Owning your own business can be exciting but don’t let your enthusiasm stop you from being realistic about the risks. About 80% of small businesses do last more than a year but thereafter it gets really tough. Only half the small businesses started five years ago are still here to tell their story.
Are you trying to figure out how to make your small business successful? Read this article to learn the best tips for small business owners.
1. Write a Business Plan
Without a plan, a small business can flounder easily. Decisions made reactively are rarely good decisions. It’s well worth spending time putting together a written business plan.
A business plan should set out your business goals. These goals include both financial objectives and non-financial ones. What sales and profit do you expect and how many customers will you have?
You should also plan the resources you expect to be able to use. Resources include what money you can invest, including loans. People are also a resource so plan whether you will employ people and how many you will employ.
2. Look After Yourself
Starting and running a small business is a lot of hard work. You need to make sure you look after your own health and wellbeing so you can maintain the high levels of commitment needed to be successful.
Incorporate exercise into your weekly routine with about 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity spread throughout the week. Also, do some strength work a couple of times a week. Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables too.
In the event that you are involved in an accident, get the right treatment as soon as possible. Call a workers comp doctor and as well as getting the right treatment, be better prepared to make a personal injury claim. If you are unable to work your business may suffer and a successful claim may help.
3. Control Costs
Your business may have great products or services. There may be many customers who love what you do. A fabulous order book and high sales are not enough to be successful.
Your costs have to be lower than your sales before you can make a profit. This may seem obvious but it’s easy to be seduced by the glamour of sales and fail to address the dull issue of cost control. Watch your costs like a hawk and you’ll get to keep some of the money you make in sales.
4. Focus on What’s Important
A business owner has to do so much more when they run a small business. You may be the strategist in the morning and taking the trash out in the afternoon. With so many tasks competing for your attention you can get overwhelmed.
Remember to focus on what’s important. The main thing is to focus on what builds the business.
5. Hire Well
When hiring people, be sure to get the best you can. Select people who will help your business grow. The wrong people can suck energy and resources out of the business and lose customers.
Try These Tips for Small Business Owners Today!
Don’t be one of the small business casualties. Act now. Follow these tips for small business owners and you have every chance of being successful.
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