Business tools in diagrams

Welcome to Aljanat Business Innovations, where we specialize in guiding businesses through their transformative journey from inception to expansion. Our comprehensive suite of consulting services is designed to support you at every critical juncture:

Stage 1: The Start-Up At the outset, we lay the groundwork for success. We help you refine your business idea, conduct market research, and develop a robust business plan. Our expertise ensures you navigate the complexities of legal structuring, financial planning, and establishing an operational framework that sets the stage for growth.

Stage 2: The Active Growth As your business gains traction, we’re here to manage the growing pains. Our strategies are tailored to streamline processes, enhance product offerings, and identify new market opportunities. We focus on building a strong brand presence and implementing scalable systems to support your burgeoning customer base.

Stage 3: Organizational Development In this phase, we concentrate on strengthening your internal capabilities. We assist in developing leadership skills within your team, fostering a productive company culture, and implementing advanced management practices. Our goal is to create a resilient organization that can thrive amid challenges and change.

Stage 4: Business Expansion When it’s time to take your business to the next level, we provide the insights and tools necessary for successful expansion. Whether it’s entering new markets, diversifying product lines, or scaling operations, we ensure a strategic approach to growth while maintaining the essence of what made your business successful.

At Aljanat Business Innovations, we’re more than consultants; we’re your partners in progress, committed to turning your business vision into reality. Let’s embark on this journey together and unlock the full potential of your enterprise

Aljanat Business Innovations (AlBizIn) is into MSME Business Sustainability, Robotic Process Automation & MSME Sector sustainability innovation. Content created in this website. The knowledge base is a culmination of over three decades of hands-on experience and impressive exposure to seven different industrial sectors. The strategies and thought processes have been honed through learnings from experts worldwide. In addition, me (the author) have conducted numerous sittings and discussions many distinguished individuals in various roles such as industrialists, executives, managers, engineers, contractors, R&D specialists, finance and accounting experts, as well as global thought leaders. All these interactions and experiences have contributed to my comprehensive knowledge base.

Maybe we can  try to understand some of the typical driving forces behind you businesses' progression from one stage to another and maybe identify the stage of development for your own business. This interaction may result in  understanding what is happening in your company.

Company size is probably less than 50 and the business is developing products, testing the market

This is  Stage 1: THE START-UP, your business is focused on product development and testing the markets. With this single-minded focus and limited resources, as a startup one typically puts little effort into organizational development. At this stage, your operations are pretty straightforward and simple, encouraging an informal and agile approach to managing them. 

Your management style is individualistic—you, the owner and the business are effectively one and the same. The business is growing naturally / organically, with systems designed “on the go,” and distinct roles are defined as individuals lend a hand, as needed, to get the job done. At this stage, the owners/managers are required to be primarily entrepreneurs—having the overall vision and making new things happen. You (and maybe partners) flourish in the unrestricted nature of Stage 1 operations—with its flexibility, open communication, and mostly informal business approach. Is your business a one man show?

Operational Risks

Sometimes at stage 1 a company sets up a basic system of checks and balances for monitoring inventory, but a physical inventory is performed only once a year, at best. No major internal discrepancies have been identified, but there is concern over cash flow shortages and payment defaults, because of high inventory. 

At stage 1 a company may not have a vision—or a strategy to implement it. With no concrete business plan and poor cash flow, it will be a real challenge to finance an expansion and hire sorely needed professional staff. 

Financial & Other Risks

Investors will be concerned about the lack of accountability structures in start-ups. Without a clear organizational structure, it can be difficult to allocate resources effectively and make timely decisions. Overreliance on the founder creates a big key-persons risk, which can be detrimental to the company's success.

Risk Mitigation

Mixing family and business interests can also lead to a lack of clarity or transparency in decision making, especially in financial matters. To avoid these risks, your start-up should consider developing a clear organizational structure that outlines the hierarchy of the team and how the workforce is organized in the company. This way, all people start working toward common objectives and goals more effectively, minding the current OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). 

It's also important to seek advice on business strategy from a third party or internally to avoid making decisions in a vacuum. Finally, communication about business performance should be transparent and unbiased, and founders should be ready to include other shareholders in the business. 

Synopsis

At this stage you have a product that customers are buying, have established channels of communication and continuously working on getting more customers, keeping the old in order to keep the revenue streams flowing and growing. There is no time and resources to keep books and track actual expenses and therefore costing is probably off by about 10 to 20%. If not taken care of early on, this will carry forward and result in erroneous financial reports.

Have a look at the cash flow cycle picture at the top 

Company size is probably 50 to 75 within the range of Small to Medium focusing on Sales and growth, increasing variety of products, creating client base.

This is Stage 2: THE ACTIVE GROWTH, the basic product offering has been developed, and you are are focusing on sales, sales, and sales! The company is rapidly growing in size and complexity. However, this growth often remains largely “organic or natural” and unplanned—it is based on a broad “vision” but with little attention to the development of a defined strategy.

At Stage 2 - The company may be ISO certified and a basic organizational chart but with no job descriptions or reporting lines in place. You probably are still  running a “one-man show” and feel that you have little choice, due to the availability good staff. Maybe family members or close relatives are managers. Probably interviews to hire a professional Human Resources (HR) manager have been unsuccessful thus far or the importance of an HR department is not a priority.

Risks

Companies face several risks as they grow, including the need to balance flexibility with strategic focus, defined structures and policies, and effective controls. HR issues become increasingly apparent as companies build structures, functions, and processes around available people as opposed to hiring specifically qualified people to perform predefined functions. With the rush to meet rising demand, at this stage organizations often hire too many employees (mostly Sales and Marketing Staff and neglect HR, Operations and Procurement) and draft people into roles outside of their current qualifications. Reporting lines, authorities, and responsibilities remain vaguely defined, which can lead to confusion and inefficiencies. 

A common complaint in this stage is the limited or “*silo” approach to communication, where there’s good communication within departments and functions but limited communication between them. 

(* Silo mentality is when different teams or team members in the same company purposely don't share valuable information with other members of the company. This silo mindset hurts the unified vision of a business and deters long-term goals from being accomplished.)

Risk Mitigation

To mitigate these risks, companies should consider developing a clear organizational structure that outlines the hierarchy of the team and how the workforce is organized in the company. It's also important to seek advice on business strategy from a third party or internally to avoid making decisions in a vacuum. Additionally, companies should consider setting up an effective board of directors, which can help with decision-making and strategic oversight. The board can also provide guidance on risk governance and internal controls. Finally, internal controls need to be introduced to promote accountability and to secure assets.

 Stage 3 ORGANIZATIONAL  DEVELOPMENT. Time to relinquished operational control of the company to your chosen Head of operations. You must now focus on a long-term strategy, giving your operations head and the executives full responsibility for operational decision making. Introduce a collaborative approach to management, let the Operations head meet weekly with the team, ensuring effective communication across departments. By now you must have your internal controls have  been substantially upgraded, including the introduction of inventory and sales monitoring and a dashboard system that allows your team and you to get a high-level snapshot of the company’s performance.

At this stage is the increasing need for professional management, specialized expertise, and proper systems and controls. HR becomes strategically important as the organization aims to hire professional staff and optimize organizational structure and policies.

Risks for the Organization

This is also the delegating stage, where a sea change is taking place.  it requires good management and administrative  skills, in addition to entrepreneurial skills that fueled the company at Stages 1 and 2. It is possible to be  a great entrepreneur and bad administrator, and vice versa.

In this stage the organization may experience frequent power shifts or changes in key management  positions; decentralization and delegation may be unstable or unclear. Checks-and-balances  risks may include the lack of controls and accountability and an excessive focus on process.

 In Stage 4: Business Expansion, SMEs start resembling large companies in business structures,  management, and governance practices. The decision-making style within the organization can be  defined as institutional, and companies enter the territory covered by the traditional connotation  of “corporate governance". 

Risks for the enterprise

Too much administration, with decision making concentrated on processes and not on growth,  runs the risk of bureaucracy. Increased reliance on hard, measurable data minimizes the role of  judgment and can adversely affect decision making and agility. Management may become risk  averse, reducing entrepreneurial drive, innovation, and creativity. There also is a risk of increasing  overhead as a percentage of revenues.  

Risks for investors 

In Stage 4, there is the risk that the professional management team that the company hired is  just “window dressing,” with control still resting with founders and family members. If suitable  assurance is not in place and not independent of management, investors will be wary.  Tensions may arise from unequal treatment of shareholders and employees—for example, between  family members and non-family members.  For family-owned SMEs, the company may lack a clear strategy to distinguish between employment and  ownership, leading to growing tensions within the family as well as the business.

Focus of mitigating actions

The practices presented for this SME stage provide support for building “traditional” corporate  governance structures and policies (such as a board of directors) to balance interests of various  shareholders, to bring in new expertise and perspectives, and to support development of long-term  strategy. If there is a change in ownership structure, external investors will expect to have a “seat  at the table”—representation on the board of directors—which of course will influence how the  company is managed. External investors and professional boards require strong risk management, good internal controls,  and reliable financial and nonfinancial reporting. 

The ESG Factor in Business may kick in at Stage 3.

What is ESG and its role in business today?
 

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. It’s a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments. Here’s how each component plays a role in business today:

• Environmental: This criterion assesses how a company safeguards the environment, including how it manages its carbon footprint, waste, and resource utilization. It’s crucial for businesses to adopt sustainable practices to ensure long-term success and compliance with environmental regulations.
• Social: This aspect examines how a company manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates. Social responsibility initiatives can significantly impact a company’s reputation and brand image, influencing customer loyalty and employee satisfaction.
• Governance: Governance involves a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights. Good governance practices are essential for earning investor trust and maintaining a company’s integrity and accountability.

The role of ESG in business has become particularly important since the COVID-19 pandemic, as companies are increasingly scrutinized for their impact on society and the environment. ESG criteria influence sustainability, reputation, and investor relations, shaping the future of successful business practices 

Our organisation interacts with external stakeholders, including customers, to develop platforms such as open source, common markets and common standards evaluate our services through observations of real customer experiences that are logged, analyzed and evaluated for measurable improvements.

The business consulting fees can vary widely based on several factors on the project’s complexity, and the value delivered to the client.

Hourly Rate: We charge a set fee for each hour worked. This method is straightforward and used when the scope of work is not clearly defined.

Project-Based Rate: A fixed fee is charged for the entire project. This is used when the scope and deliverables of the project are well-defined.

Value-Based Pricing: Fees are based on the value or outcome the we will deliver, rather than the time spent. 

Retainer Fee: We charge a recurring fee, often monthly, for ongoing services or to be available when needed. This provides a ongoing support for the client.

Performance-Based Fee: Charges are based on the results we achieve, such as a percentage of the revenue increase or cost savings we help generate.