It’s no secret that you don’t become successful in business by doing the same thing the others guys are doing. Being able to take calculated risks is all part of the fun of being a small business owner—and understanding how to differentiate your business from the rest is a special skill most entrepreneurs spend their careers honing. Here are 10 Tips for Succeeding in Small Business. Give them a read and see if you can implement any of them into your small business.
1. Sell Happiness
Few homeowners care about the technical aspects of the trade. Most don’t at all. Instead, they are drawn to companies who sell joy! When marketing your company, it’s better to brand happiness than to sell another widget.
2. Become an Expert in Something
You need to differentiate yourself from the competition. Maybe that means you position yourself as the repair expert in your community. Whatever you decide, find a way to stand out. Then, reach out to publications and news stations offering your expert opinion should they need it. You may be surprised how a little effort could lead to a windfall of free publicity.
3. Befriend Your Competitors
What good does it do to hate your competition? It does none. Talk to competitors when you see them. You don’t have to reveal business secrets, but you can be friendly. Here’s why: If you want to grow your business, acquisitions is a great way to do so. The more competitors you know, they may be likely to talk with you—and ultimately do business with you!
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Fire Customers
You should do everything imaginable to make your customers happy. You should stand by your 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. But after that ordeal is over, you’re no longer required to keep that customer. It’s okay to fire customers who ultimately will do nothing but cost you money over time.
5. Remember Business Is Personal
People want to do business with other people, not businesses. They crave that personal relationship. In training, always remind your team the importance of developing relationships with every homeowner. It takes time, but it’s a worthwhile investment.
6. Don’t Work All the Time
There’s value in working hard and extending your hours, especially when restructuring your company and getting it on the right path. But that work pace can’t be kept forever. It’s far healthier for you and your family if you get home at a reasonable hour and manage a good night’s sleep.
7. Do Things That Don’t Scale
If you’re still a small company or new to service, you sometimes have to do time-consuming tasks to recruit customers that wouldn’t make sense if you were a huge company. For example, you might have to go door knocking or handwriting personal thank-you cards in hopes it generates referrals. But these initial gestures are what ignite companies and help them explode!
8. Run a Half Marathon Every Year
When you’re running a business, your company is obviously on your mind all the time. You sometimes can struggle “shutting it off.” You may not be a marathon runner, but it’s important to find something physical for you to do to serve as an outlet. Maybe go to the gym for 30 minutes 5 days a week. Commit to taking a walk around your neighborhood every morning before going into the office. You need an outlet to keep your sanity.
9. Don’t Try to Do It All
Get out of your own way. It’s easy to get caught up trying to do everything in a business when really you should be focusing on removing yourself as a bottleneck. Business owners should spend their time building systems and plans for their business and watching things happen. Being the owner doesn’t mean you should be a micromanager.
10. Motivate Employees
Never forget that your employees are your most valuable asset. The best way to motivate them is to allow them to share in the success of the business. You can call it an incentive for strong productivity and performance, or you can call it profit sharing. When employees have a vested interest in the business, they become self-motivated and work hard to be successful.