In one of my previous write-ups, I had written on how aspiring entrepreneurs can take the bull by the horns and start a service business irrespective of whether they have hands-on experience – in that area of interest – or not.
Now that you have decided on a service business, it’s high time you knew what it takes to manage your start-up and command the attention of clients.
I have asserted countless times that starting a business does not guarantee that customers or clients will troop in as expected (see Has Your Small Business Adopted Integrated Marketing Communications?). There is always the place of hard-work, strategizing, courage, accountability, direct marketing, networking, etc – and sometimes, law suits! All of these aspects of business – and more – well managed, determine how successful a business would be.
In managing a service business in an area you don’t have considerable hands-on experience in, you need to understand the basics.
Your Service Uniqueness Depends on How you Combine TPIS
T – Talent: A natural ability for being good at a particular activity.
P – Passion: A strong enthusiasm for a particular activity.
I – Interest: An insatiable appetite to know about or take part in activities, events, trends, or issues in an area of passion.
S – Skill: The ability to do something well, usually as a result of experience and training.
Talent + Passion + Interest + Skill = Uniqueness
It is a known fact that the little extra in a person makes him extra-ordinary. If you must move your start-up from being perceived as “ordinary”, then you need to bring your “little extra” to the fore. Everyone needs the right combination of talent, enthusiasm, interest and skill in order to attain greatness. Therein lies the power to become what you desire.
You may have a passion for sports but that alone does not make you a soccer star. The Messi and Kaka of this world are men with remarkable natural ability for soccer. They rose to stardom as a result of their ability to blend talent with unreserved passion and insatiable appetite for success in the round leather game. And by regular exercise, these guys have over the years grown to become soccer gods, possessing unmatched quality and uniqueness.
You have an obligation to discover your area of natural competence, passion, interest, and skill; and build a business around it. The risk of failure is reduced when you embark on a business that you naturally fit into and have a flair for. It is possible to do well without the benefit of prior experience or expertise, especially if you have the passion to succeed.
How to Identify Your Uniqueness/Peculiarity using the TPIS Model*
The TPIS Model examines an individual’s peculiarity based on four parameters: Talent, Passion, Interest, and Skill. This model advances that rapid growth in any career or entrepreneurial venture hinges on these four parameters. It asserts further that a combination of these parameters makes an individual or business stand out among its contemporaries.
Here is a table of an individual’s make-up using the TPIS Model:
Parameters and Values/Variables.
(a) Talent (natural ability): Quick reasoning, imagination, organization, perfection, writing, innovation.
(b) Passion (love/hate): Creativity, aesthetic design, money, motivation, looking good, public speaking, excellence, innovation, copywriting.
(c) Interest (insatiable appetite): Entrepreneurship, graphic design, publishing, advertising, business communication, branding, public speaking, making money.
(d) Skill (training and experience): Journalism, Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Computer Application, Entrepreneurship, Administration.
How to Identify an Individual’s Make-Up Using the TPIS Model
1. Draw a table and list the different variables/values for each parameter as it applies to you. Be objective in each case. You may consult an outsider to give you an unbiased assessment of yourself.
2. Identify the areas of common values from each parameter.
3. Merge the common variables/values together in order to get an idea of your core strengths and perhaps, weaknesses.
4. Focus on your strengths and work harder on your weaknesses.
5. Build a business and make money around your core strengths.
The world is tilting to the service industry. Almost all new small businesses springing up are in the service business category. Service business is a potential money-making platform that can be used by almost every person. Branding yourself as a professional in some of these services and contacting clients who may need them will amaze you with results.
See you at the top!
*The TPIS Model has been propounded by Ayokunle Bankole.
The purpose of this blog is to give you series of ideas, strategies, and techniques that you can use immediately to make your business and career grow... spontaneously. Click on the COMMENTS link below each article to have your say. Click on the OLDER POSTS link at the bottom of the blog to see more articles. But call +2348055981421 to INVITE Ayokunle Bankole to speak with your seminar audience!
Showing posts with label Business Start-up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Start-up. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
How to Start a Service Business in an Area You Have Little or No Experience.
Going by the increasing toll of unemployment in Nigeria and in most countries of the world, one option that readily comes to mind is churning out business ideas and making a living from such ventures.
However, good as entrepreneurship may seem, certain challenges are likely to be faced by the aspiring/budding entrepreneur who, due to lack of experience in his chosen career path, finds it difficult to get notice in the marketplace.
Amongst other qualities, experience, is obviously the most vital requirement needed for a successful service business. But this is not to say that some service business can’t be ventured into with little or no experience.
If you are thinking of starting an interior decorations business, for example, you are most likely to do well if you have worked in an organization or with someone having similar interest. Consider someone who starts a business and offers human relations management services, but never worked in an HR firm or as an HR administrator for a company!
Experience readily brings the judgment you would need to manage your business. This is the single most important skill needed in the service industry (and perhaps, in all types of businesses).
All hope is not lost if you are just a fresher. You can start a particular service business, and do well even if you have not worked professionally in a similar field. “How?” you ask. I will tell you now.
Let me identify two types of experience. These are: 1. Hands-on Experience; and 2. Self-Acquiring Experience.
Hands-on experience is the type of training you get as a result of your involvement in a particular activity. Here, you learn the skill first-hand; you make mistakes/errors and get corrected. Over the years, hands-on experience has proven to be the most accepted method of staff training, and many companies are aware of this fact. An accountant just starting off cannot, in any way, be compared with one with many years of hands-on experience. Likewise, a veteran sales person will, in most cases, outsell a beginner.
It is, however, worthy of note that acquiring corporate experience is not limited to the hands-on level. In the self-acquiring experience level, you engage in a conscious, self-acquiring exercise in order to be ahead of the game in your chosen career path.
The following are methods you can quickly use to become an experienced business person:
1. Read books authored by people who have several years of hands-on experience in the field that interest you. For instance, one of the professional books that have shaped my career is The Corporate Communications Bible by Robert Dilenschneider. In just one book, I was able to acquire public relations “wisdom” which had took the author several decades to learn!
2. Attend professional training/short courses. Attending programmes of this nature gives you unique opportunity to listen to experts as they teach. In most cases, you get opportunity to ask questions and practice what you have learnt.
3. Subscribe to and read newsletters regularly (whether paper or electronic-based). Newsletters offer unique information that may not be found elsewhere. Your self-acquiring effort may just pay of by reading one more newsletter.
4. Associate with ‘senior’ friends. You have no business spending your time with people who don’t know as much as you do. Pitch your tent with people who have gone ahead of you (and are successful) in similar business. Have them mentor you. By doing this, their experience rubs on you.
5. Apply what you have acquired. It is important to note that acquiring does not equal applying. You need to apply the wisdom acquired. Start small. Offer a kind of service that you can proffer immediate solutions to. The more you use what you know, the more you get skilled in the art, and the more you become experienced in that area! In the words of Dr. David Oyedepo, “Every fact you locate and apply puts you in control of life’s circumstances.”
However, good as entrepreneurship may seem, certain challenges are likely to be faced by the aspiring/budding entrepreneur who, due to lack of experience in his chosen career path, finds it difficult to get notice in the marketplace.
Amongst other qualities, experience, is obviously the most vital requirement needed for a successful service business. But this is not to say that some service business can’t be ventured into with little or no experience.
If you are thinking of starting an interior decorations business, for example, you are most likely to do well if you have worked in an organization or with someone having similar interest. Consider someone who starts a business and offers human relations management services, but never worked in an HR firm or as an HR administrator for a company!
Experience readily brings the judgment you would need to manage your business. This is the single most important skill needed in the service industry (and perhaps, in all types of businesses).
All hope is not lost if you are just a fresher. You can start a particular service business, and do well even if you have not worked professionally in a similar field. “How?” you ask. I will tell you now.
Let me identify two types of experience. These are: 1. Hands-on Experience; and 2. Self-Acquiring Experience.
Hands-on experience is the type of training you get as a result of your involvement in a particular activity. Here, you learn the skill first-hand; you make mistakes/errors and get corrected. Over the years, hands-on experience has proven to be the most accepted method of staff training, and many companies are aware of this fact. An accountant just starting off cannot, in any way, be compared with one with many years of hands-on experience. Likewise, a veteran sales person will, in most cases, outsell a beginner.
It is, however, worthy of note that acquiring corporate experience is not limited to the hands-on level. In the self-acquiring experience level, you engage in a conscious, self-acquiring exercise in order to be ahead of the game in your chosen career path.
The following are methods you can quickly use to become an experienced business person:
1. Read books authored by people who have several years of hands-on experience in the field that interest you. For instance, one of the professional books that have shaped my career is The Corporate Communications Bible by Robert Dilenschneider. In just one book, I was able to acquire public relations “wisdom” which had took the author several decades to learn!
2. Attend professional training/short courses. Attending programmes of this nature gives you unique opportunity to listen to experts as they teach. In most cases, you get opportunity to ask questions and practice what you have learnt.
3. Subscribe to and read newsletters regularly (whether paper or electronic-based). Newsletters offer unique information that may not be found elsewhere. Your self-acquiring effort may just pay of by reading one more newsletter.
4. Associate with ‘senior’ friends. You have no business spending your time with people who don’t know as much as you do. Pitch your tent with people who have gone ahead of you (and are successful) in similar business. Have them mentor you. By doing this, their experience rubs on you.
5. Apply what you have acquired. It is important to note that acquiring does not equal applying. You need to apply the wisdom acquired. Start small. Offer a kind of service that you can proffer immediate solutions to. The more you use what you know, the more you get skilled in the art, and the more you become experienced in that area! In the words of Dr. David Oyedepo, “Every fact you locate and apply puts you in control of life’s circumstances.”
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