Why your new business doesn’t have customers yet?

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No customers mean no business being in business. Individuals running businesses, big or small, know this well. They fret dry days without customer footfalls and visitors to their websites. It's true equally for products and service providers. In a highly competitive marketplace, some businesses face customer dearth in the beginning. This is mostly the case in online selling. But why is it difficult to find a niche base in a world full of people, people, and people? Why is it so that your business does not have customers yet but your competitor attracts many?

It is important to find the answers to these questions before the market compels you to pack your bags and say goodbye. Please remember that you came into the business to do business not to be out. So let’s find the reasons for such shortfalls and discuss the ways to get customers and grow our businesses.

The first issue new businesses face is their failure to identify customers and their problems.

It’s true that there is no dearth of people. But the problem is finding people who can become customers. Not everybody is a customer. For example, a healthy individual is not a customer for the doctor. A diabetic person is not a customer for a psychologist. Doctors are in business because there are patients with particular ailments. The same is with other businesses. For people to become customers, they need to have problems. Only when there is a problem, will they seek a solution. So, new businesses need to properly identify the problem that people face and for which they seek solutions. This way, you will have an idea about the type of product you can offer to people who can become your customers. Once you determine this, research your competitors. See what solutions are they providing. Try giving a smarter solution than your competitors. If you ask me why Maruti Suzuki is the largest car company in India year-on-year (with around 51.2% market share in 2022), I would say, they know who their customers are, and what problems they seek solutions for.

The second issue is the failure to differentiate between customer wants and demands.

New businesses must know that there is a difference between wants and demands. Wants are wishes that are influenced by factors such as society, culture, values, and individual personality. Wants reflect the desired preferences for specific ways of satisfying our needs. A person is thirsty but wants something sweet. So he would choose Coca-Cola or maybe Sprite over water. On the other hand, an individual may want to have a Louis Vuitton handbag but lacks the ability to buy it. Want is a desire for benefits but are optional, i.e. it’s not necessary. Only when wants are backed by the ability to purchase, it can be termed demand. Without demand nothing sells. Hence, new businesses must be in a position to identify the demands. Let me give an example of how Colgate has been able to convert the wants of the people into demand. There is no denying the fact that Colgate has been dominating the oral care market in India for a long time. Its target customers are the middle class and lower class. With different brands offering solutions for oral care, Colgate has seen a slight dip in its share. But it has emphasized its oral care solution keeping in mind the price sensitiveness of its consumers. Therefore, a 13-gram pack of Colgate is also available on shelves. Colgate has remained a leader as it has offered a product that even the low-income group consumer can afford to buy without compromising their oral health.

The third reason why the new business does not have customers is that they fail to reach them.

Communication is important to reach the targeted audience. Businesses fail to garner customers because their marketing techniques fail. Consumers should have knowledge of a product that can solve their problems. They should know what the product or service is all about in order to make any buying decision. Your target audience needs to know why they should choose you over your competitors. If we go back to the Colgate example, TV commercials are the main way of communicating the product to the customers. It helps to penetrate the larger customer base in India. You won't see any Louis Vuitton ads on television in India. What if Louis Vuitton starts marketing itself on primary Indian channels through advertisements. I wonder if the costs incurred would fructify into any leads. See here, the target market for the company is the wealthy middle-aged women. These consumers have the need to feel prestige wearing or carrying it. The masses don’t. So it adheres to premium advertising policy in fashion magazines.

The point to be made here is that new businesses must strategize on the marketing part. Picking up the proper marketing technique is crucial to making an impact on the minds of the customers. It may be anything like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TV commercials, banners, newspaper ads, or organic ways like word-of-mouth. Choose properly so that the message reaches the intended customer. Remember that customers are king and they decide whether you play the game for long or go back to the pavillion.

How Important is Focus and Thinking for Success in Business

Good focus and clear thinking are ingredients of success in business. Our focus determines our thinking, and our thinking determines our decisions. The greater our focus, the clearer is our thoughts, and the better our decisions. Why only business, focus is necessary for our everyday lives as well. The quality of our thinking determines the quality of our life. So it’s almost a black and white thing. If you can focus well, you succeed, and if you cannot, you fail.

In this era of digital revolution, we are bombarded with a hell lot of information; information from all sides and quarters of life overpowers our minds. No escape, technology is both a boon and curse. These days, we see a lot of young people of our generation becoming obsessed with technology. They, literally, cannot stop staring at the mobile screens and fiddling with its buttons. It may sound absurd, but this is also stopping us from focussing. Simply put, we hardly focus, and rarely think, nowadays.

But do you know, how important is focus to think clearly? Focus means the centre of our interest or activity. Focus is the state of producing clear visuals. So unless we know what is our centre, how do we visualize success? In business, decisions regarding men, money, meetings, products, etc. are activities that entrepreneurs need to engage themselves with. These are or should be the centre of interest. Our decisions determine success and its rate. Business decisions are not something to take in the blink of an eye. Many great businesses rose and fell, and many others got immortalized based on business decisions that entrepreneurs took.

So focus is extremely important to make good business decisions. Focus is necessary to eliminate information overload. It transforms negative thinking into positive action. There are various ways to practice focus. The yogic way, the Zumba way, etc. etc. There are different ways, tricks and games that help to focus. This article is not about how to focus. Maybe we shall try discussing it in our next articles. Today, we will simply talk about the importance of focus and thinking in business.

Let’s consider that our focus is on having the best workers for our factory. The number one rule for success in business is to cut the losses when you realize it. Bad investment, bad hire, bad relationship; cut these losses. The faster you cut your losses, the faster you grow. Now that you know that your focus is on people, people and people, it’s always necessary to think about the consequences. What consequences hiring or firing workers can have? If the consequences are big, it’s always better to take time to think. Hiring an important person for an important position can have tremendous potential consequences. It determines the future of your business, and not to mention, a great amount of salary too to the new employee. The issue is big as the focus is big, i.e. a better workforce. The longer you take to make the decision, the better the decision will be. Now take the opposite scenario. Suppose, you know your accountant is not being honest at his work. And you have to take the call. When it comes to firing, it’s been said that the best time to fire a person is the first time it crosses your mind. The longer they stay, the more it’s going to cost you. In this case, you need to think quick. You know what’s your focus, right. All that matter is the honesty in your business transactions. You just need a replacement. The consequences are small. Probably, you have to deal with a few days of bookkeeping issues till your new accountant is on the rolls. But it will spare you financial and mental suffering. Fast thinking is intuitive, automatic, and reactionary. Management experts say that fast (people) decisions are invariably wrong (people) decisions. But I believe, it’s not always so, especially when you focus well.

Now let’s say you want to expand your product or services line. What do you need to do? Where should your centre of activity revolve around? Is it that you need to do some research, innovate, or invest in technology to improve production. Anything else? Just think, take time, and see the pros and cons. Greater focus on each of these individual aspects helps you think clearly about the choice you need to make. When you focus you visualize the solution. If you find that your focus is technology, you automatically start thinking of ways to get the technology you require. With companies that use technology, especially knowledge-based, internet-based, etc., chances are your model is obsolete. Companies that profit is quick to change their business model. It does not mean that the model is wrong but one should be open to the possibility that the model is obsolete and sticking with it may result in bigger consequences. Competitors may eat away the market share. Keeping your focus area in mind helps to act in a timely manner. You have to make sure that you stay true to focus, something like laser focus, to materialise great things. Focus on what truly matters. Focus is the gateway to all the thinking. As you focus, you think and when you think, you foresee the consequences. And when the consequences are considered, you make wise decisions. Not to mention, wise decisions help create great businesses.

Tenacity, an Entrepreneurial Attitude

 

Giving up is so easy, isn’t it? It does not take much time. Only fools keep wasting time and energy on something that is not materializing, right. If that is so, then, all successful people in this world are fools. Every successful businessman is insane. Gates, Steinbrenner, Disney, and even Steve Jobs, all were crazy heads. Every known innovator is stupid enough to ruin his entire life in a closed laboratory. Edison, Einstein, Curie, all were insane.

Each one of these people failed at least once in their attempts. Some failed 100 times or even 1000 times. But can we deny that their names remain etched in our minds when we talk of success and successful people in the world? What if they had given up on their dream projects? What if, they did not show the tenacity to continue their passion in spite of failure and ridicule? It’s scary even to think that we would not have electric bulbs, Microsoft, Disney, Apple then.

You know, why did all these people succeed in spite of failures and their part of struggles? It’s because they did not give up. It’s because their visualization was so strong that others could not see what they saw. It’s because they knew they can; it's due to their tenacity to keep on doing things, though small, with dedication and belief. It’s because they were true innovators and entrepreneurs who could think much ahead of their times. It’s because of the attitude of people like Edison, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. I found 1000 ways of how not to make a light bulb”.

How many of us have succeeded in what we tried in the first attempt? Not many, right. This proves that success is not an easy sweet. It cannot be attained in one day. There are exceptions where people become successful easily. But when it comes to running a business or any other tough task, it takes a lot of patience and needs many attempts. And to remain glued to the task, one requires the attitude to never give up. Now, this is called tenacity. When it comes to business, tenacity is very important. It is not a skill but a trait and it goes hand in hand with various other traits in successful people. Not to mistake it, tenacity is not burning out oneself completely. It simply means the quality or fact of being very determined. That is persistence.

The Tenacious e-commerce seller

It’s not about raising your hands to give up. It’s about remaining unfazed during each episode of failure. This is usually among people who are focussed on their major goal, and who love what they do. Let’s understand it with an example. So here there is a new seller on those eCommerce sites. He opened his account, completed all the business-related formalities, and listed all his products very well. Now he is waiting for his orders online with the hope that he will sell all his inventories within a week or so. One week goes by, the second week goes by, the third, fourth, and even the fifth has gone. Still, he did not receive a single order. He started with the incredible hope that he will see great profit in a week. He had heard people saying so about eCommerce. In reality, this happens to a few.

So what most entrepreneurs would do? They would rather give up saying, eCommerce is not for them. But our hero did not. He decided to stick with it. He tried to understand why did not receive any orders. What does he need to do now to drive traffic to his listing? He tried reaching the root cause of the issue. He found out that his sales did not materialize because his products did not rise up in the customers’ search results. That he needs to find out great keywords to describe his products and that he needs to do some search engine optimization now. He is not a computer engineer of course. But he did not give up. He hired somebody who would help him in this task while he did the rest of the things. He is enjoying the process and he is optimistic that the issues will get resolved. So it did in a few days’ time.

So what did we learn from this? That tenacity is about telling oneself that you are in love with your work. You are passionate about your job and that you will overcome all obstacles. Our hero did not leave his night’s sleep or become frustrated. But he dealt with every issue with patience and sense. It did not matter to him that he did not sell any product for weeks. He knew that if he resolves the issues, things may work out. He remained optimistic.

How to keep your tenacity levels high

Tenacity revolves around your love for something. So it is important to find out what you love. Remember, anything you are curious about or you love doing becomes an enjoyable process. You do not have to struggle to keep yourself going!

When one thing does not work, keep looking out for an alternative way of doing it. If you are serious about something, you will always find a way. That is why it is being said, ‘where there is a will, there is a way!’. If your goals are too big, break them and set micro tasks where you might only need some micro-level tenacity. Soon micro-level tenacity will turn into macro one. So if you want to know you are tenacious enough to build a business, ask yourself whether you are passionate about the idea you have picked up. Let the world discourage you, and be against you. If you believe in your idea, give a huge smile and say, I can. Just keep visualizing your final goal and keep working. You will succeed.

Four Important Milestones in Entrepreneurship: Launching a Business and Growing it

Ever wondered why half of the new businesses fail. What causes many businesses to bring shutters down just after launch? Of course, there are things that might go against it. Sometimes it’s the market volatility, sometimes it’s due to some unforeseen calamities like the coronavirus epidemic. Some businesses fail due to poor timing of the launch. There can be a slew of reasons that are outside our control. Even when things are in control, the majority of small businesses fail. This is because launching a business and growing it are two different things. Launching, I would say is far simpler. It is like kick-starting your bike to go on a journey to a destination. Scaling or growing is difficult. There are many milestones that entrepreneurs should reach to continue journeying.

Businesses need to be looked at from a practical perspective rather than a theoretical one. Like I had said in my earlier blog, in entrepreneurship, every day is a new day and new learning. Hitting a new milestone every day or every few months is very crucial in growing a business. You need to look into growing your network of clients, work on the scaling of operations, marketing your company and its products, acquire more funds, etc. It is now converting your business into a profitable model. You must work upon your milestones now. There are a few entrepreneurial milestones that every new business must look forward to achieving to successfully converge into growth.

Milestone 1: Work on a creating a profitable business model

What regular textbooks teach is that entrepreneurs should find answers to these questions: What is it that your client requires? How would you give that value to your client at the right cost? And finally, why do you want to be in this business? Till you know your clients' needs, how would you give them what they need? And these would determine your 'why'. 'Why' is not about profit but why means your purpose. What’s your cause, your belief? Why does your organization exist? This is the outside-in approach. Most businesses work on this model of growing a business. I would not say that this is flawed. It may work, it may not. But if you ever happen to observe successful companies on earth, they work inside out. They ask why, how, and what.

Why do you think Apple is so successful? Why do you think Apple is more innovative? Year after year after year, they are more innovative than all their competitors. Why is it that they seem to have something different? They are like every other computer company, yet they are market leaders. So what is Apple’s business model? Apple communicates like this: Everything we do, we believe in changing the status quo, we believe in thinking differently (why). The way we change the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use, and user-friendly (how). We just happen to make great computers (what) Would you like to buy one? And that’s why not only computers but everything they make gets sold. That’s why they make profits. People don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it. So the message to my entrepreneur friends is, 'work on creating a profitable business model that answers inside out'. Your goal is not just to sell to people who need what you have, the goal is to sell to people who believe what you believe. This is what will make your business profitable.

Milestone 2: Work on bringing the right kind of people around

When you first launched your business, it may be that you started out all alone. You were one in all managing everything like a superhero. But now that you want to grow, your next milestone must be to grow your network of partners. You may now need to build networks with individuals and organizations that relate to your business. This means you need to work with your suppliers, your product wholesalers, and retailers. Start networking to find out the right people that will feed your business uninterrupted.

Milestone 3: Work upon growing your operations

Once your business starts showing signs of growth in sales, you might need to expand upon your operations. You need to fine-tune production processes to ensure quality, hold down the costs of materials and labor, and cut costs that don’t add value to the finished product. You also need to build a good workforce. Let us get back to the earlier milestone, to explain why you need to start with why. Because your goal is not just to hire people who need a job, it’s to hire people who believe what you believe. If you hire people just because they can do a job, they will work for your money, but if you hire people who believe what you believe, they will work for you with blood and sweat, and tears. So start finding people who understand your purpose, your mission, and your goal. Get in place managers who are experts in marketing, fundraising, operations management, sales, etc. Surrounding yourself with the right workforce; the right kind of people will help you grow your business. Ours is a competitive business world. Hence you need to stay ahead in terms of technology too. Invest in technologies and software that can help your business run more effectively.

Milestone 4: Secure your authority in the industry

Now, that you have placed everything in place, it’s obvious that things are working in your favor. You have started reaping profit in terms of growth of sales. Your next target should be to become a leader in your area of work. Let yourself be known in the industry. Create the type of content that your industry requires and publicize your business. Arrange local events or be a part of local events that allow you to showcase the expertise you have in your business. Become a member of the groups that have a hold on the market. Engage with the leaders to become one among them.

Entrepreneurship is a journey, a process. As you grow, you will become a confident and astute business person. Your business can be one among the list of top-performing businesses in the world. Keep setting milestones in your journey and keep trying to achieve those with sheer focus and determination. Keep growing!

Five simple steps to start a small proprietary business from scratch

 

If you are thinking of having a business of your own, and you want some tips to go about, I would like to share with you a few. Starting a proprietorship firm is one of the easiest ways to get into a business. It has its own pros and cons. If one has no experience and wants to get started somewhere, a proprietorship firm is definitely a good choice. Just to inform my readers, the internet is flooded with so many articles that explain the procedure of starting businesses with all those theoretical explanations, strong bullet points on the importance of powerful business plans, finance plans, marketing plans, and whatnot. Often such things, make us so nervous, and we think, ‘Oh it’s too difficult a task’. Trust me, when I started out, I got completely overwhelmed by a whole lot of information. It’s great that people are writing so great articles on starting a business from scratch. But, from my personal experience, I believe that one need not scratch his brains out. At a practical level, things unfold as and when we take the first step, and we progress step by step. We get the way out. Just look around in the vicinity. Your nearby salon owner, fast-food joint person, beauty parlor lady, and laundry owner! Each of them is an entrepreneur and a small business owner. I bet if they ever read so many things before they started out. So here are some tips to keep yourself at ease and focus on building a small proprietary business from scratch.

Jog your brain, and look around to find your business idea

If you have got an idea or a passion that you want to turn into a business, great you have already taken the first step. If you are yet to find one, start finding one now. It is easier than you think. We live in a world of 7.9 Billion people. And the good news is that there are only around 213 million companies worldwide. So look around, research, google it, and talk to people about their needs. I am sure, you will find many great business ideas. Select the one that you think you can jumpstart with. It does not matter whether you found the monopoly idea, the monopolistic one, or the perfectly competitive business type. No need to reinvent the wheel. Anything is great, if you are ready to say “Come what may, I will not give up. I am ready to rock and roll”. To help you out from scratch, I have a few profitable start-up options for you.

Consulting, Freelancing, Blogging

Grooming, Personal training

Cookery Classes

DIY craft making such as candles, soap, and cosmetic making

Designing

Snacks Joint, Juice Points

Costumes for different occasions on rent

Tailoring, embroidering

Daycare services

Event planner, travel agency

Beauty salon

Boutique

Yoga, fitness center

Organic farming, mushroom farming

Tiffin services

Home chocolate making

Laundry shop

Pickle-papad making

Food processing

SEO Expert services

Stock market trading

Repair and service shops

Poultry, Fisheries, Piggery, Dairying

Ayurvedic products retailer

And the list can go on and on. So look for things that people around you are seeking solutions for.

Give Identity to your business

Select a good name for your business and register it. You may also register your business in your own name. Register your proprietorship firm with Government portals. Though GST registration is not mandatory for businesses below Rs. 12 Lakh a year in India, I would recommend you go for it. It will help you in long run. You will also have the added benefit of getting a certification. If you plan to do e-commerce business then, you will require GST registration number. However, for businesses below Rs. 12 Lakh per annum run from brick-and-mortar shop, GST is not mandatory. You also have the option to enroll yourself on the Udyam Portal. For registration, one would require a few documents like Aadhar Card, PAN Card, Bank Account Details, proof of ownership of the premise which may include an electricity bill or any other such bill. A trade license is also something you should acquire if you want to serve in a particular locality or an area. For individuals who want to start their business related to food or food items, FSSAI registration is necessary. Nowadays, things are very simple and can be done online. A little computer literacy is enough.

Money matters. Source your products, raw materials, and supplies well.

What you need to do now is arrange some money. If you don’t have any, don’t worry. Borrow some from family, friends, or relatives. Handling money for your business needs is great art. With time, you will become good at it. When you have just started, you must know that the thing that determines your profitability in business is the price of your inputs. The lower the price of your raw materials or your input costs, the more profit you make. As a manufacturer of a certain product, you must always consider your raw material price. For example, if you are into handmade soap manufacturing, you need to buy oils, fragrances, colors, molds, etc. Go for the seller who offers the best price. The same goes for the retailer also. If you are dealing in a readymade product, work on your prospective manufacturers and wholesalers. Considering the example, sort out the wholesaler or manufacturer of a variety of soaps offering a good deal. Bargaining is crucial. There are some great wholesale markets in India and everything is just a phone call away. You need not even visit them. Just get some samples. If satisfied with the rest of the things like quality and price, you are ready to source these. Online platforms such as Indiamart are great sources to contact your suppliers. One thing necessary to remember is that cutting down on costs should not mean compromising quality. Remember that quality, along with the competitive price will determine the growth prospects of your business. People in service-providing businesses like consulting are free from the headache related to cutting down on input costs. But then they need to be competitive in terms of offering their services, especially when several others in the vicinity are also in the same business.

Congratulations! You are ready to sell

Once you are done with the manufacture or procurement of the products, you are ready to sell. You can now sell your products and services in various ways. Thanks to e-commerce and social media platforms, you can go for these, other than physical stores. When it comes to selling your products through e-commerce platforms, all you need to do is enroll your business on any of the platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, Craftsvilla, and Meesho. There are many these days. Register your business, and list your products. Thumbs up! you are online. Wait for your very first order now. Soon you will receive one. Consultancy businesses! start making websites, YouTube videos, and Instagram reels, or launch a channel on your niche. Take the help of someone or do it on your own. Provide good content. Flyby viewers will soon become your permanent customers. For businesses who are offering products and services on the physical front, rest assured, anything that’s displayed, gets attention and sells well. The best part is that you get to have direct interaction with your customer.

Final Words! Keep learning

Now on, start reading and understanding what more your customer wants, and what you need to change in your offering that your customer would love to have. Remember business is all about learning new things every day. Keep your eyes and mind open to understand the pulse further. Keep adding, keep improving. This is how small businesses grow. All is not at once. If you have worked on branding, and packaging beforehand, good, you have done a great job. If not, don’t worry, it’s not too late. You can work on these aspects now. Good branding and attractive packaging will give you an edge. Visualize your business growing leaps and bounds. May read my earlier blog on the power of positive visualization for success https://uphill-campaign.blogspot.com/2022/04/entrepreneurs-make-power-of-positive.html . A final word of wisdom my friends. Success never comes overnight. So be patient.