21.3% to 23.4%, continually trying to get to our target of 30%.”