Whether you’re starting a business for the first time or getting ready to begin another multi-million-dollar adventure, taking every opportunity to give your company a chance to succeed is essential.
Most businesses fail within five years. Many barely get out of the starting gate because of how they operate.
If you want to run a successful business, these tips can help you find the path that leads to your goals.
10 Pro Tips for Running a Successful Business
A successful business requires three critical elements before it can be successful. It needs an idea to pursue, expertise to evolve the concept, and customers who want to purchase those goods or services. Without these elements, a company cannot survive.
The goal of any business is to solve problems. That’s how your products or services generate value within the marketplace.
When your ideas have more value than a competitor offers, you’re more likely to get customers. Revenue will continue growing if you’re the best and people know it.
Although some entrepreneurs and business owners can stumble into success and keep it, these tips will help you plot out a course that provides more surety in the result.
1. Be Passionate About Everything
You don’t have to love everything your business is about, and you likely shouldn’t because the emotional connections could be overpowering. Being passionate about your circumstances and what gets accomplished each day with your company is necessary.
A successful business venture requires you to devote lots of time and energy to the product or service you offer. Building your presence into a thriving enterprise doesn’t happen overnight, so you must love everything you do at some level.
Many businesses fail even though the ideas being pursued are good because the owners believe in magic, assume others will do the work, and dance in circles enjoying their perceived freedom.
If you want success, start working harder and longer than the competition. Be more dedicated to the cause than those that expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter.
You earn what you get. That’s why you’d better love what you do.
2. Have Alternative Employment Available
It’s an exciting moment when someone goes all-in while playing poker, especially if a call happens. You know that two good hands are going to go up against each other to determine a winner.
That’s the problem with going all-in. You might double up your chips, but you can also get eliminated from the competition.
It doesn’t take much to go all-in when you’ve got a shoestring budget. If you’ve got $1,000 for your business and spend $750 on inventory, you’ve just committed 75% of your assets to something.
If you start a small business, try to have alternative employment that delivers a paycheck. Most people can’t live without money for more than a few weeks, and it could be some time before your new company is profitable.
It’s much easier to get through the startup phases when your rent or mortgage is being paid each month.
3. Avoid Doing It By Yourself
Even people who are used to working independently need some help occasionally. No one can carry the weight of the world (or their business) on their shoulders indefinitely.
Support systems can take several different approaches.
- Do you have a friend, partner, or spouse that could listen while you bounce ideas off of them?
- Is there a mentor who has already been where you are so that they can provide relevant advice during critical moments?
- Are there startup programs in your community that could help with financing or low-cost lending options?
If you are working solo, it still helps to have a network of supportive and like-minded professionals who are there for conversations and ideas. With more people around, you have different perspectives to consider when making decisions.
Humans are social creatures. We all need someone who will be there for us when everything seems to be failing, so make sure there is a person you trust who will be in your corner.
4. Have a Marketing Plan Ready
One of my favorite expressions is this: “The best product in the world won’t sell if no one knows it exists.” You can never start your marketing efforts too early if you want to run a successful business.
Many companies, especially small startups, wait until they’ve officially begun serving customers or developed a website before lining up prospects. Your business won’t survive without revenue, so get out there to do the networking now.
Get those contacts excited about what you do!
If you’re having trouble getting attention for your products or services, consider using those first days as loss leaders. Give away a few items to deliver tangible proof of your expertise. You can sell things at a discount to kickstart some earnings.
You can’t start marketing yourself too soon if you want to survive in today’s ultra-competitive environment.
5. Develop a Comprehensive Business Plan
Let’s go back to the poker analogy. It might make sense to go all-in when the chips are down and you’ve got a good hand. Would you make the same decision if you didn’t look at your cards first? Probably not.
Having a plan is important because the information contained within it helps you to make better decisions. Businesses need them when they launch because they provide outlines that enable you to avoid putting time and money into things that won’t lead to a successful result.
A great business plan contains several elements.
- Company Description. Use this section to deliver detailed information about the business. Try to discuss the problems you intend to solve with specificity. Is there a competitive advantage you’ve recognized?
- Market Analysis. Competitive research shows what other businesses are accomplishing while examining their strengths. This part of the plan looks for various themes and trends that can help you carve out a niche.
- Management. How will your company be structured? Who will run it? You’ll want to discuss its legal structure, organizational chart, and any stakeholders who have a say in what happens.
- Services or Products. Take a few minutes to discuss what you offer and how it benefits your customers. What does the product lifestyle look like right now? You can also take time to discuss copyright assets, patent filings, and intellectual properties.
- Funding Requests. If you plan to ask for funding, use this section of the business plan to outline your requirements. The goal should be to explain how much is needed and what you’ll use it for over the next five years.
When you start a business, you can be one of four legal structures: a sole proprietor, a partnership, a limited liability company (LLC), or a corporation.
Most startups choose to be LLCs because you can separate business and personal liability. That isn’t possible with a sole proprietor, and corporations have more compliance and tax issues to consider.
6. Research the Industry
Industries are continuously evolving in today’s economic climate. It doesn’t matter if you face a bull or a bear market because when you can adapt, you can stay in business.
During the 2020 pandemic year, private schools transformed into daycare centers for essential workers. Restaurants turned themselves into grocery stores to serve their community. The companies that featured flexibility and researched their industry had the greatest survival chances during those tough times.
An easy way to incorporate this tip into your business is to join a professional or industry association. Try to get involved before your company starts serving customers to build awareness of what you can do.
7. Hire Professional Help
Small business owners wear a lot of hats each day. You might be taking care of payroll, managing benefits, supervising a job site, and meeting with local politicians about zoning requirements, all in the span of a few hours.
Instead of trying to do everything yourself, hire people who can fill in the gaps where you’re not at your best.
If you’re not an accountant, don’t try to be. Do you need contracts? Hire a lawyer to do that work for you instead of wasting time and money doing it yourself.
You don’t need to hire locally to fill these gaps. If you only need a few services, consider offshoring or nearshoring the responsibilities. Third-party providers bring needed expertise to your business while helping you comply with local rules.
Most owners tend to waste time and money trying to do things that go beyond their qualifications. Avoid that pitfall right away by bringing in professionals to cover those critical spots.
8. Line Up the Cash
If you need to save money before launching your business, do it. Take your prototypes, plans, and concepts to potential lenders and investors to see if investments are possible. The biggest mistake that first-time owners make is to start a company, and then walk into a bank and expect to get a loan.
Lending doesn’t work that way. A traditional lender isn’t keen to follow a new idea because that increases their risk exposure. They also prefer to work with established companies instead of startups because there is a proven track record that details – you got it, the risks of the situation.
You can still get traditional lending products as a startup, but American companies can also tap into the power of the Small Business Administration, or the SBA.
At SBA.gov, you can apply for government-backed loans to help your business by following these four steps.
- Visit the Loans page on the SBA website to find the lending product that best meets your needs.
- Use the ZIP Code finder on the Lender Match option to locate a lender in your community that might support your efforts.
- Apply for the loan with the local lender.
- Wait for the approval, then enjoy help managing your loan.
Contrary to belief, the SBA only makes direct loans to businesses or homeowners if they are recovering from a declared disaster and have a valid claim.
Don’t try to scrape together cash when you’re desperate. Build a nest egg that gives you two years of operations before beginning to get started on the right foot.
9. Be Professional
It seems like common sense, but that quality is lacking in many businesses today. When you treat a customer right, even if they’re wrong, you’ll have a better chance of expanding your market footprint.
Everything about your business and you need to be professional. This trait communicates to others that you’re taking everything seriously.
10. Get Things Right the First Time
It is cheaper to deal with your taxation and legal issues once than to take apart a big mess you’ve created. Do you need to register your company? Is one license good enough, or will you need one from your city, another from the county, and a state-issued one to be compliant?
You’ll need to address things like worker’s compensation and general liability insurance before opening your doors. When you file for a business name, there will be fees to pay.
It helps to know what to expect with all these responsibilities before you start doing business. Otherwise, it might be challenging, if not impossible, to operate accordingly.
A Final Thought on Running a Successful Business
No business is guaranteed to be successful, but risks can be tempered by hard work, experience, and dedication. Perseverance is a trait that virtually all companies have when they survive their early years. If mistakes happen, take the lessons learned to pursue a new idea.
The business world can be fickle. What works today might not be wanted tomorrow. If you’re willing to adapt, you can find lots of opportunities.
Netflix used to rent DVDs by mail. Countless authors have turned into website copywriters. Professional athletes become commentators.
Nothing in this world stays the same forever. I’ve found that the most exciting part of being a business owner is that moment when you’re anticipating the next challenge. Growth isn’t easy, but it will make you better.
