Every new entrepreneur who takes his first steps in entrepreneurship must first ask himself where he wants to go and how. These are two elementary questions, to which, however, it is not always possible to give an equally simple answer. However, a new company that wants to enter the market must have a well-defined mission, that is, an ultimate goal towards which to direct its commercial strategy. Before defining its corporate mission, a start-up must carry out an external analysis and an internal analysis of its business project. The external analysis serves to understand the environment surrounding the company and to define the market in which the company intends to operate, evaluating its possible competitive positioning.

Internal analysis, on the other hand, has the objective of outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the company itself, assessing its internal processes, resources, know-how, competitive potential and competitive differentials.

The most frequently used method to analyze the environment and its competitive position is Porter's five competitive forces model.

 Once these analyzes are completed, the company has the information it needs to define its strategy. There are two main commercial strategies: the first consists of entering the market with prices significantly lower than the competition by acquiring price leadership, the second consists instead of differentiation from the competition.

 The first strategy must be pursued either when the company's success is determined by its ability to lower prices to a minimum (we can also speak of cost leadership), or when its competitive advantage is given by the superiority of supplier management or by a technological advantage that allows it to offer significantly more advantageous prices than its competitors (which means that the company has optimized its position and has reached a permanent advantage margin, which every company should aim for).

 A strategy of differentiation from the competition is instead preferable where the company is entering a market where consumers are looking for more specialized goods or services. In such a scenario, what matters is that the good or service differs from those offered by competitors or that it has a certain margin of added value. If the company is able to produce a good or service different from the competition but which is still subject to demand, it can count on the development of a permanent advantage margin.

 It is essential for a start-up to develop an adequate strategy to be successful on the market. Each company must identify its objectives and invent the best formula to achieve them by adapting its internal processes to external conditions. This is especially true in times of recession, when given the limited and increasing inaccessibility of resources, consumers.

The most frequently used tool for analyzing the economic environment in which the company operates is Porter's 5 competitive forces model. Michael E. Porter is a globally recognized economist, professor of economics at Harvard and author of most of the strategic levers known to the general public and used by companies for planning their business strategies. The analysis of the 5 forces allows to evaluate the intensity of competition on the reference market and the potential threat represented by the replacement products (alternative products) and the new goods or services that appear on the market. The analysis also serves to evaluate the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers and contributes to the characterization of the competitive environment, establishing whether or not the environment is favorable to the companies present on the market and to those who wish to enter it. The analysis of Porter's 5 forces should be carried out every time an entrepreneurial project is desired and is aimed at identifying the main factors that determine success on the market and to establish whether or not the potential start-up possesses the necessary skills to continue this direction or if it has enough flexibility to adapt to market conditions.

 A further important analysis tool is Porter's value chain which describes the structure of an organization as a limited set of 9 processes, of which 5 primary and 4 supporting. By analyzing its value chain, a company manages its internal activities better by recalibrating them, if necessary, at market conditions. Both primary and secondary activities are evaluated and adapted according to the company's mission and oriented towards achieving competitive advantage. 

Each firm would like its competitive advantages to coincide with the key success factors identified with market analysis. However, most of the time this does not happen and the company must evaluate the time needed to adapt its processes to market conditions.

Examples of short and long term goals

There are many people who, despite having a marked industriousness, are unable to obtain any concrete results, that is, they are unable to exploit their potential. These subjects are always very busy and never have time for themselves, they cannot rest and gather new energy. Often their problem is nothing more than a lack of organization. Here are some tips for being more organized and fully exploiting your potential.

Fast reading

The ability to read quickly plays a decisive role when you find yourself inundated with texts to read and whose sense to memorize. Reading in itself is a time-consuming activity, however with the right techniques, or at least eliminating the basic errors, it is possible to significantly decrease the reading time. First of all, bad habits must be eliminated, such as: 

•     sub-vocalization: reading by pronouncing words internally requires at least twice the time;
•     poor concentration: if you increase the concentration you can read faster and memorize more;
•     distraction: when reading you have to focus and concentrate exclusively on the text. 

It is also advisable to carry out a self-analysis of your way of reading in order to identify potential subjective difficulties, such as vision problems or emotional relationship with reading.

Take notes 

There are several methods of taking notes and all of them are based on the assumption that memory works by keywords, ie by associations between different words. For this reason, when taking note of something, it is important to write down the key terms, i.e. those words that manage to recall a given representation and lead to the reconstruction of certain themes even after some time has passed. The key terms lend themselves optimally to memorization and favor the synthesis, therefore it is good to report the keywords in capital letters for a more immediate understanding of the writing also on a graphic level.

Time management

Getting organized is not difficult. Just know a few tricks, be skilled and have a lot of goodwill. Three steps are enough to get organized: identify the things that need to be done, prioritize them and plan everything in time. 

The first thing to do is to take a pen and paper and write a list of things to do. Then a priority level must be assigned to each thing to do, making a selection between the important and the secondary ones, without forgetting that the high priority is a must for all those things that are directly attributable to the business objectives. The third step is to plan everything temporally, assigning a temporal framework for everything and discerning things in "urgent" and "less urgent", deciding how much time you want to devote to each single thing. We will spend more time on important things than on secondary things, and the most urgent ones will have absolute priority. We will therefore start by doing the things that are important and urgent, the less important, but urgent, will follow, after which the important, but not urgent, and finally the non-important and non-urgent ones will arrive.

With the development of the company, its founder assumes increasingly managerial roles: for this reason, a winning team must gradually be created in the company. Successful corporate teams are distinguished from poor ones by the fact that the creator of the business project managed to convince the key people in the group to make his vision his own and to join him in the realization of his dreams.

Before creating a team, an entrepreneur must answer the following questions: 

•     What are the knowledge and skills I need for business success?
•     Do I have the necessary knowledge in those functional areas that are critical to the success of the company?
•     Do I have the necessary connections and the necessary contacts in those sectors that are critical for the realization of the business        opportunity?
•     Are they able to agree the other partners with the management team?
•     Where do I want to go, what are my goals in terms of profit, what sacrifices do I have to make to achieve them?
•     What are the risks of the business opportunity? Am I willing to hire them?
•     What will be the role of external experts in running the business? 

For the team members it is crucial to perceive the mutual bond, to have the impression of being all on the same boat and to have the perception that only through the company's success will the personal success of the employees come. It is therefore fundamental to insist on this sense of union which will prove to be crucial when making decisions, when the long-lasting objectives of the company as an entity in themselves and not the ephemeral personal interests will come to the fore. Working in a team means completing each other with the aim of completing a certain task or achieving a goal. In this context, the long-term commitment (the company's goal is long-term survival), the commitment to create value (each member constantly tries to maximize their performance), the equal inequality (the shares in the enterprise cannot be divided equally) and honesty (prizes to team members and share capital depend on the contribution of members to the enterprise, their skills and the results they have achieved over time).

Each project team requires the appointment of a project leader, whose task is to adequately distribute the tasks among the members of the group and follow their implementation. The project leader must therefore know how to delegate. This allows him to have more time to devote himself to strategic decisions and the most important tasks, and to keep a watchful eye on the development of the skills of his employees by constantly making sure that they further improve and increase their social strength.

Proxies must not be distributed intuitively, but with weighting. To assign assignments the leader must know the team members and when delegating he must take into account the following elements:

• professional competence of employees - check whether the employee has enough professional experience and enough knowledge to complete the assignment assigned to him.
• employee availability - check if the employee is so busy with his or her regular assignments that he or she cannot successfully complete the assignments related to the project.
• employee motivation - assessing whether the job represents a challenge for the employee (allows you to grow, earn more, etc.) or is just an additional burden (the employee has the feeling that the leader assigns them minor tasks).

 The project leader must also make a clear division of tasks between the individual members of the project team and must provide them with all the information necessary to complete them. The task of the project leader is therefore to:

•  clearly define the tasks and concrete objectives (what should be done, how and by when);
•  divide skills and responsibilities (the employee is left with decision-making autonomy on how to carry out the activities inherent to the task entrusted to him; the project leader has a support function);
• motivate team members: motivation is the key to success (inform them about the benefits deriving from the assignment, the benefits in terms of personal and professional development, any economic benefits). 

 Although it is said that whoever delegates well is halfway through, the importance of supervision should not be underestimated. The project leader prepares a list of the activities that can be delegated, establishes the time needed to complete them, the deadlines and the assignees. He then carefully monitors the deadlines and the correct performance of the team's work, remaining ready to intervene if necessary.

Company meetings are very important, as they allow employees to receive information on developments and the division of tasks within the organization and at the same time represent an excellent opportunity for discussion, planning and evaluation. However, it often happens that their real usefulness is questioned and that employees complain of their poor effectiveness. Not infrequently, in fact, at the end of the meeting many nodes remain unresolved and the participants leave with the same doubts with which they arrived. Here are a couple of simple rules dedicated to meeting leaders to increase effectiveness: 

• Open the meeting with a brief presentation of the problem, making sure that all participants understand what it is about.
• Investigate the causes of the problem.
• Summarize from time to time what has been said.
• Invite participants to propose possible solutions and to discuss each individual proposal.
• When you feel that each proposal has been discussed enough, draw conclusions and vote on the motions.
• If necessary, designate an individual or a working group that will take care of the implementation of the solution strategies.
• Always be the last to express opinions and make proposals, give others absolute priority.
• Your main task is to lead and moderate the discussion, not to take part in it.
• Usually there is no need to adopt the parliamentary system, however if the number of participants exceeds twenty, those who wish to speak must first receive authorization from the conductor of the meeting. The participant who wishes to speak must raise his hand and receive permission from the conductor who gives him the floor by calling him by name or nodding to him.
• Make sure that the discussion is flowing and that it follows a logical thread. The interventions must be short and concise. Insist on this aspect by reminding those who intervene to be as fast as possible. Anyone who delays or intervenes too many times must be stopped. Those who start to digress must be interrupted immediately and called to comply with the purpose of the meeting which is to find a solution to the critical points highlighted.
• Make sure that everyone is involved, which does not mean making a systematic interrogation of everyone present.

Slovenian legislation provides, pursuant to art. 20 of the Law on Employment Relationships (ZDR), that the employer with more than ten employees is obliged to adopt the Act of Systematization of Employment Relationships. This can also be adopted optionally by employers with fewer employees, if they deem it appropriate. With this deed, the employer formalizes the name of the jobs, the tariff classes and the remuneration classes, the requirements necessary to cover the various roles, duties, responsibilities and competences envisaged. The formalization of these aspects of the employment relationship has very wide implications for the worker. Those who sign an employment contract have the right and duty to carry out only the work foreseen by the contract. On the basis of the tasks, skills and responsibilities can and must be defined, ensuring greater transparency of the relationship that binds the worker and the employer. In companies with a small number of employees, the Work Systematicization Act lays the foundations for the system of rewarding and professional advancement of workers. 

The Work Systemization Act also promotes greater flexibility and represents a cornerstone for the distribution of employees within the workforce. This tool, still underutilized, is actually fundamental for the management of human resources, since it allows to select candidates in a standardized and effective way, to plan training interventions, to develop the workforce and to advance the most deserving employees, offering and finally a good starting point for the awarding of productivity bonuses. Systematization is also a good motivator for those who want to make a career and progress professionally, as it allows an immediate comparison between the job positions. 

According to human resources experts, the systematization of jobs is still too underestimated in the minor realities, while instead among the larger ones an increasing awareness of its importance is spreading.

The annual assessment interview, although not required by law, is an extremely useful human resource management tool, if managed properly. Its modalities and the frequency with which it is carried out are usually regulated by the general acts of the employer. An annual assessment interview is an in-depth discussion between the manager and the employee, in which the two exchange views on the situation of the company, on possible improvements in interpersonal relationships, in working conditions, in motivation and in the professional performance of collaborators . The annual interview is also useful for evaluating worker productivity, and for planning future developments, training interventions and professional advancement of collaborators. During the evaluation interview, employees receive information on the work of the board and its future expectations, in this way both parties carry out the obligation of mutual information. There are no fixed deadlines for conducting the interviews, however these should be carried out at least annually.

Some tips on conducting the assessment interview: 

• If possible, avoid conducting the interview in the assessor's or assessed office and prefer a neutral place, where no one is in a superior position and where the conversation will not be interrupted by telephone rings or the comings and goings of people.
• The interview should possibly be conducted on the basis of an interview form which must be delivered to the assessed person a few days before to fill in his part; the assessor will subsequently fill in the part reserved for him and both will integrate and sign the form during the interview.
• The evaluators must have good preparation and targeted training and must have thoroughly understood the meaning of these interviews.
• Evaluation interviews should be conducted at all organizational levels, but are a must for lower and intermediate management and the pool of experts. 

What should the performance evaluation interview be like? 

• Systematic, organized and previously agreed
• must provide an overview of the performance, results achieved and overall development of the worker in the period just ended
• must establish the objectives and expected results for the period just started
• must plan the activities aimed at achieving the objectives
• must promote personal and professional growth (proposals for training interventions)
• must allow the employee to express their opinion on the company and its management

must allow the manager to offer the employee feedback on his work, expectations of him and the possibilities for professional advancement.

There are numerous time management techniques with which an entrepreneur can learn how to make the most of the time he has available. The assumption on which most time management theories rest is that it is more important to do the right thing than to do things the right way. Time management helps the entrepreneur to focus on business, managerial and personal goals. In practice this means that an entrepreneur must draw up a list of things to do every day every day. Efficient time management allows the entrepreneur to lead the business more productively and to better separate professional and private life.

The basic principles on which time management is based are as follows:

• Principle of will, for which you start to appreciate your time and consequently change your habits only if you really want to make better use of the time you have available.
• Principle of effectiveness, according to which we automatically focus on the main problems even if we are under pressure from all fronts.
• Teamwork principle, according to which you are obliged to help other team members to adopt equally effective time management habits.
• Principle of priority planning, which combines the elements of the principles listed above. Every day the things that need to be done should be noted and each level assigned a level of importance through the use of priority lists.
• Principle of subsequent analysis, for which it is necessary to periodically review and analyze the corporate objectives and the level of achievement of the same. 

The advantages of good time management are: 

• Greater productivity: you always have enough time for the most important things, because you focus only on the elements that are critical for the growth and success of the company.
• Greater satisfaction: you are satisfied with your work if you do things useful for the growth of the company.
• Greater effectiveness of the corporate team: proper time management allows the corporate team to spend less time to achieve the same results, in this way the team members have more time to devote to other activities and to private life.

More effective decision-making process: thanks to time management, the number of stressful situations decreases and consequently worries decrease, in this way it is possible to make decisions faster and better.

During a negotiation it is essential that the two sides remain calm, are creative and flexible, communicate in a way that satisfies the needs of both, are willing to accept new conditions, are ready for an unexpected move by the counterparty and have high goals. The characteristics of the good negotiator are not innate, but they can be learned. Successful negotiator becomes only those who never stop learning and gaining experience in commercial negotiations. During the negotiation you have to give the impression of being sure of yourself and you must know how to sell yourself as the ideal solution to the needs of the counterparty, in other words you have to convince the counterparty to be better than the other competitors in all aspects.

Characteristics of the good and the bad negotiator:

Most common mistakes made by negotiators:

• prioritize immediate results,
• question people and not problems,
• to come to the negotiation without having adequately prepared,
• exchange the negotiation for a discussion circle,
• be impatient,
• give in too early,
• don't be willing to give in,
• underestimate themselves and their trading positions,
• react too quickly to the opponent's questions and proposals,
• insist on the agreement at any cost,
• not checking whether the counterparty has the power to conclude the deal,
• and last but not least: make no effort to put yourself in your opponent's shoes.

Each model approach to negotiation consists of several stages. By way of example, we report what is divided into eight phases: prepare, discuss, show (report), propose, respond, find the agreement, conclude and accept it.

 Preparation is probably the most important phase of the negotiation process, but unfortunately also the most underestimated. Too many times negotiators don't have enough time to prepare and without knowing it they make the biggest mistake. Without adequate preparation for negotiation, they are unable to define the objectives they want to achieve, nor to set the reserve price, also called the point of resistance (the minimum utility limit that they want to derive from the agreement), nor to prepare a possible plan B or an alternative strategy. Before listening to the counterparty's positions, the negotiator must therefore take some time to reflect on what he actually wants to get out of the negotiation. After hearing the opponent's positions, the negotiator feels his willingness to yield. In this phase, the negotiator can illustrate his point of view and assess the willingness of the interlocutor to modify his positions. This is followed by a reply and a fundamental part for the conclusion of the agreement, in which one proposes and the other replies.

 In countering the negotiator always takes into account the interests and limitations of the counterparty, which does not necessarily imply that a surrender. The bargaining phase follows, in which both parties have to give up something to get something else in return. After discussing and resolving most of the issues and compromising, the negotiation ends with a conclusion, on which the success of the agreement depends. The conclusion is also the same as for a possible contract to be entered into with the counterparty.

Soft strategy

 As is clear from the name, it is a soft approach to negotiation, which avoids the onset of conflict and clash points. This strategy works well because many people, and specifically many negotiators, react positively to human kindness and warmth. The soft strategy is also useful in everyday deals, where the stakes are significantly lower. This type of strategy is effective even in situations of conflict, as:

•     both sides are committed to finding a profitable solution for both - a kind of win-win relationship is established,
•     two interdependent parties and with the same negotiating power generally conclude the negotiation process with a compromise,
•     the two sides focus on the points they have in common and collaborate where possible. 

Hard strategy

The hard strategy equates to the minimum willingness to yield from both sides. This is the longest negotiation phase, as the parties try to find an approach starting from diametrically opposite positions. This type of approach leaves human relationships completely aside, therefore the hard line lends itself well to any occasional collaborations, where the counterpart has a real and urgent need for a good or service that he cannot find anywhere else (well rare). Negotiators are very hard, firm on their positions, aggressive, brazen, unwilling to compromise and have great persuasion.

Partnership strategy 

Partnership strategy is a counterparty relationship development concept used in different contexts. It is a philosophy of collaboration and common responsibility for the regulation of certain relationships which in the win-win perspective takes into account the long-term interests of both parties. In the commerce sector, the partnership is given by a lasting relationship between seller and buyer, from which both benefit. The lasting collaboration is based on the shared responsibilities of the two partners and brings greater benefits than a simple series of sales. There is also a social partnership that regulates the relations between unions and employers.

Advantages and disadvantages of partnerships:

Union strategy 

Negotiators attempt to eliminate personality influence in negotiating behavior and to react to the counterpart with a spirit of mutuality. This is a cautious approach, in which the first move is left to the counterpart. The pressure on the opponent is exercised through the use of a scheme of negotiating responses that rewards the desired proposals and condemns or punishes the unwanted and "wrong" ones. The strength of this strategy comes from the opponent's intrinsic desire to be rewarded and his fear of being threatened. This strategy is well suited to the shopkeeper who wishes to improve the relationship with the counterpart through cautious and gradual moves.

 The union strategy is based on the assumption that negotiation is not limited only to conflicting situations, but focuses above all on shared interests for which the highest level of agreement must be reached, therefore both sides begin to develop solutions that are both new, useful and achievable.

Defining the organizational structure of a company means describing the tasks and their distribution among individuals, as well as the relationships that are created between these two elements in terms of formal communication paths and decision-making processes. To better understand, one can imagine that the organizational structure of a company is a kind of skyscraper with many rooms, each of which is occupied by a performer in charge of carrying out certain tasks. The organizational structure must be built in such a way as to guarantee flexibility to the performers. An organizational structure is to be considered good where its creator has managed to create the structural premises for a fast, effective, permanent and as direct as possible communication among the performers. The organizational structure defines who within the company must refer to whom (collaborators, employees and managers, ...), describes the decision hierarchy as well as the division of employees by job positions, the positioning of these within the units and departments and the positioning of these within the organization. 

The organizational structure can also be represented graphically with a scheme called an organization chart, from which it is clear which organizational bodies are connected, how they are interconnected and how the hierarchical structure is organized as a whole. 

Graphical representation of a functional organizational structure:

                                                            Director
                                                                   |
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |                                    |                            |                           |                           |

PURCHASING    PRODUCTION         SALES              FINANCE          HUMAN
DEPARTMENT         UNIT               DEPARTMENT                               RESOURCES

There are five basic types of organizational structure: by functions, by products, by customers or by geographical areas, by commercial or matrix processes (network structure).

The functional structure 

The functional structure is built on the assumption that the organization descends from top to bottom by branching out on the basis of some main functions. Each of these functions, which are called departments, has a manager who is responsible for everything that happens to you. Each department is then divided into sub-departments which are further divided into units up to the individual worker. The functional structure is one of the most common organizational structures and is mainly used in smaller companies with a limited range of products.

The divisional structure

The divisional structure divides the organization vertically according to individual products or product lines. In the divisional structure, the organization operates in a decentralized way with structural divisions that can be based on products, markets or geographical areas. These divisions operate substantially autonomously and have decision-making power. This type of structure is particularly suitable for realities of a certain size and with a vast and diverse range of products.

The organizational structure for projects 

The organizational structure for projects is a type of corporate structure where the division of tasks takes place in relation to the projects that must be carried out within a specific term, with a specific budget and with specific requests from the client. The project unit can be an integral part of the organizational structure and can operate either as an autonomous unit or as a sub-department of one of the existing units or as temporary training created ad hoc.

 The organizational matrix structure 

The matrix organizational structure is present today in many successful organizations and can be defined as a combination of functional and divisional structures. The matrix structure is characterized by the division of the board according to two simultaneous criteria: the functions on one side and the projects or products on the other. This implies the presence of two levels of management, the employees therefore respond to two managers simultaneously. The matrix structure makes the boundaries between departments fall, guaranteeing the company a wide margin of adaptability.

The dynamic network

The dynamic network is a model of organizational structure that has established itself with the advent of the internet and new technologies: it is in fact an invisible structure that connects manufacturers, manufacturers, suppliers and distributors from all over the world. The dynamic network allows an incomparably greater use of capabilities, as it can bring together an otherwise unthinkable number of experts. The main feature of the dynamic network is mutual trust between the partners who must work in synergy with each other, otherwise the network decays.

• The entrepreneur involves friends, relatives and other people in the group who are not sufficiently qualified for the individual functions or not sufficiently loyal to the company.
• The entrepreneur offers some members too high a share of ownership or too high earnings, demotivating the other members.
• The entrepreneur must define very clearly what the rights of the members who leave the team are.
• Due to the tendency towards total control of the company, the entrepreneur is not willing to sell part of the property to others.
• The entrepreneur must define very clearly the responsibilities for the key tasks in order to avoid duplication of responsibilities and competences. Who has definitive decision-making responsibilities and how the differences in the various positions must be clearly defined.
• The entrepreneur has not established a real improvement plan for the entrepreneurial group.
• The team must have clear values ​​and objectives. In successful companies, personal goals and values ​​merge harmoniously and, moreover, the company's objectives correspond to those of the team members.
• The entrepreneur does not secure advice and help from other experts.