Do You Have What it Takes to Succeed?

Making a success of your own business doesn't just require you to have the right personality, attitude, and business idea; you also need the skills or the ability to pick up new ones quickly. You need to be able to distinguish what you can do for yourself and what you are better off leaving to the professionals.

Assuming you don't have an endless supply of money when you start your own business, you are suddenly responsible for a lot more than just doing your job. If you've always relied on other departments or people to take care of your marketing, IT, legal, finance, or admin needs, it can come as quite a shock to realize it's now all down to you.

Carrying out a skills audit is a key part of planning the launch of your own business. There are several important questions that you should be asking yourself:

• Which essential tasks do I feel able to fulfill now?
• Which tasks will I be able to learn how to do through online learning, by talking to friends, colleagues, and business support organizations or by taking a course?
• Which tasks will you always need paid professionals to help with?

Once you have established the above, it's a simple question of allocating the appropriate resources and money for the professionals and the time you will need for the task you are confident you can do.

SALES AND MARKETING.

Companies who do not fully understand the importance of Marketing will never be fully successful, as the success of your enterprise hinges on whether your customers actually buy into your product, service, or brand.

Marketers and sales people have a variety of tools and techniques at their disposal and are constantly seeking new and inventive ways of selling.

You should satisfy yourself that you have the skills and experience to:

• Identify your target market and judge how receptive your customers will be to your offering
• Listen to and understand your customers and be aware of what makes them tick and, in particular, what factors influence their purchasing decisions
• Acquire, handle the relationship with customers and build loyalty
• Be an effective and persuasive salesperson
• Keep the exposure and recognition of your brand high
• Be able to negotiate and know how to close a deal


To Your Success,
Lana Robinson
Just In Time Marketing, LLC
205-919-9561