Archive for December, 2013

Practical Rules to Build a Successful Business

Practical Rules to Build a Successful Business

There are countless resources out there with information to help you build, operate, maintain, and grow a successful business. The wealth of material available on such topics can be daunting to sift through, so we’ve compiled a basic list of practical rules that every entrepreneur should follow. These rules apply to small businesses in any industry, so consider each one carefully as you begin your journey as an entrepreneur.

Expect positive results, but prepare to overcome failure. Expecting positive outcomes has everything to do with putting yourself in an optimistic frame of mind. If you are too consumed with fear of failure then you are inadvertently setting yourself up to do just that. Make sure the tone of your self-talk is positive, find effective motivators, and remind yourself frequently that you are more than capable of achieving your dreams. At the same time, recognize that a positive mindset alone is not enough to succeed. Prepare yourself for setbacks both financially and emotionally. Obstacles are bound to appear, but with adequate preparation and a confident outlook, you can overcome them and move on, all the better for it.
Strengthen your skills. Never stop learning. Invest the time, and money if possible, to sharpen even your strongest skills, and improve your weakest ones. There will always be someone or something you can learn from. Don’t get too caught up in the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities and neglect to improve your own skill set. Professional development and continuing your education can increase the longevity of your success.
Plan for the long run. This means everything from putting money aside for a rainy day to staying on top of your responsibilities so as not to fall behind in case of something unexpected like an illness or family obligation. Also take into account the big picture. For example, while hunting for retail space, an aspiring business owner finds an affordable location with lots of foot traffic anchored by a large department store. The problem is that this anchor store will be closing its doors within the next year. Although this may not seem significant, it’s a very real possibility that the closing of the department store will cause the majority of shoppers to go elsewhere, having a negative effect on the foot traffic in the area. So even though it may be an ideal space right now, planning for the long run means taking into account that it might be a poor choice in the future.
Identify your competition and learn about them. There’s an old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Although your competition shouldn’t be your enemy, you should know as much as you can about what they offer their customers and how they conduct their business. Staying in the loop allows you to keep pace with industry trends and to stay on par with what your customers want and need from you. The same goes for identifying what it is about the competition that you don’t want to do. Perhaps your main competitor has a good reputation for offering frequent incentives and promotions, but also has a bad reputation for its poor customer service. Take the weakness of your competitor and make it your strength. Your customers will notice and spread the word.
Don’t waste money. The best way to avoid this common mistake is to create a conservative budget and stick to it. A good idea is to track each and every expense, and evaluate them all at the end of a given time period (pay cycle, month, quarter, etc.). By putting your budget and expenses in writing, you will easily be able to analyze the financial health of your business and adjust accordingly.
Seek opportunities. There will no doubt be opportunities available to you that will allow you to grow your business. However, they won’t exactly come with an engraved invitation; you must be proactive and seek them out. If you want to increase your following within the community, find local events in which to participate and promote your business like school fundraisers, sidewalk sales, and holiday festivities. Define your goals and priorities, and develop an action plan to find your opportunities.
Minimize risks. There is a certain amount of risk-taking necessary in running a successful small business, but you can minimize these risks by doing your research and making the necessary preparations. The owner of a clothing boutique has been operating successfully for over ten years, so she decides to expand her business by opening up another retail location. Of course this is a big risk, but she knows how to minimize it by taking all the same precautions she did when she opened up her first location a decade ago: research locations, look at a variety of spaces, analyze potential customer base, have a financial fallback plan, etc. Whatever the risk you decide to take, be smart about your preparation in order to minimize the possibility of a negative outcome.

Talk to any successful small business owner, and he or she will tell you how these rules have applied to his or her situation. Have you followed these rules? How have they helped you? Is there anything else you would add to our list? Please share your comments below!

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How to Stay Clear-Minded In the Midst of Chaos

How to Stay Clear-Minded In the Midst of Chaos

Have you ever felt like you were trying to accomplish so much that your constant multitasking turned into chaos? This is a common problem for people with a lot to do. The best way to combat this overwhelming feeling is to clear your mind so that you are able to focus on achieving your objectives. The following list will help you break through the chaos and bring order to your professional life.

Stop whatever you’re doing, and take a deep breath until you regain composure. This very important action is the first step to relieving that feeling of chaos and is vital to your productivity. Deep breathing affects the nervous system, which in turn relieves feelings of stress and anxiety. (Source) Just five to ten seconds of deep breathing, especially while visualizing the source of the stress leaving your body, will allow you to concentrate on the task at hand. In addition to deep breathing, you could even incorporate a soothing phrase or mantra that will signal your mind to calm down and regroup. Your physical body must first be relaxed in order to be productive.
Focus on the goal and don’t become overly detailed. Once you have taken some deep breaths, it’s time to remind yourself what the goal is. What is your overall objective? By keeping the goal in mind, you will be better able to sort through all the details without getting buried in or sidetracked by minute tasks. For example, say your goal is to touch base with a list of clients by making follow-up phone calls. While pulling up your contact list, you notice that you haven’t synced your list on your computer with the one on your smartphone in a while, so you take a detour to complete that task. While that is happening, you also notice that you have some contacts on that list you no longer need, so you begin to update and organize your digital rolodex. All of these other tasks, though they may need completing at some point, are not helping accomplish your overall goal, which is to follow up with your clients via telephone. Keep the goal at the forefront of your mind, and only complete tasks that directly contribute to the completion of that goal.
Take a break and be social. Socializing is a great relaxer and puts you in a positive mindset. It is okay to take a break when you’ve been focused for a long period of time and feel you need to step away for a bit to refresh your body and mind. Text a friend about a lunch date, check in with your spouse about how his or her day is going, or even browse your social networks for five minutes. By taking your mind off the task for a short period of time, you actually can increase your productivity by preventing burnout and excessive stress. Be responsible with your downtime, but don’t be afraid to use it.

Clearing your mind is of utmost importance in the long-term journey of accomplishing your business goals. Remember to take deep breaths, don’t sweat the details, and allow yourself some social interaction. This mix of caring for both your physical and mental needs is crucial to your ability to deal with any level of chaos.

What do you think of our list? Have you tried any of these things? Please share your comments below!

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5 Ways to Be More Successful in Sales

5 Ways to Be More Successful in Sales

How do you achieve success in your business? Most likely, you strive to set goals for yourself, stay organized, delegate appropriately, participate in professional development, and prepare adequately for a day’s work. Doing all these things is an excellent start on your road to success, but we’ve come up with a list of actions you can take that will help your business thrive. How many of them have you mastered?

Be assertive without making prospects uncomfortable. There is a fine line between assertive and pushy. Prospects have confidence in those who are assertive because it’s easy to tell that they are knowledgeable and believe in their product. Those who are pushy, on the other hand, tend not to listen to the prospect, fail to ask appropriate questions, and sometimes make him or her feel pressured to take action right then and there. Potential customers often shut down in response to a pushy salesperson because they don’t want to be rushed into a decision that may not be right for them. Always be sure you are listening to your prospect and responding to his or her social cues (eye contact, body language, etc.).
Don’t rely on your prospect to make the next move. In your effort to avoid being that pushy salesperson, don’t go too far in the other direction by leaving the ball in the prospect’s court. You must still be the one to take action in order to close the deal. That action may be to come right out and ask for the sale when appropriate, or possibly to follow up at a later date by sending an email or making a phone call. Even if the prospect leaves the meeting saying, “I’ll be in touch,” it is important that you follow up after an appropriate amount of time has passed. Reach out to him or her and find out if there are any questions that still need to be answered or where he or she is in the decision-making process. A follow-up is an effective way to seal the deal.
Be positive by limiting negative thoughts. Negative thoughts and self-talk have a way of taking over your brain. When this happens, you begin to doubt yourself and lose motivation. Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations, pep talks, and reminders of all you have accomplished. Don’t just be your own worst critic; be your own best cheerleader as well. By reminding yourself regularly that you are intelligent and capable, you are driving yourself toward the success you so greatly want and deserve.
Think from a customer’s perspective. Avoid getting wrapped up in how a customer’s action or response affects you. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes; doing so allows you to better understand where you may be falling short in some aspect of your business. For example, you’ve recently replaced one of your products for a higher quality, but pricier version. At the same time, you notice that some of your most loyal customers haven’t been around lately. After reaching out to them, you find out that they are disappointed that their favorite product is no longer available. You may have been so excited about the new product that you failed to see how a customer would be hesitant to try something new, especially if it costs more and they loved the old version. Taking a walk in your customers’ shoes is essential to the success of your business.
Become a problem solver. Instead of being someone who sells a product or service to make a profit, be the person who provides solutions to customers’ problems. When the owner of an in-home daycare seeks out new customers, she emphasizes that her business provides the professional quality of child care in the comfort of her home. This solves a problem many parents have: where can I send my children while I’m at work that will be educational and nurturing at the same time? Her clients know that their children are getting the individualized attention and stimulation they need during the day so they can be the happy and well-developed children their parents want them to be. Figure out what problem you can solve for your customers and make it your number one priority to do so.

You can learn how it feels to be successful by putting your customers first. Listen to their needs while being assertive, think from their points of view, and solve problems. Your genuine interest in helping people will certainly shine through, and your business will succeed. What do you think of our list? Please share your comments below!

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Here’s What to Do if You Don’t Have a Business Plan

Here’s What to Do if You Don’t Have a Business Plan

Whether you are just starting a small business or you are looking to reinvent your existing one, creating a business plan is the first step toward setting goals and generating your action plan. Creating a business plan can be overwhelming, but the good news is that you don’t actually need one to really get going. If you don’t know where to begin but want to take action, start with the following three tasks. These will help you define your ideas and make your business dreams a reality.

Have a vision and goal in mind. What do you ideally want your business to be? What will the experience be like for you? How about the customer? Answering such questions helps form a vision for your business, which in turn will allow you to set specific goals to fit that vision. Even if you can’t work out the specifics right now, having a vision and goal in mind will give you a focus point and motivation to continue. It will also help to be able to describe this vision for others you want involved in your business. So take some quiet time and figure out what you want this business to be so you can work toward making it a reality.
Focus on people by networking and building a good team. Don’t forget that above all else, a successful business is built by hard-working, intelligent, and creative people. Start to surround yourself with good people through networking. When interacting with others, don’t hesitate to ask questions about their own experiences launching a business. You will not only gather ideas for yourself, but you will begin to build professional relationships that will prove essential to your success. Work toward gathering a team of people who share your goals and ambitions. Collaborating with others is a highly effective way to achieve your objectives.
Build momentum, but don’t focus on perfection. Don’t get caught up in making sure everything is done perfectly, at least not right away. Initiating momentum in achieving your goals is more important at this stage of the game. This is the time to form good work habits like setting a consistent schedule for yourself, creating daily agendas and following them consistently, and reaching out to others for ideas and assistance. The best way to learn how to do something is to actually do it, so jump right in and get to work. Have the confidence that you’ll figure out the details along the way.

The specifics of a business plan such as tasks, deadlines, and finances are certainly an important first step for any startup. However, by creating a vision, focusing on people, and building momentum, you can be well on your way to launching your business before you delve into the details of an official business plan. Do you have other ideas to add to our list? Please share them in the comments section below!