Sixteen (16) Anchors To
BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
By Eburuche, O. C. Banito
BNTC International
I am very much aware that over 70% of the people that will
come across this work, will be business start-up entrepreneurs and those who
might be struggling in their businesses and are looking for a way out.
Whichever one, this article is not a guide to starting up a business; it’s only
an advisory. The secrets shared here are only a collection of experiences that
may be relevant to you. Please, as you go through each item, pause and reflect
on it and see its practical application to your real life business.
Alright! Businesses don’t just come up, they are planned, executed, monitored and controlled. That means, every business has a
beginning. Most businesses fail from the beginning right from the conception period.
Poorly conceived businesses will receive poor planning and as such poor
execution and others following which will automatically culminate to business
failure.
Several times, I have argued with people that the primary
reason of setting up a business enterprise is not for money-making as profit only but to solve a particular need of which you have a concise knowledge of. So, to
make the money, you solve more of the problem and people pay for the solution
you are rendering. So, the more problem you solve, the more money you make. Any
day you stop solving that problem, you start going out of business. Most people
on the other hand, want to make money mischievously not by solving problems but
by any means they deem fit. This kind of business can never be sustained. Please,
beware.
A sustainable business is one that meets the needs of today’s
economic world and is ready to adapt and manage a vast array of changes to meet
up with the needs of tomorrow’s economic challenges. Examples of business that
had sustainably existed are Henry Ford Automobile, General Electric by Thomas
Edison, Unilever Company, P&G, Coca-Cola, HP, and a host of others. Most of
these businesses, their initiators are gone (I mean dead) but the businesses are
still waxing stronger daily, still committed to bettering lives. This is really
amazing. I believe this the kind of company you will want to set-up.
Ok, let’s look at the elements needed to build a sustainable
business.
1. Conviction
You must be certain of what you want to do
and then back it up with strong determination and focus. If you miss this and
you launch a business, you will end up becoming a gambler and a total failure.
2. Right-Knowledge:
You may not have to get the knowledge of
the business before you conceive it but immediately you conceive it, you must
get the right knowledge needed for the business to grow. Most people are
suffering in their businesses because they simply do not have enough knowledge
about the business. Note that you must not go to a BIG-NAMED University or
whatever institute (although, this could be necessary for most businesses), you
can get this practical knowledge from books, mentors, audio-visual tapes,
seminars, professional training, workshops and so on. Never stop learning if
you really want a sustainable business.
3. Passion/Drive
Never start a business just for a trial. Always
remember that you cannot separate your business from your passion. Until you
come to a point, when all that matters to you is your business, you might as
well be far from building a sustainable business. You have to sleep, wake-up,
walk, work, eat and bath with it in your mind. Passion propels you to take just
a step of action. That’s all you need to get started.
4. Establish a Vision
If you do not know what to do, how to do it
becomes a problem. If you do not know where you are going, how to get there
becomes a problem. So, one of the greatest propellers is establishing a strong
vision. WHY ARE YOU REALLY SETTING-UP A BUSINESS? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?
WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU CAN ACHIEVE?
You have to be precise, definite and clear.
5. Develop a Sustainable Culture
Business culture is one of the greatest assets
an enterprise could have. It guides the enterprise on principles of what to do
and what not to do. I really think you have to get one before you start if not
everything goes.
6. Continuous Improvement Plan
This is very essential as this will help in
boycotting undue pressure and competition. Strategically map out your plan.
What will be done or added in the next three, four, ten, twenty and fifty
years. Plan proactively.
7. Develop a Competitive Advantage
What can you do or offer as regards your
business that no other competitor can offer. I often recommend, if you do not
have one, look into your business model canvass, you will locate where the
greatest of your strength lies. It is also referred to as Unique Selling Proposition. It may be in service/product delivery,
production, formulation, after sales support and so on. Just discover it.
8. Develop a Sustainable Advantage
If you happens to exit this earth tomorrow,
if there happens to be an introduction of change, if there happens to be an
economic crisis, what will keep your business moving? Most often, sustainable
advantage is derivable from business culture and vision. When others are
leaving the market, what will keep you going and excelling too?
9. Remain Creative and Innovative
All sustainable companies are creative,
innovative and in rear cases, inventive. Most of them are the inventors or
partners to new business technologies. So if you want to have a sustainable
business, you need these skills.
10. Understand the Dynamism of Change
One of the reasons most people change from
business to business is most probably their inability to harness the
opportunities presented by change. If you wish to create a business that will
stay to the end of the world, then you must expect change and establish an effective
change management system. Change is not an enemy.
11. Get the Right Team
One thing is to start a business; another
is starting or working with the right people. Attention must be given to your
human resource plan which ought to be effective.
12. Vision-Sharing
Immediately, you secure the right team;
make sure you let them understand the vision of the company. Teamwork becomes
effective if everyone knows where they are heading to.
13. Encourage High Employee Involvement and Commitment
Give the employees the opportunity to
contribute to management decision, allow for creativity and innovation, let
them express their leadership potentials, allow them to pursue their goals that
will make them feel that they are contributing to the company’s vision and the
likes of these.
14. Have a Very Good Reward and Retention
Systems for your Employees
Whenever you get the right team, do not loose them by careless action.
15. Develop a strong platform for customer
marketing, acquisition, retention and support.
Very vital.
16. Be a True –Leader
True leaders have infectious attitudes. They simply motivate and inspire
by their actions. This is what employees
want “working the talk”.
This, as said earlier, is an advisory which has the
potential to give your business a leap today.
Wishing you the best.
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