Starting your own business is exciting. Designing a product, getting in touch with potential clients, making some moolah and even contributing to job creation is all part of the deal.
But as good as it may feel being an entrepreneur, what many small business owners will agree, is that it is definitely not as easy as riding a bike – the road is much bumpier. And you’ll probably end up asking yourself, “am I doing this right?” on more than one occasion.
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Do not fret though, there are ways to avoid decisions that could ruin your chances.
Have a plan of action
Planning makes perfect. It provides structure and helps to set goals. Developing goals will also keep you focused. So make sure you have a spreadsheet of your business’ long and short-term objectives and work hard to execute them.
Pay attention to your competitors
Every business has to “keep up with the times”. By staying relevant, you are sure to secure clients.
Continually check what your competitors are doing and find a way to do it better. By knowing what they’re up to you’ll also be able to do a bit of introspection and focus on any changes that need to be made within your own company.
Whether you’ll be improving the way you execute service delivery or the way your company deals with its clients, change is a good thing!
Take care in hiring employees
Employees are essentially the face of your brand, so you have to be 100% confident in who you hire.
Take your time during the interview phase — you want to make sure that you are hiring people who have the skills to do the job they’re applying for. But be careful – skills aren’t the only things to consider when staff-searching.
According to advice from Hiscox.co.uk, when you hire staff members, culture fit and attitude can be more important than a particular skill-set, because skills can be learned. Our advice is hire for attitude, train for aptitude.
Don’t be afraid to take risks
Sometimes a leap of faith is not a bad idea. But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t “sleep on it” first.
If you have a tough choice to make and you are a bit wary about finalising anything, speak to a business associate and review the pro’s and con’s. If the pro’s outweigh the con’s then you should probably just go for it!
Insure your business
Everything your company uses, from the external hard drive to the company car should be insured. If it can’t be protected from theft then it should at least protect you from replacement costs.
Business insurance also protects your company against accidental injuries to your employees. And if you use your car for business purposes, make sure your vehicle has reliable car insurance.
No business is perfect, but yours could come pretty close! Contact MiWay for an obligation free business insurance quote.
Feature image: supplied
This article was sponsored by MiWay.
