5 Ways to Excel in Your New Small Business Venture

Finnegan Pierson

Becoming a small business owner is like capturing a little bit of the American Dream. Small businesses require hard work, faithful devotion and luck to succeed and only about a quarter of all businesses last for fifteen years or longer. In an ever-changing marketplace and digital landscape, there is always lots to worry about. Rather than worrying about any number of scenarios you cannot control, you could focus instead on ways to excel in your new small business venture.  

1. Research and Planning

There are many things to figure out when developing a business plan. Research is critical. Whether you're considering Kubernetes training or online marketing strategies, you need to understand what's out there and what tools are available to help you succeed in the marketplace. Composing a business plan involves everything from creating an executive summary to conducting competitive analysis to compiling your financials. When you can write and speak fluidly about all salient aspects of your business plan, you're as prepared as you can be.

2. Hiring 

There are different philosophies for hiring but at the end of the day, everybody's looking for talented, motivated people who will want to remain in their employ. Before your recruiting begins, consider looking at the process from the other side. What is your business's identity? What kind of employees are you looking for? Why should somebody sign on with you?

Figuring out a person's ethos can be done with proper interviewing techniques. Their resumes should speak to appropriate skills for the jobs they are applying for. If you're hiring somebody to handle machine identity management issues, there should be a history of computer science coursework and previous work in related fields. References will speak to intangibles like drive and work ethic. 

3. Creating a Sales Funnel

Establishing a sales funnel is one of the most efficient ways to make the purchasing process easy and convenient. Again, considering your business from a different perspective - in this case, your customers - can serve you. The sales funnel should address everything from the prospect to the pitch to any kind of nurturing after a sale. It aims to address all aspects of the sales process as they experience it. By creating a strong sales funnel, customers will benefit. 

4. Building Your Base

A loyal customer base is tantamount to keeping sales up and ensuring a strong bottom line. Customer loyalty can also act as a catalyst for recruiting new customers. There are various ways to ensure a strong customer base:

• Prioritize customer service 
• Employ a customer relations management system 
• Create consumer reward programs
• Keep your promises

5. Increasing Your Presence

Social media is a smart way to project your brand. Given that social media is wildly popular and that it is used by all sorts of people consistently, employing it to interact with your customers is a no-brainer. Businesses can employ social media to pitch new products or ask for feedback on current ones. Any time that consumers are able to voice questions or concerns about a brand or product, they are providing businesses with data that can be mined to improve their practices. Businesses can even adopt a playful tone on social media, presenting contests or games for their customers to participate in, boosting their brand. 

There are ways to develop the different aspects of your business, which could be the difference between lasting for 15 months or 15 years. The more you invest your time and attention to this sort of development, the more you can control your fate. By investing in strategies and techniques related to planning, hiring and engaging the marketplace, you'll necessarily be reinforcing the value of the business.