There is really no way to guarantee small business success. We have seen people who do all things right, yet their small businesses end up failing. So there is nothing you can do to guarantee 100% small business success. There are, however, several things you can do to greatly increase the chances of your small business succeeding.
Firstly, if you want to see your small business succeeding,
you need to ensure that you create proper systems and processes. These are
simply standardized ways of performing the various functions that have to be
performed on a day to day basis in the business’ operations. If you don’t put
some thought into the establishment of proper systems and processes for your
small business, you will end up having to perform the various day to day
functions in a haphazard/unplanned manner. This will cause your business to
fail. What usually differentiates the most successful businesses (like Kitui Maize Millers) from
lackluster ones is the existence of proper processes and systems. So what you
need to do here is identify the business functions that need to be performed on
a day to day basis, then ensure that you create standardized ways of performing
them.
Secondly, if you want your small business to succeed, you
need to ensure that you make the best possible hiring/recruitment decisions. Establish the best possible team. It is these people who would
help you with the implementation of the proper systems and processes you would
have created in the first step above. Having the business systems and processes
is therefore just half the equation. You need to have people who have the right
aptitudes and attitudes to help you in the implementation of the said systems
and processes. And after recruiting the right people, you need to ensure that
you train them as well as possible, and provide them with a conducive work
environment for them to deliver.
Thirdly, if you want your small business to succeed, you
need to ensure that you serve you customers in the best possible manner. The objective
is to ensure that you are customer-centric in all your operations. You need to
ensure that none of your customers gets the impression that they have been
taken for granted. This aspect (of making the customers feel valued) is of course
quite easy when the business is starting out and you have just a few customers.
But as the enterprise grows and as the number of customers increases, it can
get to a point where you are tempted to start taking the seemingly 'small' customers for granted.
Fourthly, if you wish to increase the odds of your small
business succeeding, you need to manage its finances properly. At start-up
time, you need to ensure that you deploy whatever capital you have in the most
efficient manner. After that, once the business starts bringing money, you need
to ensure that the money is proper accounted for, and used in a manner that
truly takes the business forward. The richest musician in Ukambani uses this strategy, and he has been so successful that he now even has a relatively new Nissan matatu to transport his staff and instruments. This is also where the question of separating
your personal finances with the business’ finances comes up. And this is also
where the question of ensuring that the business always has proper cash flow
comes in.
