Business building is a focused element for any company. There’s always something to learn, someone to meet, and ideas to be had. You’re not moving forward unless you’re… well, moving forward! Business building is a growing process. No magical finish lines here! The key is to always keep moving and collaborating on new ideas. Here are a few ideas to ponder for any level of business building.
Forward momentum. The pursuit of total perfection most often stops forward moving progress. It’s never going to be perfect. However, always strive to be better tomorrow than you are today. By seeing business building and success as a linear indeterminate journey, it’s less likely that you will become complacent. Never be complacent, especially when it comes to success. Maybe your company won an award or experienced the most productive quarter yet–that’s awesome! Celebrate, then go back to the drawing board.
Know your customer. This might sound like a no-brainer, but it’s surprising how many owners and companies get wrapped up in the details and forget this element of business building. Define your target customer and learn to sell. Be an advocate for your products and services, then get your customers talking. If they love the products and services, rest assured their friends, family and coworkers will hear about it. Provide incentives to encourage word of mouth advertising as well as incentives for continued business. It’s also important that customers know who you, the owner, are. Be an active owner. Customers gravitate towards companies who know and take care of them. This also includes the ability to say sorry and apologize when an error has occurred, along with the emphasis to do it better and make it right for the customer. Get out into the community, online and offline. Facebook and Twitter make it easy to reach large audiences. It can also be a big boost to attend local events, fundraisers, charities… you name it! If people gather there, so should you, up front and center.
Continue to educate yourself. Along with forward momentum, always be educating yourself. Whether it’s industry news, current trends or new products, explore and expand your awareness. Read books, attend trade shows, network with people who inspire you, and then use those ideas to your advantage. Always be on the lookout for an edge that can be incorporated into your toolbox. Educating yourself not only revolves around outside information coming in but observing the inside workings of your own business.
