This is the 4th in a series of posts sharing CIE’s 10 Principles for Redefining Entrepreneurship. Read the previous entry, Removing Barriers to Entrepreneurship.
Challenge: With so many different types of people at so many different stages on the journey and with so many different types of businesses, how do you keep everyone moving forward without chasing tails or spinning wheels?
Lesson #6: Stick to the Fundamentals
Focusing on basic business principles that are universal and timeless and apply to every business – past or future, new or old, product or service, small or big, local or international is MORE INCLUSIVE. Examples include unique value proposition, sales unit pricing, overhead, cost of goods sold, cash flow and breaking even.
Breaking everything down and discussing each component using concepts and examples that are common sense and familiar is MORE ACCESSIBLE. Instead of teaching, simply remind people what they already know, and then build on that.
Staying grounded in business fundamentals builds business literacy and helps us understand a person’s business idea and goals in business terms. Learning how to speak business is PRACTICAL.
Sticking to business fundamentals is EFFICIENT. It helps us make sure we aren’t overlooking the obvious before delving into the latest innovation in entrepreneurship or business management or organizational theory.
Lesson #7: Know the End of the Beginning
After Britain’s first major victory in World War II, Winston Churchill famously said "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
We often refer to our First Step Business program and our Bootstrap Business Course as an “onramp.”
Our end game is a business that has all the basic ingredients needed to grow if it finds traction in the market.
We use a First Step Checklist to determine when a business’s beginning is finished. When it is, we need to get the business to a place that can move you to the next level.
Next up in our series, lessons 8, 9 & 10 will give you insight into how to help each individual succeed. Coming soon.