Your new business is really starting to take off and you’re excited about all of the possibilities. The sky’s the limit! But, maximizing your profits, and, ultimately, your effectiveness to promote your message and impact others, starts with focusing on, and getting great at, five key activities. Understanding what these are, and then honing the skills to make these activities second nature, can turn a fun side job into a dynamic and profitable full-time joy.
Turn Your Dreams into Goals
Every great idea starts with a dream. But, the trick is to take those ideas from “dream state” to “goal state”. Being able to turn dreams into actual goals is often the difference between success and failure. There are many, many people out there who have lots of terrific ideas and lofty dreams. But, it’s those individuals who convert those dreams into something more concrete who are able to enjoy success. But, how do you do that? Take that dream, add a “by when” date you want to accomplish the goal and then commit to doing the work needed to get there. The dream has now turned into a goal.
Convert Burning Passion into Decisive Action
But once you have a goal, and a burning desire to accomplish it by taking decisive action, you have to figure out what that decisive action needs to be and turn it into a step-by-step plan. For most people, that is the fastest and easiest way to success: have a plan and work the plan.
Start by writing things down. Some steps will be easy to figure out; others more difficult. Then, start to take action. When you get to a step that stalls you out, try to figure out why. One way to get over a delay like this is to take that step and break it down further. Keep breaking it down until you get to a step that you can complete and then move to the next one. This can help you to keep up your momentum and not stall out indefinitely.
Writing an idea down gives a chance to think more about how it might work. Fully developing the idea by spending time describing it in-depth can also start to provide insight as to how to approach a plan. Also, starting from the end, a fully developed product or idea or completed project, and working back, step by step, to the present, can assist in effective planning.
Build Loyalty by Selflessly Helping Others
Building loyalty is important for the success of your business. Loyal customers are the backbone of any fruitful endeavor. They are the ones who tell others about you, and word of mouth advertising is often the most effective type. And, while it is a challenge to build up that loyalty, the key is to be consistent and follow these best practices:
- When you want to receive value, provide it – Consider providing some things free of charge, maybe some handy tools that are accessible on your website. Being willing to part with some things freely can build up goodwill with future customers.
- When you make a promise, keep it – Be careful about what you commit to doing, but when you make the commitment, stick to it.
- When you make a mistake, admit it – We all know from reading about fallen politicians and business people, it’s most often the cover-up that is their downfall, not the original mistake. If you mess up, ‘fess up!!
- When you start something, finish it – Part of keeping our promises is delivering our products and services timely.
- When you want loyalty, give it – Be sure to show your faith and trust; it helps to show you are worthy of loyalty.
Learn to Be a Great Communicator
Communication is a skill that is built over a lifetime and it is critical to success, both in business and in life. A person can never get to be too good of a communicator. Spend time learning what it means to be a great communicator and then continually hone those skills. Learn different ways to communicate effectively, and if you are collaborating with others from different cultures, spend some time learning proper communication etiquette in their culture. One way to show good communication skills is to respond promptly to requests for help. People appreciate that you understand that they have a problem. Your prompt response helps to build trust and goodwill.
Learn to Operate Without Debt
One of the things that can drag anyone and any venture down is debt. Stay away from it, if at all possible. Why is it such a drag? Because it’s spending your present and future time paying for your past. You need to be innovative and resourceful, paying for things out of available funds, and not be willing, for any reason, to go into debt. If you can’t afford something currently, wait. Being able to delay gratification is a great way to avoid spending money that has not yet been earned. In the end, you will be so much happier and more stress-free.
Getting your new business up and running and generating a profit can be an exciting time. Developing these critical skills can make the process go more smoothly, be more enjoyable, and ultimately, be more profitable.
I hope this post has helped you to consider these important skills to develop. What other skills do you think need to be added to this list? I am interested to hear from you!
