The Secrets To Running A Successful Business

Many people take the plunge by quitting their day job and starting their own business full of high hopes, and get excited about the prospect of being their own boss and making a load of cash at the same time.

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However, the ugly truth about start-up businesses is that many of them fail within their first 12 months of trading, regardless of how determined the founders of the business were at getting it off the ground.

Starting your own business is such a mammoth undertaking and will require long periods of time working whilst earning very little to no wages during the early stages of a business’s formation. If you are about to start a business but don’t want to be part of those “failed business” statistics, then you need to read the following secrets to running a successful business!

Decide if you are ready to make that leap of faith

A lot of people are usually bored of or hate their job, and find the prospect of setting up their own business an attractive one. But is making that leap of faith really for you? Although you might think so, the truth is many businesses fail because their founders weren’t fully committed to making a go of the business, and basically jump ship at the first sign of trouble.

Make sure you have a decent business plan

Whilst it might be tempting to simply “jump in” and “get on with it”, every business regardless of size or aspiration needs a business plan. In a nutshell, a business plan is essentially a roadmap of what the business is about, what products and services it hopes to offer, whom it wants to market those products and services to (i.e. their target market), and how much money it is going to cost to set up – as well as how much money the business intends on making.

Have a contingency plan in place in case things go sour

Sometimes, running a business just doesn’t work out due to circumstances beyond your control. So in those cases, you should have a backup plan in place so that you can still pay your bills each month. The last thing you want to be doing is quitting your day job, starting a business (and then subsequently folding it after a short period of time), and then wondering how far your overdraft is going to last before you really do run out of money!

Draw upon your experience and contacts

The main reason someone starts their own business is because they think they can do a better job of offering a product or service to consumers or other businesses than their current bosses do. In order to get the word spread about what you are offering, and to start building up relationships with new customers, you should draw upon your past experience and list of contacts to get that word of mouth spread!

Utilise the services of a business coach

Business coaches such as ActionCOACH offer those new to the business world a wealth of knowledge, experience and guidance, so that a business can be run as successfully as possible whilst minimising the risk of any bad decisions being made in those crucial early stages.

They can mentor you on many aspects of running a business, and you can draw on their experience to help shape the future of your firm.