Starting and growing your business is an exciting and at times, an overwhelming endeavor. The entrepreneurial spirit is a driving force to hang your shingle and as you know, it requires a specific mindset and continued effort to sustain and expand in your marketplace.

Break away: There may be several other businesses like yours and it is up to you to set yourself apart from the competition. It isn’t your widgets that generate the business. It’s you. Your service. Your commitment to your stakeholders.

Business ownership can be a 24/7 job and necessitates forward thinking and as Michael Port says, “thinking big.” Just because you opened your doors and provide a product or service, your job doesn’t end here. Build it and they will come is not enough. You must live in it, on it and breathe it.

Small business isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for the brave, the patient and the persistent. It’s for the overcomer. Unknown

There is no room for stagnation or complacency if you intend to experience the full benefits of your company, aspiring greater revenues, satisfied customers, WOM marketing, new products/services and success. Embrace your business, your skills and your team on your journey as an entrepreneur.

Small Business Success Tips

1. Have a passion for your business, service and product
2. Solve an issue or problem, don’t just sell a widget
3. Create blueprints to outline your goals, vision and action steps
4. Set up systems for components of your business: i.e. marketing, sales channels, customer support, project management, social media and use them consistently. There is too much time and money lost searching for information or testing new tools and systems.  Find one and use it
5. Provide the service you expect from your own vendors
6. Understand that response time to inquiries is very important. Don’t keep the prospect or customer waiting because your competitor is on your heels
7. Stay connected and be available
8. Never stop learning or reading for ways to help your business, network, customers or prospects
9. Learn from failures and push forward, making new inroads
10. Underpromise and overdeliver
11. Be open to change and new directions based upon the market and your customers
12. Know the difference between working ON your business, rather than IN it
13. Why are you making yourself busy? All of the back end, low payoff, admin activities do not represent your core genius or generate income. It is important to allow delegation to become a strength, in order to grow and expand a business
14. Social media and online marketing are here to stay – create a strong presence, understand the medium, know where your customers are
15. Authenticity wins. If you aren’t true to yourself and your prospects, it is easily visible or soon to be discovered. Be real or don’t play at all
16. Maintainable and consistent growth results from doing more of what produces progression and less of what seizes your time in the name of growth
17. You must define the most profitable use of your working hours
18. Focus your valuable time on the high payoff activities
19. Limit distractions and stay centered on the task – you will be much more productive.
20. Create collaborative teams within your company and industry
21. Realize that every online action you take lasts a lifetime as your digital footprint.  Your personal online brand represents you AND your company. Be cognizant of your posts and comments as your reputation may be determining your social impact
22. Giving is better than receiving.  Stop singing Me, Me, Me. Share the rich and relevant content of others in your network, industry, trusted circles, family, friends….. you know who. Reach out and ask how you can help. If you find a pertinent article to someone you know, email it. Go the extra mile
23. Learn effective time management skills while you can’t manage time per say, you can manage yourself in terms of your priorities and scheduling. Never be late and don’t miss deadlines
24. Maintain an organized office and life with productivity tools that work for you; whether it is a pen and paper, an online PM system or a spreadsheet, keep track of what you are doing, the milestones, results, action steps and To Do list
25. Have some fun. Laugh a little and most of all, revel in your success as a business owner

Small business success doesn’t just happen overnight with a wish and a magic wand.

What is your secret weapon for success?