Entrepreneurs make different choices in business, but ‘sustaining their businesses’ is one choice that is inevitable to them.
The dream of entrepreneurs is to see their businesses grow; this growth shows that the business is still surviving against challenges such as government policies, economic downturn and especially, competitions from rival enterprises.
Your start-up has begun and is steadily progressing, profit is being generated, and goals are being achieved. As an entrepreneur, you are beginning to live in your dreams, as it is fondly said by an average Nigerian musician “I dan blow” meaning I have made it.
Entrepreneurs who have this mindset are about“to swim in troubled waters”. You must constantly remember that any slip-off could foster the stagnation of your business, thereby leading to a decline and ultimately causing your business to plummet into obscurity. Therefore, to prevent this, below are important insights needed for sustaining your business growth:
- Your business must constantly and continuously solve problems and never forget this legacy
As your business is growing and you are making profits, you must never forget that the whole essence of business is solving problems. Customers transacted with you the first time because your business could proffer solutions to their needs. Life is all about buying and selling; you are either buying or selling a product or service. Consequently, in running a business, you are selling your service or product to customers and as long as you can sell what solves their problems, they will keep buying from you.
Solving customers problems means you are adding value to them.The more problems you solve, the more value you add to them; this improves the worth and popularity of your business. Resultantly, your business would attracts more customers through referrals built by customers-trust;this will inevitably help in sustaining your business.
- Be Observant to Market trends and evolve your business with relevant ones
Like the ancient saying goes, “the only constant thing in life is change”. As an entrepreneur, you must remember that the world of business does not stand still. Like seasons, the need and demands of your customers are constantly changing. New technologies are continually changing the complexities and structures of the business place. Customers tend to be be fickle and sophisticated at times and as such, could look for new opportunities and products. More so, you might lose your customers to competitors with new and better products and services.
Furthermore, you can’t continue to apply same old principles to generate new results. You should conduct market research regularly and get useful thought about new information concerning your business. Be an innovator, don’t stop learning and channel the right knowledge acquired appropriately into your business.
In addition, you should never delegate the learning of new ideas, market trends, emerging technologies and business mechanisms vital for your business to others (staff). So, in sustaining our business, put this insight into consideration.
- Network and keep networking
Networking is one of the most important strategies entrepreneurs should adopt in sustaining their businesses. It is very essential for an entrepreneur to meet new people and associate with the right ones; this can be very essential to the continuous development of the business. People in your network actually come from different backgrounds and walks of life. They offer you wide range of views, ideas and perspectives that would be valuable for your business. Interacting with such people would help broaden an entrepreneur’s horizon and aid business growth.
It is often said that your “network is your net-worth”. Hence, network and keep networking, meet people and stay connected to them; you would never know who could be your potential big client or investor. In addition, networking gives you room to meet with competitors; this is a great platform to know what they are up to.
Therefore, you should attend conferences, seminars and forums, join relevant associations, and very importantly, locate mentors, etc. There is someone somewhere who has done or is currently doing your kind of business in a more successful way; network with them and learn from their successes and failures. Remember, business is built with and around people (clients, staff, investors, etc).
In our next editorial, we will continue to look at other insights for sustaining your business. Please feel free to add your comment and ask any question. Thank you.