Business history and description

Hundreds of training articles and dozens of tutorials are devoted to the problem of how to create a business from scratch. Undoubtedly, many of them are very useful and can become a source of really necessary information. However, will they be able to save you from making possible mistakes? Probably not. Yes, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to go all the way without filling a single bump, even if you follow exactly all the theoretical information gleaned.

For this reason, the format of this article is somewhat unusual. It contains a minimum of theory and a maximum of practice. Four completely real life stories, four people who not only made their mistakes, but also corrected them, who not only achieved success, but were also able to stay on top. They are ready to share information about their victories and defeats. Are you ready to take advantage of the caveats and tips?

The first story Solid businessmen

“Several years ago, two of my friends and I planned to open a web studio. - Oleg, the now successful owner of the agency for the creation and promotion of sites, tells. - We planned and almost immediately started to implement our idea. The first step was to buy the best office equipment and rented an office in the city center, the next step was to find a secretary and print business cards on the most expensive paper. We tried to look solid, as befits real businessmen. Everyone, except me, didn't care what business to start from scratch, the main thing was the opportunity to feel like Rockefellers.

• How about creating a business without any investment at all? Here are some interesting business ideas.

As a result, the expenses became so huge that even our good incomes could not cover them. Debts, as you know, are even more difficult to divide than profits. Four months later, we gave up, sold the equipment and went about our own business. I continued what I had begun, however, I began to work at home - on my computer, and met with clients either on their territory or in restaurants / cafes. Already in the first month, I was holding in my hands a Profit, which I had not seen in the previous sixteen weeks. Later I was able to afford an office, a secretary, and business cards on the thickest paper. "

The moral of the story is simple - starting your own business from scratch requires a great willingness to work hard. Status items and expensive attributes are not a prerequisite for the successful development of a business. As you can see, rather, they even interfere.

The second story Patience and work

Then everything developed according to the standard scheme - a modest office, old office equipment, two employees - endless work on site optimization - moving in six months to a more spacious room. Then he hired two more guys, three more periodically helped on a remote location when there was a blockage with orders. We gradually expanded the list of services, and after a while they began to accept absolutely all offers, if they were really profitable. There is no less time - we have gotten used to "pouring" orders not of our specialization for outsourcing to other agencies. They, in turn, sometimes gave us work too. Today I have 7 employees in my staff, and we are sitting in an office that is exactly 5 times larger than the first room. I am satisfied. "

Several conclusions can be drawn from this story:

Story Three Friendly Council

“My story is short and even with a happy ending,” Ilona says. - For a very long time I dreamed of an online clothing store for newborns. I knew that in our region it would be in demand, but I was still very afraid to take concrete actions. I decided to consult with a more experienced acquaintance, laid out all my thoughts about the profitability of the business and asked her to tell her where to start.

All large companies once started with a small factory, enterprise or garage, and, as you know, the most successful were new small business ideas. The stories of growing small businesses and turning them into super brands can give you a boost to start your own small business. You will see that sometimes you do not need a lot of money at all, it is enough to look around and see what people are missing?

Content of the article:

Unusual Small Business Ideas

BlackSocks socks

Have you ever thought that you can make money from subscriptions other than magazines, newspapers, books, etc.? How about a sock subscription? It was this idea that was implemented by an employee of the advertising agency Semi Lichty after he got to the tea ceremony to the Japanese. Naturally, they had to take off their shoes, and Semi's socks were not of the best quality and, moreover, were different.

Then Semi, together with his friend Marcel Roth, organize a subscription to black socks to avoid confusion. A buyer for 47 euros subscribed to black socks and received them 2-6 times a year at will. In a pack from BlackSocks, he was sent 3 pairs of socks. As a result, the small company grew into a company with a millionth turnover.

Slanket Blankets

When it's cold, we love to wrap ourselves up in a blanket and watch a good movie. How can you not want to pull your hands out from under the covers to switch the movie or hold a mug of tea. Solved this problem Harry Clegg, who invented blankets with sleeves. A small company made him a batch of blankets, and after a small advertising campaign, they quickly dispersed.

Over time, the product line under the Slanket brand expanded, and every resident had a creative business card of the company. Needless to say, the business has grown from small to global, it just went well. They earn very good money on unusual things, it can be not only blankets with sleeves, but even strange shoes.

Small business on the Internet

Whateverlife

You can start earning even at the age of 16, which was proved by the young American Ashley Qualls. In 2021, the girl began to get involved in graphic design and, at the request of her friends, decorated their pages on the MySpace social network. Such networks were just beginning to gain popularity, which helped Ashley a lot.

She created her website whateverlife. om, where she published the best works, which is written about in this article. Soon there were more than 1000 of them. The design was how much the blog visitors liked, that there were more and more of them. Thus, the girl attracted advertisers, developed screensavers and wallpapers for famous social networks.

Reading business stories is interesting: the experience of real entrepreneurs is more useful than theoretical recommendations and trainings. We present to you several stories of the creation of famous Russian and foreign companies that can inspire new achievements.

Successful Business Stories

The road to success is never easy: the stories below support this thesis. Most entrepreneurs have had to work for decades to succeed, build a recognizable brand, and gain customer confidence. For some, the most important thing was profit, for others - the brand and its reputation. Someone willingly shares secrets, others keep the details of their business a secret. From each story, you can draw conclusions and use them in practice.

Tinkoff

Now the Tinkoff brand is associated with the bank of the same name, but the path of businessman Oleg Tinkov did not begin in the field of finance. A native of the Kemerovo Region, back in the 80s, while studying at the Leningrad Mining Institute, he began to trade in jeans, cosmetics, perfumes, vodka and even caviar. He sold rare goods from Leningrad in Siberia, and from there he brought Japanese household appliances. His first business partners were fellow students, in the future also well-known businessmen - Oleg Zherebtsov ("Lenta") and Andrey Rogachev ("Pyaterochka"). The entrepreneur did not graduate from higher education in Russia, but in 1999 he completed a marketing program at the University of California at Berkeley.

In 1993, Tinkov created Technoshock, a company specializing in electronics trading from Singapore. The network operated not only in St. Petersburg - equipment with large mark-ups was sold in Omsk, Kemerovo and Novorossiysk. When a major competitor, Eldorado, appears on the market, Tinkov will leave Technoshock with $ 7 million. He will invest them in the production of dumplings and will sell dumplings known throughout Russia "Daria" (Oleg named the brand in honor of his daughter). Later, in 2021, he sold the dumplings company for $ 21 million.

Selling equipment and dumplings is not Tinkov's only business in the 90s. In addition, he developed the production of his own beer, and since 1996 - the Music Shock chain of music stores and the Shock Records recording label. He released the debut albums of the rock groups "Kirpichi" and "Leningrad". 1998 "Music Shock" was sold to Gala Records.

The famous Tinkoff Bank was founded in 2021 on the basis of the Moscow-based Khimmashbank. The chip of the bank is remote service. Tinkov correctly captured the demand of clients for remote service and the ability to make money transactions without visiting the bank. At the start, investments were attracted poorly, but already in 2021 the profit increased 50 times. The bank model without retail branches has paid off: now other banks have developed their own mobile applications, trying to attract customers with remote services. Tinkoff Bank has about 4 million clients and remains Oleg Tinkov's main project.

Oleg Tinkov's business development stories are instructive for aspiring entrepreneurs: he took on various projects, was not tied to one area, developed companies and sold them at a high price. Tinkov is shocking, interesting, daring and therefore managed to turn his own name into a brand.

Oriflame

The Swedish company "Oriflame" was opened in 1967 by two brothers - Jonas and Robert af Jonik. The brothers wanted to create a new product for the market and promote it in a new way for Sweden. This is how the direct sale of natural cosmetics began. The first Oriflame catalog consisted of only one page. Buyers were offered face cream in simple packaging. It was positioned as high quality and made from natural ingredients. The direct selling method helped to build trust in the products: live communication inspired people, allowed them to get comprehensive advice about a cosmetic product.

The first Oriflame orders were packed by hand on a tennis table. However, the company developed rapidly and within 3 years became the largest cosmetics company in Sweden.

The history of business has been going on since ancient times. For many centuries, vast experience and traditions of doing business have been accumulated, a culture and ethics of entrepreneurship has been formed. Let's talk about how the world history of business development evolved, about the most striking examples of success and starting a business from scratch.

Business concept

In Russian, the word "business" is synonymous with entrepreneurship, in English this concept literally means "business". The essence of this phenomenon lies in making a profit from any occupation.

Business is an economic activity associated with risks, the entrepreneur assumes responsibility for them. At the same time, a businessman has independence in decision-making and in organizing his business. Business, as an economic phenomenon, is characterized by legal, financial and property responsibility, the systematic nature of making a profit. Any state has its own laws regulating the activities of entrepreneurs, but in any case, they provide for legal registration and payment of taxes on profits.

Forms of business

Over the centuries-old history of the development of entrepreneurship, its main varieties have developed. The most popular and historically oldest form is trade, the second most common form is production, and the third is the provision of services.

Such varieties as insurance, financial and credit and show business are also distinguished. Organizational and legal characteristics distinguish such types of entrepreneurial activity as a cooperative, partnership, limited liability company, economic partnership, joint stock company and family enterprises.

The emergence of entrepreneurship

The history of business is rooted in antiquity. The first entrepreneurs appeared when surplus products began to form in agriculture. Then the most active people began to exchange food for other household items and food. The barter period lasted quite a long time, but mostly "businessmen" did business in very small geographic areas. With the advent of money, business processes began to take on a larger scale, financial and insurance businessmen began to appear.

Business in the Ancient World

It is documented that the history of business begins in Mesopotamia. There, groups of businessmen formed partnerships, which, with the help of letters of credit, provided finance for various commercial transactions.

Many well-known businessmen started from scratch. Some dreamed of becoming billionaires, while others were just looking for a temporary job. The article presents five real stories of successful business in Russia that can inspire you to start your own business.

Consulting services from a former accountant

Tatiana refers to people who have never planned to do business. An employee on a salary - this position suited her perfectly. With a degree in accounting, she got a great job after university. At first, becoming a simple clerk, she tracked the movement of materials and goods. A couple of years later I tried myself as a payroll and tax and budget accountant.

A specialist with solid knowledge and experience was periodically contacted by acquaintances for help with reporting and other advice in the field of accounting.

When the payment for such freelance services equaled and exceeded her already not small basic salary, Tatiana thought about changing her career.

First of all, I got bored at my job, and now there's a new business ahead.

Secondly, money is never superfluous.

So the idea of ​​creating a consulting firm focused on helping small businesses and individual entrepreneurs arose. The firm worked in several directions:

• accounting services;
• preparation and elaboration of a business plan;
• advice in the field of lending;
• audits;
• legal services.

Naturally, Tatiana is not alone in performing all the functions. Over the years, in addition to clients, she has acquired many acquaintances with economic and legal education and relevant experience. Some former colleagues have joined her company, while others are hired on a one-off basis on a contractual basis.