Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 191
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| Thought for the week: "A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well." Jeff Bezos |
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In this week's issue:
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Five pieces of advice to heed before you start up
For a number of EnterQuest readers, our bulletins can appear to have a niggling tendency to rant on excessively about failure, and sometimes even have the audacity to suggest tactics that will precipitate failure in new business start ups.
Every now and then we also get criticised for questioning the solidity of the advice given by the many so-called 'experts' out there in their various guises. Strangely, this criticism never comes from any of the actual or prospective small business owners who subscribe to these occasional little diatribes of ours.
No apologies for this either. But as it's the season of goodwill and all that, this week we're planting a positive foot as far forward as an English top order test batsman, and providing five tips that, if heeded, will seriously increase your chances of still being at the business crease this time next year and maybe even the year after that.
Most business advice like this is not rocket science but plain old common sense. And quite often the new business owner possesses or has heard this common sense already, but is just generally cr*p at listening to it and putting it into practice.
Here are the five tips:
1) Start slowly
Get-rich-quick business opportunities are few and far between, if they exist at all. And too many new start ups think their business will grow quickly and be profitable as a result. But for the vast majority of new businesses, the reality is that if you have managed to stick to your budget and trade at breakeven in your first year, you are probably doing very well. It's better to start slowly, learn and absorb as much as possible as you progress, and gradually get better at everything you are trying to do.
2) Look for customers, not success secrets
A lot of new business owners get too hung up on digging around for the magic formula that will catapult them towards fame and fortune. The reality, of course, is that the most consistent secret to success is hard work and being better than your competitors at finding busloads of customers.
3) Be obsessed with quality before you even get started
This is down to being confident that you have the best-quality products, resources, suppliers, people, advice and so on available to you when you start up. Your customers certainly won't ever accept second best, so why should you? Never compromise on this.
4) Avoid spending too much (and sometimes too little)
Deciding on an expenditure budget in your first year can seem a bit like walking blindfold on a tightrope. Spend more than you can afford at the wrong time and you could drain your cash too quickly and topple over. Don't spend enough on marketing, stock or getting basic systems in place and you could grind to a halt without having time to do anything about it. Plan your first year's budget carefully and realistically, with enough slack in your working capital requirement to allow you to deal with the odd glitch that crops up along the way.
5) Admit what you don't know and get advice
Despite what we mentioned earlier about the quality of the business advice on offer to business start ups, the majority of it is of a high calibre and is abundantly available for you to tap into. But while your adviser should be experienced in dealing with new start ups, they certainly won't be a mind reader or a clairvoyant. You need to make sure you let them know your main concerns and worries, and any areas where you're lacking in business acumen and know-how, so they can directly help or signpost you to where you can get the specialist assistance you need.
Apart from that, and whether you're going to be taking a break or not, have a great Christmas and New Year.
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For hundreds of practical tips and techniques to help you find new customers and increase sales on a shoestring budget, check out the UK Small Business Marketing Bible. |
How to tender for public sector contracts
The complex and time-consuming process of tendering for public sector contracts - which some say you need a professional form-filler to navigate - are among the problems that can make small business owners think the odds are stacked against them in this area.
If you're planning on bidding for public sector contract opportunities next year, here's a quick guide to the key points to bear in mind when pulling together a proposal:
- Having read the specifications, does your business meet all the requirements and if not, what changes will be needed to meet them? Can you meet the delivery schedule?
- What information will you need to pull together to include in the bid? Does the awarding authority require detailed financial information, CVs and confirmation of qualifications of your employees, or references from previous contracts? Can you meet the closing date and time for receipt of tenders?
- Does the contract feature work or goods that your business will be unable to supply, and if so, is it possible to form a partnership with another organisation? Some tenders specify that a certain percentage of the work may be subcontracted, but in other cases you might need to negotiate with the awarding authority.
- Is the awarding authority being advised by specialists? You may need to liaise with consultants to obtain detailed technical information, and adapt your bid accordingly.
Advice on how to submit a tender proposal, along with other frequently asked questions about the process, are available at the Government's Supply2 portal.
And for more practical tips, check out our guide to tendering for public sector contracts.
Business books on Amazon
If you're looking for a last-minute business-themed Christmas present (even if it's for yourself), you could do worse than checking out the current top ten bestselling business books and manuals on Amazon:
1) The Money Diet: The Ultimate Guide to Shedding Pounds Off Your Bills and Saving Money on Everything!, by Martin Lewis
2) Thrifty Ways For Modern Days, also by Martin Lewis
3) Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
4) Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life, by Richard Branson
5) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity, by David Allen
6) Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, by Spencer Johnson
7) The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists: 1,000 Tips to Help You Start and Grow Your Business, by Robert Ashton
8)Now, Discover Your Strengths: How to Develop Your Talents and Those of the People You Manage, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
9) China Shakes the World: The Rise of a Hungry Nation, by James Kynge
10) The Long Tail: How Endless Choice Is Creating Unlimited Demand, by Chris Anderson
Each
week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business
ideas in the UK.
Here
is this week's idea:
Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations.
Do you know what the word 'dictum' means?
a) an official statement submitted with a company's annual accounts
b) a caveat or condition imposed on the terms of a sale
c) an authoritative statement of advice or fact
d) a legal instruction or demand that must be complied with
Answer at the end of the Bulletin.
The following topical business issues have been reported in the media over the past seven days. Did your radar pick them up?
1) What have many of the UK's leading supermarkets been running out of, according to a report in The Grocer magazine?
a) DVDs and CDs from the national bestselling list
b) Staple goods like bread and milk
c) Organic seasonal fruit and vegetables
d) Tins of goose fat, because of the influence of celebrity chefs
2) Which type of goods topped a new report looking into the fastest-growing and most popular retail wares to stock?
a) Photography goods
b) Mobile phones
c) Toys and games
d) Fashion accessories
3) Which familiar type of money is in danger of becoming extinct in the UK due to a fall in bank production?
a) The 2p piece
b) The 50p piece
c) The £2 coin
d) The £5 note
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
You could be wasting money over Christmas
Will you remember to switch off your electrical equipment before heading off for the Christmas break? Businesses are expected to waste enough energy to roast 4.4 million turkeys, microwave 268 million mince pies or power 350,000 Christmas tree lights for 240 hours each, simply because they've left non-essential equipment like PC monitors and photocopiers on or on standby. The figures come from Canon, which says in monetary terms, the wasted energy will cost industry an estimated £8.66 million.
Microsoft has released seven new patches
Microsoft's December security update includes seven new patches to address vulnerabilities in its suite of Windows software and the Internet Explorer web browser. Three of the patches are deemed 'critical' as they address flaws that could leave systems vulnerable to attack from remote hackers. The other four fixes are described as 'important' by Microsoft, so it's worth getting your system patched up as soon as possible.
Find blogs about your business
Technorati tracks more than 50 million blogs to find posts that mention a particular keyword, offering you a great way to stay up to date with news in your sector, and also find out whether anyone's blogging about you or your competitors. Posts can be viewed by date and also by 'authority', which means the number of other blogs linking to any given blog site. You can even boost your link popularity by commenting on the posts you find.
Discover the keywords used by your customers
KeywordDiscovery is a research tool that allows you to find the most popular keywords used by people who use search engines to find your type of business, product or service. Finding out which words and phrases people use when they're looking for your type of service is crucial to helping you pick the right keywords for your website. The tool uses more than 180 different search engines and costs from $49.95 a month to use - but there's a free trial available that could help you get a head start on optimising your site.
Directory of rural businesses
The Rural Index is a searchable directory reviewing countryside-based businesses of every type. You'll find links to farm shops, accommodation, walking, camping, rural pursuits, diversification ideas and much more. There is also a dedicated Small Business Help section, which contains links to businesses offering help with tasks like marketing and designing your website. The portal also links to employment agencies and training providers.
The idea behind this pictorial business book is that to do something different, you have to fundamentally change the way you think. It considers looking at life the 'wrong' way, so you can see the benefits sometimes associated with making 'wrong' decisions. Readers say the book has helped lift them out of a rut and start to take more novel approaches to problems. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is c).
A dictum is an authoritative statement of advice or fact.
A well-known marketing dictum is that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your effort. |
How's your business radar answers
1) The answer is b) - The Grocer reports that supermarkets are running out of core staples like bread and milk.
2) The answer is a) - photography goods were named as the fastest-growing sector of products in the report by Management Horizons Europe.
3) The answer is d) - the fiver is in danger of becoming obsolete, as fewer are being produced by the Bank of England and the notes are no longer stocked in cash machines. |
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Good luck
The EnterQuest Team
This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that the information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate. |
