Critical Success Factor could be defined as that single success factor or element that is necessary for any business, organisation, or project to fulfil its mission. It is a critical or vital factor that is required for the success of the business or the project. It is identified as a managerial or enterprise area that must be done on an ongoing or continuous basis to ensure a high level of performance.
The following factors are essential for the success of any organisation:

People: The people working in the organisation
Purpose or intention: The reason for the people coming and working together
Resources: The place of work along with the physical and financial infrastructure
Customers: The customers or people who pay money in exchange for your products or services.
The following factors are necessary for starting and running a business.

Identifying your goals: Identify your goals with achievable milestones and time frames that can be matched with your investment and spending plans.
Target customers: Rely on customer feedback, make a proposition that identifies the target customer and try to do your best.
Look at the competition: Look at the existing competition and see how you fit into it in comparison. You can definitely make suitable adjustments to rise higher and beat the competition.
Research: Research the market and find out about the companies and products that are operating in the target area and find out how you stand up to them.
Effective Sales and Marketing team: You should build up a strong and effective sales and marketing team with common goals and milestones. It is very essential that you should communicate your goals and strategies to the entire team and the company as it provides a good starting point and focus for all individuals as well as the team.
It should be borne in mind that there are a number of vital factors – both internal and external that affect the functioning of the business.

Internal factors
Internal critical success factors give direction to strategic and vital choices and allow the business to achieve goals and new milestones. You should take into consideration internal critical success factors when positioning your company for gains-related marketing efforts. You should be able to cultivate stronger vendor relationships to enhance market share and meet quality standards set forth to meet production schedules and demands. You can implement a successful training program and also offer advancement opportunities to employees who can help you and your company meet goals.

External factors
Various external critical success factors that affect the functioning of a business include environmental factors, such as economic health, the existing business climate, and technological progress and developments. The critical success factors that may help your business to achieve goals and meet new challenges include attracting new customers with value added services. If you want to be in the competition you will have to keep an eye on the market and your competitors. You should be able to capitalize on new developments and technologies through which you would be in a position to offer better and more efficient services.

One thing that you should bear in mind is that critical success factors keep on changing from time to time and require a constant re-evaluation of motives and measures of success. It is, therefore, necessary for you as a leader to keep a focus on the aims of increasing sales and profits and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Entrepreneurial Learning
Critical Success Factors play a very dominant and vital role in the running of a business. Critical Success Factor or CSF could be defined as that single factor or element that is necessary for any business, organisation, or project to fulfil its mission. It is an important factor that is necessary for the successful completion of a project or an aspect of business. Read the article to know more about CSFs and tips to be successful.

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Author's Bio: 

As a small business moves through the various stages of its life cycle, it requires different support programs that are suited to its specific needs at that time. Kuza Biashara offers training, educational, and business support services which are critical to their success and enable them move from an informal sub-sector to a knowledge based economy.