Having shared the experiences of hundreds of entrepreneurs in 40 countries, I have decided to start a series of blog bills on my thoughts about the key factors of success and the pitfalls of entrepreneurship in the retail business whatever the product or service being sold: hairdressing, optical, cosmetics, mobile phones, etc...etc...
The first step is to get the framework right, to make sure that you are going to include early enough in the thinking process the right questions on the key pillards of the business:
- 1/- What is my idea ?
- 2/- Who are my Clients ?
- 3/- What is my products & services offer ?
- 4/- How should my Place be chosen and my Space be designed and organised ?
- 5/- How should I create my Team ?
- 6/- What should be my Marketing and Promotional Strategy ?
- 7/- What should my Organisation and my Back Office be ?
Each of these question should be answered by asking more accurate questions to get all the elements of the future business plan. But let's start by the first pillard, the one that starts it all at the very beginning: "What is my Idea ?"
Asking yourself this question on the eve of lauching a new retail business, like any other entrepreneurial business, is not just about defining the activity in which you want to do so, not just about writting down a list of products and services you want to sell or offer. It is about pushing the question into deeper zones about what you want to be or become in your life and professional life.
The first one could be about the relation between you and the activity into which you are planning to invest yourself, your time, your thoughts, your "nights". Most of the successful entrepreneurs I met had either very strong committed passion and skills related to their activity. They had not just wanted to be their own bosses nor wanted to grab an opportunity or copy a friend. No, they a natural appeal for the acivity, they had developed a sort of born creativity for giving a personal and distinctive input allowing them to build a competitive edge on their markets. They also had shapped and sized their ambition to their personnality and to the lifestyle they felt suited for in life both professionally and personnally.
Shapping your ambition is about positioning your project at the right level of segment. The following questions have proven to be quite powerful in that perspective:
- What is the segment for which you have not only the strongist "vibe" but also the natural ease in attitude, behavior and conversation ? What is the segment in which you have built the strongest professional experience in the past few years ?
There is nothing more difficult then having a "luxe vibe" and trying to go for an affordable concept in which what is going to make the difference is your capacity to format the lowcost but profitable quality-price package, more than your capacity to refine the quality of service. And vice versa, don't you feel it a bit complicated to develop a luxury concept with a personality and mindset made to run an average or economic concept. Go where your real nature is or inclines you to go. You will always be better at giving what you know and do best.
Is there a link between Theatrical Methods and Management Relations & Communication in a team ?
Take some snapshots at a few interesting links to stay Open minded and move positively on this:
Improvisation is about Active Listening to get into the scenari of the play and propose a correct » answer » (attitude & sentence) to the actors you are playing with
Being ready for the unexpected & taking the « proposal » of the other in a positive way, so as to build a rapor and then make the play move in a common direction.
Moving business is about moving poeple, opening their eyes on other experiences to capture useful secrets from successful Entrepreneurs. It is about moving successful Entrepreneurs to make them present their success, their business processes in an open and creative way.
Frédéric Aunis