The U.S. bureau of labor lists that as many as twenty percent of new businesses fail by their first year, fifty percent by the fifth year, and roughly seventy percent by their tenth year. These statistics may seem daunting at first glance, but never fear! These other businesses didn’t have a rockstar go-getter willing to put in the research needed to succeed. They didn’t have you.
They also didn’t have this nifty list of curated data on what it takes to make your business thrive and succeed. Of course, every business and it’s needs are as unique as those of its owners. That’s why this list of points vital to running a successful business was built, because your success can help your community and enrich and empower those around us.
Building Your Branding
Fading into the background is a death sentence for virtually any business. That’s why you need branding to stand apart from the rest. When it comes to building a brand, it’s more than just your clever logo – it’s communicating what your business stands for as part of the community – whether it is local or global.
First is understanding the design elements and what they broadcast at a glance. This can be observed in every single major logo that you observe – meaning in everything from the outlines, to the colors you will find some manner of significance or meaning. The next thing is understanding where and how you advertise – are you supporting a local sports team enough to get your name on their uniforms? Placing billboards in certain locations to appeal to your specified demographics? If your business is basing its brand in being ecologically friendly or nature related, invest in sponsoring a park to get your name and your message seen by the people who would be your customers.
Making Your Marketing
When it comes to marketing, it’s your meat and potatoes of what clients see. Expanding upon what we discussed when building your brand, marketing materials convery your branding. These include commercials, hand-out materials, spots in magazines or newspapers, online ads, and more. This may sound simple, or like something you can get that one amatuer family member to do for a pretty cheap price – but it’s not. This can be the face – the first impression of your business. With thousands of eyes on it, some clever minds will undoubtedly catch the mistakes.
Investing in a competent graphic designer will give you the edge to stand out in a positive light and showcase your quality through modern, high quality media.
Funding For Ongoing Projects
Developing your business and cultivating your clientele is an active and ongoing process. Except for those who are born into absurdly wealthy families or get a windfall, starting a business means getting a little help in the form of loans for your small business or company. This is simply a part of getting started, and while it may seem a little intimidating at first, there are several options you can study to find what would suit your business in the most effective manner.
Managing your loans once your business becomes more stable with your accountant will eventually sink into the background among the rest of the operational costs. They can also be used to inject funding directly into new projects, renovations, equipment, or other forms of expansion to help your company grow to exciting new heights.
Finding The Best Employees
Finding employees who suit your business takes a lot more than throwing an ad out into the ether and hoping to be blessed by a squad of dynamic, intelligent employees. To be frankly honest, it can involve a lot of drudging through muck sometimes – and even then you might not always find that perfect person you need.
But cultivating a team that seeks to bring your business up rather than just clocking in to do a job and get paid is important to distinguish the success of your business. This is why it is important to have a clear message and goal beyond just success to help draw in like-minded individuals. Whether it is uplifting your local communities, ecological protection, or advocating for social betterment – you’ll find that when you infuse your business with meaning, you’ll empassion those who fight for similar goals and gain their appreciation and loyalty.
Treating Those Employees Right
It’s also worth noting that we cannot feed ourselves on passion and pride. That’s why we need to ensure that we build a team and support them to make the best of themselves in return for their dedication and efforts. This goes far beyond the occasional pizza-party, which has become a running joke.
Good employees work hard, and they deserve the pay that comes with it. They’re also typically quite clever, and as profitability continues to grow, that will be recognized. Making sure that you employees are paid appropriately, including respecting the cost of living for your location, is essential to keeping them onboard, satisfied, and striving to protect the progress they have made.
An additional way to treat those employees is to allow for them to have access to self improvement, such as leadership or educational opportunities. By giving them the tools to make themselves better, you are making a stronger operational foundation for your business and generating staff appreciation.
Systems and Tools to Work Effectively
One of the greatest stumbling blocks when it comes to efficiency is the equipment you have. This includes hard tools such as system servers, appliances, registers, and computers. It may also include the programs and applications that your team can operate and if they are sufficient for the work that you are doing.
You can make sure that your team isn’t having to form a queue in order to use certain pieces of equipment, or make sure that you have the best business software that has the advanced functionality that you need. Everyone knows that trying to compete with cutting edge companies is a lot hard when the systems you are operating are a decade old.
Social Media Presence
Communicating with the people is a great way to expand on your presence and draw more attention to your business. The best part is that this can be done from your own office, or with the help of a skilled and professional social media manager. In these modern times, you can bring people safely behind the curtain to see what you’re all about and showcase the world what you are all about.
Virtually every business has a presence online and that helps you to connect directly with potential customers and bring your business to the digital world as well through marketplaces, announcements, and further advertising opportunities.
Take the Next Step
As you can see, starting a business isn’t easy, and starting a successful business is even harder. But if you put in the work and take the actions you need to do, you can be the next big success story. The only thing that you have to do is take that first step and let the rest come naturally. Plan the journey with clearly set milestones so that you can make sure that your progress is measured in careful steps which can be given the care that they need to make sure you succeed.
