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How do you measure success? Are you living a childhood dream of always wanting to own your own business? Are you following the footsteps of your mentor, idol or parents? Do you plan on retiring at 55 working for yourself? There are many reasons why people want to start their own business. It may have taken you years to finally take that giant step of being self-employed where you no longer need to report to anyone except yourself. Why is it that everyone wants to be their own boss and live the Canadian/American dream of being a business owner? Here are 10 tips to be a successful local business owner.
1: Live to Work
Love what you do and do what you love. If you are waking up early and love going to work, then you know you are in control of your life and destiny. Find out what your purpose in life is and what your goals/dreams are and strive for it.
2: Sell Sell Sell
You are in business for yourself and no one believes in your product/service more than you. You must be able to convey that message to your customers. Learn to be the best salesperson that you can be. Become the expert!
3: Invest in People
You are only as good as your staff/team. Invest in resources, equipment, training and learning so you are equipped with the challenges ahead. Try to stay one step ahead of your competitors. Look for people who are willing to learn, share the same vision as your company and they will be a part of your company’s success. Reward them accordingly and make sure they enjoy doing what they love to do.
4: Plan and Execute
Make sure you have a roadmap. This can be achieved with weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly targets and goals. If you plan for the unexpected, then you will be able to better deal with the problems before they arise. Make sure you and your team are all on the same page and keep reminding them of these goals. By executing each of your deliverables, you will be able to control your budget and time accordingly. Stay focus!
5: Advertise and Marketing your business
Allocate a budget for advertising and marketing. Gone are the days of location location location or you build it and they will come. Humans are a creature of habit and today we are constantly on the go. How are you targeting your clients who are using their smartphone, always on apps, in front of a computer, tablet, television, listening to radio, in transit, reading the newspaper, social media, etc.? There are many ways to advertise but it is important to always budget for advertising and marketing to become successful.
6: Limit your job roles
Know your strengths and everyone else’s strengths in your team. Do not wear all the hats in your company. You will just drive yourself crazy and spend all your time doing something that you are not happy doing. Learn to delegate tasks and hold people accountable.
7: Get to really know your customers
Your customers are your lifeline. Stay in contact with them, learn to love them and get to know them. Once you build a solid relationship and customers enjoy working with you, you will gain a strong referral network. Treat all your customers the way you want to be treated and this will create a strong foundation for your successful local business.
8: Keep your promise
If you make a promise to a customer, staff, supplier, etc. make sure you deliver on that promise. Integrity goes a long way and if you plan on staying in business for many years, your reputation is everything. If you don’t know the answer, tell your client you don’t know and you will get back to them with the answer. Stay focused on delivering on all your promises and don’t make promises that you can’t deliver.
9: Over-deliver
Always try to under promise and over deliver. Make each experience you have with your client a memorable one. The more you give the more you will get and this will be when you are least expecting it.
10. Give back
Being a successful local business owner doesn’t stop there. The most important thing you have in life is time. If you can give back your time to the people who need it the most: volunteer, mentor, train, coach, spend more time with your family, friends or if you don’t have the time then donate. Remember that the more you give back the more happiness you will have in life and that is what you live for.
Do you want to be a successful local business owner? These are several of the tips John Vuong has followed to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a business owner and he is on his way to being a successful local business owner. Please call Local SEO Search to speak with John. His team can guide you to become a successful local business owner in Canada!
