Many people start a business thinking that they’ll turn on their computers or open their doors and start making money – only to find that making money in a business is much more difficult than they thought. You can avoid this in your business ventures by taking your time and planning out all the necessary steps you need to reach to achieve success.
An online personal finance and money issue expert, investopedia, offers the following tips on strategies of achieving success in business.
Get organised: To be successful in business, you need to be organised. Organisation will help you complete tasks and stay on top of things to be done. A good way to do this is to create a to-do list each day – as you complete each item, check it off your list. This will ensure that you’re not forgetting anything and you’re completing all the tasks that are essential to the survival of your business.
Keep detailed records: All successful businesses keep detailed records. By keeping detailed records, you’ll know where the business stands financially and what potential challenges you could be facing. Just knowing this gives you time to create strategies to overcome the obstacles that can prevent you from being successful and growing your business.
Analyse your competition: Competition breeds the best results. To be successful, you can’t be afraid to study and learn from your competitors. After all, they may be doing something right that you can implement in your business to make more money.
Understand the risks and rewards: The key to being successful is taking calculated risks to help your business grow. A good question to ask is “What’s the downside?” If you can answer this question, then you know what the worst-case scenario is. This knowledge will allow you to take the kinds of calculated risks that can generate tremendous rewards for your business.
Be creative: Always be looking for ways to improve your business and to make it stand out from the competition. Recognise that you don’t know everything and be open to new ideas and new approaches to your business.
Stay focused: The old saying that “Rome was not built in a day” applies here. Just because you open a business doesn’t mean that you’re going to immediately start making money. It takes time to let people know who you are, so stay focused on achieving your short-term goals and give the rest time to come together on its own.
Prepare to make sacrifices: The lead-up to starting a business is hard work, but after you open your doors, your work has just begun. In many cases, you have to put in more time than you would if you were working for someone else. In turn, you have to make sacrifices, such as spending less time with family and friends in order to be successful.
Provide great service: There are many successful businesses that forget that providing great customer service is important. If you provide better service for your customers, they’ll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition.
Be consistent: Consistency is key component to making money in business. You have to consistently keep doing the things necessary to be successful day in and day out. This will create long-term positive habits that will help you make money over the long term.
Starting and running and running a successful business can be rewarding and challenging. Success requires focus, discipline and perseverance. However, success will not come over night – it requires a long-term focus and that you remain consistent in challenging environments.
Nurture your network: A copywriter and major contributor to arketingforgrowth.com, Ryan M. Healy, in an online report last week, stressed the need to nurture one’s network in order to make headway in business.
How much time do you spend nurturing the business connections you’ve made? Chances are, you’re not spending enough.
He says, “As a freelance copywriter, I’ve learned that my business connections are some of the most valuable assets I have. My network is at least as important as my copywriting skills.”
Daymond John, creator of FUBU clothing and one of the “Sharks” on the TV show Shark Tank says this: “I’ve learned, like with anything else, business is only as good as your connections and your resources.”
The inventors and entrepreneurs who appear on Shark Tank know this, which is why they’ll sometimes accept less favourable terms to get connected with the one Shark they believe will be most beneficial to the success of their product or company.
He recalls how Dave, the owner of Clean Bottle, gets two strong offers, one from Robert Herjavec and one from Mark Cuban.
Robert offers $60,000 for five per cent, which is what Dave originally asked for. Mark offers $60,000 for eight per cent.
“Based on the numbers alone, Robert’s offer is much more attractive. It is the offer I would have accepted. But ultimately, Dave accepted Mark’s offer because Mark is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Dave placed a high value on Mark’s network of connections in the sports world.”
Remember: Business is not a solo enterprise. Many people contribute to the success of a business, not least of which are the people you know.
So nurture your network and treat it like the valuable asset it is.
“One of the ways I nurture my network is by staying in touch via mail. This is why I use ‘Send out cards’. It makes staying in touch easy and affordable. I’ve been using it for over three years for both personal and business contacts.
“I strongly encourage all service providers to use SOCs to nurture and develop their business contacts.”
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