Entrepreneur Magazine - Article 1

To build your business from scratch can be daunting. We bring you this Entrepreneur Series by Barry Mitchell.

How to put the pieces together to get the business you dream of

Being an entrepreneur is about creation; creating something from nothing. It’s about creating value, cash flow, opportunity, and ultimately creating the lifestyle you always hoped and planned for.

Is your business getting you where you wanted to go? Are you running the business, or is it running you?

There are a number of key principles that need to be mastered by any business owner in order for a business to be truly successful.

So, how many of you are truly prepared do what it takes; honestly, ethically, and legally, to build your business into the business you have always dreamed of?

If you really want to achieve success in business, you first need to ensure that you are prepared to put the following principles into practice:

Discipline – You need to be disciplined in all your activities. You need to be disciplined in what you say you are going to do, what you do, and how you do it.

Practice – You need to practice what you learn, practice in the safety of your environment before you go out, and then do the real thing with your customer.

Accountability – You need to be accountable for your actions. Do what you say, no excuses.

If you are prepared to follow these three principles, then we are very happy to play a part in helping you build your business.

™When looking at how to build your business, we look at the business as having three key pillars, these being Sell, Team, and Teach. If a business owner learns to master these they can really build a successful business.

SELL – Sales = Income™ and Life = Sales. Your number One skill to build your business is your ability to sell. This is not just the exchange of products and services, but rather ideas and support of other people. Sales is the very foundation of society.

Is Sales the priority that it should and could be in your business?

Kelly Ritchie, a partner in SalesPartners Worldwide has the following formula, E3MS. What he means by this is that Everyone, Everything, and Every Interaction, MUST SELL! The first person that you need to sell to is yourself, and the first person that needs to sell is you.

TEAM - To build your business, you must be able to build a team as the strength of a team will always outperform the results of an individual. Massive & Passive income requires a team. You need the right people doing the right things in the right way, in massive amounts, over long periods of time. Do you know if your team is really on the same page? “Relationships break down due to ambiguous expectations or no common vision. The best way to avoid conflict is to make sure everyone is playing by the same rules, because, in the absence of rules, people make up their own.” – Blair Singer.

TEACH - You must be able to teach to build your business. Selling is teaching. Teach what you should or need to know. According to Jack Welch of GE, Teaching is the most under used, critical piece to being able to build a business. Without teaching there is no replication. You will burn out. If you have the overwhelming feeling of burn out – good news, it’s solvable by Teaching.

The three disciplines are held together by good Systems, and by Accountability.

SYSTEMS – You must have Selling systems, Accounting systems, Cash Flow systems, Marketing systems, Delivery systems to name a few systems in any business. Managing business is Maths, not the maths you may have tried to avoid, but the kind of maths that makes you rich. In fact, in business if you can’t measure something, you cannot manage it.

Fast growing companies are constantly pulling numbers.

* Does your business have systems in place that allows you to pull the numbers and measure?

* Are you clear on what those systems are meant to do for you?

If you don’t have systems you will never grow your business.

ACCOUNTABILITY - This is where it really all falls down or holds together. As a business owner, if you want to keep other people accountable, you have to be accountable yourself. What are the behavioural rules that you have in your business? Are you and your team accountable to those rules. This really is Walk the Talk.

Leadership is a lot more than a title. Being a leader means living and breathing the Mission, and setting, holding, and embodying the standard that others will follow. Leadership builds people, and those people will build your business and your profits.

In closing, I leave you with a quote from Will A. Foster:

“Productivity and quality are never an accident; they are always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skilful execution. They represent the wise choice of many alternatives.”

Copyright Barry Mitchell 2008

This appeared in Business Report, The Star 25/06/2008

Barry Mitchell is Operations Director Sales Partners WorldWide SA (Run by Rich Dad Poor Dad Advisor Blair Singer). Barry runs a column in Business Report, The Star, South Africa.

If you would like to contact Barry send us your details via the www.kalavati.org

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