msafiri Everything that you do in your business, every step, should lead to making a profitable sale. Whatever line you are involved in, whether providing goods and services directly to customers or to other businesses or government and other agencies, the processes you set in motion define your business. Making progress in business may often simply require a change in processes. The actual transactions are millennia old – we make, buy and sell the same types of products and services – the essentials and some luxuries. What has changed are the processes. As technology advances, the processes change. Just consider how the mobile phone has changed the process of communication, just for starters. So work out your process in minute detail. While you are doing so, you might discover a better, or more efficient, way of doing the activity. Study processes at every opportunity – when you visit a factory, a shop, a restaurant, a cinema. What is the business process involved? What are the resources needed? How do the employees fit into the process? The danger with processes is that BUSINESS 126 purchases. There are a number of national, international and private schemes such as the MyC4 concept ( www. myc4. com) which help small and medium businesses obtain access to finance. Too many potential good business ventures crash because the entrepreneur has not learned to distinguish between his personal and business expenses. You must get this distinction right. Banks now issue special debit and credit cards which you can use only to make business transactions. All business expenses must go towards business ends. Your salary usually comes from the profit but goes down as an expense. While you are building your business, you may have to pay yourself a small salary and plough back the profits into the business. Money is an expensive item when you borrow it – at times it can be the most expensive item on your balance sheet. Try to keep your borrowing down. Consider taking an equity partner – 60% of a thriving partnership is far better than 0% of sole ownership. Ask an accountant friend for the pros and cons of registering your business, either as a limited company, a partnership or as a sole trader. There are other variations, but most don't apply to small businesses. What else do I need to know? Business is about people and processes. To learn about people, learn about yourself. In other words, you must learn to step into other people's shoes and see the world – including yourself from their viewpoint. Study yourself. How do you respond to other people and situations, what emotions do you undergo – are you in control of your thoughts and feelings? If you know yourself, you can know other people and this is crucial. There are other methods, such as Archetype Analysis, that are now fashionable in business circles and which help you understand yourself and others. How critical is business process? Process is at the heart of business – the steps along the way that lead to providing the need that satisfies the customer. Your business process is, in fact, your business. sometimes the overall objective gets lost – people forget that the aim of the process is to deliver satisfaction to the customer and make a sale. Sometimes people get so hooked up on the processes that they lose sight of the overall picture. This is often the biggest headache you find in state- owned companies or even some large organisations where the customers' needs come last! Once you have a grip on the processes involved and are ready to put them into operation, you are ready to enter business. With a good business plan and a well- worked and thought- through process, you might also be able to find additional finance from specialised banks, venture capitalists or friends and associates. But don't rely on this – depend on your own resources initially. Once you prove yourself, the money will come looking for you. Where are the opportunities? In terms of opportunities, Africa is king. The continent is so far behind other regions in terms of consumer goods, infrastructure and services that demand is almost infinite. Fifteen years ago, China was in exactly the same position as Africa is now – but with far fewer resources. Then it made the decision to change the course of its history and go into business. the actual transactions are millennia old – we make, buy and sell the same types of products – the essentials and some luxuries