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Starting A Business With The Three ‘Ps’ In Stock

The first of three ‘Ps’? Plan!

There are a lot of factors to consider when starting a business. Primary among these factors are what has commonly been referred to as the three “P”s – Plan, Prepare, Persist. As the business owner you are responsible for eveything that happens in that new business and all decisions are yours to make, so it follows that you must utilize every tool, strategy and resource that will enhance your ability to operate the business efficiently and effectively with an eye towards ultimate success.

After you have selected some ideas from your brainstorming to base your business around, the next step is to create a plan of attack. List all that you think you’ll need before your business starts.

What will your ongoing expenses be? Factors may include rent, utilities, permits, licensing, legal fees, inventory, staff, design, marketing collateral, mailing lists, software, advertising and more. Get as much as you can down on paper and set deadlines to get things accomplished. In every business there is goal-setting (or should be) and every realistic goal has a deadline. This will allow you to evaluate your pace.

Prepare: The second of three ‘Ps’!

Once you have a plan, you must implement it by working in accordance with the steps set forth in that plan. Preparing to start a business can be a lot of work. Tasks may include getting an identity designed (or logo), creating business cards, brochures, web sites and other marketing material, consulting with CPA’s, lawyers, and HR professionals, in some cases finding and renting or buying a storefront or office, furnishing the business space, getting utilities in place, receiving and organizing inventory, getting a database for your customers and leads and any number of other tasks.

By running a home business, some of these steps will already be taken care of, yet opening a business of any kind can be an enormous task. While planning your business make sure to leave plenty of time to get it up and running. Better to plan your setup time too long than too short and finding yourself running out of money.

The third ‘P’ is Persist

This is the most important step of running a business. Without persistence, you won’t even be able to finish your business plan. Hang on like a pit-bull. When the going gets tough, get tougher. Have worst case scenario plans to fall back on, as well as best case scenario plans.

Some businesses become over-night successes, while others take a year or two develop. Along the way there will be occurrences and events that will have an effect on your business. If it’s based offline (brick and mortar), you may experience power-outs, acts of God (hurricanes, floods, snow storms, etc.), acts of the local municipality (tax increases, license rate changes, highway construction & repair, etc.), and a host of other changes that could cause you to lose momentum, if not money.

But the one thing you must have is focus on your goals. If you plan, prepare and persist, you’ve got a very good chance of business success, because you would have a foundation upon which to build.

Women Entrepreneurs Prove It’s Not Just A Man’s World

The she factor

I recently read an article about women entrepreneurs and their performance as it relates to their male counterparts. I must admit that what I learned, although not shockingly surprised, was in many ways very enlightening and I’d like to share some of it with you.

According to the Center For Women’s Business Research there are over 10 million women-owned businesses in the US, employing 18 million people and generating $2.32 trillion in sales. Women start businesses at two times the rate of men, and women-owned businesses account for 28 percent of all businesses in the United States and represent about 775,000 new startups per year and account for 55% of new startups at the time of this writing.

One thing that I found particularly interesting was that the top growth industries for women-owned businesses in recent years were construction, wholesale trade, transportation/communications, agribusiness and manufacturing, industries traditionally dominated by men.

Trust. Intuition. Balance.

In the past 25 years the number of women-owned firms in the US has doubled, employment has increased four-fold and their revenues have risen five-fold. Here is the question I sought particularly to answer: Do women approach business differently than men? I’ve been compared to a bull in a china shop when it comes to business. Would a female counterpart approach things differently? More gracefully, perhaps? As my lovely bride would say, “Duh.”

In her book, How to Run Your Business Like a Girl, Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin explored common female traits and how women entrepreneurs – and perhaps men, as well – can use those traits to their entrepreneurial advantage. Baskin reported that women tend to use three unique strengths more than their male counterparts: trusting their intuition, focusing on relationships, and putting more emphasis on keeping their life in balance.

Trust your gut – Women are much more likely to make a decision based on a gut feeling. Women may gather the facts and figures necessary to back up that feeling, but they generally know what they want to do based on intuition.

Build strong relationships – Men play the game of business like a sport. They are out to win and dominate. “Women,” Baskin says, “are much more interested in establishing a connection.”

Find A Balance Between Work and Life – A number of women interviewed for this book cited on quality of life as their reason for starting a business, alluding to their desire to find a way to juggle family and work. “If having more time for your family is important to you, find a way to work that into your day. It’s not so much how much work you do, but being able to decide when you’ll do it.”

Good advice

Baskin offers one more piece of advice to women in the early stages of their business:

You Don’t Have To Know Everything.

My wife would argue this point because she really does know everything, but Baskin says when it comes to business, thinking you know everything is not the key to success.

“It’s amazing how many women say they didn’t know anything when they started their business,” Baskin said.

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help – you don’t have to be perfect at everything.”

Solid business advice: for guys and gals.

Here’s to your success!