There are lessons for entrepreneurs, in Yum Brands the parent company for KFC and Taco Bell spin-off in China.
No matter what size your business, it is important to keep in mind that you can learn from other players in the market. Even people who own a small mom and pop corner store can learn things from big multinational organizations. Likewise, a multinational corporation can learn things about customer service from a successful neighborhood hair salon. If you are an entrepreneur, pay attention to the big stories about things going on the business world around you. There are always things you can learn and put into place in your own business. The recent Yum Brand spin-off has three lessons for entrepreneurs.
- It makes good business sense to have multiple streams of income.
- Know when to let go of a losing position.
- Think about big pictures and look long range.
It makes good business sense to have multiple streams of income.
It is common knowledge that entrepreneurs should have more than one stream of revenue. It is the idea that created the saying, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” For example, fast food restaurants sell fries, burgers and soft drinks. Hospitals have emergency rooms, cancer wards and cardiac departments. All the services are complimentary and related. Take a look at your business. No matter what that business is. How many different revenue streams do you have? It is important to have multiple revenue streams because business is cyclical. This means that sometimes business will be brisk and you need to work overtime for weeks at a time. At other times, business will be slow and you will be begging for customers. If you have more than one revenue stream when things are down in one area, it is possible that things will still be okay in other areas of your business.
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Know when to let go of a losing position.
Often entrepreneurs fall in love with their businesses. They begin to think of their businesses as if they were children, pets or members of the family. When entrepreneurs look at their businesses like that they tend to lose objectivity. This is a dangerous position. You must learn how to look at your business objectively so that you will recognize when it is time to walk away from a losing position. There are some product lines, service offerings or programs that you create for your business that either never make money or are unprofitable. There are some things you offer that even after you have tried to improve things, make them work better and tweaked until you can tweak no more, they are still not worth the effort it takes to keep them going at your business. You must learn to let losing positions go without feeling as if you have done something wrong.
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Think about big pictures and look long range.
Almost every entrepreneur has heard the expression -” you can’t see the forest for the trees.” This is the idea people use when they say you are spending so much time looking at the small details you miss the big picture all around you. This is the idea that you should not concentrate so much on the day to day small picture things that you forget about the big overall plan. When an entrepreneur creates a business, she has a big picture, goal or idea in mind for the business. When she starts operating the business, she has that big idea at the forefront of her mind. Over the coarse of time, the little day to day tasks of running the business, making payroll, satisfying customers and the like take more and more energy and time. All of those things sometimes cause the entrepreneur to lose focus on the big picture. This is a dangerous position. Always take time to keep an eye on the big picture that put you in business in the future.
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Being an entrepreneur is a wonderful thing. It allows you to contribute to the economy, create jobs for others and provide good and valuable products and services for customers. If an entrepreneur stays ready to learn and grow, will be able to continue doing those things for a long and profitable time.