The key to running a successful business is you. Yes, you. You might think it’s about your product, your branding, where you choose to set up shop or the market you are operating in. While these are all significant factors, it’s you that will make or break your business.
You are your business’ greatest unique selling point. You differentiate it from any other company in your niche. You’re in the driving seat and as such can determine best practices, chose to conduct yourself professionally, and manage and lead from the front. All of this is within your control and it’s up to you how you handle it and how you develop your own skills and self-awareness. The following are strategies you can use to lead and run your business effectively and successfully.
You must be a leader
You need to lead your business, whether it is a one-person band or you have a team of one hundred, you are the leader. Leading is about inspiring, motivating, coaching, supporting and rewarding. You need to manage your team with consistency and be sure to address any performance issues swiftly and fairly getting everybody back on track as quickly as you can. A good leader encourages their team day after day, spurring them on to deliver even on the tough days.
You must remain focused
You can find yourself getting lost in the details, as there are so many different aspects you need to think about. From considering how to enforce minimum advertised price policies, how to effectively run a branded Instagram account, or focusing on your tax responsibilities, you will jump from one area of expertise to another without time to take a breath. Yes, there is a lot to learn when setting up and creating a successful business. And, you will need to know all of this. You just need to be careful you don’t fall into the trap of becoming all about the details.
Surround yourself with the right team that can assist you be taking on some these additional duties. If you aren’t ready to bring on full-time employees, consider hiring part-time or seasonal workers or maybe even outsource some tasks. This way you will be able to maintain focus and set goals to ensure that you stay on track.
You must work hard
This one should be a given, but as it’s an essential ingredient to success. Therefore, it merits mentioning here. You need to be prepared to give it your all and, simply put, work hard. This is not to say you need to live and breathe every breath for your business. If you do you will burn yourself out. You want to be sure not to get to a point where you totally neglect your family and friends, losing sight of just how important they are to you. Everyone does need to recharge, but when you are working, remember to give it 100%.
You must listen to your customers
Your business can only survive with a strong customer base. You’re likely to be either offering customers a service or a product and you need them to buy into you and your operation. Think about ways in which you can deliver the very best customer experience possible. Be sure to ask for customer feedback regularly. With every piece of feedback given, positive or negative, you can improve your offerings and how you interact with customers. It’s worth taking some time to also to seek out online reviews on your business and respond to any comments directly. This gives you the opportunity to explain any decision or alter any policies to better your business.
You must be flexible and adapt
Be careful not to be too tunnel-visioned, seeing things only from your perspective. You need to pause, take a look around, and adjust as needed. Be prepared to go back to the drawing board as often as it takes in order to get things right. Some of this may be driven by the customer feedback you have received. The feedback can be really useful in helping to shape your business and do as your team for their feedback and ideas too.
Confident leaders learn from everyone around them and are comfortable in crediting others for coming up with great new concepts. Your business can only be enriched further by absorbing ideas from people who also want it to succeed. One word of caution here is that adapting does not mean taking on every single idea that’s thrown at you. If you do, you might lose sight of what you are seeking to deliver and why you started your business in the first place. Adapting is reconsidering approaches and products and changing them where it appears to be most beneficial.
You must be able to accept criticism
This one can be so difficult to do for many of us, but it really is worth making an effort to embrace criticism. With every comment, you receive you can grow and improve. Not all of it will carry weight with you and some of it might simply be untrue or unfair. But do take time to assess anything you do hear. Your team needs to feel they can come to you and be completely open, so you need to appear to be happy and calm when listening to their viewpoints. Having an open door policy is helpful to engender this spirit and should help to break down barriers.
You must remain upbeat
This last one is a tough one. There will be challenging days, especially in the very first year of setting up a new business. We know this. We know it will be hard and we are sure you know it too. But you need to remain upbeat, for your team, for your customers, and most importantly, for yourself. It can be easy to get sucked into a downward spiral if things are not going to exactly as planned and you’re not seeing the progress you had hoped to see. However, if you allow yourself to get too discouraged, everyone else involved with you will follow suit. It will be very difficult to pick up things up and stay motivated. Day in and day out, share your enthusiasm, focus on your vision and determination to succeed. Remind yourself that you can do this and have a very successful business. You’ve got this, and you will win in the end. Here’s to YOUR success!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Leadership and Life Coach. She is the Chairwoman and CEO of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where they help you up-level your skills so you can up-level your income. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides one-on-one and group coaching, organizational training, and personality assessments. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
