WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS;
As promised, Here is my answer to yet another listener to Galaxy FM 100.2, Milton Obote Odur who shared his question on managing small business

EACH business is unique. There is no one-size-fits-all for business. Some basics however, are a constant!
Here are some;
1. Financial discipline: it doesn’t matter how much money you make but if you cant manage it well and ensure you are income / Inflows are more than you are spending/ expenditure/outflows, your will not be successful. Growth comes from having profit which comes from having something left over. Its important to spend less than you are earning. Look at it as a funnel into a bucket with a tap. If you want the bucket to be full then the funnel on top must bring in more than the outlet at the bottom otherwise, you will have a leaky bucket situation which is not sustainable long term.
2. Customer service; this is critical. Each satisfied customer brings in another or two. There is no marketing as effective as Word of Mouth. People trust their friends than radio or TV ads. Remember,business makes 80% of its revenue from 20% of the customers. Most of these 20% are the regular/ repeat customers. On the other side, those customers that are disappointed will tell ten or more and those ten will tell 10 or more their own version of what they heard as if they experienced the bad service. Often as if its them that you disappointed. You therefore, cant afford to disappoint a customer . Good customer care is the fertilizer of the business while bad customer care is the poison that kills it.
3. The Product; Even with the best customer service, if the core product is bad, nothing will matter. People will always come for the product. There is a lady that bakes cake. The woman is rude. On a bad day, she will tell you if you don’t want to pick the cake, you leave it, someone else will buy it. I was surprised that this woman still has lots of customers including myself. I still buy cake from her because her cakes are delicious and she delivers on time. Yes, her customer care is bad but the cakes are delicious, which is the reason we call a baker anyway. Its important to understand your market, anticipate their needs and have that product that the others don’t have. Be very good at it. Be the other that everyone talks about like they talk about Goat Nyamachoma from Mukutano or Comedy from Fun Factory or Katogo from Katogo 24/7 etc.
4. People; Businesses are not faceless. The people that work there are the faces of the business. Good people will bring customers back, bad people will send people away. Get good people, continuously train them and weed out the bad ones. Find a way to keep them motivated by constantly recognizing their efforts and punishing those who fail.
5. Location; This is critical. This varies depending on what we sell. If its business that thrives off walk ins, its important to get a location with enough feet walking infront of it. If its one that needs tranquility, a quite place would do better. There is something about the power of adjacency . Its best to be located near similar businesses. When I want spares, I go to Kiseka, if I want food, I go to Mpererwe or Nakawa. Being located in such a place gives you a chance of trial. You dont want to be a pork butchery near a mosque.
6. Physical setting; The ambience is very important. The colour, sounds, set up, access etc determines how customers will feel while at the place. Its best to understand what drives your customers, what your positioning, how you want to be remembered by the customers and then you do your best to deliver to their needs. Some colours send away people, smells, sounds, music etc determine the experience the customers will have. It writes the story these people will tell much later after they have left and hence bring you referrals.
7. Lastly, the pricing. We are in an economy that isn’t doing well. Everyone is looking for a bargain. Its important to price properly not to be too expensive but also not to cheap. Cheap is associated with low quality. Its human nature. You need to choose your market and fine a right price to charge

These are some of them, details will be in my book on Managing Small business coming out soon.