Administration

Administration

For a successful business

Simple administration is essential to any successful business - and that's going to be yours - so keep a few basic rules in mind. Indeed, they are so simple and so obvious that you may be offended if I restate them. Don't be because the obvious is the most often overlooked!

Rule One. The Customer is King - but the most powerful piece on the board is the Queen! Your whole business ethos needs to be built around your customers - and their wives!. Without them you have no business. Even if your product or service is unique - and it probably isn't - nobody has to buy it from you. The message? Do everything to make your customers comfortable. Make them feel that you are on their side, that you know and understand your product and that you are the one they want to do business with. This is just as true in cyberspace as in any face to face business.

Rule Two. Profit is Income less cost. It doesn't matter how much money you take in, the only profit is the difference between what it costs you to sell something - remember, in addition to the cost of an item or service, all the little things like 'phone calls, postage & packing etc,. - and the price you sell it for.

And saving on your expenses will have a direct and very positive effect on your profit. See Here for a useful guide to frugal living. There is always something new we can learn and reducing costs represents a win, win situation in business and life.

What has this to do with administration? Everything! The better organised your business administration - simple record keeping, presentation, communication - think invoicing for an example, does yours thank the customer for his/her business? - the better you serve your customer, the quicker and more sustained will be your profitability. Ask yourself "Would I be happy doing business with me?"

See HERE for some reminders about keeping things legal. They will help keep you out of trouble and may substantially increase your profit margins.

Your first customer. When I was a young man living in the Far East, I noticed how the asian shopkeepers seemed to be much more relaxed and friendly in the mornings. No hard selling, often just an invitation to sit and talk, to enjoy a cold Coke or Green Spot. One elderly Chinese gentleman - who actually taught me to play rather poor chess during our morning chats - explained that

"the first customer of the day is always the most important, because until you have made the first sale, you have done no business that day"

He was right of course, but it is also true that after that first sale, subsequent sales get easier!

 

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Looking for more help?

http://www.sylviamilne.co.uk for a huge list of internet resources.

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