Читать книгу Entrepreneurial Itch - David Trahair - Страница 20

The operations section of a business is the actual work that the business does. For a plumber it’s fixing people’s sinks and tubs. For computer consultants it’s programming clients’ computers or providing technical services. For bookkeepers it’s keeping the books for clients’ businesses. It’s obviously vital that you be able to perform the work of the business. At least, it’s vital until your business grows enough to be able to pay someone else to do the work for you.

Operations is where most people have the least amount of trouble. Unless you decide to start a business that you know nothing about — which is a risky strategy — you probably have the skills you need to do the work of your business.

In Chapter 4, when I talk about how to sell yourself and your business to clients, you’ll see that it’s essential that you be good at what you do. If you are good, word will spread to other customers. If you aren’t, it won’t. In fact, if you don’t provide good services or sell good products to people, bad word-of-mouth will spread, and that will almost certainly kill your business before it begins to walk.

Most people who start a business know already how to do the work of the business — the operations part. They have one leg of the stool. Note that two types of businesses have a major advantage over all others because their operations involve one or the other leg of the stool:

• Bookkeepers and accountants generally have no trouble with finance and administration.

• Advertising executives and consultants usually have sales and marketing skills.

If you are thinking about starting one of these types of businesses, you already possess two-thirds of the skills you’ll need to succeed. If your business is in any other field, you’ve got more work to do.