Starting and running a small business can be both extremely rewarding and extremely frustrating. While we can find business success, the stark reality is that almost 75% of new small business ventures won’t survive past the 2-year mark. Today we will discuss six of the most important things to remember to give us the best chance of getting into that top 25%. While following these steps can’t guarantee success, they are based on observations made by successful businesses over the years, and can help increase our chances of success in our own businesses.
1) While no one can see into the future to tell us whether our business venture will be successful or not, the most important thing to remember is that it all comes down to executing the plan. Without doing the things that need to be done, our business ventures go nowhere.
2) Perseverance is key to success. In today’s digital world, anyone can start a new business in a matter of minutes. What they fail to realize is that running a business is hard work. If we are going to give up at the first sign of adversity (or the second, the third, or the hundredth time), we are doomed.
3) Transformation. There is a big difference between dealing with adversity and beating a dead horse. We can’t be afraid to change direction when we are heading toward a dead end. If something in our business is not working, we must know when to change. Unfortunately, there is no cheat-sheet to tell us when to make the move; we must rely on experience and intuition. Sometimes we will be right and sometimes we will be wrong, but we must always be open to change.
4) While we will undoubtedly develop many skills and abilities during our career, none will be more important to the long-term success of our business than marketing. Our ability to sell ourselves and our business will ultimately determine our level of success. We should learn as much as we can about this valuable skill, before it’s too late.
5) We can have some of the most brilliant ideas in history, but unless we act on those ideas, they are just that: ideas. Mahatma Gandhi said “…if you do nothing, there will be no result.” Simply doing something, whether it turns out to be wrong or right, is one of the best ways to gain valuable experience.
6) And lastly, we need to remember that mistakes are valuable. While that sounds counter-intuitive, the lessons that we learn in our business are what drives growth. It’s not bad to make mistakes; it’s how we learn. The bad part comes in when we continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. Don’t ever do that.
These points were inspired by a recent post written by David Siteman Garland, the amazing creator of https://therisetothetop.com, a website that helps people create and sell online courses. Even if you’re never going to create an online course, the information that David provides is applicable to all small business owners and deserves to be read by all budding entrepreneurs.
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Thanks, Joe
