Yesterday, together with the Maverick-1000 club, we arrived in Lapland. We got here on dogs, and in the evening we had a business session. Janick Silver, founder of the Maverick-1000 organization, asked us what questions we ask ourselves.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Each of the millionaires present shared the questions that he constantly asks himself, his subordinates, friends and children. Yanik Silver shared his main question: “What can I do so that the value that a person will receive from my information product is at least ten times more than the price for the product?”

Questions I shared: “What does it take to make my business twice as big as it is now?” and “Why isn’t the business now twice as big as it could be?” These are the questions that make every entrepreneur think.

SOURCE OF CREATIVE IDEAS

To succeed in life and business, we need mentors. You can identify a good mentor by knowing what questions they ask. If the mentor does not ask questions, but tells you what to do and how, then your brains do not work. You turn into a robot that follows instructions.

Successful business people ask themselves questions all the time. They understand that in order to create something of value, you need to find creative extraordinary solutions, and not look at others in order to take something from them.

Think about it: how do you stimulate your brain to come up with creative solutions? What questions do you ask yourself, employees, friends and loved ones every day? Write please. It is important for me to know your opinion!

Perhaps, only a rare daredevil sets off on a journey through an unfamiliar country without taking a guidebook with him. But among start-up entrepreneurs there are more than enough such brave men. But the strategy of "the main thing is to get involved in the fight, and then we'll figure it out" can hardly be called successful for business, unless its owner follows the principle "we are not looking for easy ways."

Young businessmen have a lot to learn from brilliant inventors, because an innovator lives in the soul of every entrepreneur, right?

For example, Nikola Tesla never put his plans into action until he had a clear vision of how it would work. He perfected all his inventions exclusively in the laboratory of his own brain.

“In this way,” Tesla wrote, “I can quickly develop and refine the concept without touching anything. When I have already implemented all the improvements that I can think of into the invention, and I see no flaw anywhere, I give the product of my brain a concrete form. And my device always works the way I intended; there hasn't been a single exception in 20 years."

Having a clear idea of ​​what your business will be like tomorrow directly determines its effectiveness today. To start a business, you need a plan and an understanding of how it will work.

“The plan, to be sure, was excellent: simple and clear, it’s better not to come up with. He had only one drawback: it was completely unknown how to bring it into execution. Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

The ultimate goal of business is to serve people. What is the purpose of your business? Do you already have an answer to this question? Fine. Then review the following list of questions. Perhaps it will help you better shape your business model.

20 questions for a budding entrepreneur

1. What field of activity does my business belong to?
2. What are the boundaries of my business: region, country, whole world?
3. In which segment (B2B/B2C) will my business operate?
4. In what price niche will my business operate?
5. What are the opportunities for my business in related and other industries?
6. How much money will my business bring in six months, a year: revenue, profit?
7. Who are my competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
8. What makes my company different from competitors?
9. What value does my business bring to clients?
10. Who are my potential clients? What are their needs and expectations?
11. How does my business meet customer needs?
12. Where to look and how to attract potential customers?
13. What does the organizational structure of my company look like? *
14. Who does what, who reports to whom and is responsible for what in my company?
15. How is the interaction within the company?
16. How is accounting kept in my company?
17. Where and how can I reduce the influence of the human factor in the work of my company?
18. How can each process in my company be improved?
19. What business processes can be simplified or automated?
20. How to ensure that my business works without my direct participation?

* Even if your company consists only of you, the structure is still needed. This will allow you to understand which people will be needed in the first place, what they will do and what they will be responsible for.

Still inpublic VK sometimes there are useful posts. Here is one of them. A kind of checklist for a novice businessman who has a brilliant idea in his head. I propose to discuss these points, perhaps something to add or correct.

1. Can you list the top three problems your future business will solve? Are these really problems? Do your potential clients really suffer from them?

2. How will your business solve these problems? Describe in one sentence.

3. Can you say that your business improves or makes someone's life easier? Do you expect people to come to you when they have a problem, or that you yourself will come to them to explain to them what their problem is and help them solve it?

4. If there was a large corporation in your city that would solve the same problems as you (perhaps it already exists), why do you think people would turn to you?

5. Guess how many customers out of 100 would pay you to solve this problem? And how much would they be willing to give?

6. If you were a wealthy but very frugal person, would you yourself turn to a person like you?

7. What will be in your business that will make people come back to you again and again? Describe it without general phrases like "we will provide a quality product and good service."

8. Can you clearly describe two or three categories of your customers? How many of them will you have in total in the worst case? Where will you look for them?

9. If you had to sell the services of your company personally (perhaps you will), could you describe in a few words what you want from them to the following people: your mother, your very elderly grandmother, your best friend, seven-year-old Kolya from next door, our president, a housewife you don't know from Naryan-Mar, a big banker, Vladimir Volfovich, a Tibetan monk and a man hurrying in the subway whom you stopped by the hand. Guess their answers. Guess their main objections. Did all of them understand what they should pay you for?

10. List 3 unique features / services / things that your business (project) will (have) and that your supposed (or real) competitors do not have?

11. Will the client be able to start working with you after one phone call (i.e. without contracts, visits to the office, meetings, etc.)?

12. Will your clients be able to test you for free? Like trying to work with you without spending a dime?

13. Do you personally know 10 people who agree to pay you the first 10 contracts?

14. Do you like your (supposed or real) office, how it looks, how your employees look, your website and yourself? Are you and your employees a pleasure to deal with? (remember the skepticism, don't be fooled!)

15. How fast do you expect to work? Will contacting your company speed up the solution of the client's problem or "options are possible" and "it will depend on many factors"?

16. Will your company have its own style of communication with clients, or will working with you be similar to working with any other similar company for a client?

17. Do you think your customers will be excited to tell their friends about your company? How will new customers find out about your company?

18. Do you have a business plan in which you have included and calculated all possible costs? How much did you add for contingencies? What did the analysis of the most risky factors give you? What about sensitivity analysis? What about break-even analysis?

19. Do you know what you will do when you spend all the money you have and still don't get clients? Describe the sequence of your actions.

20. Write very clearly how much you want to run this business. Do not write about reasons, reasons, reasons and profitability. Listen to your feelings and write only about your attitude. Reread in the morning and the next week. Do you still want to start your own business?

What is the value of your offer?

If you can't explain in simple three sentences why people want your product, you don't have a value proposition, and therefore you don't have a business. Dot.

Will there be demand for your product?

The Seinfeld character was convinced that his key to wealth was to create a bra. He has not done any research to confirm that there is a demand for his product. Don't think you can create demand where there was none at all. Don't sell another men's bra.

What makes your product different from competitors?

Starbucks led people to believe they needed a $4 caffeinated concoction, and Louis Vuitton convinced them to shell out $1,500 for denim handbags. But it's not just marketing. If you want to succeed in business, you need to offer tangible value that others don't. For example, the lowest possible prices (Wal-Mart), original design (Apple), exceptional convenience (FedEx). Find what is the advantage of your product, and hit that point.

Is your business scaling?

The difference between modest wealth and obscene wealth lies in scale. It's good when you spend less and less on the release of each next product. Take software for example. Once Microsoft has paid to develop the code, the marginal cost of releasing each additional copy of Windows is negligible. Some models don't scale. For example, in the service sector, where, along with income, the need for personnel is growing.

How personally committed are you to your work?

You have a family and two children. Are you ready to work 100 hours a week for the next two years to grow your startup? If you want to own everything, be prepared to sacrifice everything - at least to begin with.

What is your strength?

Google builds powerful search algorithms, Steinway works wonders with wood, Cisco sniffs around and buys promising new technologies. Realize what you're good at and stick with it. An obvious remark, but a lot of ardent entrepreneurs got burned by this. There are so many possibilities in the world.

What is your weakness?

Know what you are good at and what is bad. For example, Apple does not make cameras for the iPhone, but buys them on the side. Countless online stores outsource websites and payment systems to third-party developers. Wasting resources to get mediocre results is suicide. Do what you can and find reliable partners to handle everything else.

How much will your clients pay?

Why do people pay twice as much for Vanish as they do for generic bleach? Finding an upper limit on the price a customer is willing to pay for a product, whether it's an iPhone or a bottle of bleach, is one of the most powerful levers for profit. Consultants are paid a lot of money to help determine the right price.

What power do your customers have?

What happens if you sell rubber scrapers to the only window cleaning company in town? If the customer asks for big discounts, your business will end. It is better to expand your customer base in advance.

What power do your suppliers have?

The fewer suppliers you have, the more power they have. Making antique clocks from knotty pine might seem like a great idea, but what if you only have one source of knotty wood? Answer: you have to pay. On the other hand, beware of hungry suppliers who are ready to work very cheaply - they often do not monitor quality.

How to sell a product?

Dell Computer sells its computers directly. General Motors and Coca-Cola rely on distributors. Clothing companies such as Ralph Lauren use both internal and external distribution channels. And Apple is opening branded stores. Whatever sales method you choose, make sure it aligns with your overall business strategy.

How should you promote your product?

Telling everyone about your company and not going broke is not an easy task. In the mid-1990s, America Online spent so much money distributing demos of its software that it had to hide those costs on the balance sheet. Later this accounting trick was banned and millions of accounting profits disappeared.

What is the threat of new players entering the market?

If you can make money in your sector of the market, competition will definitely appear. If not a direct competitor (think of what Microsoft did to Netscape), then another technology could pull the rug out from under your feet (look what digital photography did to Kodak). Long before that happens, build barriers to new entrants - get a patent, get a long lease, build a loyal consumer base.

How will you protect your intellectual property?

A small addition to the previous point. Let's say you've invented a car that can reach speeds of up to 240 km/h on solar power alone. A few months later, five smart competitors have taken apart your model and are now bringing their own versions to market. Before showing samples to the public, issue a temporary patent. It will protect your idea for a year while you refine the details.

What initial capital do you need?

Any investor investing in early stage companies and any small business consultant will tell you that most startups fail due to lack of capital. While there are no hard and fast rules, "double your initial estimate of the required capital," says Jim Pack, head of dental software developer Curve Dental.

How will you finance your business?

You have a choice: a rich aunt, credit cards (dangerous), an angel investor, venture capital (if you're serious), a bank loan (good luck finding it), and the most expensive way is to issue shares. Be careful: selling shares leads to dilution of capital, loss of control and management difficulties. In general, improve your business if you can. And finally, do not forget to correlate the timing of the receipt of money from your assets and the timing of the payment of liabilities. The mismatch can be painful.

How much money do you need to get through the first few years?

For those who overslept the previous paragraph: watch the money. Plenty of entrepreneurs brag about financial growth projections, but their pockets are empty before good times are on the horizon. (Remember the bankrupt dot-coms?) Be patient with Aeron chairs and Macs until you make more than you spend.

What are your financial projections?

Movement is not possible if you do not have a destination. Two important milestones are 1) operating ROI - when your business makes more money than it spends in a given period, and 2) investment ROI - when you finally recoup your initial investment (adjusted for inflation). Financial projections must be justified. Draw a too optimistic picture - and experienced investors will run away from you. And you will run out of money.

How to make your assistants happy?

What is American Idol without Simon Cowell? Soon we will all know, but many people think that the show will not be what it used to be. If you happen to find a great talent, try to keep it. Salary is just part of the equation.

What is your end goal?

Want to dump your business to the first person you meet with money? So did the owners of MySpace, but not Facebook. Different goals require different strategies. Always remember what you are aiming for.

Entrepreneurship Fundamentals

1. Economic theories about the essence and role of entrepreneurship. Modern doctrines of entrepreneurship.

2. The concept and content of entrepreneurship

3. Goals, functions and basic properties of entrepreneurship.

4. Principles of business organization.

5. Characteristic features of modern Russian entrepreneurship.

6. General principles of entrepreneurship typology

7. Classification of the main types of entrepreneurship. Characteristics of the production

entrepreneurship.

Intermediary and financial-credit business. Their characteristic.

Characteristics of business entities: individuals and legal entities.

Civil law characteristics of an individual entrepreneur.

Rights and obligations of individual entrepreneurs, their personal characteristics.

The system of motives for the development of entrepreneurship.

The essence of the business environment, its impact on the development of entrepreneurship.

Characteristics of the external and internal business environment.

The market as an environment for the existence of entrepreneurs.

Characteristics of organizational and legal forms of entrepreneurial activity. Simple and complex organizational and legal forms.

Economic partnerships: their main types, characteristics, features.

Production cooperatives: their characteristics, features of functioning.

Economic companies: their characteristics, types, features.

Joint stock companies: CJSC. JSC. Characteristics, features of functioning.

State and municipal unitary enterprises. Characteristics, features of functioning.

The essence of small business. Criteria for classifying subjects of a market economy as small businesses.

The role of small business in a market economy.

Advantages and disadvantages of small business.

Priority areas of development and forms of state support for small business

Financial, credit and property support for small businesses.

Taxation of small businesses. Simplified and imputed taxation systems.

The main stages of creating your own business.

Sources of entrepreneurial ideas and methods of their selection.

Sources of funds for the formation of authorized capital when creating your own business

Characteristics of constituent documents. Charter and memorandum of association, structure and content.

Developing a business plan when starting your own business. Structure and content.

Forms of organizing your own business: buying a ready-made business, using it to create a lease. franchising.

The procedure for state registration of a new enterprise.

Licensing and certification of entrepreneurial activity.

The system of relations between entrepreneurs and partners

Transactions: types, characteristics, implementation procedure.

Contracts: types, content, procedure for conclusion.

Leasing as a form of business. Types of leasing contracts.

Essence and content of franchising and factoring agreements.

Responsibility of entrepreneurs for violation of contractual obligations.

The essence of entrepreneurial risk.

Factors of occurrence of entrepreneurial risk.

Classification of types of entrepreneurial risk

Methods for assessing business risk.

Methods and means of minimizing entrepreneurial risk. Insurance.

The essence of business secrecy. Information constituting a business secret.

Types of business secrets.

System of measures to protect business secrets.

Responsibility of entrepreneurs for the disclosure of business secrets.

The essence of entrepreneurial culture, its main elements.

Business ethics of entrepreneurs.

Responsibility of entrepreneurs, essence, meaning, forms.

Types and forms of responsibility. Civil law, administrative responsibility.

Characteristics of the criminal liability of entrepreneurs.

Basic forms and methods of state regulation of entrepreneurial activity.

Measures of state support for entrepreneurial activity.

Possible causes and forms of business termination.

Essence and types of reorganization of business organizations.

Insolvency (bankruptcy) of the organization. bankruptcy procedures. liquidation of the organization.