We all want our businesses to be successful, but not all entrepreneurs take the time to map out a plan to make success a reality. All it takes is a bit of strategy and elbow grease to be on your way to making your dreams a reality.
Refocus and Restrategize
It’s easy to keep doing what you’ve been doing, but ask yourself: how has that worked for you? If there’s room for improvement (and when is there not?), it’s time to take a closer look at how you run your business.
With summer approaching and calling you outside, it might be difficult to zone in on your business. Spend a few days refocusing. What are your priorities for today, for this week, for this month, and for this quarter? What do you need to do to accomplish the goals you have for yourself?
Look at what hasn’t worked for you in every aspect of your business. Maybe you’ve invested heavily in AdWords in the last few years, but it’s not netting the ROI you want. Cut down on your spend there in favor of some other marketing tool.
Here are other areas you should reassess:
- Software: are you using the most productive tools to grow your business?
- Goals: have they changed over the past year and need to be updated?
- Marketing: if it’s not bringing traffic or customers, cut it out.
Re-Evaluate Your Business Structure
If your business is like 70% of US companies, it’s probably a sole proprietorship. That may have suited you just fine in years past, but it might be time for a business structure with a bit more heft. An LLC or corporation might better fit where your company is now, and can provide ample benefits:
- Protect your personal assets
- Separate your business entity from yourself
- Offer pass-through tax treatment
- Flexible allocation of profit and loss
You’ll need to treat your business a little differently if you upgrade your business structure, so be sure to read up on what your responsibilities will be under the new structure, such as filing a Statement of Information each year, choosing a Board, filing minutes, et cetera.
Review Your Staffing Needs
If you’ve been running as a one-woman show or close to it, consider whether you can continue to grow with such scant staff. It might be time to get help. That can come in many forms:
- Intern
- Part-time employee
- Freelancer
- Full-time employee
- Third party agency
There’s no reason you should be doing all the work yourself. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. You’re only good at some aspects of your business. It’s worth the investment to bring in people who are good at what you’re not, such as marketing or accounting. That will help you streamline your efforts in growing your biz.
Not sure how to hire? You can work with a recruiter or staffing firm that has contacts in whatever area you need to hire in. They’ll be able to find you a top-notch candidate faster than you can say “job search.”
This was originally written by Nellie Akalp for The Mogul Mom
Published: May 9, 2014
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