Success Formula for Small Business

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations,” said Steve Jobs.  Such inspiring quotations of Steve Jobs have become business mantras for start-up founders. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who founded Apple from a garage in 1976 are inspirations for budding entrepreneurs and alike. The first Apple prototype was developed in that garage and later the founders build 50 computers for a local electronics store.

It was a small beginning, but today the company has grown exponentially to change the face of the personal computing industry with its cutting edge hardware and programmes. It now ranks as one of the most profitable companies in the world, in the field of wearables, personal computers, and mobile phones.

The business ethos of the Apple founders’ resonates among entrepreneurs who like to aspire and imitate their success formulas. However, there is no fixed set of the success formula for small businesses as the success of any business is dependent on proper planning and execution. Here are the first few steps that you should take to ensure that your business starts on a strong foot.

Believe in your service/product

Your business is usually born out of your experience with a product or service which is absent in the market or can be given a new twist. Entrepreneurs devote a lot of time and energy in developing that product or service which can truly make a difference in the lives of people or customers. It doesn’t matter whether the business is small or big, but as an entrepreneur you should always believe in your product. It may also happen that a certain product or service which you think would make a difference may not lead to profitably. It is always crucial to believe in your product and service and deeply analyse the impact that it will have once launched. It may not immediately yield results, but the idea should be strong enough to gain eyeballs from investors and venture capitalist. It is always great to analyse the market potential of the product and gain specific insights related to the product success.  With clarity about the potential market, the next step is to focus on execution of the same. Most start-ups scale the business after evaluating success of the product with a limited customer.

Get the financials right

Once you have the right product and service, it is time to devise ways and secure capital to set up the business. You can easily start or expand a business today with small business loans from banks and financial institutions. There is no dearth of business funding options in the market today. We all know MSMEs form the backbone of the Indian economy and the government has made efforts to ease lending for SMEs so that they can flourish. With quick business loan and relaxation in the business loan eligibility have made accessing capital much easier for small businesses. One can easily apply for business loan to meet the capital need at any stage in the business. After finalizing the business idea it is good to find out requirement of loan, your eligibility and prepare for documentation. When you apply for business loan make sure you have a good credit score as it helps in getting a quick approval for loan. Also, you should consider the rate of interest and decide on the financial institution before you take a loan. If you’re lucky, your business loan can be easily approved within a day. Once the loan is approved you can expand or improve the existing business opportunities.

Execution is the key

It doesn’t matter whether your idea is small or big. Success of a business depends a lot on the execution which is dependent on factors like talent, product quality and customer focus. The culture of your organisation will dictate how your team executes the idea and service with discipline. It is important to hire the right candidate for the assigned jobs and create a culture which is rewarding for employees. Besides that you also have to make sure that the customer feedback is taken into account for launching the product and service. You can achieve the desired results in business only if you have set the right strategy and ensure that it is executed in a timely manner. You have to devise effective business model which is executed in the manner which rakes in profit and also create the desired impact.

Count your customer

As you know that ‘customer is king, hence running a business should be rewarding for the founder as well as its customers. You cannot underestimate the success of your business without taking into account the customer satisfaction. It forms the basis of your business, and hence you should find ways to incorporate customers’ feedback and improve your offerings at each step.

Always measure the success

At every step in the business you should be able to gauge the success of business. You cannot ignore any one aspect of the business and focus on the other. Every aspect of the business will require attention from marketing, human resources, sales to public relations. If you want to scale up then you ought to look for resources to back it up. One of the important requirements is finance to grow the business. Also, calculate how the investment will create a return on the capital before you apply for any loan.

Like Rome was not built in a day, a business also needs time, hence it is important that you embrace perseverance and continue to believe that your idea can truly be a success.