How to count down to succes

​How to count down to success Jul 25, 2017, 3:15am EDT Updated Jul 26, 2017, 9:17am EDT INDUSTRIES & TAGS Career & Workplace SHARE Order Reprints Save Article Print Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey Contributing Writer RELATED CONTENT How to make sure you hear the good ideas that will improve your firm How to take control by aiming, not blaming ​7 steps to infuse entrepreneurial thinking into company culture We are delighted annually to be part of the U.S. Immersion Program of Nanyang University in Singapore. The program calls for students to visit businesses in Silicon Valley and the East Coast, with a trip to the Sonoma County wine country as well. This year we hosted 120 international graduate students studying for their master's degree in technopreneurship and innovation. Everyone should have happy launches and landings in their new businesses. Enlarge Everyone should have happy launches and landings in their new businesses. GETTY IMAGES (IN8FINITY) What could we give these aspiring entrepreneurs that would help them the most in their journey? How about a Countdown to Success? It’s our list of understandings necessary for a successful launch and happy landing. FIVE: The 5 guiding principles for success (GPS) Make mistakes W-R-I-T-E.(Not just right). Write down all your mistakes, and more importantly, identify all the documents that need to be created, changed or improved so there will be no repeat. Put yourself in the other guy’s shoes. In every relationship with your people, your vendors or your customers, ask what is important to them. Then, give them what they want first to get what you want. Forge strategic alliances. Ask, “Who benefits if I benefit?” Those are your potential allies. Vendors can be bankers by extending credit and terms. Customers can be bankers by paying in cash. Treat them like partners and share your plans. Sales is king. Achieve a positive cash flow as soon as you can. Don’t expand too quickly. Start small and learn how to get your act together before you take your show on the road. Without sales, all else is moot. Service what you sell. You are not judged so much by how well you do when everything goes right but by how well you do when there is a problem. FOUR: The 4 stages of business development Startup. Goal is proving the viability of the concept. Danger is chewing up investment money on overhead and production without sales. Buildup. Goal is securing a few big customers that can sustain the business without more investment. Danger is having all your eggs in one basket and being discontinued. Buildout. Goal is diversifying your customer base so you can sustain a significant hit. Danger is spreading yourself too thin, not servicing what you sell, and significantly underestimating the cost of sales Enterprise. Goal is continuing to deliver high quality and service until you get noticed and become an acquisition target. Danger is losing the entrepreneurial spirit and taking sales for granted.How