Tweet

Seven Steps to Achieving Small Business Success

Written by: Robert Moment

Article Overview: There are seven steps to achieving small business success. This formula will be the foundation for a successful, vibrant and profitable small business.

Seven Steps to Achieving Small Business Success

The key to achieving small business success is to take the time to develop a winning formula built on proven strategies and innovative marketing principles.

This formula will be the foundation that supports the rest of your actions, strategies and tactics. A successful foundation will incorporate both your mindset, and specific goals designed to help you achieve your massive goal of creating a successful business.

Here are seven steps you can take to turn your small business into a successful, vibrant and profitable organization:

(1) Believe in Yourself- Refuse to place limitations on yourself or your goals. A positive attitude and strong self confidence are prime characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, and will be strong indicators of how effective you will be with your small business. Psychologist-philosopher William James said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”
(2) Set Goals- Goal-setting is one of the most critical processes in this endeavor. Developing relationships and building a network of friends and colleagues will be invaluable in both your personal and professional lives. It’s been said that a goal is a “dream with a deadline.” Goals must be written, personalized, specific, achievable, measurable and time-sensitive. Take some time to think about your goals and list at least five that you want to accomplish. The action of setting goals is the first step toward accomplishing your dreams and will help you gain direction, clarity and vision.
(3) Create a Plan- Your attitude determines you altitude. In other words, your mind more than anything else determines how much success you will achieve in your life. Having a positive mental attitude is the first step on that journey. Achieving personal success is a choice and it all starts with taking the time to map out a plan that puts a framework for success around your goals.
(4) Take Action- Decide what it takes to get what you want out of life, and do it! To achieve success takes real commitment and effort, but it also takes an action plan to guide the efforts of everyone involved. This step is essential to a successful journey. You’ve already identified your goals and established a plan, now it is up to you to take action to ensure you succeed!
(5) Continuous Learning- Whatever you do, don’t ever stop learning! Continually learning something new is the essence of being engaged, challenged and effective. Keep stretching and improving your self by acquiring knowledge for personal growth and development.
(6) Giving- Develop a spirit of giving. You can’t receive what you are not willing to give. Volunteer your time and service. Be a mentor. Everyone has life experiences that would benefit another. What talents, knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics do you have that could add value to the lives of those around you? What experience could you share with your family, friends, and colleagues? What do you value in a relationship and how do you reciprocate? True success lies in helping others succeed.
(7) Attitude of Gratitude- Say thank you every day. It should be a part of your daily living. Don’t take life for granted, express your appreciation to others and it will always be rewarded. Thankfulness is like a boomerang, it always comes back to you.

Put these seven principles to work in your life and your business. Armed with these tools, your dedication and hard work will help you ensure that your small business becomes a success, not a struggle.


Robert Moment is an innovative small business coach and author of Invisible Profits: The Power of Exceptional Customer. Robert specializes in teaching small business owners actionable how to marketing ideas and strategies that generate profitable results. Visit http://www.smallbusinessmarketingideasstrategies.com and sign-up for the FREE Small Business Marketing Plan.

Related Articles
  Realizing and Breaking your "Glass Ceiling" - Part 3
  What Success Means to People
  Most successful people set goals. How about you?
  3 Steps To Regularly Achieving Your Goals
  THE VALUES OF SUCCESS

Article Tags: business psychologist, characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, critical processes, greatest discovery, innovative marketing, marketing principles, network of friends, personal success, philosopher william james, positive attitude, positive mental attitude, professional lives, profitable organization, self confidence, set goals, setting goals, seven steps, small business success, success is a choice, william james



Related Forum Posts
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
These maybe the coldest franchises out there: - Here are the worst 15 performing franchises in regards to having the highest Small Business Administration (SBA) loan failure rates. The list is dotted with sub sandwich shops, fitness centers and car shops. WORST FRANCHISE LOAN FAILURES Failure % 1 OBEE'S SOUP SALAD SUBS 55.56% 2 LADY OF AMERICA 41.94% 3 COUNTRY CLUTTER (BED & BREAKFAST) 41.18% 4 COPY CLUB 36.36% 5 ALL TUNE AND LUBE 35.71% 6 PICKERMAN'S 35.71% 7 PHILLY CONNECTION 35.59% 8 ROLY POLY ROLLED SANDWICHES 34.78% 9 COTTMAN TRANSMISSION 34.48% 10 HAIR COLOR EXPRESS 33.33% 11 LEE MYLES AUTOMOTIVE TRANSMISSIONS 33.33% 12 GODFATHER'S PIZZA 33.33% 13 SMOOTHIE FACTORY 33.33% 14 BLIMPIE 31.39% 15 GOLF U.S.A. (RETAIL GOLF EQUIP.) 30.77% Source: Small Business Administration, SBA Loan Performance Within Franchise Code for the Period of FY 2001 - 2005
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.
Re: Biz Plan Competition - i just wanted to say that posting Small Business Events on CanadaOne is a great resource. Thanks Julie!
New Small Business Topic - Hello everyone, I'm on the lookout for new topics to add to my site. We just launched a Franchising section and are planning Human Resources section. Do you have any thoughts for a new section? Here's a list of what we currently have: Angel Investors Branding Bank Loans Business Coaching Business Plan Franchises (New) Insurance Legal Marketing Public Relations Sales Small Biz Loans Venture Capital


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Smart & Simple Internet Techniques

3 Health Insurance Misconceptions

TRADE SHOW FOLLOW-UP: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.