8 Tips for Running a successful small Business in 2019
Setting up a business from the ground up is not for the faint-hearted. Despite having a brilliant product idea and an excellent strategy, your plans can go sideways. Making sure the business is successful is challenging, and after a few poor decisions, you may second-guess yourself. However, with some basic principles, you can ensure your venture is moving in the right direction regardless of the industry or product. The following tips will help to make your business a success:
- Get Organised
Entrepreneurs have to wear many hats, which means they need to balance their responsibilities efficiently. Lack of organisation can lead to loss of valuable time, and some of the tasks may be left unattended. The success of a business depends on the timely performance of duties, and wasting time reduces efficiency.
Planning your schedule will keep you on top of your tasks. Besides, if you organise your documents in neat folders, you will not have a hard time finding receipts and other important paperwork. At the beginning of each day, you should create a list of tasks to complete and check them off as you tackle them.
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Keep Good Accounts
Business profitability is a significant concern for every entrepreneur. Therefore, you need to monitor your cash flows and keep accurate records to ascertain the financial position of your business. Knowing your company’s financial strength comes in handy when preparing the budget or coming up with strategies to boost cash flows.
All the invoices, receipts, and bank statements should be filed appropriately. While you can handle simple accounting tasks, you may need an accountant to ensure your financial records are in check. Besides, you risk legal action and penalties for filing inaccurate tax returns or keeping incorrect accounting records.
- Analyse Your Competition
Competition in any industry is important in ensuring the customer gets the best services. For your business to stay ahead of the competition, you need to conduct market research. Find out who your competitors are and come up with creative ways of staying ahead. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Which marketing strategies do they employ? Why are customers choosing them over you?
Learning about your competition may spark ideas on ways to serve your customers better. You can also find ways to improve on the products you have and increase your market share.
- Understand Your Risks
Every business is a risky endeavour, but to earn rewards, you must take the risk. However, not all risks lead to a reward; some result in losses and can affect the company’s bottom line. Therefore, you need to understand the types of risks your company is exposed to and come up with a plan to mitigate and eliminate them. Before formulating a risk management plan, a business should identify internal and external threats to the company and investigate their impact. The risk assessment will help you to take calculated risks and make profits in your business.
- Be Creative
How do you retain your market share in a competitive industry? All you need is creativity to keep you ahead of the competition by making you unique. If you can find unique ways of marketing a product to the customers or introducing incentives, you will stand out in the crowd.
As an entrepreneur, you should keep an open mind and allow your employees to express their creativity. Try new product ideas and be willing to listen to innovative ways of doing business. Besides, customers get bored quickly, and if you repeat the same marketing techniques, you will lose them to your competition.
- Prepare to Make Sacrifices
Starting a company is challenging, and you have to make sacrifices to put together all the necessary resources. Unfortunately, hard work does not end when you have opened your doors. Once the business is up and running, you should be ready for more sacrifices. You will have to forgo dinner with your family, to engage clients. Sometimes you have to work late at night to complete proposals or prepare for a new product launch. The bottom line is you will be spending more time nurturing your business.
- Provide Great Service
Many companies forget about their customers when they become successful. Usually, that does not have a happy ending because when the customers are not satisfied, they will shift loyalty. How you treat your customers, will determine whether they will come back, recommend your product to friends, or go to your competition.
While you may have the best products in the market, if buyers do not feel appreciated, they will ditch your product. Therefore, ensure your employees treat your clients well. Make sure they are assisted promptly, and all their questions concerning your products are answered. If they are satisfied with your service, they will leave a great review and market your company. Offering excellent customer service will not only boost your sales, but it will also improve your brand image.
- Market Your Business Well
The profits from sales are a great indicator of the success of a venture. You cannot meet your sales targets unless you have a marketing plan. In this age of technology, you cannot rely on billboards and traditional marketing channels. You have to employ both inbound and outbound marketing techniques to gain the attention of the costumers.
You can also market your business online and generate leads through paid advertising. Social media pages are useful in building a buzz around your business. You can run promotional campaigns on Facebook and Twitter and encourage people to participate in your competitions.
Irrespective of the industry, running a successful business requires commitment and prioritising of some tasks over others. You should also be ready to learn and adapt to the changing market. However, if you develop the right attitude and adopt excellent strategies, your business will be successful. The Government website also provides advice on what support is available for small businesses.