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How To Succeed In Your Start-Up Business

Guest post by: Stephen Blakesley

Article Overview: Learn how others have succeeded in their start-up businesses. read about the keys to entrepreneuria; success of others. Find three keys that enhance success in difficult start-up situations.

How To Succeed In Your Start-Up Business

Since most start-up businesses fail ( 8 out of 10 within 5 years), one might wonder what is different about those that succeed? As a Serial Entrepreneur myself, I have been intrigued by that question, for years. What is it that makes a start-up business succeed? I asked that very question to my "entrepreneur panel" on the Blog Talk Radio show I host on a weekly basis called Entrepreneurs - R - Us. The panel was composed of three successful entrepreneurs and I asked the question; What is the single most important factor contributing to success? Their response was: 1. Planning - Certainly, beginning a trip without a plan is ill-advised, but starting a business without a plan can be disastrous. Yet, many people not only start without a plan they fail without a plan. 2. Executing - It is true that you can have the best plan in the world, but if you do not execute it, the plan is worthless. Being able to understand the steps required to put the plan into action is sometimes difficult, but even more difficult is actually taking the steps. 3. Buy-In by Family - This is one that caught me by surprise and I must admit that I was not thinking along this line as I considered likely responses. Nathan Dagley, CEO of Dagley Insurance and Financial Services, in Houston Texas was my panel member who offered this response. He suggested that it was critical to get buy-in from your spouse, but not just your spouse, even your children, if they are old enough. There are more keys to start-up success than these three, but if I had to pick just three and go with them, these three would not be a bad choice. So lets drill down a little deeper with these three. Plan to Succeed There is just something about making plans that makes things turnout better, not always, not every time, but more times than not, I believe. There is value in thinking about where you are, where you want to go, and how might be the best way to get there. I have started 5 businesses ( 4 successful) and each time my planning got more sophisticated and became a more valuable to the success of the business. Don't start a business without a plan for at least the first 3 years. Execute, Execute, Execute In one of my business ventures, I had a guy working for me, we'll call him Dan. Dan was an educated man, an amicable and likable guy. His job was to manage and run a remote store selling professional services. He had some modest goals to achieve, but nothing out of the ordinary. Dan always seemed to rank among the bottom dwellers of the 75 other store managers in the organization. Every time I would visit with Dan about his plans, I was always impressed with them and came away thinking that he just needed a little more time to implement his plans. You see Dan was always getting ready to do the right things, but for some reason, never got them implemented. Dan was always "Gettin' Ready To" do the right things but never got them done. In your plan, attach some execution dates and create some milestones to measure progress, if you want to succeed. Make It Our Goal, Not My Goal I can't tell you how many times I have seen good ideas and good people fail because the stress of starting a business destroyed a relationship or even worse, a family. If you are just learning to swim, you don't jump in to untested waters without someone watching. The same applies to a business start-up. There is no place with less certainty than a business start-up. Gaining family support before you jump is, one of the best things you can do to relieve the stress of starting a business. Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Give your family an opportunity to win with you.

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Article Tags: business, execution, planning, startup businesses, three keys



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