Business Success Tips

Written by Milla Liberson - President of OnPoint Business Solutions, Inc.

Starting a business is exciting! It’s a compilation of your dreams and a belief that your product or service will be well-received by the public. Unfortunately, when the reality of entrepreneurship sets in, it reveals the hardships and risks of trying to make it as a business owner. As you may have heard, statistically, the odds are against you. Approximately 80% of businesses fail within the first 18 months. Many startups are left with thousands in loans or tax liabilities, which frequently put the business and his / her family into a financial and emotional spin.

But this doesn’t have to be you! Although there is never a guarantee of your succeeding as an entrepreneur, I can speak from a track record of my own clients’ experiences, and in terms of what specifically enabled them to rise above the odds. Based on my experience helping develop small businesses, I have compiled a list of practical tips that will help you succeed in business.

1. When starting a business, do so in an area or an industry where you have extensive practical experience and not in something that you happen to love or be passionate about. Those are not the qualities required for entrepreneurial success. Based on my work with over 3,000 clients, I can confirm this to be the most important factor in whether your business/startup succeeds.   
2.  Be honest with yourself and admit if your product or service is not good. Self-awareness is key to your success because it can help preserve your sanity and finances. 
3.  Your product or service should satisfy people’s needs or desires, NOT yours. Confusing whose needs or desires you are after will almost always get you lost in business.
4. Have funding before your first day in business. I know you may be thinking that you can survive on your great idea just long enough until the customers start beating down your door, but unfortunately, this is extremely rare. You must have at least an entire year of finances readily available to fund your first-year operations and marketing to hold you over until your product or service starts making an impression on the market.
5.  Have you established an undeniable competitive advantage? Most startups fail on this point. When I ask “What is your competitive advantage?” the answer is typically a pretty long pause followed by something like “Well….I really got to think about this some more”. This is bad. If you can’t readily tell me your competitive advantage, you’ve just confirmed why you aren’t ready to be in business.
6. You must regularly examine your expenses and review you’re state of your profits. Checking the health of your business must be done by facts and not emotional insight. Without relying on real numbers, your financial decisions and assessments will be emotionally driven. It’s a recipe for failure!