There are many things that you need to do when you’re a small business owner. The to do list is never ending. When you tick a task off the list, you add two more on! According to the stats, about 20% of all new businesses survive the first year. A third are still going after ten years. Let’s run through 7 important things that every small business owner should be doing to help their business thrive.
Cash Management
One of the main reasons why so many businesses fail is due to a lack of cash. Lack of cash doesn’t mean lack of profit. You need to have a grasp of your cash flow, the management side of your cash. Once you have this in hand you’re able to see what you need in the bank, what outgoings you have and what incomings you need to cover everything.
Plan Your Finances
On the back of the point above, if you have a financial plan, you’re able to look back at it and see how the company is going. Monitoring your performance against objectives and goals, regularly, ensures that you stay on the right path.
The Right People
Working with the right people for your business growth is so important. Highly talented will help your company succeed. Make sure the job descriptions you write are spot on, the salaries you offer are competitive and the potential people you attract are simply the cream of the crop. Once you have them on board, have a strategy and office culture which will retain them. It takes effort and investment to get the right people and you want them to stay.
Engage With Your Customers
Customers are right at the end of your fingertips and they’re talking about you. Listen to what they’re saying online, look at their reviews, respond to their reviews, learn from their thoughts. Use what is being written about your business online to your benefit. Customers like being involved in the direction of a company they like, ask for their opinions. They are the ones who will ultimately decide to buy or not purchase your goods or services. Give them an input and develop from it.
Watch The Competition
There will always be a competitor to your business. There’s bound to be, the world is full of business folk and if you have a good idea, someone will replicate it or put their own spin on it somehow. You need to watch what they do, keep an eye on their marketing, their pricing, check that you’re not putting yourself out of the market. Healthy competition is good and we can all learn from it.
Marketing That Works
It’s so easy to blow your marketing budget on something that doesn’t work. You need to find something that works for your business. What is successful for a plumber might not work quite so well for a cafe. You need to see a return on investment with your marketing and whilst you might need to test the waters in the first place, don’t sink your business by ploughing loads of cash into something which quite clearly won’t work. Once you discover what does work, rinse and repeat. It might not work as well next time so take lessons from it and adapt accordingly.
There Are Bigger Things Than Money
Perhaps an odd one from a business point of view but customers love to buy from a company that has passion and ethics. It’s not always about the money. If they associate with your culture, the messages you are putting across and maybe your charitable giving, they are more likely to buy from you. You might be more expensive than a competitor but you could be using fair trade materials or giving back to your community.
You know your business but with some top tips your business can grow and you can embrace that. If you need help with business finance to help direct your company onto the right track, please contact Clare at Bruton Young Bookkeeping.
