BUILDING A PROPER FOUNDATION FOR YOUR BUSINESS.

Starting a business is quite challenging but it can be very interesting as you grow into it. You will begin to learn new things, adjust your business plans and even some of your personal values may begin to change.

Every entrepreneur dream is to have a successful business. The concept of many revolves around having a business idea, getting started with the organization, attracting customers, and making money.

Sadly, however, reality has something else in stock for startups as building a business requires several things. Statistics shows that about 10% of start-ups fail within the first year and about 90% of start-ups fail generally.

While it is not impossible, it involves a conscientious thought-out plan that will set the company on the path of success.

Building a business is similar to building a house: You must have an idea of what you want to build, why you are building, where you are going and for what purpose. You will have to do a soil test in some cases if you already have the land. Organize your design with Architectural, Structural, M&E drawing. Then do costing. To build a house you must have a solid foundation and your foundation will determine what it can carry.

Like building a house, you must have a proper foundation for your business to grow. In fact, if your foundation is weak, inevitably your business will end up in ruins. You’ll be putting more efforts than you need to and the financial rewards just won’t be there. This is because many entrepreneurs do not have the right experience of running a business. Your idea or business plan might be top notch but the skill set required for day to day running of a business is entirely different from been good in your trade or profession.

When you start a business with just a good business plan and the business starts running, within a short time, challenges you do not envisage starts coming and sometimes too quick for most entrepreneurs to recover from.

When you build your business on a weak foundation, the business will be weak and within a short period cracks will set in and you will spend some much time fixing and patching cracks that you won’t have time for innovative ideas. However, when your business is built on a solid foundation, you are going to have a solid business and much time on your hands to be creative and make good grounds on your competitors.

Here are some steps for building a solid business foundation.

10 STEPS IN BUILDING A SOLID BUSINESS FOUNDATION

1.????Establish a good business plan- A good business plan is a plan that you can reinvent in any situation. It is like a manual for your business. When you run out of ideas, a good business plan should be able to direct you to the next stage. A good business plan should be flexible and innovative. Gives room for adjustment here and there.

This morning my iPhone gave me a notification that there is a software update for my phone and will automatically update tonight or if I want it now, I should click update now and I clicked update now. When it finished updating, there was a message underneath that the new update fixes some bugs and they were listed. No matter how beautiful your business plan is, you should be able to update it and fix some problems with the update.

2.????A clear vision of what you intend to achieve in the industry- When you have a clear vision of what you intend to achieve in your business space, you will be focused on achieving that goal. Do not start a business because everyone in your group is starting a business, start a business with a clear vision to solve a problem or fix an issue.

When you vision is clear and your business is fixing problems, you will see that clients are the ones looking for you.?Every day organizations and people are looking for startup that will help them fix a common problem.

3.????Create a niche- Remember that people are probably already doing what you are doing. The question you should ask yourself is why your clients should leave their current solutions and come to you. Some industries are very competitive, so if you must compete favourably in such industry you should have your own extra edge- this means going one step further than your competitors.

Select your clientele, research your competitors and understand what they are not doing well, be unique, meet the need of your clientele in a special way.

4.????Have a strong passion for what you do- I have always adviced that people choose a career in line with their hobby; this makes work interesting. You will always want to go to work, do something at work. I am amazed every time I watched both Ronaldo and Messi play, but they get paid to enjoy what they love doing. They always want the ball at their feet, they are never anonymous on the pitch. This is how it should be for an entrepreneur; you should aim to get paid for enjoying what you love to do. The word work should be replaced in your character with fun. Do it with ease.

5.????Build an online presence- Well, you don’t need to be told about the importance of online presence as an entrepreneur. Get a functional and detailed website, be verified on google and have a general social media presence. These elements give validation to your business. One thing I always do before patronizing a business is searching them online; because of that, I quickly verified our business on google as soon as we started.

People might not trust you enough to do business with you but they often trust google. Therefore, if google can verify your business then you can be trusted to some extent.

6.????Strategically position your business- It will take extra skills and resources to see winter coats in Nigeria than in Sweden. You wouldn’t want to get into a good business but in a wrong place or at a wrong time. Go to where people will need your services. Strategically locate your office where it is easy for people to reach you, notice you if you are in that kind of business where people come to you. Make it easy for you to go out if you have to.

7.????Understand your industry- I’ve found out that you really can’t win if you do not understand your industry, your clients and competitors. So, before you get into any business, first do the proper research on your business. I think Toyota is a formidable brand in the automobile industry because of years of research and understanding the need of the everyday car user; Fuel economy, comfort, reliability and more.

8.????Be Patient- The place of patience in building a business cannot be overemphasized. There will be many rejections along the line. You should be able to wait when the gestation period is on. That makes patience a very important value for an entrepreneur. I have an article on patience titled “Patience is Vital for an Entrepreneur to Succeed” you can read that here https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/patience-vital-entrepreneur-succeed-momodu-abdulahi/?trackingId=Vf6N%2B7VoSgavbHcJn%2FegeQ%3D%3D

9.????Gain some experience-even if you have to do it for free- I remember my company’s first job. When it finally came after a year without getting any work, it was an open door for me because I had gone to several interviews, and when asked to show evidence of previous work, I did not have anything to show despite the fact that I knew the job very well but people want proof and some kind of experience.

I recognized that job as my breakthrough job even though it was really difficult to pull through but no MBA school would have taught me the experience gained from doing that Job. When, it was time to collect my pay, I told the client to forget about paying me but only give recommendations. From there, I began to submit proposals with valid experience and more companies now trust us to handle their jobs.

10.Find a mentor- Aside from your business plan, mentorship is another step in the right direction for young entrepreneurs. A mentor might not be someone in the same space as you, but someone with a general knowledge of life, running a business or many years of work experience-this is all a mentor needs to inspire a mentee. Surround yourself with the right people- people who can tell you stories of failure and success from their own experience. You need them around you to succeed.

Bonus- You are blessed if you employ a right-hand man-someone who understands your vision, who helps you carry your ideas, who is a vision carrier.

A RHM (Right-Hand Man) is an employee who is committed to see that the business grows no matter what. They are not just committed, you can see the enthusiasm and feel the energy, and they completely buy into your vision. They are the first to get to the office and the last to leave. They are not just present but add value to the organization.

Even when they disagree with you on certain issues, it is for the general good of the organization. When you get an employee like this, do everything to keep them. They are up lifters; they help you carry your goals and vision.

As an entrepreneur, you will come to a point where your idea is tried and tested, it might weigh you down and begin to question yourself but when you have a RHM , that’s where they come in, dig their teeth into it and carry the baton until you are able to get your full confidence again.

Building a proper business foundation is not only limited to the above, however, when you apply some of these tips you can be on your way to achieving a solid foundation for your business.

A 1000 word version of this article was first published on my FORBES Page. Click this link to read it https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/06/10/building-a-proper-foundation-for-your-business/?sh=73368751982e