9 Business Fundamentals You Should Know

I had read few blog posts and get some idea of doing a business specially what you should know for your business.

There are 9 simple fundamentals that you would like to read:  

1. “The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer”  
Because no customers no business.

2. Whatever you sell your customer—a product or service—make it high quality and be reliable
Reliability is an under-rated attribute that is very valuable.

3. First, take care of the customers you have, with the products and services that made you successful
Then look for more things you can do for those same customers, within what you are good at doing. Expand very carefully, because with opportunity, comes risk.  

4. Charge a fair price—neither too high, nor too low.
The former will cost you sales; the latter will cost you your business.

5. Always consider what is most important to your customers 
Usually it’s to get what they expected in quality, service, on time, and at a fair price—with an occasional new idea thrown in. Measure every decision on how it will affect those deliverables.  

6. Know your costs, and charge enough to cover them and make a profit
If you don’t, you won’t be in business long. And if you don’t watch out for this, who will? If your costs are not competitive enough to do this, figure out why and do something about it.

7. Manage your cash flow very carefully
Running out of cash kills more small businesses than anything else. Learn to make a cash flow projection worksheet and use it.

8. Stay focused on doing what made you successful and keep your eye on competitors
Common mistakes are expanding into new areas too rapidly: taking the wrong kind of business—just because you can sell something to someone, doesn’t mean you should—or compromising on quality, service and reliability.  

9. Hire the right people
That means people with the skills, experience and attitude (a very important, often overlooked point) you want. Train them well and communicate your expectations and what they are responsible for doing, and getting done (accountable for).

In closing, you may have heard that “the customer is always right.” That’s wrong. “The customer may not always be right, but the customer is still always the customer.”

Without customers, you have no business, so take care of them. But don’t be afraid to make a profit. Business is a competitive game where the score is kept in money. If you win, you get to play again. If you lose—“game’s over!” And those rules never change.