A major strength of your business is its ability to provide a needed product or service that is different from similar businesses. So, what is your niche? What is it that makes your business stand out from the crowd?
Perhaps you cater to a specific audience. If so, you must be able to define your audience and state the reason or benefit of your specialization. For example, my doctor recently suggested I start taking a probiotic. Not just any probiotic, but one specifically formulated for women.
Successful businesses are based on having a plan. Note, I did not specify a business plan. Unless you’re focused on recruiting investors, you can develop what I call an operating plan that identifies your personal goals, not a plan that focuses on the goals of financial stakeholders. Of course, you have to consider your finances when planning, but your calculations can be less detailed. For example, your goal might simply be to break even the first year, as opposed to having to calculate a specific ROI (return on investment) for financial backers. Look for more insight into creating an operating plan in a future post.
Developing a marketing strategy is a key aspect of your plan. How will people know about your product or service? I mentioned the importance of identifying your target audience earlier. You not only have to research who they are, you must also determine where to concentrate your marketing efforts so that the people who are interested in what you have to offer will see it.
Once you’ve addressed these factors, you can then devise ways to market your product or service. My post, Oh No! I Have To Market My Business?, will provide valuable insight regarding how to get started. And a colleague and I recently facilitated a discussion on scaling your business with guest speaker, Albert C Hurston Jr, CPA. The link to this discussion is https://fb.watch/mUtfNIgc8-/.
Two other considerations come into play when managing a business:
You must be open to learning. While you have a general idea of how you want to run your business, you must keep in mind that you do not have expertise in every aspect of running a successful business. Be open to learning about additional marketing techniques, up-and-coming technology and accounting practices that can contribute to your businesses’ growth and accomplishments. Also, consider the time may come when you need to hire experts in areas where you need help.
2. While you may ultimately want to provide several services, don’t make the mistake of trying to do everything at once. Master one aspect before moving on to expand your business. Understand that spreading yourself too thin can result in frustration, burnout and potential failure.
Like everything else, entrepreneurship comes with pros and cons. That’s why it’s a good idea to fall back on the old, trusted SWOT analysis to determine your businesses’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. You can perform this exercise at startup or any time thereafter; however, an excellent point to consider a SWOT analysis is when your business is experiencing a growth spurt. This post will guide you through the process.
Taking care of your business is critical. Nurture it like a newborn. Create your plan, outlining reasonable goals and expectations in order to avoid falling into debt or failure. You want your business to grow and develop into an entity you can take pride in and not later regret all the time and energy you expended.
And last, remember to treat your personal and business relationships well. No matter how beneficial your business is, you want your friends and associates to want to recommend your services.
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