Written by Ronnie Dunn
This week is celebrated as entrepreneur week across the world. It is a time to pause, take stock, evaluate, and appreciate the journey and the pride that comes from motoring under your own steam through business ownership.
Entrepreneurship can be extremely rewarding; it can also be very arduous with some 50 percent of new businesses failing within the first five years (Bureau of Labor Statistics). There is no magic formula for success; however, there are steps every business owner can take to reduce the likelihood of failure. Here are five that has worked for me over the years:
1. Making a list is one of the most important lessons I learned as a professional. With the number of distractions in today’s environment, thoughts can be fleeting, time seems to travel so quickly, and there are so many things competing for our attention daily. Forgetting crucial things or spending the entire day going through the motions without a sense of accomplishment can occur if you lack the discipline of setting goals through to-do lists.
To-do lists save time, they create a sense of accomplishment; help to better manage the day; and relieve the stress of trying to keep the planned activities for an entire period (a day, a week, or a month) committed to active memory. They also feed into other things like budgeting, efficient errands, prioritization, focus, keeping your word, and overall productivity.
For a goal-oriented person, having a daily to-do list also helps to manage distractions by having the next item of focus already identified. This reduces the tendency to mindlessly scroll on your phone, check news updates, or go on social media.
2. Measure: you cannot manage what you don’t measure. Setting goals, keeping track of expenditures, tracking revenue growth, and even the ratio of time spent on various company activities provide powerful insights that allows crucial timely adjustments to survive and thrive.
3. Drive a culture of efficiency: technology is evolving more rapidly than ever before. The fittest among the pack are using it to find more efficient ways of doing business, to provide value added services, and to secure their competitive advantage.
The word “why” can be very powerful in business. Why do I have to go to the office to access and respond when I could use the cloud from anywhere? Why do I have to remember this monthly step when I could automate it? Why am I hiring for this role when it can be effectively outsourced?
4. Look after your people: the culture and values you foster in your business are crucial for success. As a business owner, you are the most critical element in defining the tone, core values, and overall culture you would like your employees to exemplify with your customers. Treating your employees in a manner that is consistent with how you would like to be treated through fairness, empathy, and effective leadership can mean the difference between success or failure as an entrepreneur.
5. Be willing to give more than you are paid for: There is a famous quote that says “If you are willing to do more than you are paid to do, eventually you will be paid to do more than you do”. Giving the baker’s dozen from the onset allowed us to journey through the pandemic keeping all our clients. Everyone likes a good deal; many people also dislike service providers who are “exact” with them. You can build a portfolio of lifelong, loyal customers by striving to deliver value for money, and exceeding your customers’ expectations.
So, start making those lists, focus on how you are using resources, continuously strive for greater efficiency, and look after your customers by looking after your people and fostering an environment for outstanding service. It is a recipe that worked for me, maybe it will help you too. In the meantime, happy entrepreneur week!
Written by Ronnie Dunn