5 Tips for small business success

26 July 2010 No Comment

Share

There is mountains of information out there, on how to network, market and operate your business. I personally believe it comes down to five basic concepts, get the “foundation” right and you are sure to succeed!

Skills and/or Experience

I say ‘and/or’ here as it is difficult to have the experience if you are straight out of uni or an apprenticeship. If you have the skill and the confidence to pursue your dream, then all it takes is one person to give you a go. Just make sure you get that testimonial for your website or resume. Word of mouth advertising is the best you can get.

2. Know your market (niche)

Have a clear idea of who you are aiming your business at. This will help focus your marketing energies in the one direction rather than trying to cover all bases and missing the mark as a generalist rather than a specialist. Research the needs and wants of your niche market so that you have an undrstanding of what mkes them tick and how you can direct your advertising to peak their interest. Prove yourself to be ‘in their corner’.

3. Organisation

No don’t become an organisation, just get organised. Be a professional. Make sure your can meet your interviews, quotes and deadlines. Referring to my previous blog of Work Smarter, Not Harder:

Use a diary – this allows you to clearly see your daily goals.

Allow sufficient completion time for each activity – giving yourself a chance to achieve your goals.

Use a reminder service – an alert on your phone is sufficient to prompt you to move on or re-assess your goals for the day.

Delegate where needed – if you need help, get it. Ask a colleague, friend or hire someone to help you out short/long term.

Rights Tools for the Right Job- Whether it be tools of physical trade (plumbers, electricians etc) or tools of the virtual trade (design editors, remote access applications), the right tool will help maximise your efficiency and professionalism on the job. Research, again is the key. With technologies changing so fast it is important we keep up with things like manufacturers information and cloud computing advances. For example, where would a tradie be without his electric tools or a programmer without their applications.

Finally and most importantly…

5. Ethics

The days of the perceived dodgy contractor needs to come to an end. As mentioned in point 1, word of mouth advertising is the best you can get. But that also works in reverse if someone feels they have received less than adequate service or results. In some cases you need to remember that ‘the Customer is always right’ even though you may not agree. A showing of goodwill is also beneficial to your business standing.

Do something for free, not because of the advertising it gives you, but because it is the right thing to do. Ever heard of ‘Pay It Forward’? This means doing something charitable to someone who is in need, not because they did something good for you first. I have seen this concept work first hand and have started to adopt this credo into my own way of doing business.

Hopefully, with these 5 tips to success your business will continue to prosper.

Author Bio: Fiona Rodgers is the owner of Samurai Officer Services. An off-site service provider (aka Virtual Assistant) specialising in administrative and internet support. With a focus on personalised service Fiona can give you complete paper-to-PC officer assistance. If you’re struggling to to keep up with your administration needs, try using a Virtual Assistant, for more information visit www.samuraiofficeservices.com.au.