From Corporate to
Entrepreneur – sharing my story & learnings
2) The next step - from idea to reality - First month
So then yes it happened my request for voluntary retrenchment was
approved. Now there was no turning back. We finalized the purchasing of the
Coffee shop in the next week and again checked all is in
order. Arranged with the previous owner to train me as part of the hand over
for two weeks. It all worked out 100%, I left my previous job the agreed Friday
and drove straight to the coffee shop to do a handover and stock take that same
afternoon.
The
First two weeks
I decided to take full opportunity of the first two
weeks of training from the previous owner and found out Everything on how they
operated the shop … from menu, to people management, to managing cash, to
managing admin, to managing stock and suppliers as well as all about the
every-day running of the shop.
Key Learning: even if you have experience and a lot of ideas, take time find out from
the previous owner / manager how the business ran on a day to day basis … keep
an open mind it will save you a lot of time. And remember there is always
something you can learn and not duplicate … don’t unnecessary reinvent the
wheel
The
First month:
I then decided to run the first month based on the
same principal it ran previously and checked and tested what’s working and what
not. I refined my business plan during that first month in business. I started
making notes of possible other/different ways to do things for future months.
It is always a good idea to only start changing things once you have assessed
the reality … only when you knew out rightly it was wrong change it immediately
Key Learning: even if you have experience and a lot of ideas, take time find out from
the previous owner / manager how the business ran on a day to day basis … keep
an open mind it will save you a lot of time. And remember there is always
something you can learn and not duplicate … don’t unnecessary reinvent the
wheel
Also during this first month I ensured I had
expectation meetings with all staff and set the expectation and standards going
forward. I ensure I opened the appropriate Business Bank account that suited
this business. (Regular deposits of cash, change requirements and EFT payments,
merchant machine). I also ensured I got to know every aspect of the business …
personally I learnt how to make every item on the menu, how all the equipment
operated and how every routine etc. worked.
See important quote from Richard Branson below. I did
this and I can guarantee this is worth it and works like magic. Remember this
with any business … make sure you are familiar with all aspects of that
business and know exactly how it operates … payback will definitely come in
future
If I'm setting up a new business I'll spend three or four months learning everything there is about that business, everything there is about that subject and then I will find good people to run it on a day-to-day basis, but whilst they're running it at least I know what they're talking about when they come back to me.
-Richard Branson ( Running, People, Good People, Come Back To Me, New Business, Bases, Four, Months, Subjects, Talking, Three, Day To Day, Setting, Settings, Knows, Learning Everything, Ifs,)
For more info on starting your own business and taking your idea to reality, handy tips and guides click on the link below
Have you started your own business ... Please share your experience and learnings from the first month
Soon more to follow on From Corporate to Entrepreneur on the MAD Guru blog
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