Because of my experience analysing business types for credit scoring purposes I am often asked what is the most successful business to be in; as if by simply picking the business at the top of the list they will be guaranteed financial success.
Sadly it is not that easy. I can tell you that statistically there appear to be less financial risks involved in running a garden centre than in running a public house, but I would not recommend that everybody goes out, buys a field, and starts to plant seeds.
One of the essential ingredients in a successful business is a genuine love of what you are doing. You will be immersed in your business for an awful lot of hours, especially in the early years so you really must enjoy what you do. Secondly you must be good at it. There is always competition for a lucrative business type so why would people come to you and not the next guy? However, thirdly, no matter how much you love what you do and are brilliant at it, if you can’t sell it you have no business.
The sales section of a business plan is the most important part to get right, to be verified and to be workable. If it falls down here your hard work and money will come to nothing. If your sales side is weak but your execution is good then you must get somebody else in who can sell what you do.
When recruiting your sales expert don’t ask them if they can sell, ask them what they can sell…