Starting a Business

Looking at some basic principles to starting and running a successful business.

Yembe NforChief Executive, Y’ems Group

Incorporatedwww.yemsgroupinc.com

Starting a Business!

• Decide what you do (and what you don’t do)

• Decide who you serve (and focus on them intensely)

• Decide what makes you different (and do it)

• Manage cash flow (very closely)

• Manage employees (incentivize them for success)

• Manage customer expectations (under promise and over deliver)

• Set goals (and go after them)

• Expose yourself (tell the market what you do)

• Persevere (through the tough times)

• Always maintain your integrity (in everything you do)

10 Basic Principles

“Business is about people… not numbers!”

It Begins with YOU!

• A Vivid Picture of a desirable Future.

• The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.

Every Great Entrepreneur had a Vision…. every great person had a vision

Vision!

• Passion

• Determination

• Tenacity

• Crazy

• Risk

• Do you have what it Takes?

• Do you want to do this?

• Are you good at this?

• Being ridiculously good at What you do!

“Living a few years like others won’t, so that you can live the rest of your life like others

can’t”

What it Takes!

• Trustworthiness

• Professionalism

• Respect

• Represent your Brand

• Honest

Your Personality

Ideation!

“Brilliant entrepreneurs are driven by an idea…”

• Passion

• Experience

• News, Research

• Environment

• Etc.

Where do Business Ideas come from?

• Develop something people will want to buy

• Develop something so good people will wonder how they lived without it – Steve Jobs

• Develop something that stands out!

• Create a Revolution.

• Have a Unique Selling Proposition.

Develop your Biz Idea

• Know everything there is to know about the business

• Be a consultant

• Learn consistently

• Offer Everything you can.

• Always offer something more than promised

• Speak to people, don’t speak about your products

Become Ridiculously Good at your Business

Business Planning

“If you don’t know where you’re going… you can’t know how to get there…”

• Strategic Planning – for the future!

• Marketing Planning

• Product Planning

• HR Planning

• Financial planning

• Evaluation

• Financing

Have a Business Plan

• Family and Friends

• Savings

• Bank Loans

• Investors (Angel)

• Incubators/Accelerators

• Crowd-Funding

Getting Funding

• Use services to generate cash flow

• Grind it out.

• Get creative. Funding sources are everywhere

• Use current resources in new ways

• Use an Incubator (ActivSpaces)

• Find an Accelerator

• Crowd-funding

• Differentiate yourself. Small things make a big difference

(Forbes)

No Funding?

Look To the Future

• Where do you want to be in 3 years?

• What do you want to be doing next Year?

• What do you want to accomplish this year?

• What happens when you aren’t there?

• Continuity

Think Strategically

Going Legal!

“Businesses must be recognized and respected

by every authority…”

• Business Opportunities.

• Training and Development Opportunities.

• Motivation.

• Government Assistance.

• Information.

• Liability.

• Funding.

Why?

• Sole Trader

• Partnership

• Private Limited Company

• Public Limited Company

• Etc.

Business Forms

}Limited Liability

Open your doors!

“Businesses should either solve a problem or provide an opportunity for its clients…”

• Location• Borrowed office, your room, garage, market, etc.

• Customer Service • Relationship with the people you serve.

• Marketing and Communication • Organizational/Personal branding

• Team

• Unique Selling Proposition

• Client Relationship

• The difference between big and Small companies.

• Business is all about Systems

• The way you deliver your services

Build Working Systems!

Working Systems

• You can do much work on your own, but you can never grown bigger working on your own.

• Hire people Smarter than You!

• Ensure their growth and development.

“If you want to go fast, work alone… if you want to go far, work with the right people”

Human Resources

• Focus should be on growing

• Growing your revenue

• Growing your outreach

• Growing your team

• Growing your clients

Growth

• Successful Team.

• Procedures.

• Know when to Scale

• Seize opportunities

Be Ready!

• People • Networking, benchmarking

• Skills.• Formal and informal education

• Resources • Financial, Human, Technological

• Contacts and Networks • Business networks, Alumni, njangui, etc

• Vision • Passion, Direction, Belief

• Stick-to-itiveness.

Business and IT

• Faster processes

• Greater outreach with the Internet

• Better business

• Distant business.

• Reduced cost.

• Marketing

• Website

• Social Media

• Blogs

• SEO

• Financial Recording and MGT

Tools

• Networking Services

• Online Internet Researcher

• Virtual Assistant

• Career Counselor

• Messenger Service

• Consignment

• Franchisee

Trending Business Areas

• Client Service

• Attention to Detail

• Adding Value, Solving Problems

• Be Unique, Differentiate, Brand

• Deadlines before Details

• Build the Right Team

• Learning / Consulting

Best Practices

• Know your business.

• Know your customers

• Know the law

• Know your assets

• Add real value

• Keep good customers

• Manage money wisely

• Do it better

Summary

Thank You!