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.

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.

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