DATED – 15th December 2018

Being a business owner is more of a responsibility than a privilege. A responsible businessman will always look at a long-term perspective rather than just somehow closing the deal right now. Here are 11 pointers for a LONG LASTING BUSINESS –

1. Set an example – As a business leader, you must be able to inspire your colleagues and staff with your performance. You must be able to set an example for your team to follow
2. Keep upgrading your products and services – Until you wish to keep earning good money, you will need to keep upgrading your products/ services. The world is at such a stage that they want new every time. If you do not give them something new, they will start looking at options
3. Use your own contacts/ networks to generate business, apart from your staff working over it – Be smart to utilize and make most of your network/ contacts. Many times, because business is going good, we tend to relax and not look at more opportunities. Your staff will do their best, but your contacts can scale up the whole revenue
4. Invest time on your business – Investing money, appointing staff does not guarantee success. You will need to invest your time on business. It is a well-known fact that – what you can do; only you can do. Your business needs your futuristic thinking, planning, vision etc. What good is a Cheetah if not let loose
5. Be consistent – It is extremely important to be consistent in your performance. It is wasteful to be like a soda bottle – total zing when opened, but no fizz after a while. Give great products, services, customer support time and again
6. Resolve issues first, then make sales – Incase there is an issue that a client has and you have a sales call to make. Choose to resolve the issue first and then go for new sales. Most businessmen avoid complains, and look at fresh orders. It will spell doom one day
7. Don’t get emotionally attached to a business – This can be a major issue, if it is a family business. One needs to practically weigh business in the modern times. It might have been extremely successful model in the past, but if it does not hold good in the current scenario, it is better to move on to something better rather than holding on to it due to the emotional quotient. It might just become like a pot with a hole at the bottom
8. Don’t keep borrowing. Need to generate profits too – This is a classic mistake most businessmen do. They keep borrowing expecting a great future. There is no harm in borrowing, but decide on an amount over which you will not borrow. Afterall business is about generating profits and not borrowing, borrowing and borrowing (unless you are into money lending business)
9. Be open to new ideas and feedbacks – Everyone has their own thoughts and ideas. But there will always be your well-wishers who will give their feedbacks, ideas and suggestions. They might be right or wrong. As a business owner, you must be open to considering and analyzing them. At times the suggestions might pinch you and get you to defend. Refrain from doing so! It can be dangerous to ignore them
10. Keep an overview – You might have an excellent team to take care of your day-to-day activities. But you must keep an overview of things that are happening. Else you would be in a rude shock in near future
11. Do not resist technology – Technology is the way forward. It helps you reach places, which you might never be able to access geographically. Simple apps like Facebook, Whatsapp, Linkedin, Twitter etc. can be great for marketing your products and services, if used in right way. Bar code your products, have an updated website, have presence on Google Business, allow software to generate data for you, etc.

In today’s world, people want to buy products/ services looking at long-term partners and not just a one-time buy. An affirmative in the above 11 points makes you a LONG LASTING BUSINESS, else – there is more to do for you than just making sales every day.