Creating a SMART and successful business requires learning different skillsets.
It requires both technical skills such as learning how to manage money and people skills to lead and work with others.
Starting a business can be easy, however, managing and making your business successful is a different story. Each component requires different things you need to learn. There are things that are common to every type of business, whatever the size and scale of your enterprise.
You don’t necessarily need to learn them all at the very beginning, but sooner or later, as your company develops and grows, you too as a leader will need to develop and grow. Here are just a few of the tools and skills you need.
Hire the Right (SMART) People
A business is only as good as its employees, and this is why you have to make sure you are focused on hiring the right people. It isn’t just about having the best perks, the ideal office space, or the most pay. Make sure you hire people who are not in it just for the money or recognition but see their job as a calling. They will help create meaning in their work. If they have meaning in their work, then they can overcome any obstacle they face.
The number one job for a business leader or manager is to ensure that the right people are on the bus, the wrong people are off the bus, and more importantly, the right people are in the right seat. You want to get the best talent for your business, and this means you need to make sure you screen candidates well, and only hire the right applicants. The right people will create the company culture you need to create loyal employees and clients.
Equip Your Employees with the Right Tools and Resources
Once you have the right people on your team, you will want to give them the resources to succeed. Ensuring they have the SMART tools can greatly help in terms of productivity. Leveraging the right type of technology can help avoid potential issues and solve problems before they even begin.
You can only build a great company around great people. Giving them the right tools to help them work smarter will prolong the success of the company. What type of tools should you equip your employees with?
Bringing your company’s technology should be the first step. There are several companies that you can use to modernize your existing applications, develop new solutions that your company may need, and also take care of the maintenance after going live. Not on the right platform to do this? You can migrate to Azure or another cloud program for ease. This will help ensure that your business is ahead of the curve.
Writing a SMART Business Plan
A business plan serves a number of purposes. It makes you think through what you want to focus on, your strategy to meet your goals, and help you avoid potential problems. A strong plan is very often the difference between success and failure in business, so this is not something to overlook or take lightly. See https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281416 for more.
One of the purposes of having a business plan is for it to act as a road map and guide. A business plan will also help you streamline your business, eliminating potential waste. But good planning is not something that comes easily. You will need to address the top issues your business may potentially face. Then what you will do to deal with those issues.
Lead By Example
Once you hire the right employees, you need to be able to lead them. Studies have shown that great leaders can make a mediocre organization successful and a poor leader can make a successful organization mediocre.
Leading by example means treating others the way you want to be treated. Favoritism makes team members feel that they are not important contributors. Invest time and effort in all members to develop them.
Leaders can influence others by acting in a manner that provides others with an example by which to measure and model their own behavior. Leading by example is a form of influence where leaders provide models rather than explicit directions.
Leading by example is a manifestation of character and presence attributes:
- Displays Company Values.
- Displays empathy.
- Exemplifies the Service Ethos.
- Applies discipline.
- Leads with confidence in adverse situations.
- Demonstrates tactical and technical competence.
- Understands the importance of conceptual skills and models them.
- Seeks diverse ideas and points of view.
Leading by example requires introspection, reflecting on your experiences, and looking deep into yourself for better self-awareness.
Learn How to Manage (and Raise) Money
When you first start your business, you’re going to need to have money set aside for your initial costs. You also need to be able to cover expenses for the first few months of operation. There are a variety of different funding options to choose from. Acquiring the necessary funding is a challenge at the best of times, but fortunately, there are plenty of options available to you.
You can look at alternative sources of funding that is an automated online service at https://www.working-capital.com/. More common ways are going to a bank, or asking friends and families to help. This is where your plan is crucial. Bank and sophisticated investors will want to see a legitimate plan that has clear and feasible ways to attaining your goals.
The next step is to take charge of your business finances and budget. Create a business budget to ensure you know the point at which it’s profitable, a point at which it loses money, and a point at which it becomes unsustainable.
Hone Your Negotiating Skills
There are many occasions that require good negotiating skills if you’re running a business. You might need to negotiate better prices from some of your vendors. Negotiating skills are very useful when dealing with employees.
You also need to be good at negotiating when it comes to preserving your cash. Without cash reserves, your business is going nowhere, so you have to be prepared to fight for them with all the negotiating skills you can muster.
Being Able to Analyze the Market
It’s all well and good having an idea, but it pays to analyze your market before you get too far. Not thinking through your product or service will almost certainly lead to disaster.
A good place to start is to talk to someone else in the same industry and ask what they think about your idea. You want to ask people who can give you candid comments and those who are able to point out the holes and flaws in your plan. Once you know what these are you have to work out how to fix them before starting your business.
Being Able to Bounce Back
Running a business is never going to be plain sailing. There are going to be setbacks and disappointments, and you need to be able to pick yourself up and bounce back. The mark of a successful business owner is that they are able to be resilient throughout the highs and lows and to stay focused on the end goal.
Many people from the outside will believe that your success is a straight line up. What they don’t see are the setbacks and failures you had to endure to get where you are. As the movie boxing character Rocky said “…nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.
The traits described above relate to the skills needed for a successful business. These 8 skills described below are internal traits you will need to be a successful leader.
8 Essential Character Traits a Good Manager Needs for Business Success
- Drive – starting a business can be very challenging, so it’s vital you have the drive to deal with the challenge. You have to want to see your business succeed and be prepared to do what it takes to achieve your business goals.
- Teamwork – Understanding the best ways of successfully managing your team is important for achieving future success and understanding what needs to be changed in the company. Teamwork is a force multiplier, greatly increasing the effectiveness of your organization.
- Confidence – in business, being a confident person is a valuable character trait to have because it fosters trust and respect. There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance or egotism, and it’s vital you don’t step across that line.
- Passion – you are bound to encounter a number of challenges, at least in the beginning. To help you get over these hurdles, you need to be passionate about what you’re doing. Many of the world’s successful business owners have made substantial progress because their business revolves around something they love
- Humility – never be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Don’t be afraid to admit when you’re wrong. Always give credit where credit is due and be able to accept constructive criticism from others. It’s all about keeping your feet on the ground and not forgetting where you came from, however successful you become.
- Self-Reliance – while you should never be afraid to ask for help, you should also be confident making decisions yourself.
- Focus – as a small business owner there are going to be a huge number of tasks you find yourself responsible for. Throughout the day you’ll be wearing a number of different hats. If you can block out any distractions and focus on the task in hand, you’ll be more productive.
- Open-Mindedness – this is a vital trait because it allows you to look at things from a different perspective. To achieve success, you need to be open to new ideas and processes.
One last thing worth mentioning is that you have to know when to step back, relax and unwind. You’re not going to be a very successful business leader if you’re tired and worn out. Anybody can start a company these days, but it takes hard work and dedication to become a success.