When is a business a 'business'?

[littlemummy]

When is a business a business - what I mean is at what point does an idea or venture actually qualify for the title 'a business'.

At what point can a business be deemed successful, is it visitors, is it revenue, or is it both? - Is it somethingelse?

My thoughts were that a business could be deemed successful if your own targets are acheived, which then got me thinking about targets... how to set targets ie timescales, levels, and the flexibility you allow. How to measure achievement of targets and how to set new ones, breaking targets down into steps? Or are targets just a distraction from the real work, and something that we deem necessary because of the target culture in the 9-5?

Just some random ideas that I thought you could all help with


PS I have just started a directory for mums on the internet www.littlemummy.com - hence the deep thoughts and analysis! I'm pretty new to all of this....so any help or advice is appreciated.

[Peter JC Ikin]

Personally I think any venture qualifies as a business the moment it starts dealing with real money. i.e. you actually sell something.

With regards to success, I am inclined to agree with you. Success in anything, is what you define it to be. If you set out to build your business to a point where you can pay yourself £10 a month and you actually achieve it, then you are successful. Always live to your own expectation of success, not someone elses.

In relation to targets:- I think setting targets or goals for your business (or personal) development is the keystone to success. If you don’t know where you are going you are probably going to end up somewhere else, so targets are vitally important in order to grow your business in the direction you want it to grow in.

[littlemummy]

Thanks for that.....I have been keen to set myself some targets (it's been a while since I worked in a target driven environment) but it will be acheivable targets as opposed to the targets I was set at work which were plainly unachievably and were set to keep people from qualifying for bonuses or believing themselves worthy of a promotion.

I'm toying with the idea of setting time limits for myself, ie allowing myself a certain amount of hours to work on the business and gradually try and decrease it to become, not only more productive but to make time for other things...it's pretty easy to become obsessed.....does anyonelse work with loosely set time constraints? Does it work? Or does it just stifle creativity?