How to run a business: advice from experienced businessmen for beginners

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

A lot of people are now thinking about starting their own business. This is a really attractive idea, because having your own business, you can do anything without having bosses and self-regulate your capabilities and potential. This is additional freedom that will allow you not to depend on external factors such as bosses, work schedules and vacations. You can set your own days off and holidays.

Definition

Before you understand how to learn how to run a business correctly, you need to define the very concept of your own business. Business in translation means business and is defined as a commercial activity that does not contradict the law and pursues the goal of making a profit. The Russian language also has the word entrepreneurship, which, in fact, means the same thing. It is worth noting that business has quite a lot of meanings, since it is a very broad concept, it can be characterized as a system of relations between groups of people pursuing one goal. The very concept of business for many is associated with money, therefore, based on the definition,we can say that this goal makes commercial sense. It is for this reason that many want to learn how to learn how to run a business.

Signs of business

Independence. One of the main reasons that push people to start a business is independence. A sign of any entrepreneurial business is independence from external influence. We are talking about both property independence, which means that any business is based on your property or rented or leased, and organizational independence, which means that all decisions are made by you. One of the advantages is the fact that you decide how to run your business smartly. You can enlist the help of consultants or assistants, but you make the final decision yourself

• Risk. In the economic definition, entrepreneurial activity is always associated with risk. The profit always depends on the risk, the higher one indicator, the higher the other. But do not take the risk only as a negative factor. It is also an incentive to improve factors of production and business planning. It is a business plan that can clearly show you how to conduct a business safely, while at the same time taking minimal risks.
• Make a profit. Income is the main goal of a business, so this feature can be singled out as the main one of all of the above. It is the receipt of systematic profit that makes it possible for a business to have a commercial character. Without this feature, a business cannot be called that, because in thiscase, the organization may be charitable or social in nature
• Legal basis. Any business-related activity must be registered in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. Also, any business must have its own internal documents, norms and regulations. This is one of the most important rules for doing business, because illegal business cannot sustain its existence for a long period.

Types of business

Among the variety of types of business, there are several that stand apart. It is best for a novice businessman to choose a niche in the following market sectors.

Commercial trade

This type is ideal for start-up entrepreneurs, as well as those who do not have initial capital. The essence of this business is that the company does not produce anything, but simply resells someone else's product. How to start your own business in this area? First of all, you must find suppliers and buyers for your product. The main income is the difference between the wholesale purchase price and the retail sale price. Among the disadvantages of this business are very high competition and lack of benefit to society, since trade does not provide any services and does not produce anything.

Production

This is a variant of entrepreneurship where you turn resources into a finished product. Resources here should be understood not only as various minerals, but also human resources, as well as time. This can also include the provision of services, despite the fact that hereno actual item. This option is the most in demand for the economy, because in this case the consumer market is growing, and there are also many more jobs than the first type. However, this business is more expensive and is considered more risky than trading. At the moment, there is significant support for businesses if they open in the agro-industrial sector.

Intermediary

This business is also called transport, as it is based on intermediary transport services between the manufacturer and the seller. Also, one of the options for such activities is a representative or distribution business, where a businessman acts as a representative of a well-known company or brand.

Financial

This range is very wide, as this includes brokerage houses, banks, financial dealers and other similar organizations. The main feature of these organizations is that the main product is money in all its manifestations. Banks manage money directly, brokerage houses are engaged in the purchase and sale of various securities. Of the minuses of this activity, one can single out rather strict legislation and a complex structure that requires special skills and knowledge.

Insurance activities

This type can be attributed to the financial sector, but the main product here is various insurance cases. More precisely, the profit in this sector is formed precisely in the absence of these cases.

It is important to consider that thisfar from a complete list, which, taking into account technological progress, is only expanding. Now business on the Internet has become very popular. Basically, these are product stores and manufacturers of various services. Online shopping is very convenient and very often much cheaper than in a store.

How to start a business

First of all, to start your business, you need to prepare the foundation, for this you need the following components:

• Determination. Many people think that to get started you need an idea, start-up capital, or skills and connections. But the most important factor is determination. You must determine that you need to open your own business and follow through. You must be prepared that there will be a lot of obstacles and difficulties on your way. This is one of the main factors that is present in all advice to businessmen.
• Idea. Any business, first of all, is built on an idea. Since we determined above that there are a lot of types of business, without a well-formed idea, you will rush between several types without starting further actions. It is the idea that will answer the question of how to create a team of like-minded people.
• Planning. You must have a clear plan that you will follow. You must set short-term goals for yourself, by fulfilling which you will achieve the main one. Without clear goals, you will not have a strong promotion, as well as growth of your business. Any discrepancies with the plan must be stopped, otherwise you risk losing the course of development and slowing down.
• Knowledge. AtChoosing a niche in which you will build your business, you should consider how quickly it is developing, and how much you are able to develop in this area. You must be a professional in your field. So many businessmen, before starting their own business, go from a simple employee to a director in order to study the process from start to finish. If you do not have the right amount of knowledge in this area, you should like it anyway, because you will most likely be doing this business for a long time.
• Team. You can run a small business alone, but if you plan to grow your business to a large size, you must put together a competent team that will be ideal for you in the direction of ideas and perseverance.

Business systemic

It is important to know that in order to conduct business correctly, you need to follow the rules of consistency and constant accounting of your activities. Only thanks to the systematic accounting of all your activities will you be able to succeed. This will help you not only in the beginning of your activities, but also in the day-to-day running of your business. Accounting will help you track down the weak points of your enterprise, calculate the weak performance of the department and improve it. Also, in your enterprise development plan there should be no inaccuracies, neither in the time of execution of tasks, nor in their indicators.

Competition considerations

One of the important elements in the modern economy is competition. How to do business in today's competitive environment? Many perceive it as something bad, but thisnot this way. It is competition that allows us to improve production and sales methods. It also improves the movement of scientific and technological progress in the industry as a whole, because most often enterprises borrow new technologies from their competitors. But you must remember that these are your competitors, and you must keep a close eye on your direct competitors, no matter how far behind them.

Funding

Every business needs funding, although sometimes on a fairly small scale. To get started, you can get funding from personal savings, as well as ask your close friends and relatives for help. This is the simplest and easiest way to start your business. One of the financing options is business angels, as well as various venture funds. These are special organizations and people whose activities are aimed at financing various start-up enterprises. Also, if you have a well-formed business plan, then you can use business loans, but it is important to consider that monthly loan payments will be added to your expense item, which will include not only the principal debt, but also additional interest on your debt.

Customer focus

Despite the scope of your business, your business should always be focused on customers. How to run a business without customers? If you have opened a grocery store, you should make the approach to it and the opening hours as convenient as possible, and the choice of products to the maximum. If you have started productiongoods, then they should be guided by the needs of customers for this product. Moreover, you will be ahead of the competition if you are one step ahead and do not wait for requests to fix the defect, but fix everything yourself. One of the options for winning the competition are additional factors. There are a lot of grocery stores, but if prices are equal, the buyer will always choose the one he is closer to.

Smart marketing strategy

You can be the most convenient and highest quality enterprise, but it will not help you much if no one knows about you. You can use word of mouth, but you will be waiting for the first fruits for a very long time. It is a competent marketing department and a plan that will allow you to break into the market and understand how to learn how to run a business correctly and profitably.