Build your enterprise on this success base

The success of every enterprise depends on the foundation set by the founders.

The foundation sets the base for establishing a culture, a way of doing things that are designed to achieve its vision and mission.

It is upon this foundation that control systems are established and implemented to ensure successful growth and operations.

Below are some of the key areas that a business owner or manager must have direct control and influence.

Accounting and bookkeeping

Every business starts to spend even before revenue starts to come in, therefore a system must be established to monitor and account for all monies. This is important for the owner to know whether the business is making profit or not and for taxation purposes.

Good accounting starts with proper bookkeeping. All records of transactions must be kept well in primary form for the accountant to use as primary data or evidence should need arise.

Efficient billing system

An efficient billing system ensures services are correctly billed and all invoices are paid on time. Poor billing system affects cash flow and may lead to loss of money.

Marketing

Marketing is the engine that drives an enterprise. You need to be totally in charge of business to correctly determine what products to stock and how to create awareness. It is important to control and establish how every shilling you spend on marketing is utilised to avoid wastage or spending money on areas of low returns.

Sales revenue control

Once marketing has been done well sales become very easy. You need to control the sales process so that it is profitable to you and it delivers value to the customer. Sales costs and after-sales costs can eat into your margin if not controlled. Remember revenue is vanity but profit is sanity.

Customer service

Business exists to serve customers and as a bonus the owners reap profit. Customer service is too important to be left solely in the hands of a few front-office employees.

Customers have the biggest potential to promote your business if they are happy and satisfied. If they are not, they can bring a business down overnight, especially in this digital world of social media.

With good customer service, happy customers will lift you up with good reviews online and word of mouth within their network.

The quality of your employees

A business is as good as its employees. The quality of employees at the entry or hiring stage is the key determinant of how they will behave. No amount of coaching or training can lift poor employees.

Hiring the right employee and investing in training and motivation can create a culture of ownership and performance. The best way to get good employees is to put in place strong systems that weed out bad candidates before, during and after hiring them.

As a rule of the thumb, you should be slow to hire but quick to fire once you realise you have netted the wrong person for the job.

Mr Kiunga, author of ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship: Strategies to Succeed in a Competitive Market’