Many medium-sized companies, and large corporations, have business development officers that are tasked with marketing the business, bringing new business, and ensuring that the company’s growth key performance indicators are met.
In smaller businesses, this becomes the responsibility of the company’s owner, who has to take on more responsibilities. This is why many people say that entrepreneurship is a labour of love rather than a mechanical way to bring income into a household.
Plenty of articles on the internet share their insights on how an entrepreneur can achieve this in the most effective way. I recently came across an article on entrepreneur.com that spoke to me in that it provided insights into issues I have encountered with aspiring entrepreneurs.
Enhance learning
The Entrepreneur article points out that a great deal of information is learned in the early years of owning a business. However, a learning curve can decline as enterprises stabilise and entrepreneurs get caught up in the daily routine of what makes their business tick. The article adds that it is vital to remember that if you’re not growing intellectually, your business may not progress. To that end, leading entrepreneurs I know make a conscientious effort to learn at least three to four hours a week.
MANCOSA is aware of the need for entrepreneurs to spend significant time on their intellectual development. Besides the degrees and entrepreneurship courses, MANCOSA offers several independent courses that can sharpen an entrepreneur’s skill set. This is particularly important for enhancing their digital skills, such as digital marketing and communication.
Often, entrepreneurs are unaware of the aspects of their business that must be developed. The easiest way to discover which areas need developing is to engage with workers about their pain points and the elements of the business that can be improved to enhance the customer journey. It is also a good idea to engage with customers to discover their thoughts on enhancing the company’s products and services.
Get an outsider’s perspective
One of the key learnings that C Suite executives discuss regularly is that the diversity of boards needs to be enhanced. This provides CEOs, COOs and CFOs with a wide range of diverse insights on how to develop their business.
This does not need to be reserved for boards of major companies. The Entrepreneur article points out that the best way to develop a business is to get an outsider’s perspective on what the company looks like now and what it can look like in the future. How do typical business leaders set next year’s goals? The Entrepreneur article points out that, if they do it at all, it’s usually pegged to a straight percentage increase from the previous year and is refreshed with extra insights. Part of the professional development that MANCOSA offers is that entrepreneurs have access to companies that the institution partners with who can provide these insights. Our Ignite Programme is significant in that aspiring entrepreneurs are selected to go through an extensive development programme that is run by professionals that will help develop their entrepreneurship skill set.
The Entrepreneur article points out that staying grounded is necessary as entrepreneurs apply new strategies provided by outsiders and support them with tactics.
Future Proofing
The Entrepreneur article points out that Crises happen. They can come from anywhere, may or not be your or your company’s fault and don’t usually offer much of a chance at that moment to plan, think and act. Most entrepreneurs have faced more disruption in the last five years than the previous 15 years combined. The impacts of this can be seen in the number of businesses that need more support and struggle to overcome the initial challenges of establishing a business and addressing risks that established companies are finding challenging.
Digital skills have become a prerequisite to future-proof a business; this is why all MANCOSA entrepreneurship-based courses are enhanced with key digital skills taught by the MANCOSA School of Information and Digital Technology (SIDT).
Futureproofing your business requires you to look at a team carefully. Do you have contingency plans if a critical member leaves or otherwise cannot work? How are you addressing the digitalisation threat that could significantly impact our business if ignored?
