Entrepreneurs, need a boost? Try these six tips.
What’s the secret to building your own business? The short answer is there is no magic bullet. Rather success (or failure) hinges on numerous factors.
But maybe you’ve already done a lot of the commonly-suggested tips. You’ve done your homework, evaluated your own strengths and weaknesses and found the industry that’s right for you. You’ve raised the capital, made the investment and hired the employees. You’ve opened your doors.
Now what? Don’t worry. We have a few more tips to help take your enterprise to the next level:
1. Build new skills
Build your own business by building your skills. You should make sure you know basic business acumen, first: how to read a balance sheet, how to create a financial statement, how to hire good employees and how to manage cash flow. If you don’t have these skills, or you could use a boost, take courses at your local college, continuing education center or online. A great online resource is Lynda, which is often available for free through your local library. There are tons of other reputable sites that also cater to business owners. If you’ve already mastered these skills, look at what you do in your day-to-day routine. Where are your areas of weakness? Maybe you could benefit from a marketing class or learn a few new leadership techniques. There are always things we can do better.
2. Have a business plan
You should have a full business plan. This includes writing down your goals for sales, cash flow, debt and profits. Learn your market and do a financial projection. Decide where and how often to advertise. Plan, plan, plan!
3. Have a marketing plan
Marketing and promotion are essential to building your own business. Research opportunities to get the word out about your company. This can include ads in local media, giveaways at your location, sponsorship of Little League teams and many other opportunities.
4. Don’t forget social media
Social media is an increasingly important part of building brand recognition and driving sales. Make sure you incorporate a social media presence into your overall marketing plan. Define a message you want to promote on social media and make sure your customers—and potential customers—can find you easily on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat (for younger audiences) and LinkedIn. And keep monitoring other social media platforms. It’s not hard to have a presence on any social medium, but you have to make sure it’s up to date.
5. Know your industry
It never hurts to know what the competition is doing. Join industry and local associations and read the websites and publications. Stay on top of developments so they don’t take you by surprise.
6. Focus on your customers
Ask for customer feedback and respond to it in a timely fashion, in every way possible—social media, surveys, contests and giveaways, and good, old-fashioned talking to people. Provide pricing incentives to encourage repeat business and referrals to new customers.
Make sure to incorporate each of these tips and we’re sure business will take off in no time.
