08 Dec 09 3 Pillars of a Successful Business
Have you ever wondered what makes a business successful? You may come up with many answers to this question but when your answers are subjected to scrutiny, every answer will boil down to three things, in precisely this order.
- Investor
- Employee
- Customers
Investor
Investors are a group of people who invest their hard-earned money to get return from your business. They invest in your business because they trust you, and they see hope in your business. Till the time you are fulfilling their expectations, they will keep their money in your business. Hence, you need to keep them apprised of any development in your business. Keep on giving them good news, and your business will be in good shape.
Employee
Your employee is the second pillar of your business. It is your employees only that can make or break your business. Your business solely depends upon their performance to meet the investors’ expectations, and to deliver on the promises made to your customers. It is thus in your best interest that you keep your employee happy. A happy employee will satisfy the needs of many customers, and will present a favorable picture to investors, whereas, a disgruntled employee is a big deal breaker. They will piss everyone off, including you.
Customers
It is the customers for whom you have erected such a giant structure, raised money, and hired so many highly qualified employees. The end goal of your business is to serve this group of people, and all your energy should be channelized to do so. The moment you step away from your path, your business is doomed. Do not let your vision blurred by the shine and sparkles of advertisements and press coverage, you have not achieved anything if you have not served your customer right.
A parting thought
Which one of the three is more important? Well, this is tricky to answer as none of them is more important than rest of the two. You need to make a balance.
Form an equilateral triangle placing each one of them at each corner of the triangle, and you should sit right in the center, equidistant from each one of them.
Tags: Advertisements, Best Interest, Break, Business Serve, Business Trust, Deal Breaker, Disgruntled Employee, Equilateral Triangle, Giant Structure, Good Shape, Hard Earned Money, Invest, Investor Group, Investors Group, Path, Pillar, Pillars, Promises, Scrutiny, Successful Business
15 Oct 09 Get A Raise During A Recession
Getting a raise in a recession is not easy, but can be accomplished. Even if your company is cutting jobs, and looking for new ways to save money, you can still find a way to get a raise. Or even a promotion, if the situation warrants such a thing. The road is especially difficult, but nothing is impossible if you play your cards right. Just be careful in how you approach the situation, or else you could find yourself on the money saving chopping block.
First off, ensure that you know the situation. If your company is basically on fire and jobs are falling left and right, and not even your boss seems to be safe, probably not the best place for a raise. But if things seem fairly comfortable, with a few worries here and there, you could have a good shot. Just make sure you don’t paint a target on your back by asking for more than the company will think you deserve.
Asses your worth to the company before asking for a raise. If you find people have been laid off or fired in your department, but you have survived the scrutiny, there has to be a reason for that. Asses your accomplishments and your skill set, so that you can see why the company values you. This will give you good groundwork to make use of in an argument for why you deserve a raise.
Finally, using your track record as a resource, go in and ask for a raise with your previous accomplishments as your foundation. Be prepared to get rejected, after all it’s recession, and this is more of a long shot than anything else. But be courteous and stay positive, and illustrate this isn’t a deal breaker for you, as to whether or not you’ll stay with the company. You’d just like a raise or a promotion for your continuing efforts in helping the team strive for success. Make that point evident, and you’ll be fine.
Tags: Asking For A Raise, Asses, Boss, Cards, Chopping Block, Getting A Raise, Groundwork, Jobs, New Ways, Paint, Reason, recession, Scrutiny, Situation Warrants, Target, Ways To Save Money, Worries
