One-man-army business

Business runs with leadership. All the big businesses whether it is the venture of Reliance, TATA's or Birla's, it is the leadership that drives the business towards success and expansion. That is the reason the companies are recognized more by the name of the leaders like Ambanis, TATAs.

In fact, it is more easier to see success in a proprietary small business. Business decisions flow timely and integration of tasks would be easy. Overheads would be less enabling you offer competitive price to the customer.

But how? What is the approach to succeed?
As is the case for any business, the foremost aspect is to be having a clear vision of business model with the following facts.

• The product / service offerings and the means to produce and deliver the same
• Target customers
• Target geography
• The business projections (covers investment, sales revenue, expenditure, future projections, profit & loss)
• The approach / operational metrics
  
• The growth perspective
• Budget allocation
  

The owner of business must stratagize and integrate the flow of business processes concerning the above points. It is essential that the business owner has experience in the line of activity.

The business owner could prefer the following approach with contextual revision.

• Create corporate identity (refer to my post 'corporate identity')
  
• Maintain right legal identity / good relations with bankers / Partners
• Go for professional documentation (Administrative methodologies, NDAs, MOUs, SLAs, etc.,)
• Define partner / collaboration model
  
• Empanel CA / Auditor / Legal Advisor
• Compile prospect client / lead database
• Identify consultant / partner database who could supplement your business requirements
• Introduce your services to the prospect list
• Interact telephonically with shortlisted prospect
• Present your service range, delivery model, ROI, USP and business commitment, process maturity that you adopt in the organization
  
• Submit professionally done proposals / quote / offers
• Provide cost to cost services (transparent margin till you grow)
• Extend deliverables solely by you or through collaboration (where you will not be able to handle the entire requirement of client on your own, you may invite collaborator's participation or outsource client's requirement. This will enable you operate on your own without engaging your own team till you grow)
• Go for periodical performance review
• Go for effective use of technology
  
• Maintain professional communication flow and sweet relations with all

The above processes could be achieved by a single business owner. It is essential to work for growth even if it is small. It is imperative to manage clean record with banks, lenders or vendors so that it will pave for a very peaceful journey and a bright future.

What kind of businesses would be ideal for a one-man-enterprise?
Service industry, consulting outfit, distribution and retail setup or micro industry

The best business happens always through or from old client. Thus satisfying every client's requirement should be the top priority than scouting for new business. You should never neglect the existing client to catch new prospect.

What are the precautions to the business owner?

• Never neglect meeting committed deliverables to a stakeholder
• Do not be overconfident of doing every thing on your own. Involve collaborators / partners /consultant
• Don't postpone documentation requirements (Agreements, Accounts, Processes)
  
• Don't neglect mandatory reports to Tax authorities, industry bodies, lending institutions
• Never over commit
  
• Don't neglect a call even in the midnight from an existing customer
• Manage your health and energy levels
• Manage judiciously every finance
• Don't ever invest all your time and resources on a single client
• Try not to over please a customer
• Maintain clean record in the entire business
• Don't neglect appointments and schedules
  

It may look difficult to follow the above. But as you progress you will find that you are almost doing these things. Unless you are not messing up with the business affairs.

Corporate Identity

We are identified in the society at the professional and individual level by our attire and communication. It creates the first impression about our personality. Similarly, the first identity development for an organization starts through communication in several forms. The communication could be in the form of company's marketing collateral i.e., profile, brochure, product leaflets, executive communication, web presence and email communication.

There are several companies not able to build right documentation. Especially, start-up and small scale industries fail to spend time on the documentation processes. For them production and delivery are the top priorities.

However, companies that want to grow big should think about creating right identity for themselves. Corporate identity with committed deliverables to stakeholders would create brand value. It is a long and consistent process. But the value would turn into material benefits in course of time. In a limited sense it is a kind of 'goodwill' that companies should develop.

How does corporate identity help companies in their business stride? Very obvious, in the long run, it helps in:

• Improved brand value
• Increased credit worth
• Great market market for their products / services
• Growth opportunities and scope for expansion
• Employee commitment
• Stakeholder cooperation
• Customer loyalty

So what should be the approach of an organization to develop an identity? Some of the steps mentioned below should pave right way towards this.

• Review vision & mission
• Revis Corporate Planning & Strategy
• Go for organisational re-engineering (functional hierarchy and process deployment)
  
• Strengthen paper and digital presence (Strong profile, Effective web presence, Professional communication with stakeholders, Marketing collateral which is precise with periodical updates .....)

How long it may take to see the results?
Provided we follow the measures in strict sense and with professional discipline, an organization should be able to witness increased identity in six months time. After six months time, it will be a new organization all together. New customers, increased loyalty of stakeholders and definite increase in the SALES TURNOVER could be achieved.

Leadership

Leader is the person who exploits the resources in his control to bring in collective productivity. It could be human resources, budgetary allocations, time schedules, and so on. A true leader would again know how to bring required resources in to his control though they are not in his ambit. He would be firm about his target(s).

A leader is a visionary who would gaze the future outcome of his deeds and who would know the resultant benefits to all the stakeholders involved in his task. He would never be selfish. He would never intimidate others. He would never undermine his team. He would never like 'NO' in his stride. He would never do all things on his own. He would never believe in adamant control. He would never compromise on the defined outcome. He would never give-up to think. He doesn't fear of the inherent risks. He would be a crisis manager. He would ensure the pace and momentum of a given task. He would like to create more leaders who could supplement his efforts.

A leader is the person who believes in reciprocal respect. His presence or absence serves the same positive purpose in a given environment. His acts and deeds would create positive vibrations and energies which in-turn keep motivating his team to achieve the chosen task.

A leader is like a matured tree that is all useful to all.

The God Who invisibly controls the Universe is the supreme leader. Hence, an individual who would like to become true leader would invariably believe in God. But he doesn't discriminate Who the God is. He doesn't discriminate the God by religion, faith, and culture.

It is important to have 'Leadership' as an exclusive topic from primary level education. This would enable the children to have clarity in thought and develop their own vision towards a big picture in life.

Branding

Branding is the perceptional value of a customer about a product or service. The perceptional value is determined by the delivered value of commitment by the brand in terms of quality, security, consistency, pride, and service. Branding is creating an emotional chord with the product or service offered by a vendor. When a customer buys his favorite SWISS watch, he would involuntarily weigh all these aspects. He takes pride in possessing the product. He would flaunt it with zest.

Branding is equally a sensitive exercise. Any slightest deviation in the commitment by the vendor would undo the decades market stand and place.

Pricing of favorite brand would not be a prohibitive element to buy the product. The brand is respected by the haves and have nots globally and equally. The difference is price affordability in a given situation.

The majority view that media management is branding. Wide publicity, aggressive marketing, PR efforts might generate a surge in demand for the product. However, that would not create a lasting brand value unless the customers, stakeholders continue receiving the committed value from the product. It is like spending millions on publicity of a bad movie. It might generate an instant market. But not a lasting market.

The cardinal factors that create branding would be:

(a) Product / Service Quality
(b) Service & support efficiency
(c) Effective and user-friendly packing of the product or presentation of the service
(d) Value for money
(e) Consistency in all the above aspects

Any other factor that contribute in brand building would be supplemental to the above cardinal aspects.