Financial Times

Developing the small business (II):Think before you grow
By Nilooka Dissanayake
People go into business for various reasons. A sudden windfall or unemployment may push a person into the world of business. Often, those who possess an entrepreneurial flair will, after working at some other job, start up on their own. They will use the skills, experience or the contacts that they built over their career to further their business. Others, who were unable to take that step mid career due to financial or other commitments, or because they enjoyed their jobs too much, will consider going into business after retirement. There are also those who have always wanted to go into business and obtain the requisite knowledge and technical know-how before starting a business. These however, fall into a relatively rare category.

And then there is the person who inherits the family business. He may be literally dragged in to help out, often against his wishes. Recently, at a seminar for women on self-development, as part of the self-assessment, I asked participants to write down their strengths, weaknesses and the opportunities and obstacles in their way. The youngest participant, a 16-year old, felt that the biggest obstacle in her life was her parents wish for her involvement in the family business. She was not confident she would be able to handle that job successfully. With a bit of insight, I believe the parents could guide such reluctant entrepreneurs to obtain qualifications and work experience that would later be useful in managing the family business. But, that is another story.

One must not forget the women entrepreneurs. There are those who wish to supplement their family income. There will be those who wish to grow their hobbies patchwork, cookery, arts and crafts, gardening and many other activities into a small business. They prefer to work from home at their own pace. Then, there are also the professional and employed women accountants, lawyers, clerks, secretaries, computer operators, to name just a few who wish to stay home after marriage to bring up a family. They too have marketable skills that can become the source for a small business operation.

When we talk of growing a business, we assume that all these people have already started their business; that they have been carrying it on for some time.

It would also be obvious to you that the growth needs and the objectives will differ from type to type and from individual to individual. The lottery winner will look at the growth of his business in a manner entirely different from the retired professional. The business growth objectives of the unemployed graduate or school leaver will differ from that of the professional who started a business mid career. The stay-at-home mothers’ business growth objectives will differ from those of all others.

It is then, pertinent to ask some fundamental questions: Where do you stand? Why do you wish to grow your business? What do you expect to achieve? How, and in which ways do you wish your business to grow? What differences do you wish to see in five years from now on?

Think on these matters. What you achieve will be directly related to what you wish to do to achieve that growth. What you dream of will also directly affect what you do or do not achieve in that far away future.

Thinking in this way does not come easy. In the same self-development seminars I mentioned earlier, we discuss life objectives of participants. When speaking of career goals, participants often say, “My objective is to develop my beauty saloon. I am right now operating from home.” When asked in which ways they wish to grow their business, they hardly ever give a reply that goes beyond “getting my own beauty shop.”

So, in encouraging them to look forward five years, I ask them where they wish to be by then. Do they want to be the most popular beautician in town, in the district or in the country? I tell them to aspire to become like some famous beautician. They need to find out how she got there and what makes her a good beautician. As you know, that is called benchmarking.

Then it dawns on them that it is necessary to ask whether a young woman from Embilipitiya can achieve that level of success realistically within just five years. Or will it take longer? What does it take to get there? Will being merely a very skilled person help you get there? What other things do we need to consider? Will fame alone do? Will getting articles published in women’s magazines and tabloids suffice? What about money? How profitable do you wish to be? How many people will you need to employ? How many customers do you wish to serve? All these questions need to be answered.

It would be obvious to you that, just like the young salon owner from Embilipitiya, you are also not sure of all the answers. Some of them, you will need to figure out on the way. You cannot possibly know all the answers today. Ponder on these things this weekend.

Are you trying to grow your small business? What issues do you face day to day in seeking for business growth? We would like to hear from you. Send us the issues you face and help us make the articles more meaningful to small business operators. You can contact us on ft@sundaytimes.wnl.lk or on 5552524.

The writer is the Managing Editor of Athwela Vyaparika Sangarawa (Athwela Business Journal), the only Sinhala management monthly targeting the small and medium enterprises, Ezine Athwela Email Magazine and www.smallbusiness.lk, the bilingual small business website.

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