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The Place of Entrepreneurship Competence in Business Success and National Development

The pivotal position occupied by entrepreneurship as a sustainable tool for rapid economic growth and development of a country cannot be over emphasized. This is evident in several available literatures written by scholars on the subject matter but a closer examination of these literatures show tilted emphasis and concentrations on some common areas relating to entrepreneurship.

Increasing competitions, rapid and constant changes in internal and external environment of business activities, and the significant influence of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) on the economy generally have resulted in a growing interest in studying the role of factors stimulating successful entrepreneurship, business success and national development.

Though, entrepreneurship, have played and can play more of these positive roles, is not an easy vocation as it does not always guarantee a hundred per cent triumph. There are several critical areas of knowledge and factors that must be acquired and put in place to enable entrepreneurs achieve a measure of business success and consequently contributing to national development.

Several researches have been conducted in areas of entrepreneurship competency, entrepreneurship success and national development.

Most literatures relating to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship success tend to unquestionably argue that most entrepreneurial fiascos are essentially due to inadequate financial resources (e.g. Adeyemo and Onikoyi, 2012). Such research outcomes have no doubt influenced government policy direction in many developed and developing countries of the world through the creation of financial agencies and provision of financial resources to business units for the sole purpose of boosting and sustaining entrepreneurial development for rapid national development.

The above, policy strategy unfortunately has led to the continuous negligence on the part of the government, scholars and business operators in these countries to considering other vital factors like entrepreneurial competency which equally contributes to successful entrepreneurship, business success and national development.

The current literatures on the subject do not provide sufficient explanations to the role general and/or specific competences play in successful entrepreneurship, business success and national development. This has thus, made the relationship between entrepreneurial competence and entrepreneurship success to be important topic within organizational literatures. The above fact is evident in several available studies done by scholars on the subject matter (e.g Crook, Todd, Combs, Woehr, and Ketchen, 2011; Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2010; Inyang and Enuoh, 2009; Laguna, Wiechetek, and Talik, 2013 e.t.c).

Many of these studies identified entrepreneurship competences like communication competence, financial competence, marketing competence, business ethics competence, social responsibility competence, decision-making competence and leadership competence as catalysts to entrepreneurship success and national development. We shall be duelling on our discussion more on these entrepreneurial competences to see how they individually contribute to successful entrepreneurship, business success and national development.

As said earlier at the beginning, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship success play strategic roles in economic growth, economic transformation and development of the society. These roles are noticeable in the numbers of jobs created, the level of wealth generated and the rate of indigenous entrepreneurship promoted in several countries around the world.

There is no doubt that government of the world have put great efforts in promoting entrepreneurship development, business success and economic development through provision of financial resources directly or otherwise through various agencies and under different terms and conditions, this fact prompt one to ask a question of high concern.

Why are there still high rate of business failure around the world? Without much thinking, the failures are due mainly to entrepreneurial incompetency of those concerned with making the daily business decisions of these businesses. Many business failures can be said to be and are largely attributed to lack of entrepreneurial competence.

Most of the businesses failed unknowingly even before there are started because of lack of one of the required competence; project evaluation and management. This does not therefore; make it surprising while entrepreneurship competence has often been identified as the missing link for successful entrepreneurship, business failure and consequently crawling national development and in some instances stalled economy. What then is entrepreneurship competence?

Before we proceed to defining and explaining entrepreneurship competence and understand the contextual meaning in which it is employed in this writing with simplicity, it will be very imperative to first and foremost comprehend what entrepreneurship is.

Entrepreneurship may be defined as the process through which something new and valuable is created through the dedication and effort of someone who takes on financial, psychological, and social risks and seeks personal satisfaction and monetary rewards (Hisrich & Peters 1986).

European Commission, (2006) defined Entrepreneurship as a dynamic and social process where individuals, alone or in collaboration, identify opportunities for innovation and act upon these by transforming ideas into practical and targeted activities, whether in a social, cultural or economic context.

Critical assessment of the above two definitions summarized the concept of entrepreneurship by stressing creation processes and performance of targeted activities. Entrepreneurship as defined above is not necessarily limited to the roles and characters of entrepreneurship involving creativity, innovation and risk taking, and most importantly, the ability to plan, manage projects and to turn ideas into action in order to achieve set objectives for successful entrepreneurship. But, it requires tact, art and competency to achieve winning edge success.

Entrepreneurship success is a multidimensional phenomenon. It includes multiple criteria of financial characters like profit maximization, revenue maximization, dividend maximization as in the case of shareholders etc., and non-financial characters for example larger share of market, customer satisfaction, perpetual enterprise existence etc. To achieve success in any of the following sections, one must be competent in his/her chosen area of enterprise.

Entrepreneur competence can therefore be defined as the cluster of related knowledge, attitudes, and skills which an entrepreneur must acquire or possess to achieve an outstanding performance and optimize the business objective(s) amidst several constraints. Every job/role has a skill and competency requirement. Every career like entrepreneurship draws on the competence of an individual. For every entrepreneurial undertaking one needs certain competencies. Entrepreneurship competence is simply the skill which an individual needs to do an allotted entrepreneurial job successfully.

Entrepreneurship competence constitutes a cluster of related knowledge, attitudes, and skills, which an individual acquires and uses together, to produce outstanding performance in any given area of entrepreneurial responsibility. Some of these competences may be general and some peculiar to the chosen areas of enterprise. We may describe competences to mean abilities and skills, for a teacher or a performing artist, for example, it is the skill to communicate that plays a decisive role in their effectiveness besides, of course, their knowledge. For a craftsman or an artist, it is the creativity and skill in the chosen craft.

In like manner, entrepreneurial competences are critical success factors required for successful entrepreneurship, business success and of course national development. The subject thus, deserves solemn attention in entrepreneurial discourse and not to be neglected. There is no substitute for entrepreneurship competence for successful entrepreneurship, not even abundant financial resources can. There is no doubt as explained, entrepreneurial competence play important role in any successful entrepreneurial activities.

The following are some of the necessary entrepreneurial competences required for successful entrepreneurship and rapid national development. We shall be discussing below 8 of the basic essential entrepreneurial competence for successful business.

1. Time Management competence: Time is an economic good; it is an economic good worthy of effective and efficient management because of it scarce nature (Dan-Abu, 2015). Time is unique, unlike any other economic resources (input) such that it has no wing but can “fly”. Time is irreplaceable and irreversible. Time lost is lost forever and can never be recovered, and by that I it includes, time lost doing insignificant things. This is why few things are more important to an entrepreneur and for successful entrepreneurship than learning how to save and spend time wisely. One major causes of entrepreneurship failure in relation to time management is doing too many things at the same time in an inefficient manner.

To achieve more and be successful in the day to day running of an enterprise, the entrepreneur must be thoroughly equipped with time management skill. Investing and practicing effective and efficient time management skill is a profitable investment for every entrepreneur, since every efficient business act is a success in itself. It therefore means that, if every single act of entrepreneurial activity is undertaken with consistent efficient one, the enterprise as a whole must be a success.

Time management involve among others practices, commitment to work contract and taking personal pains to complete a task on schedule, this will promote confidence and loyalty on your business/organization and will thus led to winning of more contracts from clients again and again; prioritizing of task based on urgency and importance in relation to a project activities and delegating of task to subordinates.

Some common time consuming activities include slow decision making, inability to delegate, unnecessary interruptions, failed appointments, delays while traveling, poorly conducted meetings, procrastination, etc.

2. Communication competence: Communication is a two-way process characterized by sending and receiving of messages through a channel between sender and receiver. This may be verbal or non-verbal for example, telephone call and procurement proposal respectively. Good communication skill is an indispensable management tool for a successful entrepreneurship. It is through communication that procurements are made, business products/services are sold, business objectives are discussed, employees are recruited etc.

Communication competence is very important to the survival and success of every organization, this is regardless of whether the organization is a profit or non-profit making, private or public enterprise, involved in provision of services or sales of products, online or offline business etc. Communication competence is so vital to successful entrepreneurship that it goes beyond inter-personal communication; of course this too is indispensable to the success of the entrepreneur’s business.

A winning communication competence in an enterprise will help in disseminating circulars, minutes, letters and memos effectively reaching every intending individual, team or unit in an organization. It also facilitates efficiency through the saving of cost involved in sending and receiving the messages on the part of both the organization and the employees. Communication competence in enterprising organizations will facilitate large turn out and compliance when meetings are called or directives are given to be followed respectively.

Communication competence in like manner can speed up the time taken to make merchandize procurement in period of high demand; this can help the concerned firm increase profit during the period of shortages and high demand.

Developing and employing good communication skill in an organization will definitely lead to two fold success; the firm will be able to benefit from internal interactions among persons, departments and units, and externally benefit from interactions between it and the business transacting partners (outside world). We can therefore say in summary that, there is no business without communication.

3. Human Resources Management Competence: The relevance of human resources management competence to successful entrepreneurship, business success and national development cannot be over stressed. Though materials and capital are of equivalent importance to the entrepreneur, they are inanimate and unemotional; they demand no understanding of human requirements and inspirations for their effective utilization unlike human resources which need good and competent human resources management skill by the entrepreneur to successfully utilize it to optimum level in productive activities.

Human resources of some enterprise are the most difficult to obtain, the most expensive to maintain and the hardest to retain. Without the acquisition and practicing of effective and efficient human resource management skills, the capital resources earlier mentioned will not be effectively used. Generally, small and medium scale enterprises often managed by an entrepreneur do not have the luxury of human resource department that can interview, hire and evaluate employees.

Most of these decisions taking regarding the above are the responsibility of the entrepreneur and perhaps one or two other key employees. This is good why human resources management competence is important for successful entrepreneurship and national development. As the firm grows, there will be need to hire new employees; entrepreneur must follow important procedures for interviewing, hiring, evaluating and preparing job description for new employees. Instituting an effective organizational culture is best implemented when an entrepreneur is competent in human resources management.

4. Marketing Management Competence: The success of every enterprise involves selling of products/services; this is largely enabled through good marketing management, it is therefore imperative for an entrepreneur to have good marketing management skills.

Ebitu (2005:196) concord, that marketing is crucial to the survival and growth of any organization. It is through marketing that revenues used for bills settlement, assets acquisition, pursuing of business diversification and expansion objectives, settlement of dividend and tax liabilities and social responsibility projects are generated. The entrepreneur in developing good marketing strategies and marketing management competence must be conversant with and employ the four marketing mix of place, promotion, price and product.

5. Adherence to Business Ethics Competence: Every business has its ethics. Ethics deals with moral ability and obligations. It can be defined as a system of rules and principles that define right and wrong, good and bad conduct and the ordering of values in undertaking business activities in society. Business ethics is sometimes called management ethics, and it is the application of ethical principles to business relationships and activities.

Business ethics is becoming a subject of intense concern for society, which is now demanding that organizations should operate responsibly and uphold very high ethical standards to improve the quality of life of the people. Entrepreneurs, in light of the above, need to be competent in dealing with different public policies, trade union’s established standards and norms and customers’ concerns for high quality work for successful entrepreneurship.

6. Financial Management Competence: Every business enterprise requires capital with which to start and continue with its operations. Capital here means two things; money (finance) needed to start and operate the business and assets representing the resources provided by owners (equity) and creditors of the business (liabilities).

Mbat (2001:3) defines financial management as the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the firm’s financial resources. Finance is the blood at the centre of any successful business enterprise, one of the features common to successful entrepreneurs is their ability to source for funds for their enterprise. The funds mobilized internally or externally have to be properly managed to ensure that at any point in time, there is adequate funds to cater for the day to day running of the enterprise.

Most entrepreneurial failures are due to the inability of the entrepreneurs to effectively distribute and manage funds. For example, an entrepreneur needs to acquire knowledge on financial management issues like anticipation of financial needs for the enterprise, fund raising sources, cost of raising fund from external sources, acquisition of funds, allocation of funds in order to yield optimum result through identification and maintenance of correct proportion of the firm’s finances in areas of savings, insurance and investments policy of the enterprise.

The important of financial management competence to achieving entrepreneurship and business success cannot be over stressed. We have seen many at times when financially buoyant “start-ups” crumble down to pieces after successful take off because of financial management incompetence of the management, caused by tied up funds as they watch helplessly as the business dive into ocean of failure due to lack of reserve funds to successfully execute contracts or perform business operation.

Leadership Competence: leadership can be defined as the ability to influence and motivate other person or group of persons towards achieving a shared a set objective. Leadership competence is also another important single factor determining business success or failure in our competitive, turbulent, fast moving, free global market economy.

According to Ilesanmi, (2000: 187) successful entrepreneurs are successful leaders; they have power and motivate the entrepreneurial venture. The ability to produce the necessary leadership is the key determinant of achievement in all-human activities, the quality of leadership is therefore a decisive strength or weakness of any successful entrepreneurial endeavour.

Successful entrepreneurship requires creative, unique leadership qualities and personal styles. It involve seeking opportunities, initiating projects, gathering the physical, financial and human resources needed to carry out projects, setting goals for self and others, directing and guiding others to accomplish goals. Effective leadership is therefore a powerful tool required for successful entrepreneurship, business success and national development. Good leadership competence helps an entrepreneur to turn his/her business vision into reality.

7. Social Responsibility Competence: The establishment of every business enterprise is backed up by the profit motive. It is the profit that drives entrepreneurs to starting businesses, motivate shareholders into buying shares and private capital owners into investing their capital in a company. The profit motive though leads to the production of goods and services; the entrepreneur’s business venture also has the responsibility to embark on certain projects within and outside its operating environment as part of its social obligations.

Businesses should not only be concerned about the quality of goods and services they produce to generate profit but must also pursue policies that sell their enterprises by contributing to the quality of life in their operational environment. The business operators have responsibility to protect and improve society. Their actions during production and marketing should not in any way endanger the community or society. Entrepreneur can earn more profit by displaying high degree of corporate responsiveness, which is the ability of an organization to relate its operations and policies to the environment in ways that are mutually beneficial to the organization and the society.

The entrepreneur for example needs to make contribution to community development, product safety, employment generation, ethical business practices, and contribution towards educational activities in the community of operation. An enterprise for example can award scholarships to students, create opportunity for apprenticeship training and so on. Undertaking some of these social responsibilities may endear the entrepreneur’s enterprise to its host community; enhance his image and social standing, and consequently contributing significantly to his business success.

8. Decision making Competence: Decision making is very important to the success of an entrepreneur, this skill is at the core of every successful entrepreneurial activities. Decision making is the process of selecting a line of action from available alternatives. This selection process may be very difficult especially when the available alternatives are numerous or the decisions to be made or chosen from are risky ones.

Many potential entrepreneurs have difficulties in bringing their ideas to the market and creating a new business because making a decision is one thing and making the right decision in a given circumstance is another. The actual making of effective entrepreneurial decisions has resulted in several new businesses being started throughout the world by those having this decision making skill necessary for successful entrepreneurship.

An entrepreneur makes decision on a daily basis and therefore has to acquire adequate knowledge and skills in decision making to enable him/her make the right decisions.

Most of the entrepreneurial competences have been studied in isolation and with little effort to recognizing their mutual relationships to entrepreneurship success and business success. In a study aimed at explaining entrepreneurial competences in order to rank them according to the level of their importance to successful entrepreneurship by Edgar, Dirk and Danny, (2005) shows that, entrepreneurs on one hand considered decision making the most important competence while scholars in their different writings are in support of identifying business opportunities competence as the most important when embarking on an entrepreneurial venture.

In another study aimed at explaining how general and specific managerial competencies relate to the business success of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) by Laguna, Wiechetek, and Talik, (2013) proved that general and specific managerial competency is significant predictor of success in running a business. They further stated that specific managerial competency demonstrated to be a mediator between general competence and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) success.

In a similar study conducted by Rosária de Fatima Segger Macri Russo and Roberto Sbragia, (2010) who opined that the operational responsibilities of a project manager (planning and controlling) are in stark contrast to the characteristics of an entrepreneur. In light of the above contradictory viewpoint, their research which was directed at assessing whether managers showing entrepreneurial characteristics are associated with more successful projects or not found within their study sample an empirical evidence supported their hypothesis that the possibility of a given project having a successful outcome increases with the enterprising tendency of its manager.

After critically examining the necessary entrepreneurial competences required for successful entrepreneurship, business success and rapid national development. It will be important to quickly add here that no single or sets of entrepreneurship competence are more important to the other. It is only through the combination of the competences that an entrepreneur can achieve maximum business success.

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Mitchelmore, S. and Rowley, J. (2010). Entrepreneurial competencies: A literature review and development agenda. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 16: 92-111.

Rosária de Fatima Segger Macri Russo and Roberto Sbragia, (2010). The enterprising manager and project performance. Journal of Project, Program & Portfolio Management. Vol 1 No. 1 (2010) 28-40

Ilesanmi, O.A. (2000). Entrepreneurial development. (1st Ed). Ilorin, Nigeria: Kola Success Publications.

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Dan-Abu Michael N., (2015). Time as an Economic Good. Rational Minds Magazine

How to Start a Plumbing Business

So, you want to start a plumbing business. This could be a terrific decision, or, it could be the worst idea ever. Starting a plumbing business, or any business really, involves a certain amount of structured thinking to put everything in place, and making sure that you have thought of everything. By following this strategy planning process, you will have covered all the important aspects of getting your planning and strategy in the right place, and this will make the starting of your own plumbing business some 450% more successful.

The Strategy Required to Start Any Business

Starting a plumbing business, a bakery, or a high-tech company all requires the same basic thinking strategy. To remember it best, use the EASI acronym. In this case, E stands for emotion, A for achieving a win, S for simple and straightforward and I for the implementation.

Everybody wanting to start a business should be aware that it is going to involve plenty of challenges, hardships, stress, worry, and a multitude of other issues. The process of starting a business has often been likened to jumping off a cliff, and building an aeroplane on the way down. It will mean sleepless nights, long working hours and the unwavering support of family and friends around you. This is real, and the reason so many start-up businesses fail.

The first step, therefore, is to examine the reasons that you want to start the business in the first place. This involves an examination of the emotions, or feeling behind the rationale of starting your own plumbing business. Everyone will have their own reasons for wanting to start their business. It may be as a last resort as they are unable to find employment in the field, it may be that they hate having a boss, it may be that they want to become extraordinarily wealthy. Whatever the reason, it is essential that the owners of the business, if there are more than one, are aware of the strength of their emotions regarding the venture. This will determine the power of the motivation, the real forces behind the venture, and, with the aid of a skilled consultant, allow the prospective business owners to determine if their vessel will survive the storms on the ocean, or if there needs to be some additional emotional management included.

The second item speaks to the vision, or goal of the organisation. A prospective plumbing business may have as its goal to be a loss leader and therefore a tax write-off. It may be that achieving a win with the business would be familial survival, or putting children through school. Either way, all the owners need to be able, collaboratively, to understand what the goal is and to have a combined vision of the business that everyone can buy into. Without this shared vision, any subsequent planning and strategizing will ultimately be negated and sporadic, with everyone involved having different goals and aims, instead of pulling together in the right direction.

Keep Things Simple and Straightforward

It does not take any real skill to make things more complex. The real genius in any situation is to make things more simple. This line of thinking is propagated by all the top entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. Albert Einstein often used to say that if you couldn’t explain a thing to a six-year-old, you didn’t understand it yourself. In light of this strategic thinking, the next piece of advice is to keep all your plans and strategies simple and straightforward. Set a goal that everyone involved, all the stakeholders, can buy into. See where you currently are, and plan a way to get to that goal that all concerned can understand, appreciate, and take ownership of.

The final step in setting up a new plumbing business is to implement the strategy. Without a rigorous implementation strategy and plan, all the goal-setting and personal examination of business vision and motivation will just become a distant wish. Implementation plans fall into five basic categories; overall business strategy, financial planning, human resources and communications, sales and marketing, and project management. All businesses must be able to conduct planning with respect to these five regions of business expertise in order to be successful.

Implementing Your Plumbing Business Strategy

The first step in initiating the plan within all the five sectors that need examination is to complete a real, practical, and genuine business plan. Having gone through the initial strategic thinking process as outlined above, compiling an overall business plan should be relatively easy. Nevertheless, failing to spend sufficient time aligning a business plan to the strategy will mean that the business is also likely to fail, because one of the well-known factors in determining business success is that more than 80% of successful businesses have determined their overall strategy in detail, aligned the business plan, gone into each aspect of the business plan in detail, and repeat this strategic thinking process regularly amongst all the stakeholders.

Once the business plan has been compiled in detail, with all the necessary inputs being not only realistic but pragmatic as well, then the detailed considerations in each of the five business aspects can begin. This should dovetail with the business plan, but expand on the details simply stated in the plan to some extent. In the case of a plumbing business as we are considering here, some of the parameters in these five aspects of the business will be examined. Not in an attempt to intimidate any prospective plumbing entrepreneurs, but rather in an attempt to illustrate the importance of this strategic thinking process, and the reasons why it should be conducted in detail, and why utilising effective and experienced business consultants will not only increase the chances of success, but probably save substantial money in the medium to long term.

Five Business Areas to Conduct Planning

These five business areas, as related to a plumbing business, are strategy, financial, sales and marketing, human resources and communications, and projects. Overall strategy has been discussed in some detail, and following the above instructions will guarantee success in this regard.

The financial planning aspect when starting a plumbing business is of crucial importance. A detailed understanding of potential income, and expenditures related to the running of the business need to be examined. Whereas these are obviously tied in the overall strategy, the practical aspects of a plumbing business will need to be added by the stakeholders, using their experience and knowledge of the field. Office premises, the maintenance of stock and supplies, transport, and the ability to survive until the income exceeds the costs needs to be determined. All potential financial considerations, such as stakeholder input, the possibility of generating loans and financial support and receiving up-front payments all need to be planned in great detail.

Income of a plumbing business is directly related to the amount of work undertaken and the charges levied on this work. In an overall sense, the amount of income must exceed the costs of the business, and the aim of any sales and marketing plan is to ensure that this is, in fact, the case. With the advent of social media and the internet, the avenues available to market a business have increased exponentially. The starting point for any plumbing business, like any service related business, is to determine in as much detail as possible who exactly the people are that would be providing the business with revenue. These people, as a whole, are called the buying persona of the business. A plumbing business may, for instance, decide to stay small and provide after-hours services to family and friends, or it may target large corporate projects and tenders. Or anything in between. The better any prospective plumbing organisation understands exactly the behaviour, like, needs, wants, and aims of their prospective market the better they will fare. The example here is that a plumber who caters to the lower end of the economic market would use more print media and posters to advertise the business, while a plumber catering to an upper market segment may elect to use social media more since richer people have smartphones and will be reachable using digital platforms.

Human resources and communications requires detailed planning on its own too. Depending on the structure of the plumbing organisation, and their unique selling points, there may be a customer service department required, or a marketing department if this is the determining factor of achieving business. Planning and structuring the organisation accordingly will depend on the overall aims and vision, but will need to take the entire business plan into consideration.

Plumbing services generally will require on-site operations and the effective management of these operations as individual projects. Good project management is key to any service industry and the basic principles of project management is going to be essential. Once again, though, project management should not be seen as a complex and difficult issue, but rather a simplified and straightforward way of dealing, and communicating with all the stakeholders involved in every project.

The Required Starting Blocks of a Plumbing Business

These steps, as outlined above, if conducted thoroughly and efficiently, with the businesses core vision in mind and a positive collaborative mindset as a starting point, will ensure that the business has a better than 80% chance of success. However, as stated numerous times during this discussion piece, this is not a 5-minute exercise. This is a detailed strategic thinking process that will require honesty and commitment. There are certain things, therefore, that should be borne in mind before even embarking on the strategy process.

The first is an audit of the emotional intelligence of the stakeholders in the plumbing business. Like any service industry, plumbing involves hard work and much on-site work where things can easily go wrong. A high emotional intelligence score amongst the business owners is the best possible indicator of success. Emotional intelligence means being able to cope and manage the stresses and challenges involved, it means training your mind to find solutions in the midst of chaos happening all around you, and it means being able to be an effective leadership team who can steer a business through uncertain times. On the other hand, it does not mean someone who succumbs to the influences of anger or vindictiveness. Emotional intelligence can be learned and improved upon, so it certainly can be developed, but it is key that this quality be determined before initiating any business.

Secondly, there needs to be an understanding that knowledge is vital. The prognosis for a baker who wakes up one morning and sees a plumber friend making lots of money and then decides to start a plumbing business is unfortunately not very good. Plumbing, in order to be successful, needs to be done well. In a highly competitive business environment such as there is today all over the world, any business needs to actually be good at their job to be successful. It is for this reason that it is a prerequisite of starting a plumbing business that the stakeholders at the very least have access to high quality plumbing services. This includes knowing all aspects of the work, the market potential, and the survival rates of their competition. Without this core knowledge, no matter how good the strategizing process and the plans that come out of it, there is no chance of success.

In conclusion, therefore, starting a plumbing business is easy. Starting a plumbing business that is successful and over the short, medium, and long term can deliver on the aims and requirements of the owners is less much less easy. The key differentiator here is having a good, well thought out and innovative strategy, and using this strategy to generate and compile effective implementation plans in the right areas. JFK always used to say that efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction, and so it is with many things, and starting a plumbing business is one of those things.

Your New Woodwrking Business – Knowing What To Charge

When selling your wood projects, what you charge for your final product is an important aspect of your woodworking business. If your prices are too high, you will lose customers, but if your prices are too low you risk the ability of having a profitable business that will provide you with the necessary income. This is a challenge that faces many woodworkers when starting a new woodworking business.

A good formula for determining a good price point for any specific product is to calculate the costs of materials, shop supplies, shop expenses and any subcontractor fees.

The total of these expenses is multiplied by whatever number that gives you a product price that is equal to your anticipated profit and your costs combined. Although this is pretty basic, it can be a little tricky.

Here’s a simple way to calculate all of the cost factors involved.

First, base your material costs on the price of the wood used and add 15% for waste. Add in any cost of fasteners, hardware and shop supplies like sandpaper, thinners, solvents, etc.

The next step is to come up with an overall hourly rate for your shop. The best way to do this is to combine your shop expenses with what you want to charge for your own time and labor.

Start by calculating all your woodworking business shop expenses like rent or mortgage, utilities, machinery maintenance, advertising and any other shop related costs. The easiest way to come up with an hourly figure for your own time is to determine how much you would be earning if you worked for somebody else.

An average month has 4.33 weeks, and if you plan on a 40 hour week that comes out to about 175 hours a month. Add up all of your shop expenses and divide that total by 175. Now take that number and add it to what you want to charge for personal labor and you now have your shop’s hourly rate.

You now have a basic outline of how to calculate prices for any of your products. Here is a simple example:

Let’s keep the numbers simple and assume that your shop expenses are $875.00 each month. That would come out to $5.00 an hour for a 175 hour month.

Now add you’re your personal labor charge. Let’s use $20.00/hour for this example.

So the shop’s hourly labor rate would be:

$5.00 + $20.00 = $25.00

The materials for this project cost $300.00 and the time spent was 30 hours. Your price for the project should be:

($25.00 x 30) + $300.00 = $1050.00

At this point, you need to determine whether or not you are going to add in any amount for your profit margin. This is important to any woodworking business and should be added. The industry standard is 15%.

For this example the profit margin would be 15% of $1050.00 or $157.50 and you would add this to come up with a final price.

$1050.00 + 157.50 = $1207.50 Final Price

This is a pretty basic approach to calculating product costs based on your overall expenses and it is effective. Of course, if your expenses are very low your prices will also be lower and more affordable. On the other hand, high expenses have the opposite effect. A good reputation is very important to your woodworking business, so be fair and give good quality for the money.

How to Start a Beef Jerky Business

Starting a beef jerky business can be as easy as making jerky in your kitchen and selling it at a local farmers market. But it also can be tough to find success and earn a good living at it.

Here are some tips to help you see more clearly what to expect…

1. Government Inspection – By law, if you make beef jerky for the purpose of selling it, your production facility must be state or federally inspected. If you plan to sell your jerky in the same state as it was produced, you only need state inspection. If you plan to sell to consumers in other states, you need federal inspection.

Getting inspected is not so much the bigger challenge, as it is maintaining inspection. A state or federal inspector is going to visit your facility everyday.

However, many small “mom and pop” run beef jerky businesses don’t bother getting inspection, and seem to never run into any trouble. They make all their jerky at home, in their kitchen, and sell it wherever they can. Both state and federal government inspectors don’t bother looking for violators, the issue only seems to come up when consumers get sick and file complaints.

2. Private Labeling – To get around the state and federal inspection requirements, most small businesses hire an inspected and approved meat processing facility to make jerky for them. The facility can make jerky based on your recipe or use their own house recipe. They can even source beef specifically to your requirements, or use their own. The facility will then package the jerky with your label on it.

The problem that most entrepreneurs find when they hire a facility is that the jerky never comes out with the same flavor and consistency as it did when they made it themselves in their own kitchen. The answer is to try several facilities and find one that will produce something closest to what you’re looking for.

Do a Google search on the words, “USDA Establishment Number” to find a list of federally inspected meat processing facilities.

3. Preservatives or No? – Most consumers tend to stay away from foods containing preservatives, artificial flavors, and fillers. Sodium nitrite is a common preservative in beef jerky, and there have been studies suggesting that it causes cancer, though there have been other studies disputing it.

The problem for manufacturers and retailers is that beef jerky must be able to sit on store shelves for several months to retain freshness. To do this, is has to contain preservatives. Most distributors and retailers won’t even consider stocking a jerky that can’t guarantee freshness for more than a few weeks.

So, the trick for a small, upstart beef jerky company, if they want to avoid preservatives, is to find markets where long shelf life is not an issue. Selling jerky at farmers markets, street fairs, and trade shows is common. Selling jerky online from a website is very popular. Some manufacturers have arrangements with smaller stores to come in once a week to buy back old stock and replace with fresh.

4. Distributors – The jerky brands you see in convenience stores and grocery stores were placed there by distribution companies. Names like Core Mark, Sysco, and US Foods represent the largest distributors in the United States and are responsible for filling the store shelves of all the national retail outlets. You can’t just talk to a national retail chain and get them to stock your jerky, you have to go through a distributor. And the way things are in the 21st Century, distributors are unwilling to talk to small, upstart brands.

You can instead talk to smaller, niche distributors, and/or small non-chain grocers. Look for those that focus on natural foods. Small independent health food stores in your area are willing to buy jerky from local producers because of their desire to stock “locally grown and sourced” foods, provided it doesn’t contain preservatives.

To get the larger distributors to take notice of your brand, you have to build up the name recognition of that brand across the country. That means a lot of social media, a lot of sponsorships, getting mentioned on television and radio, etc.

5. Don’t Partner – Starting a beef jerky business from the ground up is a lot of hard work. It takes years of dedication just to build up a loyal customer base, and even then you’ll find that your life all but revolves around your business. Your business is going to become your life.

If you have a partner, other than a spouse, often times you’ll find your partner becomes your enemy. Even if it’s your brother, your best friend, or your mother. You’ll always find that your partner is not doing their job, or is telling you how to do your job. It’ll seem like your partner is not working hard enough, but is still getting half of the profits. You might find that your partner is working harder than you, and you may feel guilty about not doing your part.

If you need a business partner, talk to your spouse, and have him or her get on board with starting a beef jerky business. If you can’t find a partner, and you believe you need one, then maybe it’s not the right time to start. Otherwise, take a deep breath, clear your mind, and be prepared to do it all yourself.

The rewards are greater that way.

Small Business Insurance Cost Guide: What You Need to Know About Insurance Coverage and Premiums

One of the biggest concerns many small businesses have is the cost of insurance. It is something you absolutely need, but how much of it can you really afford? As with any type of insurance, there are a number of factors that go into the evaluation of small business insurance cost. Approximately half of small businesses in the US pay around $400 – $600 annually for general liability insurance. However, you could still end up paying less or more a year, depending on the number of employees and the type of industry you’re involved in.

High-risk industries like construction are going to be stuck with higher premiums, while low-risk industries get the lower rates. There are usually ways to save – especially if you choose a good commercial insurance provider. Just use search tools on the internet to obtain quotes. Also, companies with a physical, brick-and-mortar store or facility open to the public are more at risk than professionals who work from a home office.

Businesses with physical locations open to the public are usually have to pay more money for insurance just in case someone is ever injured on the property. There are also things like theft, falling objects, vandalism, fire, and weather damage to worry about.

What Does Small Business Insurance Cost Include?

Even if you do operate from home, this doesn’t mean that you are completely invulnerable to lawsuits. There is always the possibility of being accused of things like plagiarism, copyright infringement, slander, and so forth. If you have any vehicle that is used for business, even if it’s your own, you’ll need insurance for that as well. Do you have employees that you send to perform errands? What if they become injured on the job? Or accidentally cause damage to a client’s equipment? Keep all of these factors in mind when evaluating small business insurance cost.

Some insurance companies for businesses and professionals simplify things by offering custom insurance plans for each industry. You can choose a policy that is already tailored for a small business in your industry, with the exact kind of coverage you need.

There are pro-active things you can do to help reduce the cost of small business insurance:

• Invest in security products.

• Develop a safety training program for employees

• Compile a list of rules for posting on social media and make sure your employees understand the rules.

• Reduce potential hazards on property

• Create a checklist for procedures relevant to your industry and company.

Where should you begin your search for small business insurance cost? Definitely start with Hiscox Business Insurance. There are custom plans in every type of industry possible. It’s easy to find the ideal solution and save money with this organization.

Making Money Online: Start Your Own Online Business

Internet provides you various opportunities along with the freedom of making money through the online business, and this opportunity of earning money is always attractive because of its appealing factors to the unemployed or freedom loving people. As a freedom loving person, if you want to start your own online business in your own way with dedication and hard work, then you are the right person to carry out this business.

How to start

Instead of doing painful jobs in offices, search in the internet about the procedures or tips to start any lawful online business, Google will provide you about 170 million results within a moment. Go through these guidelines, tips and try to find the hidden importance of every tip as these tips are written by the people who are experienced or experts in this online business line. Personal computers, an internet connection, hard work, and dedication to your business are the prime need to start the online business and to ensure a steady income.

Choose the right business

There are numerous options in the internet and among them; you have to choose the right online business option that suits you most. Choosing right business option depends on one’s taste, quality, interest, and ability. Several options are described here to give you a clear concept on these topics:

Writing

As a newcomer, if you have skills of writing articles, or if you are enthusiastic enough to write, then several writing options are there available in the internet that will ensure your steady income. As a writer you can write in magazines, blogs, and you can also publish your articles in the article directories.

Affiliate Marketing

If you possess enough on marketing section, then this affiliate marketing would be a better choice for making money online, and you have to sell others’ product through online by using your marketing knowledge. In return of this online marketing, you get the percentage from the products’ sell.

Selling on eBay

It is quite tough to sell on eBay as it is really very much competitive than other online business and tips or rules are appropriate for making money online through this business. Some basics will be helpful for you if you can use them properly those accurately.

Making money online isn’t so easy that you are thinking, but good knowledge about online business that you are going to do, will help you to go a long way and earn a lot of money.

6 Reasons To Start A Business During This Pandemic

You are not mistaken – I standby the title of my article. This is the best time to set up a business of your dreams or to expand your current business and yes, we are all still in Covid pandemic situation. So why all my positivity? Have I gone off-tangent with my thoughts?

I am an economist and business educator. For a long period of time, I have also been an active Singapore/Indonesia representative of the World Future Society. Thus scenario-planning is quite up my alley of expertise.

So here are my thoughts about why it is ripe to start a business now.

Reason 1: Globalisation

The spread of globalisation has not ceased. Rather, more people are jumping onto the bandwagon of seeking goods and services from different countries. There is an unquenchable desire to purchase the next “big thing” no matter the source of the new ideas

Reason 2: Rapid Spread of Information

As the world holds it breath for the technological march towards 5G, what has to be accepted is the speed of both information and misinformation. This means that with the right marketing strategy, you can propel corporate branding to a larger base of potential customers within a shorter time.

Reason 3: From social media to Mega Sticky Media (MSM)

I have created this acronym MSM because during the Covid period starting from 2020, there was the rise of Tiktok to become a free media platform to get business message across. It was like a combination of YouTube and Instagram but in hyper-speed of seconds. For the first time in history, marketing people are forced to distil the essence of a brand to suit a typical Tiktok attention-span. To many, this is impossible but to the youth-market this phenomenon is mere referred to as “Got to do it quickly!” GTDIQ -another one of my newly created acronyms.

Reason 4: Social Activism

For a business to embrace social change and be a good business citizen is not new. It also makes good business sense too. But the tsunami of social events that started from 2020 and how shareholders and customers will support a business that will take a stand – has officially taken root. Thus, if you start a new business, it is almost a truism that your brand has to encompass a certain level of being a change-agent for the betterment of society.

Reason 5: No Lack of Funding

Not only is there no lack of funding, but there is also now a new financial model Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) which allows start-ups to bypass the traditional Initial Public Offering (IPO) route. There is now a big demand for patents and new business models that help dig out a new niche.

Reason 6: Food Security and Sustainability Issues

With the acceptance that food security and environmental sustainability will constantly challenge the minds of many governmental decision-makers, there is opportunities galore for more research in this area. Thus, start-ups can develop their business plan and strategy along the lines of these issues.

With all these factors in mind, do consider starting a business today!

Before You Buy a Gas Station Business Know the Five Dangers

A large number of entrepreneurs want to buy gas station business opportunities because the industry seems to thrive whether the economy is strong or is ailing. Like a grocery store or energy provider, the gas station supplies something that most everyone needs.

And the connection with a companion business, such as a car wash or convenience store, can return substantial profits to the entrepreneur with a ‘buy gas station business’ strategy. No special knowledge beyond basic business competency is needed to run it efficiently.

There are risks, however, particular to this kind of business, which a prospective buyer must understand. Understanding those risks and how to avoid them can help the entrepreneur enjoy success with a sound gas station buy.

1. Ground contamination is common among petroleum retailers who haven’t upgraded to newer, leak-proof storage tanks. Most communities enforce environmental regulations for gas stations. Any business with petroleum leakage will be force to close down so contaminated soil can be removed and storage facilities improved. Finally, a new station is built on the site. What a problem for a new station owner!  Anyone seeking to buy gas station business opportunities is advised to insist that any purchase agreement require testing of soil samples, and that results show no contamination.

2. A related issue is condition of the storage tanks. Older steel tanks invariably begin leaking after years of use. Newly installed gas stations and those refurbished are outfitted with double-wall fiberglass tanks (referred to as DWFG in the industry). And the tanks are equipped with leak detection sensors. Any offer made to buy gas station businesses should include a provision requiring that up-to-date fuel storage is part of the deal.

3. The failure to determine who owns the property on which the station stands, before the purchase is complete, can lead to a terrible surprise. In many cases, even California’s major oil company franchisors have posted their large, familiar signs on property they don’t own. Imagine the distress for owners of name-brand oil company franchises who discover, the hard way, that the franchisor’s rights to the property were “on a short fuse.” A ten year sublease is meaningless if the sublessor – the oil company with the master lease – loses its right to conduct business at the locale.

4. It’s reasonable to expect when making an offer on a gas station that access to the property will continue to be as easy in the future as it was in the past. But what if the local government plans to bulldoze streets adjacent to the station for underground utilities repair or road improvement? Most business offers don’t include a contingency about getting satisfactory information from the city’s planning and development department. But a condition with that requirement ought to be included in any offer to buy gas station business assets.

5. The possibility of paying too much for an enterprise in this category is a major risk for someone ready to buy gas station business opportunities. It is a mistake to believe seller or broker claims that the appropriate price is determined by gross sales, or number of gallons pumped every month.

Like any small business, a gas station should be valued on the basis of the seller’s earnings before deductions for interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Pump volume or gross revenues may have no relation to earnings, and should not be considered when determining a station’s value. The buyer is safe using the earnings multiples applicable to most small businesses.

The top of the multiples range is about three times average annual earnings recorded the past three to five years, and it can be applied to a business with a seller ready to help finance, plenty of equipment in good shape and a long-term lease at market-competitive rates.

The purchaser who has “buy gas station business” on the to-do list, and is considering a company that doesn’t offer these benefits, should consider the right price to be about twice the annual earnings average. And many opportunities in the industry have a value using a multiple somewhere between two and three.

The entrepreneur wanting to buy gas station business opportunities might invest in a company or companies that are very profitable and not too complicated to operate. But the benefits will only accrue to a buyer who is cautious to avoid the risks inherent in purchasing this kind of business.

How To Become Successful In A Catering Business

Being into a business, small scale or large scale, also means getting into something wherein you need to gamble some important things. This already includes gambling your money for something that you would like to grow and become successful. Of course, you cannot start without having a budget for your business. Every business has the possibilities of becoming a success or a failure. To make your success rate higher, here are a few tips that you might want to consider on how to make a catering business successful.

Characteristics: Having characteristics of a good caterer is very important in becoming successful in a catering business. First off, you need to have the willingness to succeed in the field. You also need to have a lot of patience. Being flexible is also needed in this kind of business. You must also be willing to do sacrifices as you will need it most of the time. You should also know how to have a good relationship with other people. These are all very important factors on how to become successful in a catering business.

Knowledge: Having a broad knowledge about the business is very important. This includes knowing a lot of dishes and menus, having ideas about food preparations and presentations, and knowing how to provide satisfactory services to your customers. This is what most failed caterers miss; proper knowledge. They directly jump into starting the business without first having wide knowledge about it. If you really want to become a successful caterer, you should always keep this in mind.

Effort: Being into a business also means having to exert some effort more than the usual. If you really are eager to know how to make your catering business successful, then you should exert extra effort. This is in terms of doing further research, doing further tasks, and looking for ways to enhance your knowledge and skills. This is already a part of the sacrifices that you need to take, but doing all of these will surely result to providing your customers with satisfaction that is more than what they are just expecting from your service.

Proper Management: Proper management and planning are very important factors that a caterer should consider when wanting to know how to make a catering business successful. Through proper planning and management, everything will be under control. Along with proper management also comes proper time management, which is very important for any kind of business that provides services to other people.

Action Learning In The World Of Business

Action learning is a proven tool for realizing individual and organizational change. It combines knowledge that people have been taught with skills people have learned, after from experience. Action learning requires a supportive environment in which to thrive. Once established, it provides a valuable and powerful stimulus for continuous change, enabling organizations to grow and learn dynamically, rather than remaining static or fixed in one set of circumstances or perspectives.

However, it’s also a management development and training tool differed from the conventional approach in tat it focused on developing managerial skills rather than just increasing knowledge. It has been observed that major factors affecting a manager’s job performance were his or her skills- ability to do the job and attitudes- the will to do what is necessary to optimize effectiveness. This approach was designed to help managers as they worked to solve real problems. The learning and therefore the development of managerial skills are directly linked to the learner’s real needs based on actual experience.

Action learning is based on the concept: L = P+Q. Learning [L] comprises programmed knowledge [P] – things that people have been taught or that they have learned through experiences plus Questioning skills [Q]- the ability and willingness to challenge programmed knowledge using the stimulus of real life problems. Hence, people need the programmed knowledge that they have acquired over the years but, in the conditions of rapid change that we live in today, this is not enough for survival. People and especially managers, must also constructively question both themselves and those around them so that they can adapt successfully to the constantly changing world.

The basic idea of action learning is simple. Individuals are put in a supportive environment with a problem to solve and a facilitator who will encourage them to question their programmed knowledge and to test themselves and each other. The process of questioning and testing produces experience. Reflection on experience leads to learning. For instance, a child learns that the stove is hot, not by touching it- test, but through the pain that comes from the burn afterward- reflection. Learning is demonstrated if he or she does not touch the hot stove again.

Towards understanding action learning, there are key approaches and roles people develop by…

* Working on life problems,
* Being empowered to question what is happening,
* Trying out suggested solutions in doing things effectively,
* Stepping back and reflecting on what is happening and why,
* Sharing the experience with others who are also learning by doing.

There are two main models of action learning; which focuses on individual development, and the in-plant or organizational development model, which combines individual development with organizational change. Both methods use the same structure.

* The Problem- This provides the focus for the activity. It’s both the individual and a team problem- project.
* The Client- Is the person who owns the problem. This is someone who knows, cares, and above all can in-plant its solution if they wish to.
* The Action Learning Set- This is the place where participants meet to share their experience. It is the core of the program; the question and confrontation, challenging, and support which take place in the set provide encouragement and stimulus for individuals and groups to carry on.
* The Facilitator- Encourages learning through questioning, mirroring, challenging, and supporting. The facilitator is the gift in the oyster which creates the learning pearl.
* The Sponsor- Is the senior manager responsible for the program.

To harness action learning for individual development, there are several ways in which it can be used to develop individuals, including;

* The Own Job Model- This aims to enable individuals to maximize their personal effectiveness. Individuals take a problem into the action learning set and they meet at regular intervals over an agreed period of time with an external facilitator. The learning focus is on helping participants to develop the expertise they need to solve their own problems.
* The [P] Development [Academic] Model- This approach aims to maximize the learning opportunities presented while acquiring knowledge – programmed knowledge. The model combines the personal effectiveness development aspects of the own job model with the opportunity to acquire new learning. Sets are formed of people who have the same learning goals and have a dual focus, new knowledge coupled with personal learning.
* The In-Plant Action Learning Approach- While individual action learning programs are very powerful in bringing about individual change, they cannot change organizational culture. One approach to change this problem has been to apply the action learning method on an in-plant basis, using problems that exist within the company- real problems which it must solve. The approach uses the typical action learning structure, in which directors and senior managers are cast as clients, middle managers as facilitator, foreman and supervisors as fellows- action learning teams. The whole process is coordinated by external facilitator. Hence all managers and supervisors are involved in a change program at the same time. The main difference is in the application. The in-plant approach applies action learning to the total management structure of a company in a way which involves everybody.

Therefore, action learning relies on the team-working and facilitation processes which encourage questioning, empower participants to try something different, and lead to change. The heart of the action learning process is the group, supported by the facilitator. It provides a safe haven from which individuals can emerge to test themselves and return to share their experience, thereby encouraging and supporting change. Any team-working or problem-solving activity can be turned into an action learning program, through the simple addition of a facilitation process. Any personal development programs can be greatly strengthened by forming action learning sets and providing facilitation. Why not do it and maximize the value of your investment?