As a business and marketing consultant to European and American companies my greatest challenge was to make them 100% efficient (or as close to that figure as possible.) Sounds simple. Theoretically possible in ever scenario. In practice...? Without wasting my own efficiency on studies (and

It may seem like a very simple question, but the answer will reveal much about the business person, and more importantly how the business will ultimately evolve. When you peel back the layers of the manifold answers you'll hear, even if they say they do it for 'love', the underlying reason is to be successful and the only measure of success that business knows is growth, and growth is measured by money.

So, how can a new business stack things in their favor in order to make the most of their time and money to make success a foregone conclusion rather than a pot-luck, pie-in-the-sky, suck-it-and-see, let's hope it works dream...? In short, how can a business start off from Day One making money?

For expediency's sake and the limitations of the word count of this article, I'm assuming the reader/ potential business owner has already undertaken the investment of market research to know their is actually a need for their product or service. Likewise the assumption is made that they are in a geographical market conducive to their company's offering, and similar restrictions. What this article deals with is how to make opening the doors to a new venture the most successful on a continued basis.

As a business and marketing consultant to European and American companies my greatest challenge was to make them 100% efficient (or as close to that figure as possible.) Sounds simple. Theoretically possible in ever scenario. In practice...? Without wasting my own efficiency on studies (and

So, how can a new business stack things in their favor in order to make the most of their time and money to make success a foregone conclusion rather than a pot-luck, pie-in-the-sky, suck-it-and-see, let's hope it works dream...? In short, how can a business start off from Day One making money?

For expediency's sake and the limitations of the word count of this article, I'm assuming the reader/ potential business owner has already undertaken the investment of market research to know their is actually a need for their product or service. Likewise the assumption is made that they are in a geographical market conducive to their company's offering, and similar restrictions. What this article deals with is how to make opening the doors to a new venture the most successful on a continued basis.

As a business and marketing consultant to European and American companies my greatest challenge was to make them 100% efficient (or as close to that figure as possible.) Sounds simple. Theoretically possible in ever scenario. In practice...? Without wasting my own efficiency on studies (and

For expediency's sake and the limitations of the word count of this article, I'm assuming the reader/ potential business owner has already undertaken the investment of market research to know their is actually a need for their product or service. Likewise the assumption is made that they are in a geographical market conducive to their company's offering, and similar restrictions. What this article deals with is how to make opening the doors to a new venture the most successful on a continued basis.

As a business and marketing consultant to European and American companies my greatest challenge was to make them 100% efficient (or as close to that figure as possible.) Sounds simple. Theoretically possible in ever scenario. In practice...? Without wasting my own efficiency on studies (and

As a business and marketing consultant to European and American companies my greatest challenge was to make them 100% efficient (or as close to that figure as possible.) Sounds simple. Theoretically possible in ever scenario. In practice...? Without wasting my own efficiency on studies (and

As a business and marketing consultant to European and American companies my greatest challenge was to make them 100% efficient (or as close to that figure as possible.) Sounds simple. Theoretically possible in ever scenario. In practice...? Without wasting my own efficiency on studies (and trusting companies to be truthful with the information they supply) I very much doubt that there are more than 2% of the world's companies working at 100% efficiency.

Shocking. 98% of all companies do not run at 100% efficiency. And yet we feel bad if our weight-loss diet doesn't work. Shocking. Think about it, though. Look around you, inefficiency is everywhere. How many times do you see cars pass you by fully occupied? Busses? Are restaurants you eat in always full? Are supermarkets stocking shelves the moment you pull the last can of beans? Do the automotive manufacturers produce just enough cars for all the people? I won't try and blend political bias into this article and say, "Where is Communist Russia now?" but that kind of utopia in business is not possible on that scale, BUT can we get close to it as a small/ medium sized company (SMB)? Absolutely!

So, again, what can a SMB do to stack the odds in their favor? Call me a traditionalist, if you will, but I advocate two of the oldest business methods known to Man: Bartering and Networking. The two go hand-in-hand in my book, and (most importantly) create the most word-of-mouth advertising per dollar spent. Let me reiterate those two business tools: Bartering