Sunday, August 30, 2015

LESSONS LEARNED FROM OWNING A BUSINESS ........MY MOBILE CAR WASH

As you are aware that this year or last year I started a new business, I have learned a lot of lessons. Like I said before I am not an expert or a genius who start the business against all the stats pointing that most start-ups fail within 5 years after they started.

The Journey........
Well like everyone who started business, I assume when we start these businesses, we thought we have done all the backgrounds such as market research, identifying the gaps, planning, business plan, etc. So I did everything that I thought was required before I embark on this journey of being the business owner. This is some of the things I did and thought were the most important:
  •  I did a business plan for my cash wash which included monthly projections, market research, identifying customers and competitors, SWOT analysis as well as other things such prices and promotions.
  • Compare various available options to wash a car as well as getting various quotations to get the most affordable business.
  • I also did Internet search to understand the products available 
  • I discussed and spoke to family and friends to get their opinions as well as advise on the business idea.
Surprise Surprise!!!!
 Unfortunately what I just listed above is just a basic which is not enough in order to run the business perfectly. This is a basic list which we usually read about it and sometimes from the people who have never their own businesses. What I learned in life is that what you are told is just a guideline and it is totally different to what you will experience in real life situation. This is exactly the same as what you learn at school is just a fraction on what you will experience in real life. This is a problem, in my opinion, which is difficult to solve. 

In my journey of this business, there is a lot that I learned. This has showed me that my planning, research and business plan was not adequate or complete. It also proves that plan, budget or expectation will never be the same as the actual. Below is a list of what I practically learned from my car wash business which I think is applicable to any type of business:
  1. Difference between the owner and the labour
  2. market preferences and market knowledge
  3. Importance of owning a site
  4. Integrity and trustworthy
  5. Implication of addition costs
  6. Business dependant
  7. Needs vs Wants
  8. Importance of support
  9. Importance of Marketing & Promotions
  10. Demand vs Capacity
 This is what I observed and learned during my first year owning a business. In my next post I will be explaining the above lessons in detail so whoever is interest in any type of business can learn from these mistakes.