So, you want to grow your food business?
Blog #1 in a series of 6
Food consultant London
What’s this blog all about?
Food consultant London
You’ve either just starting out in the food business or your organisation has been running for a while and you need to get to the next level. Either way you could probably use some help and guidance and this series of blogs aims to do just that.
During my time in the food and drink industry I’ve helped some inspirational entrepreneurs achieve great things and I’ve also seen some inspirational entrepreneurs fail and I have learned from them all. These blogs are a factor of what to do and what not to do so that you have the best possible chance for successful and efficient growth.
Keeping stuff short for a blog is a challenge as each subject could be the chapter of a book. So the following advice is headline stuff to provide your agenda for growth.
Food consultant London
Food consultant London
The changing business scenery
In over 3 decades I’ve seen the requirements for business growth change, significantly. Gone are the days when you could produce a good product, safely, at the right price with the right service levels and expect your business to flourish just because you are good at your job. Now, all of these components have to be performed excellently as an entry level requirement. The success of your business is now driven by how you define the difference between your brand and its competition.
There have been some fantastic additions to the entrepreneur’s toolbox. Information technology has provided the ability to communicate messages quickly and efficiently to targeted markets of both buyers and consumers. Skill, knowledge and finesse in the digital arena has become a critical component to driving growth.
About you
To get full value from these blogs you should be fanatical about getting your brand’s message across as many target consumers as necessary to drive your targeted growth. It is important that you can be reflective to be able to understand what you do well and what you do not do well. You should have a realistic concept of what the future looks like and what your role is in that future. You need to have your eyes wide open about the investment needed to drive growth (in both financial and emotional resources) and what the benefits and bear traps are to you and your ‘significant others’.
Food consultant London
What next
These blogs are written to follow a logical process. I hope that you’ll look upon them as guidance for your plans for growth.
Depending on your major skill sets, some of the issues that I raise will be more relevant to you than others. For example, if you are trained in accounts you will already have good fiscal knowledge and therefore you may already have the controls suggested in the blog on ‘Controlling Your Numbers’.
Focus on the blogs that are outside your areas of expertise. Don’t get drawn into concentrating on areas that you are already familiar with, you need to focus on the stuff that you are not good at. I’ve seen Managing Directors who come from a sales background try to solve growth problems by selling more when the quality and efficiency of their operations should be their main focus.
Check out my second blog ‘Why should I put your product on my shelf?’.