Do you want to be a successful business owner? Are you tired of the business running you? Owning a business can be challenging. It can also be extremely rewarding. So why are some businesses so successful while others seem to struggle along until they finally close their doors?
Here are the top 5 things successful business owners do, and you can too!
1. Get a mentor.
A great athlete and successful business owner have many things in common. One of which is they both hire a professional to mentor them. Think about it. Tiger Woods has 5 coaches. Professional football teams have an offensive coach, a defensive coach, a special teams coach, a head coach, and a series of professional trainers. While you may not need to go to this extreme. It is imperative that you seek the guidance of other experts. If you’re considering hiring a Business Coach do your research. Here are 5 Things You Must Consider When Hiring a Business Coach.
2. Build your professional team.
While you are certainly the expert at your craft, I bet you’re not the expert at finance, insurance, business planning and projecting accounting, or human resources. Nor should you be. Ask for the referral of a successful business owner or business owners in your community. Ask for their business partners such as Business Bankers, CPA’s, Insurance Advisors, Business Coaches, and Human Resource Specialists. Meet with your team on a regular basis. I recommend meeting monthly in the beginning and then quarterly after you’re established.
Then meet annually at a bare minimum. Remember, it’s your business, your livelihood, and your life. You need to drive the bus and have the right people on the bus to help you reach your destination.
3. Systematize it.
Too often the business owners …. business…is dependent on the people it employees. Don’t be left hanging if a key employee leaves you. Build a system and workflow process for everything from how to open the business, close the business and everything in between. If you lose a key employee another employee can easily step in until you’ve hired a new employee. Systematizing everything also increases productivity, efficiency, and consistency. Want things done the right way every time? Building the systems is the key.
4. Train and retrain.
Business is an ever evolving machine. Technology, demand, competitors and market demographics (just to name a few) all play a part in the success of your business and your success as a business owner. As a business owner, it’s imperative that you stay ahead of the curve. Educate yourself, educate your team and then re-educate often. Build a training program for each area of your business. Make sure that it’s documented in either, or better yet all, written, audio, and video format. This allows for anyone who joins your team to get up and running very quickly, reducing the learning curve and ensuring consistency in every aspect of your business.
5. Know your numbers.
Your business can live or die by the numbers. It doesn’t matter how great your product or service is if it’s not profitable. As a business owner, you should understand your fixed expenses, your variable expenses, and your profit margins per product and service. Budget each year. Always include room for “if this then that’s”. If equipment breaks down. If we get a blizzard. Trust me. Planning ahead for such incidents will allow you to budget for those events and be prepared in the event they happen.
If you have a product or service that is loss making you have two options. Stop offering it or make it profitable. Too often the business owner likes to make offers to get people in the door. Let me be very clear about this. If you offer it once. They will expect it every time.
Meet with your CPA on a very regular basis to review your numbers and plan for the future. They are the experts. Partner with them for the financial success of your business.
6. Acquire the right talent, assign the right roles and develop their talents.
Too often the business owner will focus on the skill set required for a role in their organization. Skillset can be taught. However, natural strengths and abilities cannot. Gallup latest State of the American Workplace shows that 51% of the American workforce is actively looking for other opportunities. If you think employees are looking for opportunities for higher pay think again. They are leaving, actively looking for an opportunity to be able to do what they do best and do it in a way that fits their life. Discovering the natural talent, then developing the talent of your team is vital to the success of your organization.
So, are you ready to start running your business and become a true business owner? Contact Crystel at [email protected] to schedule a complimentary consultation!