The arrival of large retailers, hit in a crucial manner this kind of activity, reducing the stores still open and in fact, limiting the revenues for those who have kept open in such an undertaking.

But it’s worth yet to open a grocery store today?

Certainly, beyond the specific cases, the maneuvering space for this kind of activity, are reduced.

Many small shops have closed and many new managment who followed them, have suffered the same fate.

There are also exceptions, and then, now we hear the testimonies of three traders.

The first of these entrepreneurs , taken the management of a shop already existing and closed his business after about a year (maybe less!)

The second person, taken its activity in a tourist resort and has relaunched with ideas and solutions that have allowed it to go beyond the usual round of old loyal customers.

The third dealer, manages from over thirty years in a large Italian city a grocery store oriented to a high target of customers.

We listen to their testimonies.

Take the management of a food store: the first example

My name is Franco, three and a half years ago, I bought an old but already started the grocery store that was open for over forty years in a district inhabited by middle and lower middle classes.

I bought the business, bargaining the price of the rent the room, of course I bought the furniture (which was remade two years before) and the portfolio of customers, even though I was aware (and even the old titulars do not denied it) were in a gradual decline for years but still able to guaranteed a starting point to revive in some way the activity.

Unfortunately, the downward trend of turnover, has increased considerably after the departure of its previous owners.

Thinking back to the mistakes and having to make a list, I would put these:

I would have to negotiate further downward the rent (being in times of crisis, and since we are in a area that as much as 20% of commercial funds are empty).

I overvalued the resilience of the customers of the old management. In fact, many of them were old friends, and then with the previous owners had a personal relationship.

I have no view of the fact that the decline in store sales had escalated in the last two years prior to my arrival.

Therefore, the reduction would continue. And I have not thought about this.

The concurrence of a greengrocer who opened two years ago a few meters away and also sells a number of products identical as those sold in my shop, it facilitates the migration of customers and, therefore, the decline in my sales.

From my experience, I can say that before buy an activity, it should be able to have clear about the whole situation and do not be afraid to give up, if you are not fully convinced.

It continues with the next episode where we feel the other two witnesses that in contrast to this, are positive.

Source image :

provincia.bologna.it

Let’s go back to talk about the choice of the business sector to open.

Open an activity: the analysis of the territory

When people want to start a business, they often have clear (or enough) even the business sector who want to open.

At this point, it will analyze the potential market. Ie, the area where open the business.

Many times, these areas for our aspiring entrepreneur are familiar. That is, areas known or even where it resides or works from some time.

Often, the choice of the area is crucial in achieving success or not.

So, we need to understand if the area chosen by us, has real spaces to start the activity that we intend to open, otherwise it is good to consider other areas that are less known or even just a little more uncomfortable (sometimes a few kilometers away from our home, etc..) but offer more opportunities.

Open an activity: do not rush!

The haste, is a factor to be avoided.

Indeed, the haste with the other emotional elements, we mentioned in previous posts, can affect the outcome of our project.

Open a business: make some little test.

To understand the weaknesses of the competitors, we can trasform us temporarily in potential consumers.

Let’s go to see how they work directly our future competitors.

We listen the comments from consumers of the competitors and we try to understand why they are satisfied and even the criticisms.

Open a business : analyzing of the situations in so real.

A very common mistake by some aspirants (not only) entrepreneurs, is to assess and analyze the competing only in a negative way.

To Judging, you end up not understanding anything!

We must have in the attitude of the observer, rather than a competitor who looks to find reasons to talk about evil!

Otherwise, we fail to grasp the real important issues that allow us to find space and opportunities to win the competition and create for ourselves a suitable space on the market.

Good job

Andrea Figoli

image source:

bachecaannunci.it

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In our several post, we talked about the many stages of the life of an entrepreneur and a business.

Today, we treat the aspect that concerns the journey from aspirant entrepreneur to entrepreneur true.

Become an entrepreneur: the preparatory stages.

He often begins with a dream and then hand in hand with the development of the idea, collecting all data and information required and the preparation of business plans, we arrive finally at the time of departure.

An emotional moment that, according to people involved, is a set of euphoria, anxiety, concentration etc. ..

Change its life: becoming an entrepreneur.

One of the factors of success in business is certainly the preparation and mental attitude of those that will become an entrepreneur.

Unfortunately, many people are planning to open a business without having a clear and definite idea of the project, without an adequate preparation in terms of the profession of entrepreneur and sometimes, with a mental attitude inappropriate.

Become entrepreneurs: the training.

Being good technicians, good craftsmen, does not necessarily mean being good entrepreneurs.

There are good plumbers, electricians, bakers, expert of computers but often find themselves in dire situations because they have sufficient preparation to act as if they were simply technicians, craftsmen competent but they forget to devote time and attention to the management of their business.

Often, if they do, act in a confused and they lose many opportunities.

Many fail to plan their activities over time and are completely at the mercy of fate and the market (and sometimes also of strange consultants).

Become entrepreneurs : adquiring the necessary skills.

Before starting a business, you must have knowledge, even basic, about different notions about marketing, organization of personal (if you have employees), accounting, labor laws, etc. ..

This, will allow in the future to the entrepreneur to avoid to make some bad choices and can also talking with the consultants, without necessarily having to delegate everything and without knowing anything.

See you at the next

source image:

immobiliareblog.it

Happy Monday

Today we talk about the craft of the entrepreneur.

In many of our posts, we highlighted the problems and errors that are often committed by both : aspiring entrepreneurs and expert entrepreneurs.

Sometimes (for new entrepreneurs), it is an inexperience or insufficient knowledge of the topic where they opened

But many times, as we noted in our posts, are some underestimations and some errors that are committed equally from all: beginners and experienced entrepreneurs with also twenty, thirty years of business behind.

Become entrepreneurs: the training and the errors.

What can it be avoided (at least in part) to commit many mistakes?

Making mistakes is a human thing and it is in background of the training of every person, even before of any entrepreneur.

Unfortunately, some errors during the management of his business, may affect all the work done, putting the company in serious difficulty.

This space is certainly too short to analyze more precisely the importance of continuing education for an entrepreneur.

Affaripropri.com, will increasingly look in the future the aspect of the training, to offer its readers a continuous support to their activities.

Indeed, ideas and projects are important but we also need to have more, in an increasingly global vision , of knowledge and skills to address the business problems that in the path of life of a company it must be resolved.

Good job

Andrea Figoli

If we look at the life cycle of a company, we realize that follows the normal life cycle of all living things (plants, animals, etc..)

birth, growth and development and when it stops to grow and become stronger, it begins the downward trend to his death.

Open a business with success: there were once the advantageous positions

The belief of many people and even of some employers to think that reaching a particular trade position strong and stable, it can avoid posing the problem to continue to grow or to evolve, however, is an illusion!

Not even the great empires of the past, were escaped this rule!

When they ceased to evolve and grow, they began a rapid (or slow, as appropriate) decline.

When in economics, we find some advantage positions due to protectionist legislation, presence of signs and little freedom of enterprise, we find a temporary freezing of the natural law that allows everyone to compete, grow and provide opportunities for all in the same way.

In an increasingly globalized world, the advantage positions, will find less and less space.

Therefore, every entrepreneur must acquire a mindset open to change and always in search of opportunity.

So, it need always look for new challenges, new opportunities and remain open to change, without fear of the future but looking at it, as an opportunity to be seized.

Otherwise, it risks to ‘sitting too’ and being overcome by new entrants, that are more edgy, best prepared and with new ideas.

Open a business with success: maintaining a young and open mind.

The success of many initiatives and the maintaining of a strong position in its market, depend on precisely from these grounds.

Good job

Andrea Figoli

image source:

comune.rimini.it

Start a travel agency also means managing a real business of marketing and communication publications and editing brochures and tourist guides holidays.

So with a travel agency, you can do the organizers, intermediaries and publishers of publications specializing in tourism.

OPEN A TRAVEL AGENCY: THE FIELD

The world of travel agencies is perhaps the one that currently has the major competitors worldwide. Only at national level, we just typed the keyword, we ended up with more than two million results, and many were sponsored links, since the sector, well-fed, you must now pay to appear on the front pages of web searches .

However, the competition should not be seen as a limitation or to the waiver of the starting of the activity.

What makes winning company in any sector and even more a travel agency, is the quality of service with competitive prices. This last aspect should not discourage your entrepreneurial spirit.

Certainly the increasingly meager income, the economic crisis, brings the potential customers to ask to travel with super cheap rates discounted, and these messages have made the fortune of many travel agencies, but it is also true that the quality of service combined with a right price, is much more appreciated than a trip paid little and after proved disappointing.

The error to be avoided, the main dare say, in the managing of a travel agency and in customer relations is to promise “heaven and earth” with rates too low and too good to be true, because the client speaks and is the best guarantee of advertising for business.

If the service is of low quality, all other customers will know sooner or later, so avoid the temptation to offer super discounted travel, when it is not true, because you would have marked the first step to failure.

The skills of persuasion and communication, are among the main requirements for a holder of a travel agency. So if a family wants a dream trip to Euro 300 per person, including flights, airport taxes, accommodation, meals and cars for several days, you must tell them why you can not get your costs so low and what, instead, they can get by paying a little more.

Of course, reduce of a few euros (but not much) the price compared to competitors, is a first step to attract customers, but the discount must be fair and respect the criteria of professionalism. To make a discount for a travel, for example of 20 euros, is more serious that to make a discount of 300 euros for the same destination. Consider also that the entries in the cost of travel agency services shall include the cost of housekeeping, and all fixed costs for setting up a company entails.

OPEN A TRAVEL AGENCY: VARIOUS TYPES OF AGENCIES

On this front, you can open several solutions of activity : the travel agency with fixed place and the online travel agency. The bureaucratic process (as it will explain) is the same for both activities, but the method of online work significantly reduces operating costs. You do not need a physical location of considerable size and shelves to hold brochures, waiting room to receive customers, a large number of personnel assigned to the reservations. With the online travel agency will be the same customer to book travel directly from home.

This was one of the major innovations in the world of travel agents and also a critical factor for the traditional ones in that the colonization of the web space was much faster compared to traditional spaces. Another aspect to consider in the development of it is innovation and diversification of services. We must capture the fashions of the moment and aim to offer customers the most sought after destinations in a given period and historical context. Not only that, we must learn to organize and offer new forms of vacation travel and leisure.

A travel agency can diversify, organizing tours or trips in area rich in artistic traditions, cultural and gastronomic, or at fairs, events and special events.

Many travel agencies also handle visits and pilgrimages to major places of worship that in the past but even today, are required by a large proportion of customers. Continued …

Rosalba Mancuso

Sources of images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iccio83/507468590/

http://www.materialidiviaggio.com/quintana.htm

Happy Mondays’,

Last week we began with a new argument: the area of services for disabled persons, through a reportage about the provision of transportation services for disabled persons.

Changing your lives: reprogram your future

This week, we continue with this last report and among other things, we begin a new reportage on how to open an activity ‘on line and how to set your business.

It is wrote a lot about how to open an online store but it always ends to speak about only some particular issues (registration on search engines, graphics, e-commerce, etc..) Forgetting other important aspects. In fact, often they do not analyze well, from a point of view of the setting of your business project, many of the aspects that determine the success or failure of our company.

In addition, we publish the first episode of deepening: how to change your lives, how you can planning your future.

Too often, your dreams and your good intentions, do not go on , after your first initial attempts to make changes in your lives.

How do you can change your live?

Like everything, there are always ways to get results.

Improvisation or some temporary initiatives, are not sufficient to change a path and a condition which often you live for years without much conviction and / or satisfaction.

If the motivation, remains the base everything you do, after , you must also to structure your projects more concretely and then set a new real-life project.

The techniques and tools for change in your lives, are the same that we must use in many other ordinary shares of our existence.

We must not think that ‘to have rules’, using some instruments, serve only for some great changes, ‘but’ in most of the situations, these methodologies are applicable in the daily life of each one of us, giving our ordinary shares, a better quality and visibility.

The life is one and therefore we must learn to get the best from it.

Good job

Andrea Figoli