10 Tips to Start and Maintain a Successful Business
I was interviewed a few years ago for a magazine, and they asked this question; ‘what are the 10 things someone needs to start and maintain a successful business?’
I found the document I wrote with my response on my laptop recently, and couldn’t help but feel inspired. I learned a lot re-reading it, and thought I would share it again. It relates not only to business, but to life.
Gut Feeling: Possibly the most important thing when starting your business (yes almost as important as the actual business numbers stacking up) is feeling positive about your idea and knowing that your concept is going to work. (You don’t actually know this at all!), and it is still absolutely a risk to get started, but I think deep down you know whether your idea is going to be successful.
Clear Vision: How does this business work? What is your point of difference? Why are people going to choose you? How are you going to sell it in the market place? You must know, or have an idea, of what your business and brand is going to look and feel like. Who will your customers be? Who will your suppliers be? Writing this all down, knowing how the financial side will work, knowing your margins and realistic costs involved are important before getting started, to avoid any unexpected surprises or hidden costs.
Short and Long Term Goals: Short term goals allow you to make realistic stepping stones that ultimately steer and align you to your vision. I have found that the most effective way to do this is to have weekly and monthly goals that I can tick off as I go, which help me to feel like I am making quick progress towards my main long term goal/s. It might be as simple as, take on 3 new clients this month.
Strong Support Team: Have a backup support crew to cheer you on when the going gets tough (which will happen at times). They don’t necessarily need to understand your vision but will always support you and allow you to share your thoughts and troubles with.
Trust Yourself: The saying ‘fake it till you make it’ is often quite true in this instance. You really have to be the person you aspire to be, in order to become it. Have big dreams, then embody the person you need to be to get you there. Trust that you have what it takes to get there, and that nothing and nobody will stop you. Trust and believe that you can do anything if you set your mind to it.
Whatever Happens is For A Reason: I am a firm believer that if you work hard, good things come back to you. I do also believe that sometimes things don’t quite plan out as you expected. Trusting the process and knowing that good things are coming to you, even though you might not see them yet. Work hard anyway, knowing that your hard work will definitely pay off! Don’t lose your positive outlook, always believe good things are coming.
Roadblocks are pointing you to something better: If it feels like you are pushing rocks up hill and it’s not quite working, take a step back and let things sit for a while. It might be a big sale you were trying to get across the line, or trying to make a major project happen, but it’s not quite flowing. Take a step away from it, and you might see that is steering you in a different direction that is going to be even bigger and better.
Allow room to grow: You can only grow as fast as you allow space to. When you feel inundated with the administrative side of your business, or your new website is taking up 6 hours a day of your time, you cannot take on any extra work or give yourself time to reflect. Making room increases your work capacity and allows you to both physically and energetically allow space for more opportunity. It also allows you to be open to seeing things in a new way or different perspective.
Invest in a team that are better than you: When you get to the point where you need to find a small crew to help your thriving business, find people that you can invest into long term. Think, will they be able to help me achieve the short term goals and long term vision that I so strongly believe in? Will they be inspired to stay with me for 2 years rather than 6 months? Hiring people that are better than you at doing things, allows you to focus your energy onto what you are good at and enjoy. When you have time to focus on those parts of the business that you enjoy doing, your positive energies will reflect in your work space and be embodied by your team. You don’t need to be a superhuman and do everything on your own – have a super-team instead!
Reflection time: A very important part of business success is a work life balance, and personal health. In the early stages of business, it is very easy to dive right in, and not surface for a good 6 months. This ultimately leads to imbalance and you come out the other side needing some serious time out. If you start out allowing yourself some dedicated you-time, it makes for a more sustainable relationship with the business and gives you that much needed reflection time. It allows you to take a step back and see things more clearly, rather than getting caught up with the details of your day-to-day hustle!
If you’re interested in getting Business Coaching from me, click here to find out more about my 10 week One on One Business Growth & Strategy program. Whether you are starting from scratch, or have been in the game for a while: we strip things back, and break things down to ensure the foundations are strong. We ask the real questions like - more than anything, where do you want to be, and how will we get you there? This coaching is a practical, strategy & results focused approach. We go into marketing strategy, social media, brand, forecasting, PR and more.
Olivia Scott is a qualified reiki healer in Auckland, plus a life and business coach, author, podcast host & speaker. Get in touch here.