Enterprise Nation

In prepping for a presentation to a class of young and eager students, I started to think about what’s required to be successful in business. The result is my list of five things that every business owner should have.

Business success comes from having… 

• A vision
  This is the starting point. Have a vision of the kind of business you want to build, the type of customers you want to serve and the qualities for which you want to become known. This vision will become clearer as the business develops but it’s essential to start with something as it will guide you along the way.
• Passion
  You just gotta’ love what you do. Fortunately every business owner I’ve ever met says they do. What amazed me is that the students for whom all this prepping was done said they thought people started businesses just to make money.

‘Oh no’ I said. ‘You’re quite wrong. The people who build the best businesses are driven by a passion for their trade. Money is a fortunate by-product.’

• Patience
  Great businesses take time to build. Time to attract repeat customers, time to develop new products and time to create a strong brand.

My favourite tale of patience comes from the two founders of highly successful sandwich chain, Pret a Manger. They spent 7 years running a first outlet before launching a second. After that, the growth curve went crazy. Time spent perfecting the model at the beginning was time well spent.     

• A support network
  In business, you have great days and not such great days. It’s this variety that makes business such a thrill. What’s important is to have a network of friends and family who are there to celebrate with you, listen when need be, and offer a hug on demand.
• Self-belief
  This is possibly the most important. Believe in yourself. Believe you can turn that idea into a business. Believe you can win that all-important customer. Believe you can get the feature in the press. Believe you can achieve all that you set out to.. and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

With these things in hand, success will be yours. – Emma Jones