I have a friend who is an International Chef. Their food is delicious and I dare say it is the best I have ever had. He uses the best ingredients in his dishes and even the presentation of them is impressive.
About a year ago he opened a restaurant in a good part of town but things don’t seem to be going quite right. In fact, I visited it recently and although the place is very beautiful and the investment made in furniture is evident, the place looked empty.
Your customers are rare. What could be happening I wondered at first glance? The place is well located, the decoration is very nice, the food is excellent and last but not least they have good customer service.
Maybe the schedules? or maybe the prices? I asked myself. In fact, their prices are slightly above the average in the sector, but their food is worth it because it is very good. But no! It is wrong on my part to put all responsibility on prices. That is too easy and comfortable.
As an entrepreneurship consultant that I am, I began to analyze all the factors trying to figure out why a business that has all the qualities to be successful is suddenly mired in the mud of loneliness and “indifference“by customers.
No matter how hard they are, clients seem to turn their gaze without even giving us the opportunity to understand what motivates them to such harsh behavior. But you have to accept it. The market is like that. He is cruel and ruthless. If you are not an option, they simply walk away, without giving explanations.
And this is probably the story of one and a thousand entrepreneurs throughout Latin America and Spain.
I have seen it in machine shops, clothing stores, schools, accounting offices, technology businesses, veterinarians, etc.
We see it every day and it is very painful. Professional and successful people who start businesses with great potential but who hardly get off the ground or who have a disastrous end in a few months.
And then after carefully analyzing the whole environment, the person and their behavior as an entrepreneur, I come to the conclusion that I have always known. Entrepreneurship requires much more than just being an expert in a professional area.
And that is why here I am going to reveal to you the most important secret that you must learn when building a business and that can make the difference between success and failure.
I must warn you before, that what I am going to tell you next is not the holy grail of business or anything like that. It simply has to do with an essential principle for business and for life.
Not everyone will be able to see it. Some will think that this is just a story, but no!
What I am going to reveal to you can make the difference between undertaking and undertaking successfully. It can save you years of trial and error and get you dream results for your business. So take note and let’s get to it.
I call this “back to de basics“.
The Biggest Secret Every Entrepreneur Must Apply In His Business
Point 1: Being a professional in your trade does not make you an expert to undertake
The first thing every entrepreneur should understand is that being the best at your job isn’t everything. Being the best chef, the best car mechanic, the best teacher is a great advantage and a key factor, but it does not automatically qualify you to be the best entrepreneur.
In fact, entrepreneurship as such is an area that requires preparation, knowledge and especially a lot of common sense for decision making. Entrepreneurship entails managing different areas of knowledge that can make a difference.
Now you can understand why it is not enough to have 10 years of experience as an athlete to set up a gym. It is not enough to have spent 12 years in the classroom as a teacher to set up a school. And having won a contest to prepare regional dishes does not guarantee success in your restaurant.
If you are aware of this, then you will understand the next point.
Point 2: You will need help from several experts to shape your entrepreneurial project
Once you understand that you are not everything then you can open your eyes and discover that you need to rely on other experts to develop a good business plan.
To be successful you will need:
- From a good marketer to help you know if the business you want to set up, in the place where you want to do it, will have the right market of customers so that your products are in demand.
- From a good public accountant to advise you on the legalization of your business and on all the tax issues you need to know. You’d be amazed how many good businesses die for downplaying this issue. A good accountant can save you a lot of headaches. And by the way. An entrepreneur knows that paying taxes is part of the game. Learn about the subject, get advice, let yourself be guided and start your company on the right foot.
- From a good social media marketing consultant to advise you on how to obtain the best results if you plan to use social networks to build the image of your business and attract new potential customers. Social networks are in fact very easy to handle as users, but to do marketing, it requires specialized people who know and guide you.
- From a good lawyer that protects you from bad plays. If you are going to have partners, if you are going to make contracts with other companies or for personnel recruitment issues, having the advice of a legal professional will help you make better decisions.
- From a good business consultant to help you develop your executive plan and properly integrate all the elements so that the wheel begins to turn and keeps turning. And it is that raising capital to start your company is an extremely complicated task not to take care of every penny in an intelligent way.
- Not least, every small or large business needs sales professionals. And it is that a business that does not sell is not a business. Sales are the resource that keeps the wheel turning because it makes the cash flow and that way profits are generated. But being the best chef or the best artist doesn’t make you the best salesperson. I’ve always said it. If you don’t know how to sell, take an intensive course and prepare yourself in sales. If you don’t want to do it then hire a good sales team but don’t forget about this important function within the company for nothing.
- Finally, you should know that for specific issues you should always seek the advice of specialized professionals that they know about certain topics and that they can help you in making decisions. For example, if you have to acquire medical equipment, buy furniture, adjust your prices, develop promotions, set up an online store, implement a new service, hire new staff or create a brand, you should always turn to a professional to guide you.
Of course, having advice is not cheap. But venturing to make decisions blindly is by far the most expensive thing that can be in entrepreneurship issues.
conclusion
Do not undertake alone. Don’t pretend to know everything or do everything. A fundamental principle of success in business is Surround yourself with smart people and do what they tell you.
Consider an area of investment in monthly advice and constant training for your business to grow and stay afloat. They will know how to guide you to make smarter decisions that generate results.
So now you know. If your business is not doing well, you still have time to seek advice and find someone to help you see the blind spots of your project that you probably cannot see.
Venturing to make decisions blindly, is by far the most expensive thing that can be in entrepreneurship issues.
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