Pakistani Entrepreneurs – Path to success

Pakistani Entrepreneurs – Path to success

Starting and growing a business in Pakistan can be a daunting task. With the ever-changing economic landscape, the challenges that come with operating a business in Pakistan can be overwhelming.  However, with the right strategies and resources, one can overcome these obstacles and succeed in establishing a sustainable profitable business.

In this article, we will identify key reasons of new business failures and will focus on some of the best practices for starting and growing a successful business in Pakistan, despite the challenges.  We will also explore how one can leverage technology to make their operations more efficient and profitable.  

From market research it was found that most of new businesses fail within their first few years due to one of the following reasons:

• lack of innovation
• poor sales and marketing
• high fixed costs
• insufficient capital
• lack of market demand for the product or service
• Poor management
• intense competition
• poor financial planning and control
• lack of innovation
• poor sales and marketing
• too much debt

So, chances of success will increase, if new businesses make a clear plan to address the above and successfully implement the plan. Sure, there can be some external reasons such as overall economy, government policies etc. too, but let’s focus on some of the things that business owners can do to be successful.

1. Plan ahead:  Instead of instinctively jumping on something, it is worth planning ahead.  Think as hard as you can, of all what you plan to do, how, what can go right or wrong, and plan accordingly.  This time is not a waste.
2. Conduct thorough market research: Understand your target market, audience, their wants/needs, and the competition in the market.  Taylor your offered product/services based on the findings of market research.  Hiring expansive market research will definitely be of higher value but you can do it yourself too.  At a minimum ask yourself, and others, questions as why someone will buy from me?  Why would not they buy from existing suppliers?  What new/unique am I offering?  How am I offering a better value proposition than my competitors to my customers?  Consider all responses objectively and adjust your offered products/service to align with answers above.
3. Develop a solid business plan:  This will help you define your goals, strategies, and tactics for achieving success and most importantly will keep you focused on your goals.  Depending on the size and nature of business a business plan can be a detailed and extensive document, however, at a minimum a good business plan should include the following:

• Executive Summary:  Summarizes what you expect your business to accomplish. Since it’s meant to highlight what you intend to discuss in the rest of the plan, the Small Business Administration suggests that you write this section last.

• Company Description:  Includes key information about your business, goals and the target customers that you want to serve, your company’s strengths the competitive advantages.

• Market Analysis:  Shows in numbers what other businesses are doing and how they are succeeding or failing. Also includes your target customers profile such as their income levels, buying habits, their wants/needs and how and why your business can do it better.
• Description of Management:  Identifies legal nature of business, key personnel, their roles, and profiles.

• Products/Services:  Includes fuller details of offered products/services, cost and sale prices of the same, suppliers etc.

• Marketing Plan:  Details of how you intend to get your products and services in front of your target customers. It includes all planned promotional strategies with budgets and costs and sales and distribution plans.

• Need/request for Funding:  Identify how much capital is needed to start, to run for next 3-5 years and where is that funding coming from.  If the company needs loan this section needs to provide projections of sales and profits to justify to the lender that the business is viable and that you will be able to pay their money back timely and as agreed.

4. Focus on providing quality products and services:

Keep in mind that promotion may bring in new customers but it is the quality of goods and services that keeps them coming back and earns your business a good reputation without which no business survives.  So, offering quality goods and services and maintaining the same is key to any business success.

5. Be adaptable and flexible:  Rigidity in business kills.  Pre-planning helps but there are always surprises.  Businesses need to always flexible and adaptable.  The need to continuously evaluate their performance, their market, their products/services, their competition and adjust ensure their alignment with the changing environments to keep their business, products and services viable and competitive.

6. Stay compliant with laws and regulations:  Make sure to follow all relevant laws and regulations in Pakistan to avoid any legal issues.

No one can guarantee future success, but it has been seen that a higher proportion of businesses that do the above are successful and those who don’t are not. 

Technology can also play a significant role in growing a business by helping to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reach a wider audience. Using technology to reach a larger customer base, save costs, time can help too.  Technology is not always expansive.  There are tons of companies offering solutions for small businesses at highly competitive rates for solutions such as:

• E-commerce: Developing an online presence and selling products or services through an e-commerce platform can help reach a larger customer base.
• Digital marketing: Utilizing digital marketing strategies such as social media, search engine optimization, and email marketing can help attract new customers and increase brand awareness and be more cost effective.
• Data analysis: Collecting and analyzing data can help identify trends and opportunities for growth.
• Automation: Automating repetitive tasks and processes can save time and increase productivity and quality.
• Cloud computing: Storing data and applications on the cloud can help improve scalability and flexibility.
• Video conferencing and collaboration tools: Can help remote teams collaborate effectively and maintain productivity.  It can also save travel costs significantly.
• Artificial Intelligence: AI and machine learning technologies can be used to analyze data, automate decision-making and improve customer service.

Overall idea is that by following the path of successful ones and by avoiding mistakes made by others new business can increase their chances of success and ensure that they will have a long, profitable concern that benefits its owners and society collectively.

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Babar Saeed

bsaeed@yahoo.com

January 30, 2023