Setting up a business is one of the most challenging yet rewarding journeys that you can go on. As a small business owner, you are guaranteed to run into challenges, but it is your resilience and ability to adapt and learn that will drive you to success.
Setting stable foundations for your business will allow you to embark on one of the most exciting times of your life. So, here are 5 top tips by Ste McGrath for small business owners to guide you through your introduction into the world of business:
Know your audience
You’ll hear this first piece of advice a lot, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t crucial to consider when running your business; determine who your audience are and familiarise yourself. A great way to do this is focusing on a group that you have personal experience with- your own journey, a family member’s journey, or perhaps you’ve worked with them in a previous job. Identify what their struggle is and how you are providing a solution with your product/service.
Once you know your audience and what they are looking for, find out where they are and when they’ll be there. Which social platforms are they using? Are they scrolling on their commute? Are they balancing a family life? Put yourself in your prospective customers’ shoes and aim to push the solutions your business is providing at a time when you know they’ll be active and reachable.
Build Your Offer Around Your Niche
Once you know who you’re selling to, identify what makes your business special. If you know your customers well enough, it’s a great idea to pull on what they need most while putting your own unique spin on the solution you can offer them.
Build your offer around this solution, always referring back to who you are selling to, why they need your product or service and how much of their time/money they can offer. So long as you are ensuring that your offer coincides with this, your chances of success are much higher.
Prepare for Setbacks
Running a business will never be plain-sailing so a huge tip is make sure you prepare for the setbacks. You can’t be in it purely for the glory; embrace the bad and the ugly as well as the good because when you succeed, your mistakes will have helped you reach that destination. Analyse your failures and use them to grow and adapt in order to bounce back stronger.
Resilience is one of the most important traits to have as a business owner, without it success is unlikely so make sure you have tough skin from the get go. Prove that you want to be a successful business owner by sticking to it and not falling at the first hurdle.
Re-invest Strategically
Once money starts rolling in it is easy to get carried away with the excitement of success, but be sure you have your priorities straight. Be strategic with where you are investing your earnings; that flashy watch might be tempting, but investing in your business should always be at the top of your list.
Plan where you can invest your takings to grow your business and build your way to higher success. Once you have sturdy foundations and you’re happy with the strength of your business model, you can afford to treat yourself.
Take action
Finally, you can read as many business books or videos on how to be a successful entrepreneur but it will never compare to getting your hands dirty. Take action and learn from experience. The best way to see what works is through trial and error, so don’t be scared off by the idea of failure; just get stuck in!
As tough as running a business can be, put your mind to it, put yourself out there and believe. This self-assurance, resilience and knowledge will reflect on your business and you as an entrepeneur when you succeed.
Be sure to keep these tips in mind, but more importantly, get excited! Your journey into the business world is just getting started and if you can apply your skills and knowledge in the right places you’ll be a success story before you know it.
