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India is a nation of Business People. There is in fact more entrepreneurship here than anywhere else. However, we have dumb entrepreneurship. Getting into Business is like an after-thought. You do it because your folks did it, because you thought you made a lousy employee but the best boss or because you wanted to earn a lot of money. You forgot, however, that earning comes in later, but hard work goes in first. Also, you would just follow the dumb business crowd out there and do just as they are doing and go where everyone else seems to be going and that’s nowhere.

No, they don’t teach you what-it-takes in a Business School. So you got to keep reading this blog more often.

Here are some smart ways you should be running your business

1. Use technology as much as you can : There are somethings technology can’t do, but most of the things can be done cheaper, better or faster by enabling technology. There could be a few processes or functions like accounting, a few aspects of finance and marketing, operations and Customer relationship marketing and a host of other critical functions that technology could handle for you. You could be mobile and use a business phone or PDA for checking and answering that all-too-important information request a customer makes for a sale. You could use email marketing, automated follow-up using auto-responders, website for furnishing more information, dispensing valuable information in CD, DVD, membership site or e-book. Technology is yours for taking. It should be used as much as possible for more efficient but still less expensive ways to do business.

2. Pre Sell : If you were thinking about advertising in local media, newspapers, hoardings, TV and other common vehicles, you are aping your losing competition. You see, it is time you got a little smarter. Just refuse to do what they are doing. They aren’t really happy spending all that money on those not-so-efficient media for advertising. Think of something else. Try to pre-sell. Most business people try to bring in customers after the business is set-up. You could go about it the other way around. Pre-sell your products and services even before you incorporate. Get sales before you can really sell.

3. Boot-Strap : There is absolutely no need to take a huge loan and then try to fill up the monthly EMI. You can do it the other way around. No one said that you got to be as big as the Ford Motor Company to be in business, you could be as small as just YOU and still run it profitably. Try to boot-strap and run the business with the money that floats in after your initial sales.

4. Go at it alone : I would say avoid the partner problems. Go at it alone. It might be difficult, you might feel lonely, there might be a slight suffocation when it comes to financing, but you can still do it. It takes sheer guts, determination, perseverance and a fighting spirit ( hell, that is what entrepreneurs are made of, right?) but you can still make it.

5. Kill Complacency : It helps to be paranoid. You can never be complacent in Business. You got to know what your competition is thinking, you will have to discern what your customers might be asking for even before they actually do. You should be constantly thinking about how to make your service or product the best in the market and see to it that your competition can never catch up with you. Innovation is key.

Differentiate or Die.

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