It’s from these many calls that we came up with this article on how to improve your business product sales. We shall discuss some sales and marketing strategies that can help for whatever products you produce, or whatever business you run so that you can make more sales compared to what you make.

Tips to improve your business product sales.

Know and Acquaint Yourself with Prospects

To start with on how to improve your business product sales, Don’t start producing any product before you have surveyed the market and know what the clients want exactly in terms of quality and quantity. This will save you production and after reaching the market, you find that no one wants your good as they are substandard or you flood the market.

It’s also important to get contact details of potential customers and ensure to let them know of your products and give them a chance to test the product before you even start mass production. Further, production on a small scale is a good idea which can later be followed by gradual increments after getting good market share and customers.

Read also: 7 Habits of highly successful businessmen.

Know and target your product seasons

Don’t let your season find you unprepared with business funds in invested elsewhere and things of the sort. You should schedule your production well in such a way that you will have produced goods ready to sell by the start of your respective seasons based on your business. ie Christmas or any time that increases sales for your business.

Leverage on the Power of Networking.

Most businesses have bodies and groups that bring them together. Join these and if they don’t exist in your area, create them. This will give you more exposure and the opportunity to connect or network with other people in your industry hence learning a strategy or anything new. In these groups, you can further agree on prices or join hands to meet certain demands that you can’t meet on your own.

Advertise your business.

Don’t underestimate the power of advertisement. A website, and social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more. These sites are great platforms to advertise your products and/or services and bring more customers to your business. leverage the power of social media or give your business more exposure and get more customers.

It’s common for many business owners to think that they are known when they aren’t. This is like your heart in business. The day you stop advertising, then you’ve lost your heartbeat, and guess what next, failure.

Read also: 3 ways to get your business online in Uganda

Process and add value to your products.

This is another way of prolonging the life of whatever perishables you produce, and also creating more market for your products as value-added goods. Processing most of these products aren’t as expensive as you think. Take off time and find out what it takes to process your raw product. Don’t just assume that it’s expensive. Some of these processing costs and methods shall surprise you.

Processing may call that you meet some stringent industry requirements and probably registration but it’s all good for the business. Some of the costs that you may incur include, incorporation and other fees and the requirement of good hygiene.

Avoid Overproduction

One last and important thing is that you must not produce more than what the market demands.

This is the reason why conducting a market survey is important. If you don’t conduct a market survey, you may find it difficult to know and understand the pattern or behavior of the market, especially in your area. Failure to sell at the planned time leads to unnecessary unavoidable additional costs of production of which the market is a little stringent on price.

Conclusion

I pray this article is an eye opener to many businessmen out there. Planning is important in any business, you need to have feasible and executable marketing before you start producing. If you can put these few points into action, you shall save yourself losses due to ignorance and poor planning as a whole.

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What is an online business?

This should be what some of you are asking yourselves. An online business is one conducted online. This involves the different transactions of goods and services between individuals. Some businesses are purely online. Some are not carried out online but they can also work online. This is due to the vast reasons you should put your business online. I think this gives you an understanding of an online business.

The Benefits of Having Your Company Online.

These are the reasons as to why you should put your business online so they you can enjoy the benefits. Let’s get along!

The natural physical and distance barrier.

Thanks to the internet. This is one main reason you should put your business online. You can sell to people overseas. This can let you sell more goods and hence more money. A good example is the multinational companies such as Alibaba, eBay, and more that operate online. These sell with no geographical limitations. Doesn’t it sound good to sell with no geographical limitations?

Eases Finding resource supply such as raw materials.

Some essential raw materials are scarce in some geographic locations. The companies that need them for raw material are vast. Take an example of agricultural products. They are in large quantities in agricultural economies. Through the internet, you can get your company a supplier of agricultural raw material.

Read also: 10 easy profitable gardening businesses you can do.

The internet is a powerful tool for marketing your business.

More on reaons You Should Put Your Business Online is the fact that it’s borderless, having your business online can have you an edge on your competitors. That is as far marketing and there after sales are concerned. Give it a try today and you’ll enjoy these benefits.

You can reach more people with an online presence.

As we discussed above that the internet eliminates to some extend the physical and geographic barriers to trade. This means that you’ll reach more people and hence make more money by putting your business online.

You’ll be available 24/7, 365 days a year.

I know you’ve seen working hours somewhere. This isn’t there on the internet/ online. You eliminate all chances of losing customers due working hours. This is even better if you create an online responsive platform that can accept orders from clients and process them. This shouldn’t sound like heaven on earth. All this is possible with the help of coding or plugins in the web development process.

Online marketing costs less than traditional advertising methods.

For any business to be successful, a good marketing strategy should be in place. Having your business online shall mean that you are well off with the online platform as a means of marketing. Thus it is way cheaper as compared to the other print or ad marketing strategies. It’s also an effective way as you can zero down to adverting to possible clients using geo/ location, age, preference. There is more to guide who or where the impact of your advertisement. It’s worth every penny of your money, give it a try.

Read also: How to find the right business idea.

Easily receive feedback communicate and pass information to clients.

Putting your business online gives customers the opportunity to learn about what you offer without leaving their homes. It further eases communication between you and your clients. It eases the review process and makes you easily earn the confidence of clients. Based on positive previews and testimonials of others that you’ve worked with well. Nevertheless, the less, this can also be a disadvantage especially if you have bad products and thereafter bad reviews.

How to get your business online.

What people think about when we talk about putting a business online is a website. Yes, it involves that and it’s one of the best ways to. But you don’t have to have an extensive website or do anything complicated. Building your own website from scratch is easy and inexpensive (especially if you use templates). All you need to do is upload the content and customize it to suit your needs.

Further setting up your business on social media such as opening a Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram profile. And more of the sort can help get you online for cheap.  If you’re still looking for more ideas on how to build your brand online without investing too much time or money into getting started, check out one of our blog posts about How to put your business online in Uganda.

Conclusion

The internet is a powerful tool for marketing your business. You can reach more people with an online presence, it’s available 24/7, 365 days year-round and costs less than traditional advertising methods like print or television ads. Building your own website from scratch is easy and inexpensive (especially if you use templates).

All you need to do is upload the content and customize it to suit your needs. Putting your business online gives customers the opportunity to learn about what you offer without leaving their homes!  On top of that, we will come up with SEO strategies so that potential clients find you when they are searching on Google or other search engines for businesses similar to yours in your area! What’s your say about getting your business online. Feel free to share your feelings in the comment box below.

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What is an online business?

An online business is one conducted online. This involves the different transaction of goods and services between individuals. There are businesses which are purely online. These are not our focus. Then there are those that are not carried out online but they can also work online as it can ease transactions, improve sales and more. These are our topic for today. How can an offline business shift to online to benefit from the different benefits of being online?

Why you should put your business online.

• Now that you know what an online business is, this should be yet another question you are asking yourself. Why go online?
• The reason you should put your business online include;
• To exploit the internet as a tool for marketing your business
• You can reach more people with an online presence give many hindrances such as geographic barriers are eliminated.
• Your website will be available 24/7, 365 days a year hence no limitation of working hours
• Online marketing costs less than traditional advertising methods like print or television ads hence making it ideal to put your business online.

The reasons why you should put your business online are many. If you wish to know more, you can read our full blogpost on why you should put your business online here

Read also: Top 10 Considerations To Re-pay your Loan Very Well.

How to put your business online in Uganda.

There we go. After having some information about online business, now here are the top 3 powerful ways to get your business online.

Create a website.

This is at its simplest. It’s not hard like rocket science anymore. Even if you don’t know coding, you can build your website for yourself. If you are scared, you can hire someone to do it for you. It is one of the best ways to get yourself online. With a website, you can be assured to exploit ball the advantages of being online from selling more goods, advertising easily and many more. By adopting a website, you shall have successfully put your business online.

Embrace social media.

Often times when people hear of getting your business online, all they think about is some expensive website. That isn’t the case always. You can get your business online by getting it pages and accounts on different social media. Through these, you can chat, sell or advertise products. Does this sound great? Then get on the wheels and get your business online for a cheap by opening for it all social media accounts.

Below are some of the ways you can get your business on social media;

• Create a Facebook page
• Open a Twitter account
• Create and Instagram page
• Publish your media on YouTube
• Create a WhatsApp business account for interaction with customers.

Be part of online stores.

Online stores are sites that sell goods and services online. These stores deal in a vast amount of goods in that they don’t have all the goods but create a platform through which different businesses can showcase their goods and sell them to customers through their platform. Some even just help hook customers and buyers.

These companies earn a commission for every good they sell which is always added to your original price or charge a fee for advertising or benefit through adds on the platform. This is a super easy way to get online in Uganda. All you need is to contact the administration of the respective platform and see how you can get along.

Read also: How To Find the Right Business Idea.

Some of the platforms in Uganda include;

Jumia Uganda.

This is a collection of many sellers and often times you find a product being sold at different prices due to many different buyers being on the platform. You too can get your business online by being part of Jumia Uganda. For details on how to join the many sellers on Jumia Uganda, read the guidelines on the link.

Jiji Uganda.

This is more of a platform for connecting buyers and sellers. This is easier to use compared to Jumia. All you have to do is register your account and then make posts if the different goods and services you offer. Your posts will be reviewed and published if them conform to the post standards by Jiji Uganda.

I have just given an example of jumia and jiji uganda but there are many more platforms you can look out for in Uganda.

Conclusion

You have a business that is looking for more exposure, it’s time to consider the benefits of the internet. You can reach more people with your message when you market through digital channels like social media or email campaigns and keep in touch around the clock. Your website will be available 24/7, 365 days a year which means potential customers don’t need to wait until they’re near your store hours before being able to learn about what you offer.

The internet also costs far less than traditional advertising methods like print or television ads so there’s no reason not to get started today! Creating your own website from scratch has never been easier thanks to affordable templates and easy-to-use content management systems. If your business is not ready for a website now due to financial and expertise issues, then you can try online stores like Jiji and Jumia Uganda. These can help and obviously not ignoring the power of social media. I look forward to listening to your success story online.

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Read also: How To Raise Money For Your Side Business.

They are determined.

When it comes down to it, there’s no reason not to get up an hour earlier than usual if that means you can spend that time working on your side hustle instead of sleeping. This is what it takes to be successful and it is what highly successful businessmen do. “Sacrifice”. It might take a couple of weeks before things start getting easier but once they do, waking up early becomes second nature and something you don’t have any trouble doing anymore!  This can be anything in line with your side hustle not only waking up early. Just a sacrifice that later pays off.

They are organized.

I usually correlate order with success. No wonder the highly successful are very organized. They arrange and ensure everything is organized and goes as planned. If you are doing your hustle or planning to start it, then try to be organized and you’ll be on your way to success. It doesn’t take a lot to be organized, just putting everything in order and executing programs as planned.

They do side hustles that match their skillset.

One of the best ways to make a hustle easy is to choose one in your skill set. This is what most successful side hustlers do. This saves you Labour and time you would spend trying to get in line with the side hustle. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean you can’t learn a new skill for your hustle. If you have the resources for one you are unskilled about, you can still take it on. Though you’ll need extra guidance and effort.

They are Patient and hardworking.

Patience and hard work are important habits for highly successful businessmen. There is no side hustle that shall work out on the first day or second. This implies that to be highly successful, you ought to work very hard and be patient. Slowly, things will shape and money will flow your way.

Read also: The key elements to success for a new business.

Keep things simple.

Simple means making something easy to do. It involves not going into too much unnecessary detail, and sticking to the point. Simplicity and success go together. When you keep things simple, they tend to be robust. Simplicity leads to accuracy, reliability, and quality which are all correlated to success. This is a trait you should chase. “Keeping things simple”.

They don’t underate side hustles.

There are many side hustles that bring in small money though with a high profit margin.

Just like the saying goes,

One by one makes a bundle

kamukamu

You don’t need to underate side hustles. You never know what could work for you. If it brings small money, it’s better than nothing. This is what exactly highly successful side hustlers do. They take everything weather small or big. The issue is they all add something to you.

It’s common that people have good ideas but fear failure and so they never execute them. Highly successful side hustlers are great risk takers. When they plan out something and the plan is good and shows possible positive returns, they take it on. If you are out there reading this, check yourself. Is there an idea you wanted to start but the beast “fear” scared you? If yes, then this is the right time to give it a second thought. If the plan looks good and workable, do not fear, take on the idea. You never know what will work out.

Conclusions.

Those were the seven habits of highly successful side hustlers. There are many more and so we can suggest some in the comment box and take the discussion on another level. Of all the ideas, the one I like most is and worked hard to attain is being a risk taker. When some side hustle sounds right, and the plan speaks the same. The next step is doing the hustle. No second though. That’s it. You can borrow a leaf.

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Books every Business Man should read.

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

The E-Myth “Entrepreneurial Myth” is the wrong belief that most businesses are started by people with specific business skills. Actually, most are started by people who know nothing about running a business. I like this book specifically because even with no business knowledge which most people lack, it clearly brings it out that you can still start a side hustle. Read it and you’ll get the courage to do whatever business comes your way

The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco

The millionaire Fastlane “Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime!” Is a book that will teach you how to build wealth. Since the main goal for business men is wealth generation, I therefore recommend this book. You can improve on your wealth generation knowledge by reading this book.

Read also; How to find the right business idea.

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heine Meier Hansson.

This book shows new ways to grow and run your business. Ways that are completely different from what business schools teach or what common sense dictates. If you want to learn new ways to learn or grow your business, this book can be of help. Include it on your list.

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

This is a good book by Robert Kiyosaki. There are a lot of key points he passes across in his book that you can learn from and have an improved business life. For example;

It’s not how much money you make that matters, it’s how much money you keep. This helps develop a saving habit hence better yourself. Surely, it’s about how much you save not earn.

Ideally, he further encourages that we take on side hustles. Working for someone will only lead to financial struggle not freedom

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

This book by Napoleon Hill. The book suggests that success starts with a burning desire. It’s only those people whose desire for success is greater that their fear for failure that will get out of the comfort zone and do side hustles. By the time you finish reading this book, you star any business convinced you’ll succeed and with great energy. This is a key element in business.

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.

This book, How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses is a book by Eric Ries. it comes up on our list of books every Business Man should read. The book describes Erics proposed lean startup strategy for startup companies. Eric developed the ideas from his experience as a start-up advisor. If you read this book, you’ll stand a chance to benefit from Eric’s all the years’ experience and expertise as an advisor.

Zero to One by Peter Thiel.

Zero to One aka Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future is a book by the American Peter Thiel co-written with Blake Masters. If you have a startup or plan to have one, there are many lessons you’ll pick from this book that shall help you and your business keep going.

Success and Failure Based on Reason and Reality by Hamis Kiggundu.

Success and Failure based on Reason and Reality is a book by Ugandan Hamis Kiggundu. It offers advice on financial success and the need to have a sense of purpose in everything that you do. As a side hustler, this book will instill hope and encourage you to take on more hustles with rejuvenated energy. Buy one online today and you’ll not remain the same.

Read also:Why most businesses fail.

Conclusion.

These eight books that every Business Man should read are keys to business success. They’ll teach you how to be successful in your personal life and professional endeavors by offering a variety of perspectives on what it takes to win at work, play and live well. Armed with these insights from some of today’s most influential thinkers, as well as the wisdom passed down through generations. There is no doubt that you will get ahead! 

Which book did I find most helpful? My favorite was The Millionaire Fastlane because MJ DeMarco offers concrete steps for people who want an escape plan from their cubicle jobs into financial freedom. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, then pick up a copy and start reading now!

If you’ve read a book that you think every business man should read and it’s not on the list, feel free to add it to the comment box.

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lets get started.

What about Not writing a plan?

While you can make many minor mistakes while writing your business plan, not writing one is a serious major business mistake. A business plan guides you through the business and can help you gain business partners or funds. Always think about a business plan whenever you want to start a business. If you don’t know where to start writing one, you can look at our full blog post about how to write a business plan.

In order to help those who are just getting started with their entrepreneurial endeavors, here are some common mistakes people make when writing their own plans: 

1. Being vague about goals or objectives.

This comes up as number one on our list of Mistakes we make when writing business plans as it is so common. Oftentimes, I find unarchivable goals in a business plan. This makes it lose its function of earning funds as no one can fund a clearly unrealistic plan or proposal. And neither can it lead you to business success as the set goals can’t be achieved. This is one of the causes of business failure. When you set yourself vague goals that you can’t archive, you’ve as well failed in the business.

Read also: 7 habits of highly successful businessmen.

2. Choosing the wrong goals for our plan.

Often times it’s not the vague goals, but the wrong goals and objectives for your plan that let you down. There are the best ways to earn from something, so neglecting the best ways and choosing to use the less can be a wrong goal as far as the plan is concerned. Always choose goals that will help you earn beat from the business. These are the right goal. An example of bad goal is only benefiting from honey from bee keeping. Come on you can benefit from wax, propolis, venom and many more. Choosing to consider only honey is a bad goal as it limits your business.

3. Focusing on too many goals at once, instead of just one or two.

You’ll side with me that few clear goals are easier to chase and achieve. This is what exactly you should do when starting. I know you’ll have many goals but sieve them and remain with the core ones that will move your business miles. Chase those. Having fewer goals with keep you focused, untiring and you’ll most likely achieve them.

4. Forgetting to include an action plan with the steps you will take to reach those goals.

These are commonly known as objectives. Some people set goals and forget to set the right objectives to gear them towards the set goals. It makes less sense to set goals with no objectives as you are most likely not going to achieve those goals. If you intend to raise funds with your plan, then you’ll find it hard to convince the possible funders on how you are going to achieve your goals as you don’t have a clear plan on how you are going to. Sometimes having this not set means your goal can’t be achieved. So, watch this.

5. Not being specific.

Oftentimes, this happens in business and its main cause is an initial problem in the plan. Know what exactly you want at the very beginning with your plan. Let your goals be specific and to the point so that they are easy to chase even if you are not around. for example, if you want to increase sales, then say what specifically you plan on doing (e.g., “I’ll work on making my product more appealing”). This will guide someone on what exactly to do and many more methods can be devised to help you achieve that easily.

Read also: The key elements to success for a new business.

6. Having a complex business plan.

Most times, a business plan is written not only for yourself but can also be used as a guide to other people and also as a means of convincing business partners to join you in your hustle. With these aims of a business plan stated, it’s clear that making it complex and hard to understand is a drawback to the business and yourself that is looking for business success. Keep the business plan simple and easy to understand.

7. Setting unrealistic deadlines for yourself.

This is a grave mistake among Mistakes we make when writing business plans. Deadlines are good as they let you do your business tasks on time. Unrealistic deadlines are a whole bunch of stress. From chasing a deadline, you can’t meet, to entering into time for other tasks and facing to meet customer needs. This alone can lead to business failure. So, whenever setting a deadline, make sure it’s achievable.

8.Not Including a timeline of when certain tasks need to be completed.

As the saying goes,” time is money” some tasks must have a time limit so that everything is clear and organized. Some tasks precede others and not to delay the them, those that are preceded must be timed to keep the whole process clear and organized.

9. Trying to make their plan perfect before starting.

This is the major reason why most plans remain on paper. People want ideal conditions to start and they forget ideal doesn’t exist.  You can’t get it all right at the start. Some things are ironed out with the hustle in its babyhood. Just get the major requirements and get going and the minors will come with time. Waiting until you have all the time and money to start your plan will delay your start as you’ll never get around to it because there are always other priorities that take precedence over all your plans.

Read also: How to find the right business idea.

10.Not having a cash flow forecast.

Everyone does business with the main aim of Making money. Along the way, a lot of needs come by that require money especially after the initial set off. A cash flow forecast shall show ideally how you’ll generate money to pay off workers, yourself and for business expansion. If you lack it, the you don’t know how much money you expect to get from your hustles and it makes the expansion and future of the business blurred. Remember most investors want to know how much they expect from the investment to conclude if it’s worthwhile. And this is what shall help do that. Check your plan. If you lack it, then go include it.

Conclusion

The best way to avoid these Mistakes we make when writing business plans is to start with a plan that has one or two simple goals. Start small by breaking up each goal into manageable chunks and taking actionable steps towards achieving them every day. This will help you stay motivated instead of feeling overwhelmed!

If you feel like your goals are slipping away or that they’re not aligned with the direction of your life, it may be time to create a plan. A successful goal is one where there is alignment between what we want and how much effort we invest in achieving them. Make sure your goals align with who you really are by asking yourself these questions:

• What do I need right now?
• What will make me happy?
• And why am I doing this anyway?

By answering these three fundamental questions about what matters most to you, you can more easily prioritize which tasks matter most and get started on making those things happen instead of waiting for all the pieces to fall into place. You don’t have to wait until everything is perfect. Waiting until everything is perfect is a startup killer. Everything will simply never be perfect and in the end, you’ll never execute your plan. Boom, it’s dead. Isn’t it? So, I think by avoiding these mistakes while planning, you’re already a mile away from your fears and almost achieving your goals. Feel free to contact us for anything that seems unclear.

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Every day, people are faced with the decision to become their own boss or to work for someone else’s company. There are risks in both directions and it can be difficult to know which choice is right for you. This post will help you find out what key elements to success for a new business are. These will dictate how successful your company may be in the long run.

An idea. Ideally, one that you are passionate about.

This is the first on our list of key elements to success. An idea is a king in business. However much you execute the wrong idea you’ll just be wasting your time. It’s worth all the efforts you try to find the right business idea. Yes, money can be the reason you choose to do something but it being your passion is better. Think about it. If you are struggling to find the right business idea, we have a complete blog post that shall guide you on how to find the right business idea. You can learn more from it.

A plan for operation, growth and expansion.

Oftentimes, businesses that fail lack plans for operation, growth and expansion. You can’t always take the wind direction as far as decisions are concerned. Take off some time and an for your hustle. Follow the plan to the dot and you’ll reach your destination. Remember, a good plan should be smart.

Read also: 7 habits of highly successful businessmen.

The right location.

Oftentimes, businesses start production in negatives just because of a poor location. The right location can help you save operation costs such as transportation, marketing, and advertising especially if it is in a place where people can easily see it. And also increase sales if the location is accessible. Watch out for your location because it has a big influence on the success of your business.

Here are some tips to choose a good location.

• It should be spacious with room for expansion.
• One that is accessible to customers better if it’s in an area of high demand of the product.
• It should meet the business needs such as it being busy, quiet and more

The right people on the team and a good product.

For any business, there is always a team that is responsible for implementing different business tasks. In addition to the right team, a good product can do itself wonders as far as sales are concerned. It’s wise to have skilled people on the team as a good product is produced by skilled people. With a given set of people with the right skill, you’ll not go wrong.

The right Marketing and advertising strategies.

The right marketing strategy shall promote your sales and get you real customers. You need to look and test all strategies and choose out the best as far as sales are concerned. An example of a good marketing strategy is to offer incentives to customers who refer their friends and family members to your company. With this, you won’t get it wrong.

Relationships with the right people in business.

There is that class of people I call right for your business. These are ambitious, hardworking, and encouraging. They may be workers, friends in the same business line, and more. You ought to look at your friends in business and sieve them. It’s pretty cool to get rid of those that shall lead your business to its death bed. Those are toxic people to your business.

Read also: Top roadside businesses in Uganda.

Patience.

“Rome was not built bin one day”.  Just like the saying goes, you’ll not build your business in a twinkle. It takes time to build up your business’ reputation and customer base. You need to be patient and keep pushing. With time, your business shall sprout and you’ll start seeing some good returns.

Investment in the right tools for success.

The saying goes that,

“Money makes money”.

Benjamin Franklin

Using your money to invest in the right tools for success is key to business success. The different tools may enhance production, marketing or something that will put your business upfront. So, if you own a business that’s staggering, you ought to look out for the right tools and that may help you get back on track.

Knowing the market and your competition.

It’s not common these days that you’ll run a business as a monopoly. The market is dynamic with many determining factors. Therefore, knowing the market and your competition can give you an advantage. Know the weaknesses of your competitors so that you can use that to your advantage.

 Hard work and persistence.

Last on our list of key elements to success is hardwork and persistence. Starting a business isn’t easy but maintaining it isn’t either. This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. Hard work and persistence can lead you to your targets though. Clear set goals and hard work towards those can help you see some light tomorrow. Not forgetting that you’ll fail before achieving your goals but with persistence, you can still see some light.

Conclusion.

While it may sound impossible to start a business from scratch, the truth is that all of these key elements to success are achievable with enough time and hard work. If you’ve found yourself struggling in any area along this path, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Our team at the side hustles can offer assistance throughout every step of your journey – whether you need advice about where to find affordable tools or want someone on-hand who understands what challenges you face as a small business owner. We’re here for you!

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Ready to get started? Let’s dive in!

1. I didn’t have a plan.

A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business startup shall run, defines its objectives, and how it is to achieve those objectives. This was one of the Mistakes I made when starting my hustle. A good business plan guides one through the whole business process meaning you’ll be operating on a developed system rather than following the “wind direction” in your activities. Don’t make this mistake as I did.

2. I got too comfortable too quickly..

I call this the business worm. It shall eat up your hustle and cause stunted development. This comes into play when you set your target and meet it. You then get comfortable with the little you are getting. Yes, you are earning something, but you can do better. Push harder. This shall surely affect you if you are not good at setting goals and chasing them.

3. I was afraid to ask for help or advice..

Ask, ask, and ask should be your growth weapon as a starter. This was also among the mistakes I made when starting. When you ask or seek help and guidance, you learn more. Then you can easily do things and get your hustle on the go. Some people fear to ask yet it’s human and not everyone started as an expert. So don’t be afraid bro ask.

Read also: The key elements to success for a new business.

4. I thought it would be easy to get motivated..

Another top one among the mistakes I made while starting is forgetting about motivation. Demotivation is real as you move on with the hustle especially if it’s underperforming. Before starting the hustle, think about this because it shall lead to underperformance. What is your source of motivation to keep you moving even on the worst days? Try out something you like. That alone shall be a source of motivation.

You can read more about how to choose the best ideas that won’t get you bored on your journey

5. I did it alone.

Don’t do it alone – find a partner with who you can work. As the saying goes, “Two heads are better than one”, not always but this time, exactly. Doing tasks and all that is related gets simpler with a bigger force. Sometimes you are new in the industry or less skilled and a more skilled partner would help. This doesn’t mean that you always have to employ someone, reason out if it’s necessary.

6. I was not realistic about my goals and expectations.

This I was lacking a lot. In addition, motivation speakers worsen this. They told me how I could earn fortunes in a short time. While this may be true, it’s important to look at how possible it is. Most time, you can’t just be up in a twinkle, you need hard work, patience, and persistence. Just make sure your goal and objectives are achievable not to be disappointed at the end of the day.

7. I did not plan adequately what my business would be providing.

This is yet another one among the top mistakes I made while starting. It’s common with those producing multiple products. Your business can produce a lot of products but there should be that key most important product to your business. Additionally, carry out a detailed customer study to determine who your target market is exactly.

Read also: Why most businesse fail.

8. I spent a lot on marketing, advertising, and other expenses.

Marketing and spending on your business can be endless. You’ll never be satisfied with your business status. Just like I was, if you don’t know how much you want to spend, you’ll spend too big. Always have at the back of your mind what you are willing to spend to avoid this error and running into losses

9. I lacked a plan for what I wanted my business to look like.

A plan for what you want your business to look like always gives you a reason to work harder especially if you have not yet made it there. Not having one always makes you lag or have no challenge. This can keep your hustles stagnant. So, try to always have a challenge. After achieving one challenge, you can always set the other.

10. I lacked a system to track data coming from customers.

You should use customers feedback as a business building block. If you are producing a product, ask how your customers found it. This can help you improve the product to better satisfy your clients. If clients are dissatisfied with your product, this is an indicator of your product being substandard and can lead to business failure. Watch this.

Conclusion

With all these mistakes, it’s a wonder how I was able to grow my hustle quickly.  Once I had a plan in place and started following through and avoiding the mistakes listed here, things began to take off. Whether you’re just starting or have been hustling for years without much success , don’t give up! You can do this! Just remember that there are no shortcuts when it comes to success. The slow process may feel like torture at times, but as long as you stay persistent and committed, you’ll get there.

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This is a free world!

This blog post will teach you everything that you need to know about running your own business and staying afloat in this fast-paced world of today.  Read on and find out!

The reasons why most businesses fail are the major mistakes that most entrepreneurs make. this can guide you on your next step as an entrepreneur.

Below are the major reasons why most businesses fail.

 Not enough customers.

Most businesses fail due to lack of enough customers. The customer is king in any business. They are the. The reason why you do business. Knowing your customers individually is important. Even if there is a “new boy in town”, you remain with those loyal ones that can bail out your hustle during bad times.  Insufficient customers can make your business fail. As a businessman/ woman, you have to do all it takes to keep your coatomers.

Here are a few tips to help you keep your customers;

• Make quality and always meet their expectation quality wise.
• Develop a business relationship with them. You can even know your customers by name.
• Be nice and friendly especially when serving or selling to them.
• Ask for feedback from them to know how they actually feel about the product to improve it and make it better fit their needs and preferences.

Lack of knowledge about the business.

This is another reason why businesses fail. In business, knowing what, how, and when to do something is important. This is what makes the difference. It makes you produce good quality products, target the right people, and all that. You don’t always start a business as an expert, you can learn along the way. But have it in mind to learn. Put in some effort to learn more about the business and become knowledgeable about it. Lack of sufficient knowledge shall lead you to wrong decisions and ruin your business. Be on the watch.

Read also; Mistakes i made when starting my side hustle

Wastage of resources.

This can be in the form of inputs, too many employees, and things of the sort. Resources help you run the business the right way. But come at a cost. An example of labor helps in the production processes but you have to pay for it. If you have a lot of workers, this means you’ll be paying more for less. Carry out an audit of employees. Find out how much work they do in relation to their pay.

It’s a wise idea to get rid of redundant labor not forgetting that you needn’t overwork and underpay your labor. Their happiness is part of your success. You can then apply this to all other resources. There is a tendency to waste resources especially at the start of the hustle. Watch this.

 Lack of a clear vision or Lack of a business plan or strategy.

Most small startup side hustles lack this. It’s very important and it is best highlighted by a proposal of which most businesses start without one. Try to write one for your business and make your vision clear. See. Your vision comes out realistically with a strategy. Your strategy shall guide you through the process and let you work with your vision at the back of your mind. This is because the vision is inherent in your strategy.

Read also: Mistakes we make when writing business plans.

Poor management skills.

Management is key to the success of any business. Good management ensures that the resources are utilized well, available on time, and the general smooth running of the business. Oftentimes, business owners neglect management. They always think they can do it themselves. Yes, they may, but not at their best. It’s better to employ a business manager especially when the business has grown. Try an experienced business manager today and you’ll tell us the story.

Poor customer service and Failure to meet customers’ expectations.

Poor customer service is another core reason why businesses fail. We did discuss already that the customer is king in any business. Here, another point related to customers is on the list again. This time, not about them being few, but being treated not as kings yet then are as far as business is concerned. Often times I visit businesses and am treated as though am unwanted.

This always marks my break up with that particular businesses. Not me alone, but most people do that. It doesn’t cost a lot to treat a customer well in terms of your interaction and as far as the product is concerned. Do this and you’ll see success befall your side hustle. Failure to do this, you’ll be on your failure journey.

 Limited resources like money, time, and People.

Limited resources add up to no financial backing. Because, if the finances are there, you can nearly get all the other resources such as labor and more. Money is one of the major requirements to kickstart your side hustle. If you get it wrong, your side hustle will slowly but steadily fail.

The good news is that there are many ways we can raise money for startups. You can read one of our blog posts on how to raise capital for your side hustles to get equipped with those techniques. Nevertheless, management of the finances is very important as mismanagement isn’t a good option either. A loan may work out pretty well for most and you needn’t worry about how to pay it well. We got you a post about considerations to repay your loan well. For the case of money, you need to give it extra attention for the good of your side hustles. if you get it right with money, one of the reasons businesses fail is off

Unrealistic goals and expectations.

While starting a side hustle, you always have goals and expectations. Rome wasn’t built in one day. You too can’t build your side hustle and your brand in a short. It takes time. Try to be patient with the right goals. When you achieve a goal, it’s always a milestone. But let the goal be realistic, achievable, measurable, specific, and be time-bound. Astronomic goals and expectations shall not be achieved and shall lead to frustration and let you think that there is no progress. Remember, achieving a goal is encouraging. If your goals can be achieved, you lack that bit of motivation and fail to see a reason for work. This often gets your business on its death journey.

Failure in the marketplace

This may include, not enough demand for products or services offered by the company, no pricing structure that is competitive with other companies in the market, Failure to adapt to changes in the market or industry, and more things like that. The market is where you get it right or wrong. If you can’t sufficiently operate and adapt to the rapidly changing market conditions, then the future of your hustle giant is guaranteed. Try to do market research and keep your product updated as far as the market is concerned.

Read also: The key elements to success for a new business.

Conclusion

The truth is, any company can be successful when they have a clear vision of what success looks like. When you know who your customers are and provide them with the best customer service possible, it’s hard to go wrong. Brain research has shown that people make up their minds about whether or not to buy something in just three seconds (or less). This means there’s no time for companies without strong management skills or resources to waste on unrealistic goals and expectations!

If you’re looking for help boosting sales by understanding how your brain works so you can leverage neuroscience principles in digital marketing strategy, we’ve got some experts waiting to partner with you today. Have you ever tried incorporating these principles into your own business? Let us know in the comment box. Thank you.

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Why you should re-pay your loan well?

Before we discuss the Considerations To Re-pay your Loan Very Well, let’s look at why you should actually re-pay your loan well.

• To increase your borrowing limit.

In case you expect to ask for a loan in the future, proper repayment is very important. Your approval to receive a loan shall depend on how well you repaid your previous loan. This also comes into play if you wish to ask for more money in the future.

• To safeguard your security.

Failure to pay your loan well puts your security at risk. Your security may be captured for some time and this may affect its capacity to bring money if it does.  

• Free your business of debts.

Paying your loans keeps your business free from debts

• Avoid late payment fines.

Late payment comes at a cost that is stated in the loan terms and conditions. Paying your loan well shall keep you away from all these.

Below are the Considerations To Re-pay your Loan Very Well.

Borrow the right amount.

This is one of the most important Considerations To Re-pay your Loan Very Well. Most institutions try to enforce this. They value your security, business, and savings history to give you the right amount. Though, the ball is in your hands. You the borrower have a big say. You may have all it takes as security and savings history but when the money you want isn’t the right amount for a specific task. If it’s less, you’ll not make a proper investment. And if it’s a lot, you may fail to repay. This is due to high interest yet you actually didn’t use the money.

The repayment time duration and installments.

Though most institutions have the repayment time fixed already, you still have to critically look at the repayment time period and installments You’ll be paying in the given time duration. These should be ideal and fit your revenue. You should efficiently repay your loan but also remain with money for day-to-day expenditure. If all loans don’t fit your needs, ask for a custom loan designed specifically based on your needs. Though this should be to a less extent, these organizations have loans to fit almost every personality. Try to be flexible.

Read also: Why most businesses fail.

How about the interest rate?

This is the additional amount of money due per period which is usually a percentage of the borrowed sum. This you pay to the organization as a reward for helping you with their money. Before you get a loan, look at this critically. This is one of the main reasons why you’ll fail to repay your loan. A small interest rate is ideal.

Borrow from reputable organizations.

Not all microfinance institutions are reputable. Some just want to cheat their customers in their massive wealth-building journey. Sadly, some of these companies have those bad goals that they don’t reveal to their clients. If you are reading this, you are saved that I’ve told you. The way they schedule their loans, interest rates, and terms and conditions are geared towards failing you. So that they take your hard-earned property. Avoid those to be safe. You can check out some of the reputable organizations I recommend in Uganda.

A test on the business before investing is ideal.

This is another consideration to re-pay your loan well. Investment is risky. Often, an investment can be wrong or things don’t always go as planned. Having carried out a side hustle using your own resources and getting assurance that it works is ideal before you mass invest other people’s money in it.

Use the funds for the right reason.

Borrowed money isn’t your money. It’s peoples’. This is why you should use it for the right reason i.e., invest and spend your profits. After repayment of what doesn’t belong to you. Using loan money for the wrong reasons is the start of your failure to pay it back. Whatever wrong reason you are using the money for, will not regenerate it back with a profit.

Read also: How to find the right business idea.

Separate business and personal finances.

Business funds belong to the Business while personal finance is your money for day-to-day activities. Personal funds are spent on one’s self. In case you combine the two, you may end up spending business money unnecessarily hence failing to re-pay the loan.

Prioritize loan repayments.

Given the negativity of failing to pay back the loan i.e., “loss of your security”, loan repayment should be a priority. Making loan repayment a priority makes you pay your loans on time. In case you want more money next time, the lender is willing to help you out.

Always have a genuine plan B.

Plan A is the business or investment that you think shall bring you money to repay the loan. Investment is a risk. In case the worst happens, you need a savior. That’s your plan B. An alternative source of income that can raise money for the loan repayment. It shouldn’t always be security as it may carry a lot of value. Or be a treasure that you wish not to lose. Plan B can always bail you out.

Read the terms and conditions and understand them.

This is another of the considerations to re-pay your loan because it is common for a lending company to have bad terms and conditions. You can get to know these by reading the terms and conditions well before signing. Most people just sign because they want the money. You shouldn’t do this. I’ve read some terms and conditions from some microfinance companies that state that “you’ve sold your property” (security). That holds for whichever money they’ve lent you. This isn’t right. And you shouldn’t sign given such terms and conditions.

Read also: How to raise money for your side business.

Conclusion.

Loans are good as they provide means of raising capital for our side hustles. The bad side of them is evident when you fail to repay them. Consider these raised considerations to re-pay your loan and practice them not to get into such a situation.

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