Business-Development
10 Tips for Improving Your Business
8:07 AM
Individuals are constantly improving
themselves by identifying their poor habits and then changing them.
Sadly, this attitude is rarely applied to businesses; which is
unfortunate because a business should be treated as a living, breathing
entity as well. Though you may be familiar with the essentials for an
individual to survive—food, shelter, and clothing—the essentials for the
survival of a business are not nearly as clear. Therefore, we have
compiled a list of what we believe are the Top 10 tips for strategically
growing your current business’s profitability. We have come across
businesses in all sorts of industries, but seem to notice that the ones
suffering share the same problems. Following these simple suggestions
will help place your business back on track and result in greater
success.
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Write down your goals.
You may have started your business with big goals and even larger
dreams, but time has progressed and the daily complications of running a
business may have distracted you from these goals. It’s even more
likely that your original goals have now changed. That’s why we suggest
all our clients re-write their business goals. Clearly outline what you
want to accomplish in the next month, in the next year, and in the next
five years. These goals do not necessarily have to be strictly related
to financials either, they can include new directions or ideas you may
have for the future of your business.
Identify the weaknesses.
Next you should identify where your business is most weak so you can
focus your efforts on improving that area. But, herein lies the tricky
part: being able to identify a weakness is difficult for most business
owners, because it often feels like admitting defeat. The business owner
is typically too close to the operations to even notice what the weak
area is. Therefore, we suggest stepping back from your business,
dropping all bias and emotion, and examining it from an outsider’s
perspective. Once you have been completely honest with yourself about
what your business’s weaknesses are, write them down. These weaknesses
do not necessarily have to be related to losses in profit either. They
can merely be areas that you feel you aren’t achieving your full
potential. Examine every aspect of your company and create an exhaustive
list of all of your business’s weaknesses.
Create a plan. Now you
have a list of your new goals and a list of your business’s weaknesses.
Reconcile these two lists; that is, you must determine what you can do
to improve the weaknesses so to reach your ultimate goals. This is truly
the difficult element in improving your business, which is why many
seek the guidance and advice of business consultants and attorneys.
There is no one right answer for how to improve your business’s
weakness. Sometimes it is as simple as devoting more time to that area,
while other times you may have to admit that there is no solution and
determine how to continue your business without the anchor that is
holding you down. If done correctly, you should now have a thorough
business plan that outlines your problem areas, the solutions to these
areas, and how these solutions will accomplish your ultimate goals. This
shall serve as your new business plan.
Follow your plan.
The most common problem we witness when consulting with businesses is a
lack of follow through. People are always excited to fix their business
and create a fantastic plan, but never follow through with their plan.
Don’t ignore the new plan you’ve created. Take action. Set aside an hour
a week to make sure that you are keeping up with your plan, that you
are making progress towards improving your weaknesses and are closer to
your goal than you were last week. Adhere to the deadlines you set in
your plan. If you ever notice something not working, refer back to your
plan and try to identify the problem.
Start to socialize.
Regardless of what your business does, getting the word out and
marketing are crucial to your business’s continued survival and success.
A small business’s image is often largely intertwined with the owner’s
image. You should become a walking ad for your business. Meet people
both in and out of your field and talk about your business as you would
about your child. Often times the best leads and results come, not from
socializing with others in your industry, but from people that can use
your business to further their own interests. A symbiotic relationship
between several other businesses and individuals will always prove
successful.
Strengthen your online presence.
Along with marketing your business by personally socializing with
others, a strong online presence is crucial for your business’s
continued success. In today’s market, your website is often more
powerful than the brick and mortar storefront. If you can create a
strong internet presence, you will not only reach more potential clients
and customers, but they will also subconsciously respect your business
more. No one wants to work with a business that has a website that looks
like it’s from 1996. Upgrade your website and social media
marketing—such as your Facebook or Twitter—so to create an appearance of
success. Often the appearance of success creates confidence in your
business that results in more potential clients or customers.
Learn to delegate.
Small business owners feel that they must be included in or constantly
overseeing every aspect of their business. Sadly, this is a sure fire
way to bottleneck your business. Suddenly nothing is accomplished
without your permission or direct involvement. Learn to work with and
hire competent individuals that understand your goals and can accomplish
them without your constant involvement. For this to work, you must be
able to identify your own personal strengths and weaknesses and be
willing to delegate tasks that are not necessarily your forte. Once you
free up your time to focus back on your own strengths and goals, you
will notice an improvement in your entire business.
Invest in your strengths.
I always explain to my clients that “it takes money to make money.” Now
this doesn’t mean to go and suddenly spend thousands of dollars on a
new printer when you own a restaurant. Rather, identify where your
business makes most of its money by examining your sales or profits.
Next, identify where your business is losing the most money. Then,
divert the money you are investing in the losing area into the area that
is actually profiting. By strengthening the area of your business that
has already proven successful, you are only strengthening the entire
business. Sometimes it is better to cut off a dying branch on a tree to
save the whole. So, reinvest in your strengths.
Learn your competition.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and often the most
successful way to grow your own business. There is usually a reason that
your competitors are succeeding and you are still struggling. Being
able to objectively examine your competition and identifying their
strengths is the surest way to improve your own business. The
competition has already created a working model for your business, learn
it. After learning why your competition is succeeding, try to adapt
this information to your own business. This does not mean you should
completely copy or steal another business’s model, but use their already
successful model to further improve your own.
Enjoy it. There is
truly no greater feeling than being your own boss. However, there is no
worse feeling than thinking you failed. Remove the negative emotions and
remember why you started your own business to begin. Remember the
ambition that fueled you. Remember the passion that motivated you. It’s
no surprise that people do better at things they enjoy. So reward
yourself and your employees in the small victories that you accomplish.
Seeing reward for your hard work will only drive you to work harder. I
always advise my clients to remove all emotion from your business so it
can operate smoother, but a little positive emotion pumped into the
business won’t ever hurt.
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