If you’re looking to succeed in business today, there are a number of things you’re going to need to consider. After all, with such high risk and odds of failure being so high, you need to ensure you have the best chance at success possible – particularly if your family are counting on you to provide for their lifestyle.
In fact, some entrepreneurs gamble the security of their family by going “all in”, which whilst brave, it also puts a lot of strain and pressure on you to succeed. In this article we’re going to take a look at some of the thing you’re going to need to be successful in business today.
1. A CLEAR GOAL
There’s a huge difference between dreaming and setting goals. Dreaming is something we all engage in, yet when we set a goal we make a commitment to take the required action to achieve the thing we want.
Often, people live their lives as if they are a boat drifting on the ocean, being taken where the tide ends up taking them rather than setting a clear destination and course to follow in order to arrive at the destination of their choosing.
The reason goal setting is so important is because it gives you some direction, something to aim toward with purpose.
Now, when it comes to business, most people do have some strong goals in place with regard to why they are starting out in business in the first place, but often don’t have clearly defined goals in the sense of a business vision that they chunk down into milestones and achieve on a monthly, if not weekly, basis.
You therefore want to think of your long term business goal, but break it down into a monthly goal, and then determine a path to get you to each place you want to be.
2. A STRONG TEAM
No person is an island, and as such you can’t do it all by yourself. It might be tempting, however, to try – perhaps presuming you can’t afford to hire staff or that nobody can work as hard on your business as you will.
3. LEADERSHIP SKILLS
There’s a fine line between being a leader and a dictator. In reality, nobody enjoys working with dictators that bark orders at them, yet people do like and expect to be led, in the same way to how dogs feel more comfortable being led down a path rather than having too much freedom. Employees are very different to entrepreneurs in this sense, as the last thing an entrepreneur wants is to be led by someone else.
Employees, on the other hand, appreciate the certainty that comes from strong leadership and are more than happy to play their role within your company – yet the also need to feel empowered and autonomous within their specific role.
It can be a difficult balancing act, as a common mistake for business owners is to treat employees as friends, trying to placate them, like a parent. One of the best approaches to take is that of a captain of the ship – warm and friendly but assertive and directive.
4. ACCESS TO MONEY
The lifeblood of any business is cash flow, as without a positive cashflow you’re not going to be able to fulfill orders and market yourself effectively.
Therefore, a good credit score is important for business owners looking to borrow money, yet for most people, they will seek investment from different sources such as venture capital where the risk is focused more on the business, rather than the personal finances of the director.
5. A WEBSITE
Today, you’ll often find it’s less about whether you have a website or not and more about having a “good” website, yet this idea of “good” is very subjective. There are many different metrics to consider from aesthetics to speed, yet many business owners don’t invest the time required to understand key components of web design.
For instance, whilst we all know the difference between a visually ugly and attractive website, the visual aspect is not the only metric on which to judge a website – after all, you can have the best looking website in the world, but if your website loads slowly, or is incredibly confusing to navigate, people aren’t going to engage with the site and are just going to leave.
You therefore need to adopt a holistic approach with the majority of your focus being on site architecture and user experience; which incorporates aspects such as load time, navigation, and visual hierarchy of elements. In a nutshell, there’s often a lot more to web design than what meets the eye.
6. DOWNTIME
This is one of the most overlooked requirements to be successful in business, as so many business owners lost the notion of having a weekend, or vacation, a long time ago. It’s really important you find the time to rest – to take a break somewhere – as otherwise, all the days just merge into one and you soon find yourself completely exhausted.
7. MENTORS
There’s something about business that can feel fiercely independent at times, and we are often in the place where we feel alone – this is where mentors come in. A mentor is someone that has essentially been there before and can provide advice and encouragement.
Think of it as climbing a mountain; if you were to climb Mt. Everest then it would be handy to have someone to coach you, as they know what pitfalls to look for and they know what you currently don’t know. Therefore, having a mentor, or even a group of mentors can be incredibly powerful in terms of optimising your results.
8. A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
Finally, a positive mental attitude can make all the difference as a business owner, because business can be tough, which means you also need to be tough. There’s an idea that energy flows where attention goes, which means, you want to be focusing on the positive outcomes you want to generate rather than your worries – in this sense, it’s a good idea to adopt the approach known as ‘best case scenario’ thinking.