The '8 Great' Challenges Every Business Faces

This week I interviewed a personal mentor of mine – his name is Neal Jenson, Managing Director of consulting firm Qazztek, in Salt Lake City. He has one of the most diverse business backgrounds I’ve known, ranging from stints with Fortune 500 firms including Citigroup and Bank of America to start up firms looking to bootstrap or seeking their start through Angel funding or SBA loans.

He’s also one of the only people I know closely who actually has two masters degrees – an MBA from Brigham Young University (my own alma mater) and a masters of science in Information Service from the  University of Utah. In addition to acting as a mentor, Neal is also a friend—his son is the husband of our daughter, which makes us co-grandparents to two extremely adorable little boys, Riley and Peyton (our next generation of business leadership is in very good hands).

From his client base of all sizes, I asked Neal to narrow down for me the greatest challenges he sees for the businesses he counsels, as well as his thoughts on the ways to navigate each. Here are his responses.

First off, Neal notes that navigating a business is extra tricky these days.  The speed of economic and technological changes means that the right path yesterday may not work today and could be a disaster by tomorrow. Solving these dynamic problems is what separates those who excel from the companies who are closing the doors.

While Neal’s experience base ranges from Fortune 500 CEOs to small business entrepreneurs, he notes in our first interview a set of challenges that are common to both:

1. Integrity

Business has never faced the type of moral challenges that it faces in today’s global economy.  Everyone is struggling to be more successful, to make the next quarterly earnings estimate, to keep their job, to earn a big bonus, or to compete effectively.  The temptation to cut corners, omit information, and do whatever it takes to get ahead occur every day. Many business employees and executives succumb.  Sadly, the theme becomes highly infectious and soon people actually start to feel like lying a little, or stealing a little, or deceiving others, is just “a part of business”.  These practices erode the trust that needs to exist between employers and employees, between business partners, between executives and shareholders.  Without trust, the business will not be able to compete effectively and it will eventually fail.

2. Cash, Borrowing, and Resource Management

Cash is King!  We’ve all heard this maxim and it is more true today than ever before.  A healthy profit may look nice on your financial statements, but if capital expenditures or receivable collections are draining your cash, you won’t be able to stay in business for long.  Too often executives and small business owners fail to focus enough on cash flow generation.  In order to head off this problem, businesses must either be adequately capitalized and must shore up cash reserves to meet all obligations as they are needed and to handle downturns and emergencies that may arise. Cash management becomes even more important during recessionary times when cash is flowing more slowly into the business and creditors are less lenient in extending time to pay.  For small businesses, handling business accounting and taxes may be within the capabilities of the business owners, but professional help is usually a good idea. The complexity of a business’ books go up with each client and employee, so getting assistance with managing cash and the bookkeeping can allow you to excel when others are calling it quits. Cash flow challenges are exacerbated by the lending climate, particularly for small businesses. Bankers are unlikely to be more liberal in their lending policies any time soon.

3. Increased selection and competition

It’s never been easier to start a business. Gone are the days when it took weeks, months, and a myriad of forms to get your business started. Now if you can buy a domain name and register your business online, you’re in business. However, staying in business is a much more complicated matter.  While business expertise was once an expensive and time consuming endeavor, you can now find experts online for many questions that you might encounter.  There is help to starting an online store, for example, for getting business cards and marketing materials – all at a very reasonable cost.  The ease of starting a business creates a much broader level of competition.  You might find different business competing for each product you sell and new business that focus on a single item and spend all their time and focus on being the very best at just one thing.  This increase in overall selection and more focused completion will make it more difficult for businesses of all sizes to retain customers who can change their suppliers with the click of a mouse.  It’s a battle of perception, focus, and marketing. Business owners who master these elements and provide a great customer experience will win the sale.

4. Marketing and Customer Loyalty

Along the same lines as increased selection and competition is the challenge to market to potential customers effectively and retain your existing customers. Smartphones, social media, texting, email, twitter and other communication channels are making it easy for businesses and individuals to get their messages out.  Figuring out the right marketing channels is key for businesses to be successful in the future.  Where are your customers and how do you best reach them and what is the right messaging?  Once you get a new customer, how do you keep these customers when they are constantly barraged by competitors of all types, sizes, and locations, trying to convince them that they can do it better or provide it cheaper?  Identifying what your customers want and doing a better job of giving it to them will make all the difference in your company’s future.  The conservative spending climate is also causing a shrinking customer base. Consumers are still quite conservative with their pocketbooks, and as a result, organic growth from current and new customers is not growing as quickly as businesses would like. Business owners and executives are spending more time figuring out how to go above and beyond to keep existing customers, while at the same time figuring out how to cost-effectively reach new customers — without competing solely on price, which always ends up to be a race to the bottom.

5. Uncertainty

All of us, and especially business leaders find great discomfort in uncertainty. Because of global debt and economic struggles, uncertainty is more pronounced today than in the past. The sad news is that uncertainty leads to a short-term focus. Due to uncertainty, companies tend to shy away from long-term planning in favor of shorter-term goals. While this might feel right, a failure to strategically plan five to ten years into the future can end up destroying value. Businesses must learn to balance the need for a more reactive, short-term focus with the need for informed, long-term strategies. Uncertainty tends to put many into a general malaise – unable to get anything done. The ever-running news cycle leaves everyone feeling a bit on edge. This causes business owners and executives to hunker down and customers to stop spending. You need to shut out the world ending news and get back to work.”

6. Regulation

A changing regulatory environment is always of concern in certain industries, but uncertain energy, environmental and financial policy is wreaking havoc for nearly all companies today. Whether a demand from customers or shareholders to become more “green,” or the threat of increased costs due to new carbon taxes, environmental considerations are among the biggest challenges businesses face today. And we don’t need to give too much press to the current issue of financial reform and regulation, although we do have some opinions about how to prepare for that if you’re a bank or a brokerage house. The problems to be solved are to understand the meaning of regulation in your industry, its implications for your business, and to develop the skills necessary to deal with it.  Two key areas of regulatory challenges are taxes and health care.  Lawmakers are still haggling over what’s called the fiscal cliff, the combination of billions of dollars in tax increases and budget cuts. Even if Congress reaches an agreement, businesses won’t have the certainty they need to make intelligent decisions.  When Congress does reach an agreement, it most likely won’t be comprehensive enough that it won’t need to be revisited again next year. Health care has been another challenge for businesses. The new Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) is so complex that state and local governments won’t know what to do  and businesses will have to devote significant time and resources to understanding the law — or for a small business, hiring some professional to help them do it. They’ll have to get their arms around the law, look at their options, learn more about the exchanges and determine how to make it all work.   Many businesses don’t yet know whether their states will be creating exchanges, or whether they’ll have to go into the national system — and they don’t know what that will mean for their costs.  For some businesses, that information will help them decide whether they will buy insurance, or whether they’ll decide it’s cheaper to not provide coverage and just pay the government a $2,000-per-employee fine. For those who have close to 50 workers, they may decide to not hire more workers in order to remain outside the law’s jurisdiction.

7. Problem Solving and Risk Management

A major challenge for all companies is identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks, including human and financial capital, in addition to the macro economy.  The lack of a sophisticated problem-solving competency among today’s business leaders is limiting their ability to adequately deal with risks facing their businesses. This is why corporate managers tend to jump from one fire to another, depending on which one their executives are trying to put out, and in many cases the fast-changing business environment is what ignites these fires. So what is the problem to be solved? We believe, to do well into the future, companies must resolve that problem solving is the key to business, then develop a robust problem-solving capability at all levels.   As companies proceed to identify risks, they will then have the problem solving skills to know how to best mitigate them.

8. Finding the right staff

Without exception, every business executive I speak to says that one of their biggest challenges is staff – finding the right staff, retaining them, and ensuring they buy into the vision of the business. I’ll freely admit that I have no magic answers here. In fact, if someone could develop a formula for recruiting and engaging the right team members, they would make millions.  A small business is almost like a family, and, like many families, they can work well, or they can be dysfunctional. In big companies, the human resource challenge is politics and fit in the workplace, but when it comes to small business, its personalities and skill.  When you work in a small environment, each team member’s personality can have a huge impact on the harmony and productivity of the business. The key is to learn how to deal with different personalities, figure out what drives each individual team member and tailor your management accordingly.  Despite high unemployment, many companies struggle to find the right talent with the right skills for their business.   Many new manufacturing jobs require high-tech skills. They include positions at factories where computers are used to create products like airplane parts and machinery. And some require several years of training.  Because of changing technology, businesses are struggling to find qualified workers with IT skills, problem solving abilities, and deductive reasoning skills.

Retrieved from : 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/03/04/the-8-great-challenges-every-business-faces-and-how-to-master-them-all/

Common Problems Faced by Startups

Creating a new organization is no easy task. Entrepreneurs face many challenges and hurdles especially during the first year of a startup’s inception. Starting a new business is akin to getting married where things seem rosy with many dreams in the beginning. But soon after the reality sets in and not all is hunky-dory all the time. This corollary has been drawn by many great minds like Paul Graham. But the hurdles and challenges are not impossible to overcome if understood properly. With the ever evolving entrepreneurship ecosystem, these hurdles and challenges are becoming less unyielding.

Most of the common problems faced by the startups can be grouped into the following categories:

Finance

Entrepreneurship is still at infancy in India. The startup ecosystem is getting more and more calibrated with every passing year. But still one of the biggest problems that startups face is the problem of sufficient cash flow to sustain the business in the initial days. The startups do not get Angel funding easily as in India there are very few angel investors who can support startups in the early stage.

In the business world which is marked with uncertainties, a fledgling startup has to deal with many uncertain variables such as customer behaviour (directly relating to buying decisions), number of days for getting credit from vendors, duration for realization of the receivables, inflation and managing employee retention & performance. In such a situation having enough cash aside to ensure that operating expenses are met, becomes a challenge.

Management

The second type of challenges relate to the Management issues. This group includes problems such as:

1. Deciding who will be the CEO among the co-founders
2. Employing and retaining qualified employees
3. Motivating employees
4. Setting targets and measuring performance

These are very important issues and close to 50% of the startups face these problems. Though there is a thumb rule that ‘if you have to get into managing employee issues in a startup then you may not want to retain such employees and/or co-founder’. But it is easier said than done. In reality there are not many talented employees who would want to work in a startup especially if the startup is not funded by investors, as they know that they might have to compromise on their salaries. Also, choosing and getting the right co-founder is extremely difficult.

Marketing

One of the very important problems faced by startups is to cost effectively advertise about themselves. Marketing and advertising are very costly services and a startup who does not have surplus funds need to tread cautiously so as not to blow away the scarce financial resources. Startups have to and should rely heavily on network marketing and word-of-mouth services in order to save marketing costs. Remember the startups have to compete with the established behemoths that will have separate budgets for every marketing and advertising stint.

Technology

Another very important problem commonly faced by startups is how to be the most tech-savvy in their field of business in the most cost effective way. Selecting the software and integrating technology within the organization for automating processes so as to cut down on the ‘time to go to the market’, is one challenge which every type of startup faces. For startups, it is important to go to the market with the most viable product faster and reduce the sales cycle. In other words, receive income faster from the customers in order to keep the operating capital flowing and reaching break-even faster.

One way to overcome the technology problems is to maximize the effective utilization of the internet and the progressing cloud computing technologies.

Implication

The above discussion points out to one thing that everything boils down to minimizing costs and maximizing profits. Many of the problems faced in technology, management and marketing can be solved by collaborative tools such as BootStrapToday – directly or indirectly. Briefly, BootStrapToday will arm your startup with the following solutions (for a detailed version read our article on BootStrapToday – How Can It Benefit Your Startup?):

1. Being available as SaaS it can reduce not only your software costs considerably, it will also help you save on overheads
2. Being available as SaaS it will free your human assets from long unproductive hours of maintaining and upgrading software. As a startup you can utilize their talents towards growing the core business.
3. BootStrapToday will help you in collaborating not only with employees virtually, but also with your customers and vendors. It will help you reduce time and energy spent on meeting task deadlines.
4. The cumulative costs saved per month directly translate into funds which can be pumped in growing the business.

Retrieved  from : http://blog.bootstraptoday.com/2011/08/08/common-problems-faced-by-startups/

10 Business Challenges Every Entrepreneur Must Face When Building a Business From Scratch

Are you an entrepreneur? If you are, then I believe you will familiar with the pattern or business challenges faced when starting and building a business from scratch. If you are not an entrepreneur but you dream of becoming one someday, then I think you will find this article worthwhile.

Why am I writing on such a topic? I decided to write on the "10 business challenges every entrepreneur must face when building a business from scratch" to give entrepreneurs a glimpse of what to expect when they set out to start a new business venture. I am not writing to show my writing skills. Moreover, I am not a professional writer; I am an entrepreneur and investor to the core. I simply write to share my knowledge on building a business with anyone who is willing to learn.

This article is not meant to discourage or scare you from going into business. Instead, I wrote this article to prepare and highlight you on the business challenges to expect and how to handle them. Just as the popular saying goes:

"He that is prepared has half won the battle."

Below are 10 Business Challenges Every Entrepreneur Must Face When Building a Business from Scratch:

1. Developing the Vision and Idea:

This is usually the first challenge faced by every entrepreneur. Finding the right business opportunity or creatively developing an idea is certainly not an easy task. I call "Envisioning the idea" the first true task of an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you must develop the ability to see what others cannot see. While others see problems, you must see opportunities.

But seeing opportunities is just the first task. The main challenge is going to be your ability to forge that opportunity into a business idea. I see this as a business challenge because the process of transforming opportunities into business plans is like trying to turn lead into gold. I call it the process of "Creating Value out Of Nothing." If you are not an entrepreneur, you might not be familiar with the process. The process of:

- Identifying a problem 

- Seeing an opportunity in the problem 

- Coming up with a solution 

- Developing your opportunity into a business idea 

- Integrating your solution into the business plan

Another way "developing the vision and idea" will be a business challenge is that an entrepreneur must sometimes assume the role of a sorcerer. Let me explain in detail. While others dwell in the past and present, an entrepreneur must envision and forecast the future. An entrepreneur must always be ahead of his time or else he might lose his relevance. He must have the ability to bring into present what is yet to be. Let me give you some practical illustrations:

In the late 70s and early 80s, while IBM saw increase in demand for their mainframe computers, Steve Jobs envisioned a personal computer in every home and Bill Gates envisioned the need for easy to use software for personal computers.

While everyone saw humans flying as an impossibility, the Wright brothers envisioned a flying machine.

Back in those days when cars were custom made and exclusively for the rich, Henry Ford envisioned affordable cars for the masses.

I believe with these few examples, my point is clear. Developing the vision and idea is the first true task of an entrepreneur.

2. Raising Capital:

After developing your idea, the next challenge you are going to face is the challenge of raising capital. As an entrepreneur, you are the only one who knows the idea to the core. You are the only one who knows the story of the future. Trying to convince investors about something that doesn't exist is definitely a challenge.

There is more to raising capital than just simply asking for money. Most investors want to invest in already established businesses with minimal risk. When building a business from scratch, raising capital will definitely be a business challenge you must face.

To overcome this challenge, you must develop the ability to sell your idea and vision to potential investors. When I say "sell your ideas", I mean improving your communication skill and your manner of presentation. In the game of raising capital, you must have a good story backed by a strong business plan. If you are interested in learning how to successfully raise capital, you can check other articles I have written.

3. Assembling a Team:

The third challenge you must face in the course of developing a business is assembling the right team. When I talk about a team, I am not talking about regular employees. I am talking about a "round table strategic business team" that will meet regularly to brainstorm on ways to grow your business.

As an entrepreneur, you are bound to have strengths and weaknesses. That is the more reason you need to assemble a strong team that will cover up for your weaknesses. A team is a necessity in your quest to build a business. Now finding a business team is just the first hurdle, transferring your passion and vision to your team is the real piece of cake.

You must strive to make sure your team sees the future you see. They must believe in your possibilities and must also be passionate about making that possibility a reality. If they can't grasp your vision, if they can't see they future with you, then they are not worthy being your team.

Your strategic business team should comprise your banker, financial advisor, accountant, attorney or legal adviser and any other specialist that will be of tremendous impact to your business. A question on your mind might be "how am I going to pay this team? My answer is I don't know. You will have to figure it out yourself or better still, you can consider bringing them on board as partners.

If you are still at loss with the thought of assembling a business team, then I will recommend you either take some time in learning how to build a business team or you can visit strategicbusinessteam.com to get some advice.

4. Finding the Right Location:

You might feel that finding a good location is a piece of cake but I bet you that finding a good location at the right price is definitely not easy. I don't have much to write on this but I feel it is worthwhile I bring it to your notice so you can prepare for it. The following are features you must consider before choosing a location. These features are subject to change with respect to the industry of your business:

- Suitable price 

- Easy access to raw materials 

- Good road network. 

- Basic amenities and infrastructures 

- Adequate Power supply 

- Easy access to cheap labour 

- Nearness to high traffic roads 

- Moderate state and federal tax 

- Favorable Government fiscal and monetary policy 

- Favorable federal and state laws. 

- Current economic policy and political situation.

5. Finding the Right Employees:

Most writers crank up the process of finding good employees as an easy task. They define finding an employee as simply presenting the job description and the right employee will surface. But I think it's more than that.

Those who are really business owners know how difficult it is to find a hardworking, trustworthy employee. Most employees want to work less and get paid more. Finding a good employee who will be passionate about delivering his or her services is quite difficult.

Employees are your representatives to your customers and the outside world. They are a reflection of your business culture and ethics. If an employee of yours is bad or rude to your customers, it is going to portray a bad image of your company. So you must be careful when hiring employees. Remember the golden rule of business; "Hire slow and fire fast."

6. Finding Good Customers:

The sixth business challenge you will face is the challenge of finding good customers. Note the keyword "good customers." When in the process of building a business from scratch, you will come to find out that there are good customers and bad customers.

You must really be on guard for bad customers. Good customers are really hard to find. A good customer will be loyal to your company and will be willing to forgive you if you make a mistake and apologize. A good customer will try to do the right thing that will benefit both himself and the company mutually.

A bad customer will always look for loopholes in the company's policy to exploit and make some few gains. Bad customers will always try to exploit the company's goodwill and look for ways to rip off the company. Bad customers are responsible for bad debts.

Good customers build your business and bad customers will always try to liquidate your business. Just as you fire employees, you must also be prepared to fire bad customers without hesitation. In the game of trying to find a new customer, always remember the customer that sued McDonald's to court claiming the coffee was too hot.

7. Overcoming Competition:

Competition is the next challenge you will face. Most individuals see competition as a plague but I see competition as a good challenge. I see competition as a benchmark for creativity, the main engine for innovation and quality products at great prices. Without competition, there will be no innovation and without innovation, the world will be stagnant.

I see competition as a welcomed challenge and I want you to do the same. Competition keeps us on our toes and drives us to constantly improve our products and services. But you must be warned. Competition can make your business lose its relevance in the eye of your customers so you must always be on guard. At this point, I leave you with a quote:

"If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete." - Robert Kiyosaki

8. Unforeseen Challenges and Expenses:

Just as a sailor prepares for unexpected storm, just as a pilot is always on the watch for unpredictable bad weather and thunderstorms, so must an entrepreneur be prepared for what ever comes. Unexpected challenges can come in the form of:

- Unexpected law suits 

- Inconsistent government policy 

- Not being able to make payroll 

- Unpaid bills and taxes 

- Unexpected resignation of staff from sensitive office 

- Bad debts from customers 

- Loss of market share 

- Dwindling working capital 

- Inadequate stock or inventory

These challenges, if not handled properly can ruin your plan to build a successful business from scratch. Another challenge you must expect is an unforeseen increase in business expenses. If not handled properly, it might result in constant negative cash flow and eventually, the business failure.

9. Keeping Up With Industrial Changes and Trends:

Change in trends is really a business challenge you must be prepared for. Trends have made and broken lot of businesses. I know a lot of profitable businesses that have been wiped out by slight industrial changes and trends. A typical example is the Dot com trend, where many industrial based businesses were wiped out by new web based dot com companies.

When the Dot com era began, business owners were left with only two options. Either they join the dot com train or they get crushed by the dot com train.

Seasoned entrepreneurs know that trend is always a friend and are always willing to swiftly adjust their business with the current trend. Keeping your eyes open to spot trends is really a challenge but the big task will be your ability to quickly use the trend to your advantage.

10. Exiting the Business:

"In the world of business and investing, your exit is more important than your entry. A good thumb of rule is this; exit before you enter." - Robert Kiyosaki

When building a business from scratch, you are going to face the business challenge of determining your exit strategy. Just as the quote above states, you have to plan your exit strategy before you even start the business. Most entrepreneurs run their business without any plans to exit and even if they have an exit strategy, they find it difficult to implement it.

Before starting a business, it is advisable to always plan your exit. There are benchmarks you can use to determine your exit from the business. Most smart entrepreneurs will use this benchmark as a target and once this specific target is reached, they exit the business. Examples of such benchmarks are:

- Annual sales 

- Annual Turnover 

- Asset Base 

- Market Saturation 

- Customer base or number of users. This is more applicable to dot com companies.

Now when it comes to exiting the business, there are three exit strategies you can apply. The exit strategies are:

Turning over the business to professional managers: When your business reaches a certain stage of maturity, you can exit by turning it over to professional managers. In this case, the business still belongs to you but you are not involved with its day to day affairs. You will have to give up administrative role to assume the role of a watchdog. When you exit in this manner, you will have more free time to look into other projects or retire.

Selling the business privately: In this case, you are exiting the business by selling it to a private investor. In the business world, it is called M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions). After the sale and transfer of assets is complete, you have nothing to do with the business again.

Taking the company public: The unique thing about this type of exit strategy is that while you are selling your business (in form of shares) to public investors, you still own and control the business.

Please before you apply any of these exit strategy, I will advise you consult with your attorney or legal adviser. But ultimately, it's up to you to decide the exit strategy you want to apply. Always remember "your exit is more important than your entry."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3600287

Usahawan: Adakah ianya dilahirkan atau dibina?

Kebiasaannya ramai yang beranggap untuk menjadi usahawan berjaya memerlukan bakat semulajadi ataupun diwarisi dari keluarga. Realitinya, untuk menjadi usahawan anda tidak memerlukan bakat yang hebat tetapi apa yang anda perlukan adalah ilmu yang mencukupi. Dari ilmu, bakat dan kemahiran akan dibina secara tidak langsung ke dalam diri usahawan tersebut secara berperingkat sehingga ia menjadi darah dagingnya sendiri. Ramai yang telah lahir menjadi usahawan yang berjaya terutamanya beberapa tahun ke belakangan ini di kalangan bumiputera dengan sokongan dari pihak kerajaan serta inisiatif banyak pihak termasuk saya di dalam membantu melatih membangunkan usahawan yang berjaya.

Namun, apa yang membezakan usahawan dan orang biasa ialah ilmu dan pilihan berani bertindak membuat keputusan dalam mencapai sesuatu perkara.

Memperkasakan ekonomi diri sendiri dahulu sebelum anda ingin memperkasakan ekonomi dunia. Kebelakangan ini kita sering mendengar keluhan rakyat Malaysia terutamanya kaum Bumiputera akibat dari kenaikan harga minyak petrol. Sedikit demi sedikit harga barang mula meningkat, dan ini memberi kesan yang besar kepada perbelanjaan harian kita. Ramai yang mula berbalah serta menunding jari kepada pihak kerajaan kerana tidak mengambil kira sensitiviti rakyat apabila kerajaan bertindak menaikan harga petrol. Yang menariknya, kebanyakkan yang menunding jari akibat dari kenaikan ini ialah kaum Bumiputera.

Tahukah anda bahawa secara amnya ekonomi dunia ini telah direka untuk sentiasa meningkat. Ini bermakna kos saraan hidup akan terus naik dari tahun ke tahun tanpa henti.  Adakah anda masih ingat berapa sen yang anda bawa ke sekolah ketika anda kecil? Saya masih ingat lagi pada zaman saya membawa duit poket sebanyak 50 sen ketika saya bersekolah rendah. Anda boleh teka berapa umur saya pada zaman tersebut? Ketika itu saya bersekolah rendah di antara tahun 1980-an. Adakah hari ini  ianya mencukupi sekiranya kita memberikan duit poket hanya sebanyak 50 sen? Pastinya tidak. Kenapa? Kerana ada satu perkara tentang sistem ekonomi dunia yang anda perlu faham iaitu masalah inflasi. Samada anda suka atau tidak, duit sentiasa susut nilai dan harga barang 10 tahun dahulu seperti harga rumah, barang dapur dan banyak lagi pastinya tidak akan sama. Jadi usahlah kita membuang masa menunding jari kepada sesiapa sahaja apabila kenaikkan ini terjadi. Dari anda pening memikirkan masalah ekonomi dunia atau cuba menjadi “Superman” mahu merubah ekonomi dunia, lebih baik anda fikirkan bagaimana hendak mengukuhkan lagi ekonomi diri sendiri dan keluarga.

Mungkin anda boleh mula dengan mengurangkan perbelanjaan yang tak sepatunya dibelanja. Mula perhatikan aliran wang keluar masuk anda dan isi rumah. Cuba mencari jalan untuk menambahkan lagi simpanan dan yang paling penting, mencari jalan untuk meningkatkan pendapatan bagi menampung kenaikan saraan hidup yang luar biasa ini. Antara cara meningkatkan pendapatan adalah melalui bekerja makan gaji ataupun berniaga sendiri.

Ramai yang menganggap dengan mempunyai kelulusan yang tinggi sahaja boleh menjamin mendapat pekerjaan yang bagus serta gaji yang lumayan. Mungkin fahaman ini telah dipupuk dari kecil sehinggakan ia telah menjadi satu bentuk budaya atau tradisi yang patut diikuti oleh kita sehingga ke hari ini. Tak salah mempunyai pendidikan yang bagus serta gred yang cemerlang, yang menjadi persoalannya kenapa anda perlu bekerja untuk orang lain sekiranya anda boleh berniaga sendiri.

Masalahnya kebanyakan bangsa kita menjadikan perniagaan itu satu pilihan terakhir di dalam memilih kerjaya sedangkan jika anda melihat kaum cina, berniaga merupakan satu keutamaan di dalam masyarakat mereka. Mereka seolah-olah percaya yang bangsa mereka wajib berniaga berbanding dengan bangsa saya yang rata-ratanya ditekankan tentang betapa pentingnya untuk makan gaji terutamanya bekerja dengan kerajaan. Ia seolah-olah pilihan selamat untuk mendapat pencen satu hari nanti.

Kaum bumiputera, bangkitlah dari keselesaan anda sekarang! Sedarlah yang kehidupan anda hari ini dalam keadaan membimbangkan. Pendapatan melalui makan gaji tidak dapat menampung dari getaran kewangan ekonomi dunia. Tetapi jika anda berniaga dan menjadi usahawan yang bermatlamat, anda pasti mampu tersenyum melihat gelagat ekonomi sedia ada dan juga yang bakal menjelma. Jika anda dapat menguasai ekonomi diri sendiri anda dapat tentukan apa yang anda inginkan dan ini merupakan salah satu kelebihan menjadi seorang usahawan.

Bakat dan ilmu merupakan antara intipati untuk menjadi seorang usahawan. Jika anda perhatikan mereka yang menjadi usahawan yang berjaya, ramai daripada mereka yang tidak mempunyai latarbelakang keluarga yang berniaga atau mempunyai kelulusan MBA di dalam pengurusan perniagaan, malah ramai yang mempunyai latarbelakang kelulusan bidang pengurusan perniagaan yang takut berniaga atau gagal di dalam perniagaan mereka. Adakah kita perlukan “genetik” usahawan untuk menjadi usahawan? Pada tahun 2010, penulis buku “Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders”, Scott Shane, seorang professor bidang kajian keusahawanan di Cleveland Case Western Reserve University menganjurkan bahawa masalah genetik tidak mempengaruhi samada seseorang itu akan memilih untuk bekerja atau berniaga; tetapi beliau tidak menafikan bahawa faktor sekeliling banyak mempengaruhi seseorang membuat keputusan untuk berniaga.

Usahawan datang dari semua lapisan masyarakat, semua kumpulan umur dan dari segala sudut. Mereka adalah orang-orang biasa seperti anda dan saya. Mereka telah tinggal dan bekerja di negara ini. Mereka telah menghadapi masalah yang sama yang kita hadapi setiap hari. Mereka mempunyai akses kepada sumber-sumber yang sama, seperti yang kita miliki.

Bagi mewujudkan lebih ramai usahawan di negara ini, kerajaan telah memperkasakan penyertaan Bumiputera ke dalam sektor perniagaan. Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak baru-baru ini telah mengumumkan lima teras untuk meningkatkan penyertaan Bumiputera di dalam ekonomi negara. Antara teras itu ialah penubuhan Majlis Ekonomi Bumiputera (MEB) yang tidak lama lagi akan dipengerusi oleh perdana menteri sendiri. Dengan kemudahan ini, ia akan memberi banyak peluang keemasan serta memudahkan  usahawan-usahawan Bumiputera untuk memperluaskan lagi perniagaan mereka.

Mungkin anda tengah tersenyum ghairah mendengar peluang-peluang yang bakal menjelma. Ini merupakan salah satu cara pemangkin kerajaan memastikan kaum Bumiputera tidak ketinggalan dalam dunia keusahawanan di Malaysia. Dengan ini, usahawan Bumiputera tidak perlu lagi bergantung sepenuhnya kepada perlindungan dari kerajaan. Tetapi percayalah, tanpa bantuan kerajaan sekalipun, kita sebenarnya mampu membina perniagaan kita sendiri berbekalkan formula-formula membina perniagaan yang terbukti berjaya.

Sebenarnya peluang mendapat pendapatan yang lebih tinggi sememangnya menuntut untuk kita menjadi usahawan. Jika anda masih lagi bersandarkan kehidupan makan gaji, inilah masanya untuk anda mula berjinak-jinak dalam dunia keusahawan. Tetapi ingat, jangan terjah dalam dunia keusahawanan jikalau anda masih belum mempunyai ilmu yang cukup tentangnya. Mulalah mencari ilmu melalui pembacaan buku, hadiri seminar-seminar keusahawan dan pastikan anda mempunyai mentor yang betul untuk menolong anda mencapai arah yang ingin ditujui dengan mudah dan pantas.

Petikan dipetik dari : 

http://azizanosman.com/blog/usahawan-adakah-ianya-dilahirkan-atau-dibina

Dr Azizan Osman, Penulis, Usahawan, Pakar Pembangunan Usahawan & Pemasaran

DEFINISI USAHAWAN

Perkataan usahawan mula diperkenalkan dalam tahun 1970 iaitu semasa pelancaran Dasar Ekonomi Baru. Ianya bukanlah satu perkara yang baru kepada kita. Pada masa zaman Melayu Melaka, mereka yang melibatkan diri dalam bidang perniagaan dipanggil sebagaipedagangmanakala pada tahun 1900an mereka dikenali sebagai peniaga. 

Perkataan usahawan mempunyai erti yang sama dengan perkataan Inggeris ‘entrepreneur’. Perkataan ‘entrepreneur’ berasal dari perkataan Perancis, ‘entreprendre’ yang bererti memikul tugas atau tanggungjawab. Perkataan ‘entrepreneur’ telah digunakan semenjak tahun 1775 oleh Richard Cantillon yang merujuk kepada kegiatan dalam keusahawanan.

Banyak kajian telah dilakukan oleh pelbagai pihak dan beberapa pengertian kepada perkataan usahawan telah diberikan seperti berikut:-

1. Kamus Dewan Edisi Baru mentakrifkan usahawan sebagai orang yang mengusahakan sesuatu perusahaan iaitu pengusaha. Pengusaha dimaksudkan sebagai pekerjaan secara besar-besaran untuk membuat barang-barang industri atau pekerjaan berniaga secara besar-besaran.

2. The Encyclopedia Americana International Edition memberi maksud usahawan sebagai ahli perniagaan yang mengambil risiko menggabungkan faktor pengeluaran termasuk modal, buruh, bahan dan menerima ganjaran melalui keuntungan daripada nilai pasaran barangannya.

3. Joseph A.Schumpeter, seorang ahli ekonomi menyatakan usahawan adalah seorang inovator yang boleh mengakibatkan kepada suatu pembaharuan.

4. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary pula mentakrifkan usahawan sebagai orang yang mengurus suatu kegiatan ekonomi terutamanya mengelola, memiliki, mengurus dan menanggung risiko sesuatu perniagaan.

5. Carland (1984) mendefinisikan usahawan sebagai individu yang menubuhkan perniagaan dan menguruskannya untuk mendapatkan untung dan untuk terus berkembang.

Secara kesimpulannya, boleh kita nyatakan bahawa usahawan adalah seorang yang mengambil risiko memulakan atau menubuhkan sesuatu perniagaan atau perusahaan dan mengusahakannya. Seseorang yang telah memulakan perniagaan atau telah membeli perniagaan yang dimulakan oleh orang lain juga dikenali sebagai usahawan. Usahawan juga adalah seorang pengurus yang menerajui perniagaannya dan dapat menuntut hak keempunyaan ke atas perniagaan tersebut. Oleh itu ia menanggung risiko perniagaan. Usahawan mempunyai wawasan dan mengembangkan perniagaan untuk kemakmuran masyarakat. Ia adalah seseorang yang inginkan kebebasan dalam perniagaan, membuat keputusan sendiri dan seterusnya ingin berjaya atas usaha sendiri.

Petikan dipetik dari : http://kitausahawan.blogspot.com/

PERBEZAAN KONSEP USAHAWAN DAN PENIAGA

Definisi : Peniaga ialah orang yang menjalankan kegiatan jual beli barangan atau melakukan kegiatan perkhidmatan dengan tujuan untuk mendapatkan keuntungan. Peniaga ialah orang yang melibatkan diri dalam kegiatan jual beli. Ia membeli barangan dengan harga yang lebih rendah dan menjual dengan harga yang lebih tinggi untuk mendapatkan keuntungan dan jika ia melibatkan diri dalam kegiatan perkhidmatan, ia juga akan mendapat keuntungan daripada menawarkan perkhidmatannya. Ia berniaga semata-mata untuk mendapatkan untung. Selain daripada itu, objektif peniaga adalah untuk mencapai matlamat peribadi.

Jika diteliti kedua-dua istilah peniaga dan usahawan sememangnya terdapat perbezaan. Selain dari mencari keuntungan ushawan juga berkhidmat untuk masyarakat.

Ciri-ciri Peniaga.

1. Membeli barang untuk dijual semula. 

2. Harga barang yang dibeli berbeza dengan harga barang yang dijual semula, selalunya lebih tinggi

3. Mempunyai sifat boleh mengurus perniagaan dengan baik. Ia sepatutnya mampu mengurus wang, pekerja-pekerja, barang-barang dan kedainya supaya teratur dan sistematik.

4. Tidak mencipta barang sendiri untuk dijual, sebaliknya membeli barang dari usahawan untuk dijual.

Setelah melihat definisi dan ciri-ciri seorang peniaga, kita sudah pasti dapat membezakan usahawan dan peniaga. Jadual 1.2 di bawah ini dapat memberi gambaran yang jelas mengenai perbezaan usahawan dan peniaga.

Jadual Perbezaan antara Usahawan dan Peniaga

Perbezaan antara usahawan dan peniaga ialah :-

Usahawan

1) Usahawan lebih mementingkan khidmat kepada masyarakat dan pembangunan negara.

2) Usahawan merupakan peniaga yang sentiasa membuat pengubahsuaian kepada produk atau perkhidmatan yang sedia ada dan mencari idea-idea baru.

3) Contoh: En. Zulkifli menjalankan perniagaan runcit. Ia melabelkan harga barangan, menyusun barangan mengikut jenis-jenis tertentu dan kedainya berhawa dingin. Seorang juruwang ditugaskan di kaunter pembayaran. Kedai runcitnya seakan-akan sebuah pasar raya. Ia mempunyai beberapa cawangan di bandar lain.

Peniaga

1) Peniaga lebih mementingkan keuntungan daripada khidmat kepada masyarakat dan pembangunan negara.

2) Peniaga merupakan orang yang membeli sesuatu barangan pada harga yang rendah dan menjual pada harga yang tinggi.

3) Contoh: En. Ahmad memiliki sebuah kedai runcit. Ia membeli barang-barang runcit daripada pemborong dan meletakkan barangannya di kedai untuk dijual kepada pengguna.

Petikan dipetik dari : http://kitausahawan.blogspot.com/

KOMPETENSI KEUSAHAWANAN

Maksud Kompetensi Keusahawanan

Kompetensi keusahawanan bermaksud kemampuan atau kecekapan seseorang untuk melaksanakan fungsi-fungsi keusahawanan dengan berkesan. Kompetensi atau keterampilan diri keusahawanan dimiliki melalui amalan-amalan perilaku hasil daripada pengaruh nilai-nilai hidup seseorang, sikap atau desakan dalaman untuk melakukan tugas dengan cemerlang. Melalui kompetensi keusahawanan, seseorang akan lebih mampu dan lebih cekap berbanding dengan orang lain yang mempunyai pengetahuan dan kelulusan yang sama. 

Terdapat pelbagai jenis kompetensi yang boleh dikaitkan dengan usahawan. Walau bagaimana pun, hasil kajian Mc Clelland dan Mc Ber & Co. (1985) terhadap usahawan yang berjaya di Malawi, India dan Ecuador, mereka telah menyenaraikan tiga belas jenis kompetensi keusahawanan diri yang membantu kejayaan usahawan-usahawan ini.

Senarai Kompetensi Keusahawanan

1. Inisiatif

Seseorang yang berinisiatif adalah individu yang 

• membuat sesuatu kerja atau tugas tanpa diarah atau dipaksa. 

• mempunyai sikap proaktif 

• giat berusaha untuk membangun dan menjayakan perniagaannya.

Dengan memiliki kompetensi ini usahawan mampu lebih maju. Di peringkat pra permulaan sesuatu perniagaan, sikap inisiatif membolehkan usahawan berusaha mencari peluang, mengambil tindakan awal menyediakan keperluan untuk memulakan dan menerokai bidang-bidang yang mungkin belum diterokai lagi.

2. Melihat dan merebut peluang

Sikap usahawan yang mempunyai daya melihat dan merebut peluang 

• mempunyai kecekapan mencari dan mengenal pasti peluang perniagaan yang wujud

• berkemampuan untuk merebut peluang samada untuk memperluaskan pasaran, mendapatkan bantuan bagi kepentingan perniagaan dan lain-lain

Kompetensi ini menjadi faktor penting untuk kejayaan dan daya tahan perniagaan. Kemampuan ini akan membantu usahawan di peringkat memulakan perniagaan dan membolehkan hayat perniagaan yang berpanjangan. 

3. Kecekalan

Sikap cekal dan tabah dapat dilihat melalui tindakan usahawan seperti berikut: 

• tidak merasa jemu mencari jalan untuk mencapai matlamat tanpa mengalah.

• Sentiasa berusaha untuk mengatasi halangan yang boleh menyekat pencapaian matlamat

Usahawan sentiasa berhadapan dengan pelbagai risiko dan permasalahan. Contohnya harga bahan mentah meningkat dengan tiba-tiba, pekerja tidak amanah, permintaan barang yang menurun dan lain-lain lagi. Orang yang cekal tidak jemu berusaha untuk mencari penyelesaian terhadap masalah-masalah yang dihadapinya dan sanggup bangun semula walau 

pun pernah mengalami kegagalan.

4. Mencari maklumat

Sikap individu yang mampu mencari maklumat adalah:

• melakukan penyelidikan atau tinjauan sendiri untuk mendapat maklumat dan maklum balas bagi menyediakan barang atau perkhidmatan yang dapat memenuhi kepuasan pelanggan

• mendapatkan khidmat pakar untuk kemajuan perniagaan

• membuat kajian pasaran dan membuat analisisnya

Untuk berjaya, usahawan perlu mempunyai maklumat yang betul dan terkini. Usahawan perlu ada kemahiran mendapatkan maklumat yang betul daripada sumber-sumber yang boleh dipercayai. Maklumat dan maklum balas yang diperolehi akan dapat digunakan untuk meningkatkan pengalaman, memperbaiki pencapaian dan prestasi perniagaan yang diterajui. 

5. Menitik beratkan mutu kerja yang tinggi 

Sikap individu yang menitik beratkan mutu kerja yang tinggi adalah:

• Cenderung untuk menghasilkan atau menjual barangan yang bermutu tinggi

• Sentiasa membuat perbandingan mutu kerja yang dihasilkan dengan mutu kerja orang lain supaya setanding atau berada di peringkat yang lebih baik.

• Tidak semata-mata ingin menyelesaikan sesuatu tugas sahaja tetapi akan menyelesaikan tugas itu dengan cemerlang dan bermutu .

Hasil kerja yang bermutu tinggi dapat menjamin kepuasan pelanggan dan ini akan dapat meluaskan pasaran serta meningkatkan imej usahawan dan perniagaan. Dengan ini, usahawan berpeluang untuk berjaya.

6. Komitmen terhadap perjanjian kerja

Sikap usahawan yang mempunyai kompetensi ini dapat dilihat dengan:

• kesanggupan melakukan pengorbanan peribadi untuk menyelesaikan sesuatu kerja

• mengambil tanggung jawab sepenuhnya dalam menyelesaikan sesuatu kerja 

• kesanggupan membantu kakitangan demi untuk menyelesaikan tugas dan memberi kepuasan kepada pelanggan

• menunjukkan sikap mengambil berat untuk memuaskan kehendak pelanggan

• sentiasa memastikan setiap janji yang dibuat khususnya dengan pelanggan, pembekal dan lain-lain pihak ditunaikan seperti yang telah dipersetujui . 

Sikap ini akan membolehkan orang lain percayakannya dan ini membantu meningkatkan imej usahawan dan perniagaannya. Kepercayaan pelanggan, pembekal, pihak institusi kewangan adalah kunci kepada kestabilan dan kemajuan perniagaan.

7. Berorientasi ke arah kecekapan

Sikap individu yang berorientasi ke arah kecekapan adalah:

• sentiasa mencari jalan melakukan sesuatu dengan kos yang lebih rendah atau dengan masa yang lebih singkat daripada kebiasaannya

• sentiasa mengambil berat tentang perkiraan kos dan keuntungan dari sesuatu pembaharuan, perubahan atau sesuatu tindakan.

• Menggunakan maklumat-maklumat perniagaan atau kaedah pengurusan untuk meningkatkan kecekapan diri dan perniagaan.

Kecekapan perniagaan akan dapat meningkatkan keuntungan dan menurangkan pembaziran dan kos. Ini akan membantu kejayaan perniagaan

8. Membuat perancangan yang sistematik

Sikap individu yang membuat perancangan yang sistematik:

• membuat perancangan dan mengatur langkah-langkah dan membahagikan tugas-tugas yang besar kepada yang lebih kecil dan mudah

• membuat rancangan untuk mengatasi halangan yang dijangkakan

• membuat penilaian dan memilih alternatif-alternatif terbaik untuk sesuatu tindakan

• mengambil pendekatan yang sistematik dan logikal untuk mencapai matlamat

Usahawan yang membuat perancangan yang sistematik akan dapat meningkatkan prestasi dan pencapaian matlamat perniagaan.

9. Menyelesaikan masalah secara kreatif

Sikap individu yang mempunyai kemampuan menyelesaikan masalah adalah:

• mencari langkah-langkah yang bijak supaya masalah dapat diatasi dengan sebaik mungkin

• mencari dan melahirkan idea-idea baru atau cara penyelesaian secara inovatif

Seseorang usahawan sentiasa berhadapan dengan pelbagai ketidakpastian yang mungkin mendatangkan masalah kepada perniagaan yang sedang dijalankan. Semua masalah ini perlu ditangani secara kreatif. Sebagai contoh, usahawan yang sedang berhadapan dengan kadar pusing ganti pekerja yang tinggi perlu mampu menangani masalah ini dengan sebaik mungkin sekiranya punca masalah itu diketahui seperti masalah gaji pekerja, hal kebajikan pekerja, dan lain-lain. Tindakan yang diambil akan dapat menyelesaikan masalah dan mampu mewujudkan kesetiaan pekerja kepada perniagaan.

10. Yakin terhadap keupayaan diri 

Individu yang bersikap yakin terhadap diri:

• mempunyai kepercayaan terhadap kebolehan dan kemampuan diri untuk mendapat apa yang dihajati. 

• melahirkan perasaan yakin terhadap kemampuan dalam menyelesaikana sesuatu tugas atau menyahut sesuatu cabaran.

• boleh membuat keputusan tanpa ragu-ragu.

• banyak membaca dan mengumpul pengalaman terutama dalam bidang-bidang di luar bidang pengkhususan.

• tidak takut mencuba dan tidak takut gagal

Sikap yakin terhadap keupayaan diri akan membantu kejayaan perniagaan kerana sikap ini akan mewujudkan keyakinan orang lain kepada usahawan dan perniagaan. 

11. Ketegasan

Sikap tegas dapat dilihat melalui tindakan-tindakan seperti berikut:

• berani menyuarakan pendapat atau idea kepada orang lain secara langsung 

• berani mengambil tindakan walaupun terpaksa menghadapi tentangan daripada pihak lain.

Sifat tegas usahawan akan dapat menjamin pengawalan organisasi dengan baik. Ini adalah disebabkan ia dapat menjelaskan sesuatu masalah kepada orang yang terlibat supaya masalah sedemikian tidak berulang atau menular. Contohnya, masalah pekerja yang curi tulang atau ponteng kerja sekiranya diambil tindakan boleh menyebabkan pekerja lain tidak berani melakukannya. 

12. Meyakinkan orang lain

Sikap individu yang dapat meyakinkan orang lain adalah:

• mampu menonjolkan diri untuk meyakini pelanggan membeli barang atau perkhidmatan yang diperniagakan.

• mampu menonjolkan kemahiran diri dan lain-lain kualiti 

• bermaklumat dan berpengalaman

Usahawan perlu berurusan dengan pelbagai pihak. Untuk menjamin urusan perniagaan berjalan dengan lancar, ia hendaklah dapat menyakinkan pelbagai pihak yang berkepentingan kepada perniagaannya seperti kakitangan, pelanggan, pembekal, institusi kewangan dan sebagainya. Untuk dapat meyakinkan orang lain, usahawan perlu terlebih dahulu yakin kepada kemampuan sendiri.

13. Menggunakan strategi pengaruh

Sikap individu yang menggunakan strategi pengaruh adalah:

• cenderung memikirkan strategi-strategi yang boleh mempengaruhi orang lain tanpa tipu helah untuk sesuatu matlamat perniagaan.

Usahawan adalah pemimpin di dalam syarikatnya. Sebagai pemimpin, usahawan perlu mampu mempengaruhi pekerja-pekerja, dan industri yang diceburi supaya ia dapat mencapai matlamat perniagaannya.Terdapat lima asas pengaruh yang boleh digunakan; 

• Pengaruh berdasarkan kuasa mutlak

• Pengaruh berdasarkan kuasa menghukum

• Pengaruh berdasarkan kuasa memberi ganjaran

• Pengaruh berdasarkan kuasa kepakaran

• Pengaruh berdasarkan kuasa memberi teladan

Usahawan perlu memiliki salah satu daripada sumber kuasa atau kombinasi sumber-sumber ini sebagai strategi pengaruhnya terhadap pelanggan, pekerja dan keseluruhan industri dan pasaran yang terlibat dengannya.

Petikan dipetik dari : http://kitausahawan.blogspot.com/