TWELVE
RULES FOR MICROETERPRISE SUCCES ...
1.- PRACTICE
SEPARATE ENTITIES
Keep business cash and products that you sell separate
from your personal money and ownership. No family members or employees
should ever take money or goods without paying for them. One good
way to make this work is to regularly pay yourself a salary.
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2.- START SMALL, THINK BIG
Some want to get really big, really fast. Too rapid of
growth, without experience or money in reserve, can kill a great business
faster than almost all other mistakes. Learn from costly mistakes when
the business is small, then grow at a sustainable pace.
3.- DIFFERENTIATE YPUR BUSINESS
Selling the same product as your neighbor is bad for
business as it drives prices down which then hurts everyone. Make your
business different by carrying unique products, displaying your products
differently and not locating near your competitors.
4.- BUY LOW, SELL HIGH
To make money in business you must sell something for
more than you pay for it. The difference between the price you pay and
the price you charge for a product is the margin. The bigger the difference,
the more money you will make. Negotiate with suppliers for low prices,
5.- BUY ON CREDIT SELL FOR CASH
Many owners have this backwards, they buy for cash, sell
on credit. If you can get your supplies on credit and collect cash from
your costumers at the time of sale, you can carry a lot more inventory
and possibly turn it faster. You must, however, pay suppliers on time.
6.- TURN YOUR INVENTORY OFTEN
If you buy a product for 100 pesos and sell it for 300
pesos you have earned 200 pesos. If you do this 10 times a weak, you have
earned 2,000 pesos that week. If you do it 10 times a day you earned 2,000
pesos that day. Small inventory turned everyday is better.
7.- KEEP GOOD RECORDS
One of the important ways to grow a business is to keep
simple records. A small business should keep track of five things everyday:
cash-on-hand, money you owe, the amount people owe you, sales for the
day and the value of your inventory.
8.- INCREASE SALES, DECREASE COSTS
Smart business owners work hard to increase sales, while
carefully watching costs. This requires keeping records so you can track
sales and understand costs. Some don't want to offend customers by being
pushy or negotiating with suppliers ----better to offend than starve.
9.- MAKE A PROFIT EVERY DAY
Ask a business owner if he made a profit today and you
might be faced with a blank stare. The goal in business is to make a profit
everyday ----- to do that you must buy right, add value, and do correct
pricing. Suggestive selling is also a must to increase the size of each
sale.
10.- VALUE YOUR CUSTOMERS
For many business the most valuable asset they have is
their customers If you can build up a group of loyal customers, then you
can count on that much repeat income. You then must concentrate on keeping
them happy, plus attracting new ones.
11.- PAY YOURSELF A SALARY
One of the biggest reasons small MicroEnterprise owners
fail is they take some of their business almost daily, depending on personal
needs, without keeping records. This is not good! We suggest that each
owner takes a specific amount out each day or week as salary.
12.- DON'T EAT YOUR INVENTORY
Eating, living or letting other "borrow" your
inventory are all ways to lose money and therefore this could cost you
your business. No selling perishable items fast enough is also a way of
"eating" your inventory Never let anyone take inventory without
paying.
Reference: These rules were published
by Te Academy For Creating Enterprise. The Academy provides Filipino young
men and woman with the necessary hope, motivation, education and practice
needed to plan, start, grow and continuously improve MicroEnterprise.
VC Think that this rules can be applied in any economy because the MicroEnterprise
in the world has the same characteristics and necessities. |