Eight out of ten new businesses fail in their first year. It’s a harrowing fact, one that puts many a would be entrepreneur off completely. But there are veritable ways to succeed and to keep it running strong. You must not be afraid of taking new risks and seeking new challenges, opportunity can keep it afloat more than anything else.
Keep Your Employees Happy
You need to ensure your workplace is a great place to work. Meaning comfortable office space and nice break rooms which can harbour a genuinely nice atmosphere. If your employees are happy in their environment then it will show in their work completed, leaving you with a better service or product to pass on to your customers. Listen to your workers, if they aren’t happy about something, then change it if you can. Suggestion boxes can help here, or weekly meetings where they can voice concerns. Ensure you reward them properly too, if they feel underpaid or undervalued they’ll do the same in their work. Use a bonus scheme or incentive scheme to keep them striving for excellence.
Use Marketing Effectively
Marketing is used all too common as a blanket term to describe advertising someone’s business. But it is a lot more complicated than that, different businesses need to market their products in differing ways. They can’t all use the same techniques- it just does not work. If you have a niche business then it could be worth using specialist marketing companies to help you. For example if you’re a medical business, use a company like intouchmd.com who specialize in medical marketing. It can really give your business the edge it needs to succeed.
Adapt To Change
Don’t get stuck in the same way of doing things. New technology comes out all the time and you need to move with it. Don’t be big headed and stick to your way of operation because although it might work currently it might soon stop working. A competitor may move on, leaving you in the dust when the next business revolution occurs. Adapt to new ways of conducting business, a recent example could be contactless payment. Some places use it, others don’t. Some customers will want to pay with their phones using apple or android pay. This means the businesses who don’t have the facility are alienating a group of consumers. Move with the times, don’t be stagnant.
Get Your Numbers Right
Mistakes with taxation and payment can cost your business dearly. If you can’t do it properly then outsource it to someone who can. If you don’t have the time, or struggle with numbers, then think about using an accountant to do it for you. You get all the benefit of their knowledge and also can rest easy knowing your accounts are being professionally looked after. The same applies when you’re doing your pricing. Do your research, don’t charge ridiculous fees and try to keep in line with your competitors, this will ensure you’re following industry standard.