photo credit: ManojVasanth

6 Tips to Start and Run a Successful Business

It’s not something that most of us would dare venture, but starting your own business venture does have its share of excitement. There are pessimists who say that 9 out of 10 new ventures fail, but then, failure is a relative term. It depends on how you define it – if you don’t make a profit in the first few months, are you a failure? If you are not busy all the time, does that mean that you’ve failed to succeed? And if you are going through a bad patch, would that count as failure?

The point I’m trying to make is that we all want to succeed, but success means different things to each of us. So when you’re starting your new business, here’s what you need to keep in mind:

• Do something you love: When you’re passionate about your work, it becomes a labor of love, not a chore that has to be endured. And this encourages you to strive harder for the success you dream of. When you’re able to make a business out of your passion, you know you have a surefire recipe for success.
• Do your research thoroughly: You need to use a little of your head as well when starting a new business. Study the market thoroughly and see if there is a need for the product or service you are selling. Only then can you rest assured that all you need to achieve success is a combination of hard work, dedication and initiative.
• Be prepared to work hard: Hard work never killed anybody, especially work that is well planned and equally well executed. Plan your operations ahead so that you get things done efficiently. Know how to delegate tasks so that you don’t overwork yourself. And know where to draw the line when it comes to taking the office home with you.
• Invest in a good team: You are only as good as the weakest person in your team, so ensure that you invest time, money and effort in hiring talented and skilled people who are not afraid of hard work and are willing to learn what they do not know. When you are supported by a good team of employees who work with you rather than for you, you know you’re well on the route to success.
• Remember that the customer is king: And last, but certainly not the least, without your customer, you have no chance of making it big. So treat your customers with courtesy and provide them with services and products that are of good quality. Be ethical and transparent in all your dealings with them, because it is their goodwill and continued patronage that works in your favor to bring you new customers and help your business grow.
• Continue to innovate: So now your business is up and running and you have a steady stream of income coming in. Stay one step ahead of the competition and prevent your business from becoming obsolete or defunct by innovating. Keep in tune with market trends and find out what your customers expect. Cater to their needs and watch yourself taste success after success.

About the author:
This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of executive mba programs. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. — Vince Lombardi

All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure. — Mark Twain

More internet surfing this very early morning has resulted in another find I thought you’d enjoy — Best Reflections Marketing: Marketing the KLT Factor for Sucess.

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. — Michael Jordan

I get calls and emails from entrepreneurs just about each week, asking me to help them understand where they are going wrong, or to warn them of what pitfalls to avoid. Here are the mistakes that top my list:

1. Spending too much money on how-to guides, courses and programs. Remember, the sales copy for these products is designed to make you feel like you don’t know enough or that you’ll never succeed without them. The worst thing you can do as a new professional is to get stuck in a rut or in analysis paralysis (“I’ll start marketing as soon as I learn how to do this,” or “I just need to research this a little more, then I’ll be ready.”). You’ll never get traction by just sitting there gathering information; you have to take action. So, it won’t be perfect at first, and that’s OK.

Don’t get me wrong, continuing your education and staying up to date on the latest trends in your industry is essential to your success as a service professional. If you’re like me and need the added support of someone to generate new ideas with or to hold you accountable, partner with a colleague, join a mastermind group or hire a coach.

2. Spreading yourself too thin and trying to do everything. The real trap of the information overload caused by mistake #1 is that you are eventually left feeling discouraged that nothing is working and overwhelmed by trying to do what everyone else says you should do. Here’s a test: when you hear about the latest and greatest marketing strategy (can you say, “Web 2.0″?), do you jump on the bandwagon because everyone else is doing it and because you’re afraid you’ll miss out?

If so, just stop already; keep things simple. Engage in self-promotion activities that you enjoy doing, that match your core values, and that come naturally to you. Stay true to your personality; use your gut. List those activities and do them consistently. Once you’re in the groove, try one new thing for a month and see how it goes. This approach may not sound exciting, but it works a heck of a lot better than trying to do everything at once. Save your energy, protect your sanity and keep yourself grounded.

3. Giving up too easily or too quickly. Many of my coaching clients have the unrealistic expectation that they will hit it big in their chosen industry after being in business for only a year or two. They’re disappointed when their income and client list aren’t at the level they imagined, and that building their business is taking so much work. They all want to be “overnight sensations,” when the truth is that it can take 3-5 years to establish a successful and profitable business. And that’s if you do it right.

The solution is to set realistic expectations, to set short-term goals with a plan to reach them and to take one step at a time. Keep your day job, if you must, to alleviate the financial pressure. Stay focused on a target market, niche or specialty. You’ll find it much more pleasant to consistently reach small milestones, as opposed to setting a goal so lofty that you’re destined for disappointment from the start.

While most of us have made one or all of these mistakes at some point during our entrepreneurial journey, those who survived are the ones who:

• Took immediate action, no matter how inexperienced,
• Concentrated on a few effective marketing strategies and did them consistently and
• Set realistic goals and expectations.

You can do these three things, too, and join the ranks of these successful entrepreneurs.

© 2008 Cristina Favreau. All rights reserved.

ABOUT CRISTINA
Cristina Favreau specializes in teaching independent service professionals who struggle with marketing, so they get more visibility, build their credibility and increase their self-confidence. Get her complimentary “12 Mistakes To Avoid in Your 30-Second Intro” ecourse at http://www.cristinafavreau.com/index.htm

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It’s all about the work. Nothing is going to fall into your lap. If you want to be a lawyer, see yourself as a lawyer, go to the library and start learning the law. If you want to be a rapper, start rapping and get out there. Live your life as if you already are where you want to go. — Russell Simmons, Chairman and CEO Rush Communications

Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers. — Tony Robbins

How do you really want to live? What gets you most excited? When do you feel stuck? What kind of person will you have to become in order to achieve all that you want? These are some of the questions Robbins suggests you ask yourself and answer honestly.

Every night before going to sleep, Robbins suggests asking yourself the following three questions:

• What have I learned today?
• What have I enjoyed today?
• What have I improved or contributed today?

In asking yourself the above three questions, you can work on improving yourself each and every day.

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for. — Maureen Dowd

What are you settling for? Can you aim higher?

To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. — Elbert Hubbard

Who cares what others say? Go out there and be everything you want to be and more. No matter what you do, there will always be someone there to complain about it. Stop trying to please everyone else because it’s a losing battle.