Principles for Strategy

To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.

But having a strategy is no guarantee of success. External factors are always changing and new information becomes available and the environment changes.

So what makes a successful strategy? Below are three principles that underlie a good strategy.

Keep it Simple

A good strategy will have a very simple objective at its core, that can be described in a single sentence and instantly understood, such as Steve Jobs’s ‘1000 songs in your pocket’ for the iPad. By having a clear centre, the strategy will be solidly grounded and anchored to this concept.

Be flexible

It’s a tricky balance to know when to stick to your guns and when to change tactics. But this is one of the most important skills you can have as a strategist, as no plans survive first contact intact. The strategy should have flexibility built into it, with some of the most likely changes in scenario accounted for.

Avoid assumptions

The biggest pitfall of strategies is making incorrect assumptions. When developing a strategy, you should question everything you think you know and make sure you get solid facts. Even better, make sure your strategy relies on as few assumptions as possible – that way it will be as strong as it can be. For more on this, look up ‘Occam’s Razor’.

Contact CS Investments for strategic consultancy service

Chelsea Singh on Leadership

Leadership is a key factor in business, but there are many different types of leader and ways of leading people. We all need leadership at various times in our lives, and we will turn to different people for guidance in different areas. Sometimes we need to be motivated to get up and go and make important changes in behaviour, and other times we might need a role model for some more personal reflection.

Some leaders are very charismatic and inspirational, and draw people to them like a magnet. People feel stronger when spending time with them and more motivated to make changes in their lives. These types of leaders usually have strong visions, they know exactly where they want to go, and they have no time for naysayers – they’re too busy getting on with it! They can be radical, and will usually have enemies as well, as some people prefer things to always stay the same and fear change, so these people will find them unsettling, and will react negatively.

These types of leaders tend to be politicians and high-profile entrepreneurs.

But there are also modest leaders. Those who shy away from the limelight and keep a low profile. There are plenty of powerful people who have created huge, influential organisations, but of whom you will have heard. These people prefer a slow and steady approach, and they tend to be committed to the success of an organisation of movement, rather than personal achievement.

These people tend to be spiritual leaders, authors and teachers.

Click here to read about Chelsea Singh.

Industries of the future

Entrepreneurs are constantly thinking about the future and modern society is moving and developing faster than our human ancestors of the past could have ever imagined.

So what are the industries that show the most promise for transforming how the future looks?

Bioengineered renewable fuels

 

Energy is the word on everyone’s lips. We all know that the fossil fuels aren’t going to last forever, and renewable sources such as wind solar and geo-thermal and being developed, but not yet fast enough. There have been some complications to bio-fuel development – notably the impact on the food market, but algae and other bioforms seem like a good alternative if and when they can be developed efficiently in the future.

Medical advances

Spray on artificial skin for burn victims is already a reality – now it just has to pass all the safety regulations and it will change the lives of those with fire and other skin damage. Personalisation is the keyword for the future of medicines, with our personal physical make-ups being closely analysed and noted and medicines and therapies being tailor-made to suit our specific individual requirements.

Robots

Humans have been obsessed with robots for many decades, even centuries, and we’re now bringing the field of robotics into a phase that we can recognise from sci-fi movies and novels. There are bionic arms that can be attached to people who have lost limbs and controlled solely by the mind, and there are humanoid robots that can complete obstacle courses – with serious impact for military strategy.

Click here to read about Chelsea Singh.

Doctor Xpress Launches!

CS Investments is pleased to announce the launch of Chelsea Singh’s latest business: Doctor Xpress, providing medical services to your home, hotel or place of work.

Doctor Xpress is a new concept in medical care, aimed at providing convenience and efficiency that matches the needs of today’s demanding modern society.

When you’re feeling poorly, the last thing you want to be doing is traipsing over to your GP, and it’s probably one of the worst things you could be doing. Not only are you putting yourself at risk of the elements and exertion, but if you’re contagious, you’re putting others at risk as well. And once you get to the surgery, you’re exposing yourself to all kinds of other illnesses – whilst in your weakened state!

Doctor Xpress addresses these problems and offers a unique new service, where medical services and experts are mobile, travelling to where they’re needed most.

Services include flu vaccinations, travel clinics, sexual health consultations and private GPs. All our staff are professionally trained and registered with the General Medical Council.

The service is available 24/7, every day of the year, so emergency medical help can be with you as soon as possible, when you need it most.

Check out our new website to find out more about the service and what it can offer you.

Starting a Business

In the current climate with even long established businesses going to the wall and many companies struggling to stay afloat there are increasing number of people being made redundant and many of those people consider starting their own business with their redundancy package.

But most businesses fail within the first year – why is that?

Unrealistic expectations

Some people think that running your own business means being able to do what you want to do all the time. That it means waking up at whatever time, staying in your pyjamas all day and taking days off willy nilly. Unfortunately this is pretty much the opposite of the reality of running your own business.

People who start businesses usually work longer hours than those who do 9 – 5 , and  a lot of entrepreneurs are naturally workaholics. If you’re choosing starting a business because it’ll be an easy option, it’s the road to disaster.

Lack of Planning

Many startups think they’ve got a good idea, but fail to do the nitty gritty maths and calculations that are required to work out whether it is actually a viable business or not. Sure, projections of new startups are notoriously difficult and can be wildly wrong, but if it’s going to be literally impossible to make it add up, it’s better to see it from abstract calcultaions than a year later in your bank balance.

Another area where inexperienced people fail is by not checking out the competition properly and assuming customers will be battering down their door. Knowing what you’re up against and having a clear reason for people to buy from you instead of them is critical and you don’t want to be discovering your nemesis later down the line.

Lack of adequate funds                                                             

Businesses need funds to get started. Even starting on a shoestring means having at least a few hundred or thousand. The minimum a business needs to start is a phone, a business card and a website. But most successful business people know that to make a business a success you need to start off by investing.

With the right funding for marketing and giving a professional impression, trust is built quickly and customer bases can be expanded quickly, turning the company into a profit maker rather than having it creep along without breaking even for years.

If you want to give your business the best chance of success, then why not contact Chelsea Singh, via his personal website or check out CS Investments.

Chelsea Singh’s latest Business Quotes

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Dale Carnegie

No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
Niccolo Machiavelli

A budget tells us what we can't afford, but it doesn't keep us from buying it.
William Feather

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
Adam Smith

All lasting business is built on friendship.
Alfred A. Montapert

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.
Steve Jobs

 

Click here to visit CS Investments.

Tips for getting investment for your new business – from Chelsea Singh

If you’re thinking of starting up a new business, there’s a good chance you’re going to need investment to get your venture off the ground – even if you are starting on a shoestring budget.

So how do you convince potential investors that you’ve got the goods?

Here are a few pointers to get you going in the right direction.

Do the sums

Any serious investor is going to start talking about numbers, and you’re not going to get anywhere if you’re afraid of them. It’s true that projections for start-ups are notoriously hard – and the real figures are often wildly different – but that doesn’t mean it’s not a worthwhile exercise that may highlight problem areas and determine whether the idea really has any merit to begin with.

Be realistic

You may think that everybody’s going to be beating down your door to purchase hundreds of Thingummywatsits from you, but until you’ve tested the market, you really can’t know. Yes, entrepreneurs need to believe in themselves and have passion and drive, but that doesn’t mean being blindly optimistic.

Do your research

Test the market and find your competitors. This might sound daunting if you’ve never done it before, but you will be in a much stronger position if you get it together enough to do this research. Search the internet on terms that you want people to search for your products on, and see what comes up. Then try a bunch more. You’ll be amazed how many ideas have already been thought of and implemented…

Chelsea Singh is always on the lookout for new investment ideas.

Find out more at CS Investments.

Could you run your own business? Part Three: Determination

This is the third of three articles exploring what sort of personality traits it takes to run your own business.

You can read the first part of the article here, or, read the second part here.

If you’re considering leaving employment and starting your own business, there must be something that sparked that desire. Perhaps you’re unhappy with your job, or maybe you’re tempted by the advantages of not having a boss, or perhaps (and this is becoming more and more common in the current economic climate) you’ve been made redundant and have a lump sum of money that is inspiring this idea.

But not everybody has what it takes to be an entrepreneur and run their own business. We’ve already looked at how important discipline and a thick skin are – this week we’ll look at perhaps the most important trait of all – determination.

Determination

Determination runs underneath discipline and a thick skin – it is the core of everything. All business owners get plenty of knocks along the way, and everybody has some failures. The difference between those that make it as success and those that don’t is determination.

Some people will wobble at the first bad news and throw the towel in. Others will see that as a challenge to relish and will find a way round, over or through the issue. Then, if they’re faced with another, they do it over, and over again.

Running your own business does not allow a lot of room for complacency, if you want an easy life, without stress or uncertainty, then you should probably stick to employment.

But if you’ve got what it takes to keep fighting against the odds, just because it’s in your bones to succeed, then you may have what it takes to become a successful business owner.

Could you run your own business? Part One: Discipline.

Chelsea Singh knew from when he was practically a child that he was going to run his own business one day, and that being employed was simply not an option.

For some people it’s simply something they know, something they feel from very early on, the way other people know they want to be a doctor, or a pilot.

For others, they may start in a more normal route of employment and then later in life decide they want to try their hand at striking out alone.

So what sort of traits and skills does it take to run your own business?

Arguably, the most important traits in someone who is going to start up and run their own business are discipline, a thick skin and determination.

In this article we will explore the first of these; discipline.

A business owner needs discipline

This is absolutely critical for people just starting up. It’s so easy to slump down to the home office in your pyjamas, then spend the morning making coffee, doing the laundry, tidying up – basically anything other than getting on with work. Then, as the days go by and there’s no one else there, punctuality slips and soon you’re rocking up at 10.30am and taking three hour lunch breaks.

This sort of behaviour a successful business will not make.

To get your business up and running and not vanishing into nothingness before you’ve even gotten started, you need to have discipline. Each of us has different levels of natural discipline, but there are a few habits and patterns you can train yourself into to help.

Here are a few tips for getting your habit of discipline into place:

·         Get dressed as if you were going to the office, even though the only person who’s going to see you is the cat. This has a huge mental impact and helps separate ‘work’ time from ‘home’ time.

·         Be strict about hours. Have a specific start time and – and this is much more important than you may think – finish time. And decide on a lunch hour, that you take at the same time every day. Don’t be late and don’t stay for hours of overtime every day. Doing overtime is fine if it’s necessary as a one off, but it shouldn’t be a habit.

·         Have monthly meetings with someone where you have to explain what you’ve achieved that month and what your targets are for the next month.

Read the next part of the article here. 

Click here to visit CS Investments

More inspiring quotes from Chelsea Singh

"Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming." – Richard Branson
 
"Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy." – Norman Schwarzkopf

"The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer." – Nolan Bushnell

"To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult." – Johann Wolfgang Von Goeth

"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!" – C.J. Walker

"The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do." – Dennis Waitley

Sections of a business

Most businesses are split into a few common sections, here is a brief explanation of them:

Sales

The sales department should assess the sales environment, set out the sales pipeline and key performance indicators. There should be clear sales targets and sales staff should be trained in techniques and make regular contact with clients. The sales department will work closely with the marketing department.

Marketing

The marketing department is responsible for the public image of the company and ensuring the right people see the brand at the right time. They need to take advantage of a range of media, from traditional to modern technological in order to improve reach and reputation. The marketing staff will work closely with the sales department.

Human Resources

Human resources or personnel is responsible for the people in the business. This includes contracts, sick pay, pensions, benefits and boosting morale. If a member of staff has a complaint, the HR department should have a process in place for dealing with it, and if a member of staff is caught doing anything anymore the HR people must carry our disciplinary action.

Management

They may jokingly be called ‘manglement’ but in reality, management is absolutely critical. The management team need to make sure all the other departments work consistently and towards common goals. Without management tying everything together, the different areas will go off in random directions and the business can get pulled off course.

Operations

Operations is different to management in that it is preoccupied with processes and procedures and making them ever more efficient and standardised. The more standardised the operations, the more stable and resilient the company will be.

Finance

The finance department will include accountants and accounts assistants, whose job it is to number crunch and take care of all financial transactions, projections and recording of results. They need to be familiar with the complex rules governing accounting in whatever country their working in, to ensure they pay the right amount of tax and categorise everything correctly.

Click here to visit CS Investments website.

Business Basics – The Business Plan: Part Two

If you want to start a business and you’re looking for investment, either from  banks or from private investors, you’re going to need a business plan.

A business plan is a document that details various aspects of a proposed business, including the aims of the business, the background of the individuals starting the business, details of the products and services that are on offer, the market, competition, strengths and weaknesses, operations, pricing strategy and financial forecasts.

Click here to read part one.

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

The SWOT analysis is a really great way of getting a quick snapshot profile of a new business. Strengths may be people skills or a unique product, weaknesses may be a poor understanding of technology or lack of funds, opportunities could be new government legislation or globalisation, or those things could just as easily be threats.

Operations

Operations covers the logistics, the nitty gritty of how the business will run. It includes: production, delivery, payment, suppliers, premises, equipment, transport, legal; requirements, insurance requirements and management and staff.

Pricing strategy

Pricing strategy is absolutely key to the success and failure of any business, and is probably the aspect that has most entrepreneurs tearing their hair out. Price too high and you may drive customers away, but equally pricing too low can be a disaster as it gives the impression of poor quality and may mean margins are too tight.

Financial forecasts

There are two kinds of people in the world, - those who love financial forecasts, and those who hate them. Either way, your business needs them. If it’s a new business, especially with a new product, the numbers will largely be guesswork, but putting price of units against number sold against expenses should give you an idea of whether the business is in any way feasible. For example, if it turns out you have to shift 3000 units per week just to break even but you can only manufacture 1000 per week, you’ve got yourself a problem.

Click here to visit CS Investments

Business Basics – The Business Plan: Part One

If you want to start a business and you’re looking for investment, either from  banks or from private investors, you’re going to need a business plan.

A business plan is a document that details various aspects of a proposed business, including the aims of the business, the background of the individuals starting the business, details of the products and services that are on offer, the market, competition, strengths and weaknesses, operations, pricing strategy and financial forecasts.

Aims of the business

This will include a summary of the business, its aims and a brief financial summary. This section is called the executive summary, and although you have to spend hours, days, even weeks preparing your business plan, at the end of the day, this page may be the only part that the investors actually look at.

The background of the individuals starting the business

The business plan should set out why the individuals are the best people to start this business. They must demonstrate that they have the appropriate skills and experience required to make this business a success, including previous work experience, qualifications and education, hobbies and interests and anything else that’s relevant.

Details of the products and services that are on offer

Naturally a key part of the business plan is details of the products and or services that are going to be sold. There should be a single line description and also a more detailed description. Ideally there will be information about Unique Selling Points (USPs) that will give your company the edge over competitors.

The market,

A sign of a serious entrepreneur is one that knows the importance of knowing their market. It’s no good just assuming the market is there and will be beating down your door – you need market research and hard data to crunch. This should include a description of your typical customer, their profile (individuals or businesses, age, wealth levels etc), what their priorities are, whether you’ve sold them before, location and much more.

Competition

The better the devil you know, as they say. New businesses need to know exactly what they’re up against. That means how much competition there is and what it looks like. Who currently holds the market share, how big are they, how long have they been in business, how do they make a success of it? You can learn a lot from your competition, and you need to be very clear about exactly why your customers should buy from you and not them.

Click here to read part two.

Click here to visit CS Investments

How to reach success - more quotes from Chelsea Singh

 

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.
Swami Vivekananda
 

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.
Ross Perot
 

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.
John Foster Dulles
 

Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
David Frost
 

I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
George S. Patton
 

Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
 

Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way.
Eileen Caddy

Chelsea Singh - Strategist

What is strategy?

Strategy is a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a particular aim.

The aim must be specific and measurable and the strategy needs to be broken down into tactics: the actual methods, techniques and actions that will be carried out, that together make up a coherent strategy. Just like in the military, business needs a good strategy and  a good business leader will know when to hold the ship steady despite waves and when to reassess and change course.

Read more about Chelsea Singh and Strategy here.

A good strategist will be able to see the bigger picture, as well as focus down on the details, and will be able to see how all the different elements interrelate. There is plenty of training you can do to learn strategy, and became a specialist an areas from business to politics to saving the world.

But most good strategists have that special something, a little bit more - intuition. They will have gut feelings and instincts that help guide their strategies in ways that simple number crunching can never do.

Want to know more? Read Chelsea Singh's Biography.

Chelsea Singh's Tips for Entrepreneurs that are Starting out

The entrepreneur is a rare breed. Sure, there are plenty of people who think it would be nice to run their own business one day, but for most of them it will never happen. So what sets entrepreneurs out from mere mortals?

It's about being bold and confident enough to take what you want, about having a strong self-belief and self confidence even in the face of opposition, and it's about getting to know the right people to help you on your way.

Don't be afraid to take risks

If there's one thing that makes an antrepreneur, it's a willingness to take risks. If you're not willing to take a risk, you're never going to win anything more than average. taking risks means getting it wrong sometimes. But entrepreneurs don't have time to cry over spilt milk, they have to move stright onto the next project.

Become a great networker

It's all about who you know. But that doesn't mean you have to be born into a family with riches and connections (thought that certainly helps). Chelsea Singh is evidence that it's possible to build up from nothing - but you have to make friends adn contacts on the way and you have to be willing to take their advice and know when to listen to their assistance.

Don't listen to people who put you down

If you have big dreams and are willing to take the risks to reach them, there will always be people who like nothing better than putting you down and telling you that it's never going to work. That's because they know they're never going to make more of themselves and so they don't want anybody else to either.

If you've got the entrepreneurial spirit, then contact Chelsea Singh via his business and who knows - maybe you could be working together on the next big thing.

Click here to connect with Chelsea on Facebook or follow Chelsea Singh on Twitter.

Chelsea Singh - the building of an empire

There are plenty of rags to riches stories in the movies and in books, and Chelsea Singh proves that it's not only in fiction. Chelsea grew up in a modest working class family in London, but when he saw the riches and wealth of the exclusive areas of the capital, he developed a hunger to build his own empire.

Starting by working his way up a photographic company, the young Chelsea identified opportunities around him and soon and soon invested in his own businesses which he built into leaders in their industry before moving on to other things.

If you'd like to read more about how his business empire developed over the years, then you can read Chelsea Singh's full profile here.

Entrepreneurs are risk takers, willing to roll the dice...

"Entrepreneurs are risk takers, willing to roll the dice with their money or reputation on the line in support of an idea or enterprise. They willingly assume responsibility for the success or failure of a venture and are answerable for all its facets."

- Victor Kiam, best known for his "I liked it so much, I bought the company" ads for Remington electric shavers

Chelsea Singh Investments

Chelsea Singh Investments is a company owned and run by Chelsea Singh, a succesful entrepreneur based in London.

Chelsea set up the company in order to connect with other like-minded business people and young entrepreneurs who are taking their first steps in business. As a self-made-man, Chelsea knows how difficult it can be to get started when you have little experience, low funds, but a drive and passion that refuses to be quashed.

CS Investments offers a range of services for people who have a great idea for an investment, or a business which is struggling or has leaders who have identified promising areas for growth.

On the website you can find out more about the company, the kind of services it offers, and the current projects.

Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs...

"Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. It is capable of being presented as a discipline, capable of being learned, capable of being practiced. Entrepreneurs need to search purposefully for the sources of innovation, the changes and their symptoms that indicate opportunities for successful innovation. And they need to know and to apply the principles of successful innovation."
- Peter F. Drucker, "The Father of Modern Management"