Having a business to run is a lot like having a wide and diverse family. The difficulty with business is often a lot like the difficulty we have with our families. Namely, that it can be hard getting all the different parts to agree on the best course of action. If you want your Christmas dinner to go off without a hitch, then you need to keep everyone happy. You do this by ensuring that everyone knows their place, what their position is, and what they can and can’t expect from everyone else. This is how you achieve harmony between people, and the principle applies equally as well to the world of business.
PicYour business, if it is like any other, operates in several distinct locations. This tends to be true, regardless of the size or the nature of the business. Just as with the family dinner, your main aim should be to draw everyone together harmoniously. And, just the same, you do it by assigning the different parts their own key goals. You set expectations – and limits. You make sure that each area knows what the other areas are up to. In this way, your business can operate smoothly as a whole, rather than its distinct parts working independently. Let’s take a look, then, at the different areas your business operates in, and how to make each one work.
The Office
First off, we will look at the central workplace of your business, the office or hub if you like. This is where the magic happens, so to speak, and in many ways it is the most important place in your entire business. Keeping the office operating as smoothly as possible is one of the major challenges in any business. It is something that a lot of business owners struggle with for years and years. So how exactly is it achieved?
There are many different sides to this issue, but we will start with the most important: keeping the office organised. Productivity requires a workplace which is laid out sensibly and professionally. Everyone should know exactly where everything is. Communication between all staff should be made as easy as possible. You can achieve this either by making the layout of the office conducive to it, or through the use of technology. In truth, most businesses rely on a healthy combination of the two. Keep the office as organised as you can, and productivity is likely to soar.
Another important ingredient here is to have motivated staff. Really, this begins during the hiring process. When you are hiring, be sure to look for passionate and dedicated people. These are the people who will really keep your business going strong. After you have hired your team, stay on top of their productivity levels. Be clear and consistent when you express what it is that you want. Be sure to have a decent reward system in place. Promote those who excel. All these things are essential for the business to thrive as well as it should.
The Factory
The office may well be the brain of the organisation, but it is not the only necessary organ. Your factory is likely to be a very important part of operations. If you think about it, this makes perfect sense. After all, that is where your product is actually produced in the first place. And if there is anything which is important to your customer, it is the final product in their hands. That’s why it is vital that you ensure the operations in your business’ factory are as good as they can be. So what does an exemplary factory setting look like?
To operate as well as possible, your factory needs to favour safety of its people and security of its machines above all else. These are the two factors which you should focus on most of all. The safety of the staff is something which no business can afford to ignore. In order to be certain of your employee’s safety, be sure to adhere to all health and safety regulations operating in your area. What’s more, have a team leader to champion safety in the workplace.
You also need to make sure that the machines are being looked after as well as possible. Basic housekeeping is essential here, to stop the machines from being abused over time. You might also consider using milling machines to keep them in working order. On the whole, the productivity of the factory relies upon the tools and machinery being kept in working order.
The Marketplace
Let’s take a look outside of your own building. Your business, after all, operates in more places than just your central hub. There is a completely other side to business which we haven’t even touched upon yet. This is the aspect of doing business which really makes the difference, the part which draws in customers and keeps them there. We are talking, of course, about how your business operates in the marketplace.
For continued long-term success, your business needs to find a viable way to interact with its customer base, and the wider public. There are many elements to achieving this, but we will focus on just the main ones. Most of all, your business needs to build up a strong brand image with which it can interact with the marketplace. Building a brand identity is on the one hand quite simple, but on the other a long drawn out process. It starts by thinking of your business as a person rather than a business. If you had to describe its personality, what would you say? From this, you can start to draw an outline of your brand identity. After that, it is just a matter of building upon it by acting in a consistent manner in the marketplace. With dedication and a little cleverness, it is quite simple to build a brand which people immediately recognise.
Ultimately, this is what you are going for: a brand which people recognise. The most successful brands are those which cause an emotional response in people. These are the ones which tend to stand the test of time.
