It all depends on the individual or should I say the assumed entrepreneur. Some see business as a place for their daily survival. Wake up to your office or workshop as the case may be, open it up and wait for luck or consistency to play out as it may fit, get the money, feed yourself and your related problems. Perhaps whatever is left over can be reinvested and the cycle continues the same.
Of course I know that it is not everyone that will be able to do business at TOP level. Nevertheless, I will always say, even as a kiosk owner, you need to have business standards and vision unless just as earlier mentioned, business is not your thing, you are just surviving with it for NOW.
When I jumped into the entrepreneurship boat, my vision was to do business at world standard level. Of course I may not reach the likes of Elon Musk yet shooting for the moon has this advantages, you will probably land on the stars. We are not there yet but every baby step counts. Owning a business as a brand is not a day job. There are a lot of things to be considered. Starting from the shore, your financial intelligence will be put to test, your resilience will follow. Selling expensive things is one thing, having expensive buyers is another. What am I trying to say here?.
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Without doubts, quality has a price, nevertheless with a pressurizing economy and market, can you still stand for quality? When imitation enters a company, it's downfall is sneaking in gradually. This is what I have tried to consider, it is even better to start low and upgrade rather than start high and degrade.
Brand is beyond what you do
entrepreneurs need to get this right, good business goes beyond what you do. Maintaining a brand is centered on you giving close attention to this statement. A brand is known for three things; 'what it used to do, what it is doing and what it will continue to do'. When quality and value becomes outdated then your brand has been tampered with. I have a customer who used to love doing business with us. He later moved out of the state to a much farther one and even before he left, he wished we could get a branch from where he is relocating to. Of course, we can't just zoom out like that inasmuch as his idea was visionary. Till date after a year, he still sends us messages that we remain the best in service and customer relationship.
You must let your customer know that the quality you offer is not a mistake but rather your way of business. As I said, it is not an easy task. I have had such days when quality was challenged when the economy started to tumble. Increasing service price was the next option although I had some level of fear that I might lose some customers. I must say, I was taking the quality I was delivering for granted. How did I know, I was still in business, in short, I felt I should have done that a little earlier. I achieved two things in the process, a fitting service price and a well sieved customer base. Doing something is one thing, doing it very well is another. I have come to realize, quality does not hide, at least not for long.
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It is always pressuring at the early stages. It may bring some early loss yet the bounce back is always worth it. A brand is a business environment where their customers happily pay for products or services irrespective of the cost. Business is satisfaction and when that is not attained, I feel you are duping. Realizing how you want your business to function should be your early insight. The market has become very competitive yet those who know how to play their cards are still thriving.
It is one of those things I keep saying, the future of business belongs to brands, the rest will be swept away or likely be settling for crumbs. This is happening already yet not on its full scale. The fact here is that entrepreneurs need to realize what their business aims to solve from now and the next two decades. Having such a vision will trigger 'the branding mentality'.
To conclude, let me add, business and entrepreneurship will continue to be a ground for knowledge display. Only those who know what they need in this sector will survive. All the big names your are hearing today, from Amazon, to Alibaba, Google and the rest of the likes have mastered 'the brand mentality'. There is a space for upcoming entrepreneurs even as we speak, opportunities are sprouting. Pitch your business tent, keep to standards even in pressuring time, a good business sells because it is a brand.