THE GREATEST IDEAS FOR BUILDING THE BUSINESS OF YOUR DREAMS KEN LANGDON CAPSTONE Copyright © Ken Langdon 2000 The right of Ken Langdon to be identified as the author of this book has been Asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2000 by Capstone Publishing Limited (a Wiley Company) The Atrium Southern Gate Chichester West Sussex PO19 8SQ www.wileyeurope.com Reprinted 2003 All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. 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For details Telephone John Wiley & Sons on (+44-1243-770441), fax (+44-1243-770571) or email corporate [email protected] This page intentionally left blank This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 Seven Greatest Ideas for Taking the Plunge 3 Idea 1 - Know that two heads are better than one 3 Idea 2 - Choose an arbiter or an assertive mentor 5 Idea 3 - Be quite clear what your dream is 6 Idea 4 - Know thyself 8 Idea 5 - Ease yourself out by MBO 10 Idea 6 - Research is not optional 13 Idea 7 - Feel free - franchise 14 Ten Greatest Ideas for Planning Your Business 17 Idea 8 - Choose your markets wisely 18 Idea 9 - Use the 'ideal' technique to understand your customers 19 Idea 10 - Know thine enemy 20 Idea 11 - Describe and compare the key people 22 Idea 12 - Reach your market realistically 22 Idea 13 - Make sure the price is right 23 Idea 14 - Picking your spot 24 Idea 15 - Add up the equipment and start-up costs 25 vi • The 100 Greatest Ideas for Building the Business of Your Dreams Idea 16 - Take the banking forms seriously 26 Idea 17 - Plan for a lucky break-even 27 Six Greatest Ideas for Becoming a Consultant 29 Idea 18 - Don't be worse off 30 Idea 19 - See your value from the customer's point of view 32 Idea 20 - Know which comes first, the product or the customer 33 Idea 21 - Start by booking your holidays 34 Idea 22 - Don't let people smell fear 35 Idea 23 - Go with the flow 36 Four Greatest Ideas for Working from the Office of Your Dreams 37 Idea 24 - Allocate enough space in the home 37 Idea 25 - Find out what is tax-deductible 38 Idea 26 - Don't stint on telephone lines 38 Idea 27 - Then get an office 40 Five Greatest Ideas for Financing Your Business 41 Idea 28 - Live by the two greatest financial mantras 41 Idea 29 - What kind of trader are you? 43 Idea 30 - Don't assume that fraud cannot happen to you 45 Idea 31 - Don't bet the house 46 Idea 32 - Give me but one firm spot on which to stand ... 47 Contents • vii Four Greatest ideas for Staffing Your Business 51 Idea 33 - Grow your own head-hunters 51 Idea 34 - Hire the people who fit your dream 52 Idea 35 - Ask the customer 54 Idea 36 - Keep people in your variable costs 55 Four Greatest Ideas for Keeping In Touch with Your Market 57 Idea 37 - Prospect continuously 57 Idea 38 - Size does count 58 Idea 39 - Get everyone to talk to customers regularly 59 Idea 40 - Speak to the press 59 Seven Greatest Ideas for Helping a Business Customer to Buy Wisely 61 Idea 41 - Encourage sensible buying decisions 62 Idea 42 - Deliver products on time and within budget 67 Idea 43 - Take lost business very seriously 68 Idea 44 - Make sure your business processes deliver 69 Idea 45 - Who needs training? Your customer needs training 70 Idea 46 - Gain a reputation as a solution seller 71 Idea 47 - Look back in wonder 72 viii • The 100 Greatest Ideas for Building the Business of Your Dreams Six Greatest Ideas far Selling Big Ticket Items - Business to Business 75 Idea 48 - Sell a solution to a problem or an opportunity 75 Idea 49 - Sell high 76 Idea 50 - Sell wide 78 Idea 51 - Sell the right benefits to the right person 79 Idea 52 - Qualification is a continuous process 80 Idea 53 - Use radar to plot your position 91 Five Greatest Ideas for Managing Your Bank 95 Idea 54 - Get the basics right 95 Idea 55 - KISS and TICK 96 Idea 56 - Keep your cashflow document up to date 97 Idea 57 - Smile until your face aches 100 Idea 58 - Go for as much as you can get 100 Five Greatest Ideas for Running the Board Effectively 103 Idea 59 - Keep an honest boardroom 103 Idea 60 - Give your non-executive directors huge credence 104 Idea 61 - Do regular stakeholder analysis 105 Idea 62 - Choose the right accountants 106 Idea 63 - Understand your roles and responsibilities 107 Contents • ix Ten Greatest Ideas for Building the Retail Business of Your Dreams 109 Idea 64 - Get your attitude right 110 Idea 65 - Exploit people already in the know 111 Idea 66 - Get the timing right 112 Idea 67 - To buy or not to buy 113 Idea 68 - Fix your costs and know your costs 114 Idea 69 - Treat your customers as what they are - your purpose in life 114 Idea 70 - Count your customers 116 Idea 71 - Diversify carefully 117 Idea 72 - Tick again 118 Idea 73 - First run a pilot 120 Ten Greatest Quick Tips for Building the Dream 121 Idea 74 - Don't let today's mail set today's agenda 121 Idea 75 - Know your critical success factors 122 Idea 76 - Don't expand too quickly 123 Idea 77 - Concentrate on what you are good at... 123 Idea 78 - ... But don't ignore opportunities to reduce risk 123 Idea 79 - Sell to your existing customers 124 Idea 80 - Don't buy a mobile phone 124 Idea 81 - Don't become obsessed with saving tax 125 Idea 82 - Don't dream your way into stupid projects 126 Idea 83 - Learn from the mistakes of others 126