Instead of financial freedom, working when you want and controlling your own destiny, business success comes from long hours of hard work, being able to access finance and lots of luck. Many small business owners concur with Steven’s assertion. How many business people do you know who don’t have to get up early in the morning, spend the whole day ordering stocks, checking production or sales, monitoring staff, checking the stocks, balancing the books and finally locking up before going home at night? In the early stages of the business, it is common for the entrepreneur to perform all the necessary tasks. Then a time comes when you must cross the bridge on the growth path, from “doing” to “leading”. It means stepping back from day-to-day operations and slipping into the role of overseer. Many business people find it difficult to let go and delegate to employees. Most of them feel that the business cannot operate without them directing every function. For Steven, that’s a very burdensome task as he has to constantly shuffle among his businesses: a factory, a petrol station and supermarkets.Entrepreneurship is different from ordinary businesses whose sole purpose is to make money for the owner. Instead, it sets out to create something of value, in the form of a business that is differentiated, sustainable and lasting well beyond the life of the founder. Entrepreneurs build businesses based on a model of success.
THE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS MODE
A successful business model is one that generates income, whether or not the owner is there. Look at Econet; people are juicing up airtime and making calls or surfing the internet at all hours, while Mr Masiyiwa and other shareholders are sleeping or doing other things elsewhere. That is a successful business model.Right from the start, if you want to build a successful enterprise, you should plan to set-up a system that will operate without your direct involvement. This entails recruiting the right people; people who can be trained and groomed to take on more responsibilities. As your business grows, you delegate more and more tasks and responsibilities to capable employees. For this model to work, you need to recruit carefully. Look for people whom you feel comfortable delegating to. Your son is not necessarily the right candidate just because he cannot find a job; or your niece because she is an orphan. One entrepreneur told me recently that you should kill your emotions when making important decisions such as recruiting. Your judgement should be based strictly on professional criteria, such as the person’s skills and abilities, and the business’ needs. The next part of the successful model requires that you put in place systems and processes for the various functions of the business. This involves creating work processes, documenting them and assigning tasks and responsibilities. Good communication is necessary for the system to work. Treating your staff as the business’ most important asset is one of the secrets to entrepreneurial success. When asked in an interview ([email protected]) about what made his businesses so successful, billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson had this to say: “I did not measure the success of a new venture by the amount of money we made. In Virgin Music’s early days, we wanted to create great places to listen to music and meet friends. My sense was that if our staff liked our stores, there was a good chance our customers would too.”My new resource book: Developing a Three-Step Strategic Plan to Grow Your Business is now available; I am in the process of e-mailing it to those who requested it or are on my mailing list. You may send me an email request if you wish to get a copy. And please, send me your feedback.
Phillip Chichoni is a business planning consultant who works with SMEs and entrepreneurs. His contact email is [email protected].
