Find a Good Partner

As a businessman or as an entrepreneur, you can not stand alone. There’s no such thing as that. You would always need someone, a partner in your business. I am not talking about a partner like someone who will share the start up expenses, the work and the income. What I am about is also someone you would need to start your business but not a partner per se.

If you are selling a product, you will need materials to make them. That is where the supplier comes in. You may think that they are insignificant but they are in fact very vital to your business. Without them you wouldn’t have your products.

It is very imperative that you choose a very good supplier. A very good supplier isn’t necessarily the one that sells the cheapest supplies. You also have to consider the quality of materials he is going to be providing you. Even if he gives you the cheapest price if his materials won’t last long and your finished product wouldn’t be of quality, you shouldn’t use him. You have to set a standard for quality and find the cheapest supplier who can provide you with that.

When you find the one that satisfies your criteria, it is important that you develop a great relationship with him. Aside from the price, another important element to look at is the term of payment the supplier is willing to give you. The longer time he gives you the better. It is because the longer time he gives the longer time your capital will be free for your other expenses in the business. You can even use that money earning on other things.

I don’t think a supplier would be willing to extend a loan to you on the first transaction though. You will have to pay cash first until you earn his trust. When he finally begins to trust you, you can then ask for a term. He probably would be willing to give it to you especially if you become a big customer.

It is not easy to look for a supplier who can work well with you. At times you have to work on building a good relationship with him. But when you find a good supplier, you find a good partner.

Perseverance Or Giving It a Chance

Aside from having confidence in your talent, your ideas and your product, it is important that a budding entrepreneur has perseverance. It is known that in every business, problems and obstacles are surely to occur. Some of them are minor while others are big enough for you to be discouraged. You shouldn’t just give up so easily.

From the planning stage itself, you would already see some hurdles to your business. My friend was planning to sell simple snacks just outside their home. It was actually quite a nice idea since their house located by a street where many people pass by in. Students and other young people living in the nearby boarding house and apartments were sure to buy in his store rather than go somewhere farther.

He thought it couldn’t have been easier since he was going to put up a small and simple business only. But the first problem came when he started computing the expenses he would have to incur in fixing up the place, putting some furniture and fixtures, purchasing the utensils and buying his inventory. It turned out that the amount he had and was willing to spend in starting up the business was not even half the amount he was supposed to spend. Right then and there he just decided not to pursue his plan. But when his mom learned about this she convinced him that he shouldn’t give up on it on the first hurdle he meets. She lent him the money and she gave him ideas where he can save some capital for starting up his business.

Fortunately for him, he listened to his mom. It has been three years ago now and his snack bar is now located in the property next to their house. His business clicked. It was also a nice coincidence that when he thought of moving to a bigger place his neighbor was also about to go abroad and was renting his place out. Now his place is bigger and his customers are no longer limited to just the neighborhood. People all around the city now comes in to grab a bite there. Had he just given up totally, he wouldn’t have come this far. There have been many other problems here and there but he now learned to deal with each of them. He now knows that should he just surrender to them he will not move forward and achieve success the way he is doing now.

Be Confident to Succeed!

Succeeding in business is quite a big question. It is perhaps best if we try to hear what successful people have to say about their own success. It’s inspiring to hear the stories of the most successful entrepreneurs. Most of them like to talk about it so it would not be a problem picking a few lessons from them.

Of all the stories I have hear and read, there is one very common thing I have noticed. Successful people have confidence. They have the confidence in their talent. They have the confidence in their business ideas. They believe that they’ve got what it takes. They believe that their product offers the best quality. They believed!

Before you can convince other people to hire you or to buy what you are selling, you have to believe on it first. If it’s a product you must be the first customer to use it and you must have high regard for your product. But you also have to be objective. You can’t just say it’s good because it’s yours. You have to set the criteria for judging good quality. If you fail in one area then you must admit it and do the necessary actions to correct it. You also have to constantly be on the look out for improvement. If your product satisfies all your criteria for quality then you will have all the confidence on it and start talking about it with confidence because you know it is good. Then hopefully your enthusiasm on your product will rub off on your potential clients. They will try your product and find out that it is truly good. Then they will continue patronizing your product or your brand and soon the word will spread out that your product is good. Other clients will follow suit until you have sufficient slice of the market. As they say, quality speaks for itself. And there’s nothing else better than quality to speak for your product, your brand and your company.

Are You Professional?

Being professional doesn’t just mean working in the corporate arena or working in the academe. It doesn’t necessarily mean that if you have a degree or if you did graduates studies that you are automatically a professional. For me being a professional is what is within the person.

You may just be a small vendor or a mere salesperson in a small boutique and be professional. Even janitors and waitresses can be called professionals. Again, it is not on the work that you do but it is what each person is and how the person handles his or her job.

Let’s say that you are a writer. You would have projects and assignments and you have a deadline for each of them. You usually produce good work and everybody says that you have the talent. However, you are almost always late in submitting the assignments given to you. You never meet your deadlines. That is being unprofessional on your part.

On the other hand, let’s say that this person is a bagger at the local grocery. He never entered a semester of college but he’s always cheerful and polite to the customers. He gladly assists customers who need his assistance. And he is very efficient on his job.

Another example is this taxi driver who was on his way home one night to the north end of city when a passenger hailed him. This passenger was going to the opposite side of the city but he still drove the guy down to his destination without complaining. It so happened that this passenger was perhaps tired and was in a hurry to step out of the taxi that he left his clutch bag full of money. The taxi driver upon he reaching home found this bag and the money in it. There were also several identifications cards inside it so he immediately called the guy up and arranged that they meet the following day. When they met, the passenger offered him a reward but he refused to take. He said it is just part of his job to drive the guy down to his destination and to return anything that is left inside his taxi.

You see, this taxi driver could have refused and made an alibi that he was on his way home, or he could have merely just not stopped when he was hailed by the customer. But instead he stopped and did service for the passenger. He also did not take advantage of the situation to extort money from the guy. He just did his duty as a taxi driver even at the most inconvenient time.

This could only mean one thing. Being professional does not really depend on one’s educational attainment or one’s job but it depends on how a person is on his or her job and on whether a person does his or her duty properly and even goes an extra mile to be of service to others.

Do You Have Enough?

Capitalization has always been one of the biggest hindrances to most budding entrepreneurs. In my opinion it is much easier to think of what business to put up. But when you think and list all the expenses you have to incur in starting up your business, that’s where you suddenly slow down a bit and check if you have enough personal funds for it and if not, where you can get financial assistance.

In a way, I think you suddenly go through a reality check. You would think twice before deciding if that specific business is the best one for you. Realizing the risk that you have to take makes you a bit cautious. You then become more careful and examine possible strengths and weaknesses of your business plan, whether it is written on paper or just in your head.

In securing a financial loan, it is important that you apply for the loan at a financial institution that offers the least interest rate. That’s one way of reducing your cost and earning better.

Again, capitalization is difficult. You would always have to check all the possible ways to save on expenses so you can make all of it fit to your available capital and so you can recover you startup expenses sooner. Raising sufficient capital is also difficult especially when you don’t have equity to back you up. Most banks and financial institutions would ask for collaterals. Of course, there are also other channels but their rates would be higher than the usual or higher than the market rate.

Whatever course you take, just remember to pursue it only if you are positive that you will be able to recover your capital, be able to pay up your loan on time and earn well enough to make the risk you will take and to make the efforts you put on your business well worth it.

Starting Up a Business

Aside from seeking employment you can also opt to start your own business. But doing so isn’t at all that easy. The first question you have to ask yourself is what line of business you would like to get involved in. Then you have to ask yourself, does it have a demand? Where is the ideal location for your business? And last but certainly one of the hardest questions is, do you have enough capital for the said business?

These are all just general questions though. You should be as detailed as possible in planning for your business. It would be ideal to write up a business plan to get everything on paper because the longer your business operates, the more that things can become more complicated. It is best that you don’t lose sight of your goals and your policies as well.

So what line of business do you want to be involved in? It should be something you’re interested in or something you are passionate about. Doing business can be demanding to you financially, physically and emotionally. But if you like and enjoy what you are doing your burden would be lighter. It would also be good if you have a vast knowledge about the product or the service that you want to provide. There’s not a better asset than personal knowledge. It is difficult if you are very dependent on other people for your business to run. Like for example if you have a bakery, what happens when your baker suddenly resigns and bulks out? Your operations would have to abruptly stop if that happens. Even if you find another baker, the quality of your bread and your other products will not be maintained.

Now let’s say that you want to put up a high end boutique but about 90% of the population belongs to the middle class. That wouldn’t be appropriate. You should choose something which your potential customers need. Maybe a convenience store would be a good idea. Basic commodities are certainly something your neighborhood would make use of everyday. And these are the things that are certainly included in their shopping lists.

Where should you position your store? It should be somewhere near your targeted market. You should always be nearer to your customer than your competitor so you will be there when your customers need the products or the services you provide. Notice how pharmacies are situated new hospitals or how McDonalds is located almost in every other corner. If you are wondering why that is so, that is the reason for that.

Now, do you have enough capital for the business? Starting up a new business can cost so much. That is why you should always consider something less expensive if you have limited capital. You can also find out about the financing available to you. You should make that loan plus your personal funds enough for your start up expenses and your operating expenses for the first few months.

After these first general questions are answered, you are off to making your detailed business plan. And then comes the implementation. Remember that no plan, no matter how detailed and how well written it is, is enough for you to succeed. Proper implementation of these plans during operations is also vital. Hopefully, your customers will like your ideas and offerings. With a little luck, your business will be off to a good start and it will pick up very soon so you will realize success.

A Fan and More

Today’s top Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao, had a boxing match today with Mexico's Marco Antonio Barrera. I’m not really a boxing fan really but my husband is. The fight was shown at about noon time here and our TV was tuned in to the local station here covering the match as early as 9:00 am. I guess other boxing fans here and abroad did the same thing as well.

What really amazed me was when I heard that some people were betting on the match. Some Filipinos even placed bets against Manny Pacquiao. And the amount of the bet was pretty big. Well, for me it was big but maybe for them it was nothing. One of my neighbors lost P50,000 when the judges gave a unanimous decision in favor of the Filipino boxer. That’s more than a thousand bucks in the US currency! I also even heard of others going beyond that.

Maybe that’s just their way of entertainment or having fun. Sure, they can afford it and I don’t mean to be preachy but I just think that maybe it would have been better if the money was used to help the poor instead. Anyway, it’s their money so I guess it’s their choice. I just wish more people would think of helping others rather than gambling and losing large sums of money just like that.