10 Basic Rules for Business Success

Basic Rules of BUSINESS Success

Every day, brave entrepreneurs create new business ventures. Some of these businesses will succeed, most will fall by the wayside. Those with ample resources and capital will take-off to a great start, but falter along the way. Some ventures will be on a shaky ground from the very beginning, yet achieve great success with perseverance and careful planning.

Will your business thrive, or will it join thousands of others that have faltered along the way? Here are the key business rules that are the foundation of building any successful business. Good luck.

Business Rule #1:
The Jerry McGuire Rule: Follow the Money – Cash is King.

We have all heard that statement, and it is true … sort of.

In a business, you cannot do anything for very long without cash and cash follows profits. Cash can be put into a company through a loan or investment. However, these types of cash inflow come with strings attached and represent money that is eventually going back to the bank, investor or owner with interest attached.

The only cash that you can use without strings attached comes from profits.

• Cashflow is king. Profit is sanity. Turnover is vanity.

Jerry Maguire is a 1996 film about a sports agent who has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it. He then decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent with the only athlete who stays with him.

Business Rule #2:
The Peter Drucker Rule: The Sole Purpose of Business is to Serve Customers.

Peter Drucker was one of the leading business management thinkers of the last decade. He understood that every business is a service business regardless of what product it sells because the primary purpose of a business is to serve customers. Make your customers feel valued. Understand that each and every one of your customers is special.

Business Rule #3:
Customers know best what they need.

Good entrepreneurs understand that, “the customer is always right”. So they listen to customers and improve their products or services. Entrepreneurs are not stubborn, defensive or rigid.

Business Rule #4:
You are looking for a good business opportunity – not a good idea.

A good business opportunity has potential customers with needs you can satisfy at a price they can afford. It results in a good profit margin and allows you to earn your needed income.

Business Rule #5:
Every entrepreneur overestimates the number of customers that will buy and the speed at which they will buy.

Entrepreneurs love their products, unfortunately customers may not. Accept that all customers will not by your product. What are your real conversion rates? What conversion rate do you need to survive?

• Customer Conversion Rate = Number of Buyers/Number of Prospects

Business Rule #6:
Happy employees create happy customers, which creates profits for you!

Treat your employees fairly, with respect, give them a sense of worth. Help them realize their dreams while they help you realize yours? Create a high performance business that promotes high performance.

Business Rule #7: the 7 Ws

A good business opportunity should answer the 7 Ws.

• What can I sell?
• To Whom can I sell?
• Why will customers buy from me?
• At What price?
• What are my costs?
• When will customers buy?
• What will the competition do?

Business Rule #8:
Dig the well before you are thirsty – Chinese Proverb.

What do you do when you are in a situation where you know the potential outcome? Most people would rather do nothing about their foreseeable outcome (good or bad). DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Don’t wait to get to the point of no return and then wish things were different.

• Life is a journey, it can take you anywhere you choose to go.
  Christina Aguilera – The Voice Within.

Business Rule #9:
Take Only Justified Risks.

Taking risks in order to solve the problem is the essence of entrepreneurship. However, not all risks are worth taking. An entrepreneur who desires to be successful in business should always evaluate and justify the risks they take.

Business Rule #10:
If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. You must love what you do.