Making the Right Choices for Your Business (according to serial entrepreneur and LaunchByte CEO Tan Kabra)

LaunchByte
Jul 25, 2017 · 4 min read

Originally published on May 22, 2017.

There are many things that contribute to a successful business: the right idea, right product, the right team…the list goes on — there is no way I could fit everything into a LaunchByte blog post. In today’s globally connected world, you also need the right marketing and the network to get your message out to your audience, but all of that is useless without the right leadership.

It doesn’t matter what market or field you will operate in, because your business is exposed to more competition now than ever before. Small businesses can now trade on a global market for comparatively little cost, so having the right business guide and competitor analysis is crucial for growth and long term success.

Business management and leadership is difficult, and for many first entrepreneurs, the level of difficulty can come as a surprise. Many people convince themselves that the hard part is just coming up with idea and the initial decision to launch. However, what comes after, ensuring the business grows and prospers by choosing the right direction, can be much more challenging. While there are numerous websites offering business tips and various business guides, nothing really prepares you for that kind of responsibility, so what is the best way to lead your business to success? There is no guide that can tell you the right way to fire someone, how to deal with a the never-satisfied client, how to maximize your staff’s full potential without micromanaging them…all just a few scenarios I myself deal with on a regular basis. One of my favorite quotes (below) has been circling the internet for sometime now, and only business owners will really understand its true meaning.

The key is your mindset — knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and understanding when to listen to others and accept guidance, and when to forge ahead. You create the team around you to be the engine of your business, and trusting them is essential to great leadership. For many entrepreneurs, this can be difficult, but letting go is both necessary and essential for success in the long term. If you don’t give other people the chance to shine, then you will never realize their true potential and chances are they will feel suppressed and unhappy and ultimately move on to a new position. I am guilty of this myself — it is a lot harder to actually do it than write about it!

When a new entrepreneur is faced with challenges in the market or looks for new opportunities and direction, there are a few things that are important that they must consider. Understanding the competition is crucial in all aspects of modern business but especially so here, and this comes from doing a high quality, in-depth competitor analysis. I can’t even begin to tell you all how many times someone has come to me with a fully fleshed out idea, without seeing if it already exists and who is doing it. Here is where the trust in your team comes into play. As a business owner, your job is not to be running around analyzing markets and completing that competitor analysis for your new feature or product line, but rather it’s to interpret the data and make an educated decision about the direction you move towards. Many people, especially with new startups, try to do too much themselves, the key here is to look at the bigger picture and not deal in the minutiae (obviously this is more for those with a team). As a CEO dealing with every single department and keeping track of everything that is going on in the company, trusting your team to accurately carry out competitor analysis and other data collection is an efficient way to avoid getting caught up in the smaller details and stay focused on the overall direction.

Many business advice sites often talk about having juice, passion and other emotive descriptions of what you need to be every day. But the most effective business guides will mention something about your ability to form key relationships and build that trust with your team and listen to them. The reality is that at times you need to be swift and steadfast in your choices, but involving your team rather than dictating will likely deliver more long term successes.

Do. Not. Go. On. Mass. Hiring. Sprees. I have seen, on so many occasions, business owners come into a bit of money from a new deal or maybe an angel round of funding and just go and plug the holes of their business by hiring expensive staff. Congratulations — you now have a solid team, but you’ve cut your business’ runway significantly. They key to any business is sales. Sales, sales, sales — and converting those sales to monthly recurring revenue. If you can do that, then you are in the right position to hire someone. Make sure the sales justify the burn.

Making choices such as this go right back to the initial point — the mindset. Know what your strengths and weaknesses are, for both yourself and your business. Build a team that can compensate for your personal weaknesses, and focus your business on emphasizing your strengths. These are the core aspects of ensuring your business moves forward in the right direction, both as a commercial success and internally as a team that you enjoy working with.

LaunchByte

We help companies of all sizes work better and grow faster by enhancing product design, development, branding and marketing strategy. Founders helping founders.

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