Every leader reading this post has a passion to do something great with their life. You want to impact as many people as possible. You want to make a difference in this world. This is why you are a leader.
If you are a regular reader of this site then you know BELAY Solutions is absolutely one of my favorite organizations. Co-founded by Bryan Miles and his wife Shannon, BELAY was recently ranked #1 among small companies in the 2017 Top Company Cultures List Presented by Entrepreneur and CultureIQ.
Bryan and Shannon have become two of America’s most influential leaders. If you have not gotten Bryan’s new book Virtual Culture: The Way We Work Doesn’t Work Anymore, a Manifesto, click HERE. I highly recommend it.
Below is an article written by Bryan for LinkedIn on 5 Things Every Leader Must Know When Quitting Your Job And Starting A Small Business.
After reading, if you consider getting a virtual assistant, click HERE and start a conversation with the BELAY team today.
Now onto Bryan’s comments:
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Starting a business is stressful. Personally, it was the most stressful experience of my entire life. As you stumble your way from concept to creation, each successive step feels more overwhelming than the last. Along the way, you often feel like the only kid at the grown-ups’ table on Thanksgiving.
And as stressful and disheartening as that process is, if you’re lucky, you’ll then move on to the real challenge — running a small business.
Getting an idea off the ground and operational is already a tremendous feat. So, take a moment to acknowledge your success — pat yourself on the back, get a personalized coffee mug, spring for the fancier font on the plaque for your office door… However you do it, enjoy having reached base camp.
Now get ready to climb the mountain.
It seems like every other week I read a new statistic about the rate of small-businesses that fail within “X” amount of time. Sometimes it looks grim. Other times, it looks promising. But the reality is, young entrepreneurs aren’t dreaming of survival…they’re dreaming of success.
In my many years of running, interacting, and working with small businesses, I’ve found that success is incredibly hard to come by. It’s a competitive world out there — with a whole lot of great ideas, and even more ambition. While the business world is never predictable, I’ve found that the following 5 practices tend to separate the small businesses that blossom from those that wilt.
1.) Obsessing over Sales — At any given point in time, there are about a million million-dollar ideas “poised to overturn the marketplace”. But while those ideas are gaining headlines, successful business owners are gaining revenue. The hallmark of every successful small business owner is a laser focus on what matters most to every business — sales. If your model can’t find a customer, it’s high time you found a new model.
2.) Staying on Top of the Books – Many young entrepreneurs, in awe of their own brilliance , view the numbers as pesky little details. Short-sighted, unimaginative things to be ignored and overcome. “Once we get “X” implemented, this will all be irrelevant”. Successful small business owners understand that the numbers — even down to the last decimal — are the difference between failure and success. Your books are the living, breathing representation of your business’s performance. Don’t ignore them. Instead, use them to guide your next steps in an uncertain future.
3.) Communicate the Why – The most successful small business owners base their ventures on a clear and compelling “why”. If all you have to say about the “why” of your business is, “there’s money to be made”, you will have a hard time attracting the type of talent you’ll need to sustain growth. Once you have a “why”, know how to communicate it. Make sure that every single person on your team knows why they come to work each day, and why each project is important.
4.) Treat Employees Like Adults — Micromanaging isn’t only annoying for your employees, it’s also an ineffective use of your time. The best small business owners invest a lot of time and energy into hiring the right people, then get out of the way. Hire people you can trust, and you won’t need to worry about playing babysitter.
5.) Have Fun — Small business can be stressful, but can also be a lot of fun. Smart leaders know that investing in the latter always gives dependable returns. After you’ve found and hired the right people for your business, you’ll need to retain them. So, find creative ways to engage and entertain your team. Holiday parties, plain old “we need to unwind” parties, group retreats… Whatever you decide to do, just make sure it fulfills one simple requirement – it makes your employees happy.
In the end, there are probably thousands of things that can determine a business’s success; not all of which are under our control. But in my many years working in the world of small business, I’ve found that these five things are essential for every company’s success. A business consists of, and relies on, many different professionals working together toward shared goals. But, at the end of the day, it’s the business leaders that are steering the ship. Leaders who cultivate powerful cultures and employ effective leadership styles stand the best chance of steering that ship into success.
BELAY offers expert-level, weapons grade, business-class options for organizations looking for bookkeeping, webmaster and administrative support. To learn more about our virtual solutions and start climbing higher, go here.