Most Important Things In Your Business example essay topic

Nahas 1 Business Ownership Finding a consistent well paying job has been getting harder and harder in recent years. A number of new and great business opportunities are available to the public. These opportunities only cash in if you run a well oiled business plan. Anything from wholesaling vehicles to owning your own pizza parlor are great starts in business. Although, owning and operating a business is a great burden on a person, it can turn out to be very profitable. While trying to choose a business to start up there are many different factors to think about.

An easier choice is to buy an existing business. It starts up as being a lot cheaper to start than your own business that you start from scratch. With no start up fees, you will certainly have a profit now business. Other great opportunities are with pre-existing customers, and easier financing with the bank. "The biggest block to buying a small business outright is the initial purchasing cost". (Homepage, Free Business) The initial purchasing cost of any business is going to be a great financial burden.

Because the business is already up and running, along with the customer base, brands, and having the basic work done is a great advantage, but will make the business more expensive. Good research is a way to distinguish between a good business and a bad one. Once you can comfortably go in and knowingly talk to another person in a business sense then you are a good researcher. Research is the key to running and operating your small business successfully.

A good researcher would find out certain things about each business that other un researched people would over look. Seeing these little important factors are the strings tied to the whole business. These factors could be little things that keep the business from running smoothly. While reading a website about what not to do while buying a business I found ten points that really caught my eye. 1. DON'T overextend financially when buying a franchise.

Never, never buy a business that you can't afford - it is the number one reason that businesses fail. They simply run out of cash to operate and advertise before they have enough customers and cash flow to support the business. 2. DON'T start to look until you have an idea of what you " re looking for. Many people look at businesses without first determining what they are seeking. Some people assume that all good businesses are good for all buyers.

Your skills, goals, values, and ambitions will all play a role in determining the best business for you. 3. DON'T assume that starting a business is easy! Assume you will have to work longer and harder than others in the same business just to make it work. If you " re not willing to do that, walk away.

4. DON'T try to go it alone. Use Experts. Lack of experience is often cited as one of the two biggest killers of start up businesses. Certainly your franchisor will Nahas 2 help you by sharing their experience with you, but use the experience of other experts, too. 5.

DON'T forget about a business plan Before you plunge into a business, in addition to investigating the franchise you are buying, also study both the local market in which you " ll operating and the industry that you are contemplating joining. 6. DON'T pick a business because "there are so many of them, they must be good". When buying a business, feeling safe is a strong and undeniable urge. When you look at an already popular franchise, your safety level instinctively is high. You can see how easy it appears to operate, and you know that your skills could easily accomplish the necessary tasks.

Right? Not necessarily! 7. DON'T skip talking with the other franchisees. People who are in a business that you find attractive are the best source of information that you " ll ever find.

But watch out - sometimes there may be a hidden agenda. If you wander into a dry cleaner, tell him you are thinking of going into dry cleaning, and ask his opinion, what value are you going to put on the response? Do you think he will give you an honest answer if he thinks you may be planning on opening a competitive outlet just down the street? On the other hand, when you have done your homework with a franchisor, have read the offering circular, and are calling franchisees all over the United States, you " ll get valuable information that you can check out with others to see if it rings true throughout the franchise system. 8. Don't put it on your credit card.

Wow. At 18.9% interest (or whatever the current rate), you better pray that the cash flow starts very quickly! Chances are very strong that it won't. Most reputable franchisors would strongly discourage you from using this kind of financing if they feel it could impact your ability to succeed. 9.

DON'T pick the business your dad (or spouse) likes best. Each person in the world has different skills, needs, and desires. Why would your dad or your neighbor or your spouse like the same businesses that you do? When you look at a business, you need to think about how it matches with the things that you truly want to do and whether it will fulfill your goals. You need to analyze what is important to you - independence? Money?

Freedom? Flexibility? Growth? Challenge?

Variety? People? 10. DON'T fall in love with the product. When you enjoy a certain type of product, naturally you'd like to be around it, but RETAIL IS RETAIL, so make sure you can do the things needed to make the business successful. It takes a certain personality type to do the things that retail demands: BE THERE... hour after hour, day after day, being nice to your customers, making change, and keeping track of the inventory.

(Expl or Biz Homepage) Small businesses everywhere are failing every day. Many different factors represent a role in the failure of a business. It's hard to make the American public into believe ing in your store or product. You need a great sales campaign and you need to be in a great Nahas 3 area. Location is one of the most important things in your business. If you are a low priced high volume store your location should be somewhere nearer to the city.

If your store is a low volume high priced store you should probably be somewhere in Birmingham or in the suburbs. "According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, over 50% of small businesses fail in the first year and 95% fail within the first five years". (Free- Business page 5) Ten reasons small businesses fail within the first few years from Michael Ames: Lack of Experience, Insufficient Capitol (money), Poor Location, Poor inventory management, over investment in fixed assets, poor credit arrangements, personal use of business funds, unexpected growth, competition, and low sales. Knowing who your selling to is a great way to pick up sales. Selling product to different customers is hard. You need to have a nice variety of product and not be too "all over the place".

Customer satisfaction is the best thing an owner has going for him / her. Being able to talk and relate to the customer is important. A small business owner has an advantage that he can learn his customers, he knows what they want, and can get it for them. Knowing this makes sales a lot easier.

While your talking to the customers ask them questions such as "is there anything we can get to make your life easier?" or "Do you want something that we are not offering?" When you have control of your inventory and know what your selling is a big advantage. If your try to sell something that you don't even know about you might as well give up. Research you products and know what they are all about. Know weather the shoe is a running shoe or basketball shoe. Know different characteristics about the product that will put the sale over the top. Listen to what the customer talks about when asking things about the product so your answers are snappy and clear.

Some things that will help you with sales are: "Ask customers for suggestions for improvement. Pay careful attention to customer complaints and prospect inquiries. Train and reward employees for questioning customers and prospects to learn what they like and don't like about your product. Watch your competitors. Do the changes in their product offerings suggest product benefits you hadn't yet considered?" (Free-Biz page 10) Managing a business is very tough. You have to be able to charge your self up and know that you need to work.

You are the only one who can set up meetings. Knowing what is going on in your business is very important and setting up meetings is very important. Also, getting to know your employees is a great idea. If you can start to trust an employee there will be a good bond between you and the employee. Having another member of the crew that you can trust is a good feeling because then you feel like you can send the employee to do something and trust what they do. In order to be a successful manager you need to use the three t's.

1. Technology: Provide them with resources in which to use as quick reference to accomplish their duties. 2. Training: Give employees the skills and knowledge that they need to apply the technology.

Nahas 43. Treatment: Let employees know that what they do is important to the mission and that their work is valued. (How to Manage a Business homepage) Technology is important because being able to do things as quick and easy as possible. Updating the office and other things is important as well as smart. If you can use the technologies of today and tie in good business skills your business will be better.

Training for the technology and how to deal with customers is important because every employee should know how to run everything at your store. Just in case someone is sick or can't come in you have a back up person that can fill in. If everyone can do mostly everything in the store your business will mesh a lot better. Treat your employees like you would want to be treated. No one wants to work hard for someone who treats them bad. Workers are in titled to their own opinions and should be able to talk to there boss about anything.

When disciplining a worker know that they are people and don't like to get talked down to. There are some things that might help you talk to them better. Do not threaten: Threats send a message to an employee that you have little or no confidence in their willingness to change. Threats will destroy any positive attitude that you are trying to develop. 'If you don't get here on time, I'm going to dock your pay!' Offer a growth opportunity: Let the employee know that you are trying to be helpful.

The person must believe that they are being helped in order to improve. Suggest a benefit when criticizing in this fashion, i.e. 'If you do it this way, you will find that it is not as difficult and you can produce twice as much with half of the effort'. Do not dwell on the past: Avoid telling an employee over and over what they did wrong. For example, 'Why did you do that?' Actually what you just said to that employee is 'How could you be so stupid!' This type of criticism may result in a negative response. Be 'future oriented,' Focus on what you expect out of the employee in the future. This shifts the emphasis on the negative and transforms the message into something positive.

Stick with the facts: Don't depend on rumors or guesswork. Get you facts straight and document them. Preconceptions of an employee may color your judgment. Be certain that you are criticizing the right employee.

A mistake in judgment may make a lasting impression on employees in regard to any future criticism. Listen: Criticism is more effective when you establish a dialogue. It is important that both parties contribute to the conversation. Avoid a monologue, where only the critic speaks. Be direct: Avoid using indirect communication. For example, ' I want everyone here by 8 a. m., unless that's too much trouble for you, John'.

When we are indirect, employees become confused (What did I do?) or angry. This type of criticism is guaranteed not to product the desired results. Nahas 5 Keep it private: Always criticize in a private place. Find someplace where you will not be heard but preferably not seen.

Privacy will insure that you do not destroy morale and embarrass an employee. Don't wait: Take care of a situation as soon as it occurs or comes to your attention. If you neglect the issue, conditions may worsen. Follow through: Once you have criticized properly, don't think the problem is resolved.

Ask the employee to sum up their understanding of the conversation. For example: 'What do you hope to accomplish now that you have the proper method?' Set a deadline for change and check up on the progress, offering help where needed. Re-examine your management skills: If you find that you are criticizing to often, you should examine a few factors. You may not be communicating your goals effectively, the training may be inadequate or you may be hiring the wrong type of people. Rehearse: Rehearse your critical delivery. Play out criticism in your mind before actually confronting an employee.

If you fail to practice this step, in the 'heat of the moment', you may find yourself using old unproductive styles. What might happen is that the employee will concentrate his or her efforts on a sharp rebuttal rather than listening to you. If you rehearse, the employee is apt to walk away feeling positive. (How to Manage a Business page 2) Doing these things will ensure you get the respect of you employees. Running a business is a lot harder then it seems. There are many different factors that go into it and many different turns you cant take on the road to success or failure.

All you can do is open a business and know what your working with. If you do that your business will be helped greatly. Knowledge is key in managing your own business. The more you know, the more you can get done in a shorter time.

Owning your own business isn't all its cracked up to be, it is hard, and a lot of time and effort go into it.