Revisiting The Basics

It is so easy to become ungulfed in the reality of running your own business that you begin to neglect those basic principles that made you successful in the first place! Like a good sportsman, it is important to be grounded in the basic skills and principles so that when the going is tough you can continue to make progress.

Here then are 10 principles of business basics that we would do well to remember :

1) Know what you don't do - be clear on those things that your business is not offering clients. It is too easy to try to be all to all - a sure shortcut to business failure.

2) Know your market - understand who your business is serving - what is your target market? Write this down and be specific - age, gender, class, location, language etc.

3) Differentiate your service - be prepared to do something different to stand out from the crowd.

4) Watch the pennies - keep a very close watch on the comings and goings of your bank balance.

5) Truly care for your employees - a happy, cared for and affirmed work force is your greatest asset - look after them and they will look after you.

6) Under promise, over deliver - you cannot afford the advertising value of good word-of-mouth referrals (neither can you afford the negative publicity linked to a client's bad experience!)

7) Set goals and go after them - Write down your goals and share them with others

8) Make your business known - explore all options to let the market know what you offer - some creative thought and minimal expense can reap great dividends.

9) Stick it out! - every business will have rough patches - how we choose to react to them can be the difference between success and failure.

10) Always maintain your integrity - have a clear moral compass and ethical values in your business at all times.

- This blog post is adapted from an article by Greg Fisher in the May 2007 edition of Entrepreneur magazine.