Beyond common rules

Beyond common rules of successful businesses

Start-ups guru, Eric Ries, says that entrepreneurship is the management discipline with highest uncertainty because you don’t yet know what the product is, you don’t yet know who the customer is, and you don’t yet know if we’re on a path to a sustainable business.

Numbers can easily prove this. There are 4.5million firms in the UK private sector and 48 000 of them were established last year. Less than 1∕3 will survive to their third year.

So how do you get there?


The answer is simple. It is important to go beyond the common tips for running a successful business. Money is not the only currency you need. You need knowledge and head for business. Give your business an edge. Here is how you can do this:

■ Turn waste into value.
 If you measure how much you lose from waste you will have a sufficient reason to reduce it. For example, City Group found that every employee saves one sheet of paper a day they will save £452,000 a year. Of course, there is no start-up which operates on City Group’s scale but start-ups do not have their resources, too. Cost reduction of carbon footprint could bring additional benefits. Communicating socially responsible and environmentally friendly image can gain the company support from pressure groups and local community.

■ Be innovative. Many of the inefficiencies occur because companies stick with exciting working practices. As an inexperienced company you cannot re-invent the wheel but you can be opened to the opportunities that new technology offers – on-line meetings, social media, networking, manufacturing, shipping, etc. The great thing about technology is that it changes the way we do things (think iPad advert) and makes you resourceful.

■ Attract investors. In the US the main source of funding is attracting investors while in the UK entrepreneurs still rely on loans. Of course it is not easy but you can raise the profile of your company by adding an award to your portfolio. It is a new service that allows you to browse for business awards in your local area or industry sector.

■ Apply modern management techniques. Instead of controlling your employees, think about motivation, teamwork, creativity and responsiveness. Being an understanding manager pays back. By improving the work-life balance of your employees, you increase their productivity. Do not simply hire people and put them on different positions. Rather than that, take tasks and allocate them as efficiently as possible in order to capitalise on the human resources you have.

Now, I hope you feel a little more inspired. So get the job done and let us know what the outcome is.


Good luck!