16 basic knowledge you need to know when starting a business.

Once an entrepreneur decides to start his own business, no matter what industry he is engaged in, he must have certain business knowledge and certain management methods in addition to the necessary venture capital, in order to stand out from the cruel business competition and master more initiative in the ever-changing business society. Learning and flexibly using the following 16 aspects of knowledge or skills will make your own entrepreneurial road go further, smoother and easier.

Professional industry skills

This is the basis of starting a business (whether you have been engaged in this industry before or not). If you know nothing about the industry you want to start a business, I advise you to wait for a while and carefully observe and understand it in this field before making a decision. No matter which industry you want to start a business in, the first thing you need is to have a certain understanding of this industry (or be very familiar with it), and to have a certain understanding of the current situation and future development trend of the industry. This is the truth of doing business if you are not familiar with it. If you have certain theoretical knowledge, practical experience, operational skills and contacts in this industry that is about to start a business, you can make a good pre-business plan. Of course, the following knowledge is also very important in starting a business. It is recommended to dabble in it and use it more.

Equity knowledge

Many enterprises were full of enthusiasm at the beginning of their establishment, and everyone was full of enthusiasm. When they encountered any difficulties, everyone could work together to solve them together, and finally let the enterprises go through the most dangerous period of the previous two or three years. In order to expand their operations, the company needs to carry out market financing or share reorganization (or it may be that the enterprise needs financing or other circumstances in case of business crisis). At this time, there may be different ideas and disputes among shareholders. At this time, we discovered that when we started a joint venture, we came together only by the friendship between friends and friends and the beautiful yearning for starting a business. At that time, we didn’t mention (or didn’t expect) to sign a partnership agreement and formulate the relevant shareholder advance and retreat mechanism out of consideration of face and kindness. Even the articles of association were only drafted by the agency that assisted the company to register according to the legal norms, so there was not much practical binding effect without considering the actual situation. It is conceivable that this kind of enterprise will eventually have a serious situation. Therefore, at the beginning of starting a business, entrepreneurs must sign a partnership agreement, define the form of shareholders’ participation, the amount of capital contribution, the time limit for funds to be put in place, the proportion of shares, formulate the financial use and supervision mechanism, the shareholder advance and retreat mechanism, the risk control mechanism, and formulate the articles of association according to the actual situation and needs of the company. Familiarity with and application of equity knowledge will make your enterprise bigger and stronger.

organizational structure

The organizational structure is the overall structure of an enterprise, including the shareholders’ meeting, the board of directors, the board of supervisors, the management and the departments, etc. The organizational structure of each enterprise is tailored according to its own needs. It will make the operation of the enterprise more efficient for entrepreneurs to understand and set up the enterprise structure according to the actual needs of the enterprise in the early stage of starting a business.

Strategic Planning

Entrepreneurs should have a clear entrepreneurial direction, always know what they are doing and what they want to do, and formulate a strategic plan for enterprise development for at least one to three years or five years, and formulate short-term and medium-term work objectives and detailed implementation plans according to the enterprise development plan. If an enterprise does not have a practical long-term strategic plan, short-term action goals and implementation plans, it will make enterprise managers run around like headless flies, and the entrepreneurial era of crossing the river by feeling the stones with only a courage and enthusiasm has long since ended. Therefore, in order to succeed in entrepreneurship, enterprises must have clear development plans, goals and implementation rules.

Accounting knowledge

Financial management is an important part of enterprise operation and management, which has certain professionalism. However, as an entrepreneur, co-founder and the highest decision-making core of an enterprise, although you don’t need to master too much professional accounting knowledge, you still need to understand some basic accounting knowledge (such as cash flow statement, income statement, balance sheet and other financial statements). Knowing the actual financial situation of an enterprise at any time can make you more flexible and active in daily decision-making and find professionals who can better meet the needs of the enterprise to serve the enterprise.

Tax knowledge

For enterprises and entrepreneurs (especially entrepreneurs of small and micro enterprises), it is very necessary to know the relevant tax knowledge that is of interest to enterprises. Don’t think that this is just a matter for financial personnel. For hired professional staff, they will only file tax returns according to the process, but not for enterprise decision makers. He can save more funds and ensure the safety of enterprise operation. If the national tax policy can be flexibly grasped and rationally applied, the enterprise can go further and operate more reasonably and legally.

Marketing knowledge

Marketing is one of the skills that entrepreneurs must master. Enterprise product marketing determines the survival time and anti-risk ability of enterprises, and it is also the basis for enterprises to develop. Entrepreneurs must master relevant marketing knowledge and skills, set up marketing teams and train marketing personnel according to the actual situation and development plan of enterprises, fully analyze the market, be familiar with the market, know the customer’s needs, and formulate external marketing plans that highlight product characteristics and meet the company’s interests, market environment and customer’s needs. Formulate the operating norms and learning materials for internal marketers matching the marketing plan, and formulate relevant sales system, commission system, incentive measures, etc.

Logistics knowledge

Modern enterprises will inevitably face a large number of foreign logistics and related goods procurement. The importance of enterprise procurement and logistics management to start-ups is self-evident. Therefore, it is particularly important for entrepreneurs to master the necessary logistics knowledge and procurement knowledge. In the early stage of starting a business, funds are often not abundant, so reasonable procurement and on-demand allocation can alleviate the financial pressure. If you have a certain understanding of logistics enterprises, logistics links, logistics materials and logistics prices, you can make product prices, product packaging, customer commitments and after-sales services.

Computer and network knowledge

Modern enterprise management has been very different from traditional enterprise management. If entrepreneurs or business operators don’t know how to use basic computer and network tools, it is basically impossible to succeed in starting a business (or get twice the result with half the effort), so entrepreneurs must at least master simple computer typing (preferably table making and TTP making), surfing the Internet, sending and receiving emails, QQ, QQ group, WeChat group, Weibo, personal e-banking, WeChat group.

administration management

At the beginning of the business, there are generally not many employees in the company, so the boss (actual controller) is basically in charge of the company’s administrative personnel, or all the so-called offices (relatives or cronies) that have just been established are responsible. This management method is fatal to the enterprise. In the end, if the enterprise can still live, it will basically become a family-owned enterprise. Employees live in the boss’s mood every day, and everyone revolves around the boss. There is no or dare to have independent thinking, and few people are ghosts. Therefore, entrepreneurs must understand the importance of administrative management. No matter how many employees there are, companies must formulate various rules and regulations from the beginning, such as employee discipline, post system, workflow, operational norms, employee incentive system, etc., and strengthen learning and strict implementation, put an end to cronyism and family management, and advocate standardized and institutionalized enterprise construction.

human resources

If an enterprise wants to create a world in competition, talents play a decisive role. How to attract talents, retain talents and make good use of talents is a problem that every entrepreneur and enterprise manager must attach great importance to and think deeply. Many entrepreneurs have been competing with employees since the establishment of the enterprise, complaining that employees are not competent and have poor quality, complaining that talents are difficult to recruit, complaining that employees’ wages are too high to spend, and so on. As a result, there are many ways to default on wages or dismiss employees in various ways and find ways to let employees leave by themselves. As a result, labor relations are tense, employees have no enthusiasm and no sense of belonging, and bosses are busy recruiting and replacing people in batches in complaints, and there are many people who haven’t woken up until the company closes. If an enterprise wants to recruit and retain truly suitable talents, it should strive to create a relaxed, harmonious and harmonious working environment for its employees, formulate a sticky and passionate salary system, performance system, reward mechanism, improve employee welfare and logistics guarantee mechanism, apply for social security and sign a formal employment contract for employees who meet the requirements, etc. The company will manage people with the system, care for them, and retain employees with the working environment and salary and benefits, and employees will naturally repay the enterprise with their work ability and efficiency.

Emotional quotient management

Many times, the entrepreneur’s personal emotional intelligence management, human behavior and emotional control ability determine the ultimate success or failure of the enterprise. Entrepreneurs who are low-key, modest, capable of being a person, have high emotional intelligence, know how to respect others and understand mutual benefit are often popular, cohesive and persuasive, and are like a duck to water in business operations. Entrepreneurs should strengthen the cultivation of personal emotional intelligence and exercise their self-emotional control, understand that harmony makes money, and don’t act on impulse.

honesty and trustworthiness

Honesty and trustworthiness is the basic principle of dealing with people, and it is also the essential factor for entrepreneurs to succeed in starting a business. Only honest and trustworthy people can make real friends. Without friends in business, friends have connections. Connections are the pulse of money, business opportunities and the basis of development and cooperation. Only by adhering to the principle of being honest and trustworthy can we go further. Those century-old shops, famous brands and business giants have all come out in this way.

Focus. Focus.

There are many entrepreneurs who can persist in an industry or enterprise for three years, but few can persist for five, ten or even fifteen years. Entrepreneurs should avoid looking at other mountains while starting a business, trusting or admiring other people’s projects to make more money, and constantly introducing or changing projects will make their business a mess and ruin their original career. For beginners, it is more important to do, love and specialize in one line. Only by concentrating and persisting in doing one thing well can we make some achievements in the field of entrepreneurship we choose.

Time concept

Entrepreneurs should have a strong sense of time, all business operations should be carried out according to the planning and time frame, and they should respect both their own time and others’ time in business contacts. Don’t easily promise time limits for things that are uncertain, but do what they say on time. If they can’t do it, they should communicate with others in advance and provide remedial measures or compensation schemes. Only by being punctual and keeping promises can they get higher benefits and win respect.

social etiquette

For entrepreneurs, it is essential and frequent to participate in various social activities. Accumulating more resources and contacts through social activities will promote personal horizons and increase business opportunities. Before participating in various social activities, you should have a certain understanding and familiarity with some basic social etiquette in the corresponding social scenes (telephone communication, meeting, dining, meeting, gathering, negotiation, activities, etc.). For example, it is best to say your full name when introducing yourself, stand up or smile and nod to others when introducing yourself, don’t cross your legs when sitting, and ask guests to order first when eating. If the guests are not polite, try to order according to everyone’s regional taste (pay the bill in advance as low as possible before the end), avoid packing after meals (except for family dinners), treat people politely and equally regardless of their status, avoid taking photos casually and sending WeChat friends when socializing or dining, don’t pry into other people’s privacy, don’t spread negative news, don’t gossip, don’t drink too much, keep everything in mind when you see through some things, and don’t whisper to others at will to avoid misunderstanding. Don’t care too much about trifles or gossips, learn to be patient and tolerant, be able to bear losses, and don’t haggle over trifles to gain respect and respect from others.