You’ve probably heard about the golden rule of life; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

What's the golden rule of business?

Well, here’s the thing, the golden rule of business is no different; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

It never ceases to amaze me every time I see many entrepreneurs going about their business as if it were separate or different from life. Not only is this mindset towards business wrong, it is a losing strategy.

You see, there’s no way you are going to succeed in business if you keep ignoring the fact that business is not different from life, but rather an extension of life. I cannot over emphasize this enough.

Many businesses fail because they ignore this universal truth. What they have failed to realize is that the same principles that govern life are the same principles that govern business. The fact is, you cannot separate life from business or business from life. To succeed therefore, your task as an entreprneur is to create a balance between the two.

This unusual article is about helping you achieve this balance. Read on …

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Perhaps my greatest discovery in my journey as an entrepreneur was from Peter Drucker’s statement about marketing. Here it is;

How are you attracting, keeping and growing profitable customers?

 “The purpose of marketing is to make selling superfluous”.

Now, not many people understand what the last word in that sentence mean, so I am going to explain. Superfluous means unnecessary, period. Meaning marketing is supposed to make selling unnecessary.

Excuse me, isn’t this contrary to popular believe? In fact, a lot of people now regard marketing and selling to be one and the same thing. Here’s the brutal truth, no such thing exists.

“Marketing is what lays the foundation for effective selling”.

This is the 5th article of the business growth 101 series. If you haven’t been following, here are the previous articles of the series;

BG 101: What to do when business is slow

BG 101: How to diagnose the problem of low sales

BG 101: How Entrepreneurs Are Unknowingly

BG 101: How To Increase The Market Share Of Your Business

How have you been selling?

Back in the industrial age, manpower was the domineering force behind the success of every business. The more labourers you had as a company working for you, the more products you could eventually produce. There existed a direct relationship between the number of employees with the eventual turnover of good and services. More sales force equals to more revenue.

News Flash!

We are no longer in the industrial age, so manpower has become obsolete. We live in an era of the knowledge worker where brain power is the competitive edge. The size of your company’s workforce doesn’t account for its success, but rather, the quality of their brain. Size no longer counts, but insight.

In this new era, you find one man conveniently selling to thousands without a big workforce. The secret? Marketing.

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In business, profit goes to the company with a sizable chunk of the market. In most cases, this is usually the companies

How are you increasing the market share of your business?

in the top 3 position; first, second and third. This position is not determined by a regulatory body, but by their market size – the number of customers these business serve on a consistent basis. Market share is a numbers game. You are only as profitable as the number of client/customers patronizing your business.

I have often said this, if your business is not a force to reckon with in the particular industry or niche you belong, you are as good as dead. When your industry or niche is being mentioned, which companies come up as reference points? Is your company among them? Is your company a threat to your industry or niche? If your answer to this question is NO, then there’s much work to be done. Let’s get down to business!

This is the 4th article of the business growth 101 series. If you haven’t been following, here are the previous articles of the series;

BG 101: What to do when business is slow

BG 101: How to diagnose the problem of low sales

BG 101: How Entrepreneurs Are Unknowingly Killing Their Businesses!

What is a market share?

In very simple terms, market share is the number of loyal customers your business or company has been able to retain over a long period of time.

The key word in this definition is LOYAL.

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Branding is perhaps the most over used word in business. I can totally understand why; there’s so much

What makes a business branded?

fuss about how impactful branding is on a business. For instance, the total monetary value of the coca-cola company’s asset is so small comparable to the estimated worth of the coca-cola brand itself which is $70.7billion.

How can this be?

Branding is the difference between a business and a company. The irony is that a lot of so called entrepreneurs don’t know such a difference exists. For many, a business and a company may as well be the same thing. But are they really the same? This article is about pointing out the winning difference.

Here’s a list of the world’s top 100 brands.

Which Do You Own: A Business or A Company?

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How do you intend to win the war against your competitions?

Business is a game and only the team with the best players will win. To beat the competition will require everyone’s collective effort. It’s not just a task for the marketing department or top management; it’s everyone’s responsibility.

So as the leader of your business, it’s very important you enlist the support of the whole organization once you’ve agreed on the strategies to adopt in dealing with your competitions. In continuing our series on how to remain in business despite intense competitions, let me share with you the 5 strategic ways through which we were able to beat the competition and also remain in business despite their presence.

Enjoy!

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By Tito Philips, Jnr.

What do you do when competitors emerge in your business? Don’t panic, FOCUS!

Whether you like it or not, the world of business is a very highly competitive one.  Business is a game and it takes a lot to eventually emerge as a winner. Winning however does require you find a way to remain in business irrespective of competition. Perhaps one of the most critical factor in determining who wins or lose in the game of business is knowing what not to do in the face of intense competition. It’s costing me a year without regular pay from one of the businesses I’m involved with as a partner to learn this lesson. So, permit me to share my story.

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