Putting together your own personal business philosophy is not easy. It’s a massive undertaking as business philosophy is the core of what your business is all about. So where do you begin?
To help inspire you, take a look at this great philosophy example in this interview snippet between Dale Beaumont and Douglas Foo.
Douglas Foo is the CEO of Singapore based food company Apex-Pal International, which owns 5 different franchise companies across Asia.
How would you describe your personal business philosophy or style of running a company?
In three words: Openness, improvement and prudence.
I believe in openness.
Different people see things from different perspectives and through their own filters and experiences. As such, it is important that everybody’s opinion counts. My office door is always open and people can always come to me with their ideas and thoughts, whether it is to improve on existing systems or practices, or whether it is to propose new ideas.
We have a laissez-faire policy in terms of staff and our people are free to propose any new ideas and help in their implementation. Only through such a culture of openness can we maximise the creativity and value of our people.
Due to such open interaction and discussion as a team, we can come up with innovative new ideas or solutions to existing problems.
This gives us the ability to enhance or improve on what we have and to differentiate. Only then can we stay ahead of the competition.
However, when it comes to finances, I prefer to take the prudent route.
If you don’t have a dollar, don’t do a two-dollar business. Since setting up the company in 1996 with capital of $300,000, the company has never borrowed money from any bank, preferring to fund each expansion from its revenues, and more recently from the listing of the company. We are in the food business, not in finance where you leverage on your borrowings to get higher returns.
For more great business philosophies, check out Secrets of Male Entrepreneurs Exposed! In this book, discover how to come up with your multi-million dollar idea. Or how you can brainstorm creative ways to raise hundreds of thousands in capital.
Learn from successful entrepreneurs like Brad Sugars of ActionCOACH (formerly known as Action International) as he shares how he made up for the business skills he was lacking before. Franchise king Jim Penman reveals the ‘selling by not selling’ technique that became the foundation of his business and ensured its success before he even began franchising.
Uncover more inspiration and tips in Secrets of Male Entrepreneurs Exposed!
