Don’t do anything for free – or so my dad says

I have been an entrepreneur since I was 22 years old, now I am 15 days away from being 26years old. But like every business it is now time for growth and expansion. But how to do that..

After one of my lectures at the University of Bahrain, one of the students asked me what free resources were available in the country for them to take advantage of in terms of funding and support. I suggested Tamkeen, BDB, and the Unido program which suggestions were given to me by others who have gone through the process already. And then came the daunting question.

‘Miss Wafa, I haven’t heard of the Unido program before, have you tried it?’

Awkward silence follows. And the truth came out. No I haven’t and I felt awful for promoting a program I haven’t actually experienced. So a few days later I signed up to the three intensive introduction to business. 3 hours a day, 3 weeks, with only Fridays off. +_+

I have the basics you see, I have my business plan, I have my marketing plans, my numbers get added up by an accountant. But did I have a growth plan? Did I have a 3 year marketing strategy? Do I want to expand? How so? Unido taught me the importance of growth, of stepping out of the day to day routine of managing a business and planning ahead for expansion.

One thing that struck me most was when on day 7 of the program, Eman Burashid our marketing mentor suggested that you offer something for free to our customers. And she talked about how she does a free half an hour consultancy, free seminars and lectures for charities and prospective clients, and I heard my dad’s voice in my ear telling me not to do anything for free. And it helped to have someone okay the way you feel about giving something to get something else in return. And am a big believer that the more you give unconditionally the more you get in return.

So I went back and emailed the young lady who asked me if I attended it, and highly recommended the program.

But if I could sum up what I had grasped in the three weeks it is:

1. Know your numbers, yourself
2. Do something you are passionate about, even if it is not that innovative, you can do it differently, give yourself that competitive edge
3. Get customer testimonials on your website
4. Borrowing is a good thing if you have a plan of exactly where the money is going
5. Don’t overpay yourself ie. Salary-wise
6. Know your target audience, ask your customers how they heard about you, conduct surveys etc
7. There is never a right time to launch your business, just do it and adapt accordingly
8. Work on your weaknesses, outsource what you can’t do, but know your stuff, don’t just dump everything on someone and say get it done, micro manage
9. You don’t need partners to launch your business, a partner has to fit like a glove so if it doesn’t fit, venture on your own
10. Don’t spend so much on decor and styling your office, focus on developing staff, client relations, marketing materials, capitalizing on tools and resources.

Find out if you have the Unido program in your country. For small and medium sized businesses this course helps with business planning, human resource, basics of finance and accounting, and marketing, and gives you one on one counselling after the program.