praajects. business is a practice, not a concept.

there are many books to read, articles to skim, web sites to visit, feeds to aggregate, white papers to study and then there is reality.  if you are like most who want to start a business, already run a business, or just have an idea and you are not sure where to begin, you found the right place, praajects.

praajects is a consulting firm that will help you begin with realistic expectations, learn the typical pitfalls, the myths, and at the end of the day, realize that the only rules that will work for you are the ones you respect the most, that suit your personal needs, put the most energy into and execute with the most precision. we have worked with many start-ups, and even more growth stage companies, to learn more, contact us.

in business there are 3 things that need to be understood, respected and paid attention to.

• time
• money
• systems

time is one of the elements that is out of your control, yet it can be managed. time has a high level of impact on your success, possibly more so than all other elements.  setting milestones, managing your calendar, creating estimates, setting appointments, getting things done in a timely manner, making money faster (a measurement of time) than you need to spend it. this concept may seem like a “duh” thought but it is the absolute bottom line measurement of success. can you beat the clock?

money IS both the goal and the enemy. making money is the first reason to start a business, either because you want to or have to. the second reason is because you want to build long term value and sell the business. if this is the case your approach and road map have to be very different.

when it comes to money, you either have it or need it, which means you borrow it (good luck) or see if others believe in what you are doing and will take a risk with you. in this case you have decisions to make, is o.p.m. (other peoples money) something you are willing to risk and or repay, yes, you may have to do both? or is it worth trading equity in your dream whereby if you are successful, sorry when you are successful, you will share the profits and long term value.

there is no right or wrong answer, it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish, short and long term goals, the size of the market you are entering, how fierce the competition is, how innovative your approach is, and the one thing that is not nearly as important as you think, how good your idea is.

your idea has to be good, but that is only the first thing, and generally it is taken for granted, customers will listen to a good idea, and there are generally two words that are part of the response after you pitch your idea.  you will either hear blah blah blah and i am interested in hearing more, OR you will hear blah blah blah but blah blah blah.

and or but?

and is the word you want to hear, it insinuates a continuation.

but is what you don’t want to hear, it is a stop, a pause, its “i am not sure”, and that can be turned around, but it means you are now on the defensive. the best way to handle a but, is to expect one, and be ready to ask why they said but, and adress their issues right then if possible. hear them, do not ignore them.

systems are the processes by which you run your business.  from start to profits and beyond, create systems that help you create a plan of action, execute it and move to the next task. today, more than ever, smart business people suffer from business a.d.d.

why? because we all wear too many hats, but that is not going to change any time soon, right? right. The only thing we can do about it, is to outline what needs to be done, plan the time and resources to do it, and execute, then repeat.