Top 10 Strategies for Small Business Entrepreneurs

#1: Have a Vision- Where do you see your business in 3 to 5 years? How do you want it to look? How do you want it to work? Do you have a business plan? Do you have a mission statement? Do you have a vision statement? What is your estate plan?

#2: Believe in your talent – Talent alone is never enough. There are many times when people who have tremendous talent do not reach their potential. You have to believe in your talent, be passionate about your talent, keep investing in your talent, and surround yourself with the best talent available.

#3: Assemble your team – A savvy business entrepreneur makes sure they are surrounded by talented professionals and not just a bunch of “yes” people. It is essential that he have a professional corporate attorney, certified public accountant, financial advisor, bookkeeper, insurance person, and front office manager as part of his team. An attorney and CPA are a must from the start, and you can add additional pieces to your team as you grow.

Be sure to take the advice of your professional advisers, after all, that’s what you pay them to do. You may not always like what they have to say, but it’s important to listen to them.

#4: Empower your team- Equip your team with the resources they need to succeed. In addition to helping them succeed, you will succeed too. It’s tempting to take shortcuts to save money, but it’s important to keep your team up to date in this age of high technology and development.

Your team will consist of professional advisors and daily employment staff. Regardless of their position in your business, it’s important that they have the tools they need to help make your business the best it can be.

Another thing to keep in mind is delegating responsibility and decision-making ability to various staff members in your company. An employee, who feels empowered by the owner, is a much more productive employee.

#5: Peer Networks – One of the most valuable activities you can engage in as a business owner is networking with your peers. There are numerous opportunities for you to get out of your business and network with other business owners.

There are groups like Chambers of Commerce, Rotary, Business Associations, and various weekly or monthly membership-based networking groups. Be sure to attend one or two networking events a month to promote your business and get to know those businesses in your community.

#6: Realize early on that you don’t know everything – Most business owners are at various stages of their business and have a multitude of hats to wear. That’s fine once in a while, but it’s also important to keep in mind that there are probably other people who can do a much better job than you simply because they can bring a different perspective. All business owners will find themselves in the early stages of their business filling almost every role imaginable, whether it’s answering phones, scheduling clients, marketing, and/or keeping the books,…and that’s okay once in a while. (Issue – actually, it’s good to learn every job in your business), but you don’t want your business to depend on you filling every job.

As soon as you can, delegate responsibilities to other members of your team to make them feel more valuable and lighten your workload.

#7: Realize early on that you can’t do it all – Similar to the above, realizing early on that you can’t do everything is key to business success. There is a very high “burnout” factor for owners who have an “I can do it all myself” attitude and refuse to delegate responsibilities to other team members. You may feel like no one can do it better than you (and that may be true), but if you want to keep your team engaged with a sense of ownership and empowerment, it’s important to delegate responsibilities to them because it shows a sense of confidence and trust in the rest of your team. equipment.

There will be plenty of opportunities for you as a business owner to “burn off the midnight oil” so you might as well wait for those opportunities to arrive and you are well rested and prepared.

#8: Stay updated- With technology advancing at a rapid pace, it’s important for all business owners to stay up to date with some of the latest and greatest resources to help their business. It is true that there is so much out there that one cannot absorb it all, but that goes back to the point that you need to be an owner who can keep your “head up” to see the big picture and the opportunities that are coming your way. yourself and not get sucked into a “nose to the grindstone” mentality and approach.

Be adventurous and daring when trying new techniques and technologies that can help improve your business. It’s okay to do a “test run” on various techniques just to see how they might fit into your business. One thing is certain, “nothing stays the same, and the only constant changes”. You have to keep up with the ever-changing world we live in.

#9: Don’t be afraid of change – Even if you feel like you’re not changing, the world around you is. More importantly, if you’re not changing, you can bet your competitors are, and they’re most likely trying to change to gain a competitive advantage over you.

It’s natural for us to become complacent and do the same old thing because that’s what we’ve always done.

I have a great quote on my office wall that says “change is inevitable… but growth is optional.” I don’t know about you, but I choose to grow.

One of the benefits of having a diverse team is the fact that they offer a wide range of perspectives and opinions. Older employees tend to stick to a tried and true method that may or may not be out of date, while younger employees have fresh new ideas that you might want to consider implementing if the time is right.

#10: Find your MVP- For a small business to thrive, it’s important to operate as a team. For a team to thrive, it will have many moving and variable parts that must stay coordinated together.

Each team has an MVP (Most Valuable Person) with whom the owner feels comfortable and confident enough for that person to have their “Go-To-Guy”. For me, that person is my operations manager, Rosemary Bennetts, who has been with me since day one more than 20 years ago.

Your MVP may or may not be the most visible or well-known person on the team. Your MVP may be someone who is holed up in a back office, with their sleeves rolled up and fighting daily in the trenches to keep their business running. Your MVP can be your front desk person or your community fashion vendor. Whichever the case, work closely with your MVP (they most likely know how the business works better than you do) and give them proper recognition and appreciation.