Congratulations. You took the giant step of launching your business. According to the SBA you are one of 28 million small businesses in the United States. Are you experiencing profitability? There is a fine line between unemployed and self-employed. That line has everything to do with revenue. We celebrate your step to get started but now it’s time to see some profit. Let’s take a look at five steps to get better business results.
1. Take ownership. You can never change what you do not own. It is important to own the results you have experienced up to this point in your business. As long as you place ownership on someone or something else then you do not have the power to change it. Make a list of the top five good and bad decisions you made over the previous year and acknowledge them. The buck starts and stops with you Mr. or Ms. Entrepreneur.
2. Stock up your toolkit. Prepare your business goals. Create your business projections. Make sure you have a financial reporting system in place that provides you with accounting reports. Determine steps to take to help get accurate reports on a timely basis. Quick tip – Incorrect reports will lead you to make incorrect decisions and late reports do not allow you to make timely decisions.
3. Review your performance. In order to determine if you hit the mark then you need to measure your performance. Review your business goals, projections and financial statements. Reports are just words and numbers on a paper if you do not analyze them to help you make better decisions. It’s a lot easier to determine what needs to happen once you’ve assessed what has happened.
4. Build your team. You may be a Solopreneur but that does not mean you have to do it all alone. In fact, that could be one of the problems – not having the right people in the right positions to get the right results. Perhaps, you need to look at barter services to access services or skillsets that will benefit your business. Also, technology is your friend. I was recently at an event and Daymond John from The Shark Tank said, “If you do not adapt and adopt technology then you will be out of business.†Review technology options to see how they can support your business model. There are numerous freelance websites that showcase individuals who offer services for reasonable prices, some as low as five dollars.
5. Stay focused. Some entrepreneurs have a habit of running the business like a game of Hopscotch. You are in charge of running the business – the business should never be running you. Everyday outline the tasks that you need to complete that will lead you to reaching the business objectives. Plan your work, work your plan and you will reap the benefits from being a business owner.
Marquita Miller is the founder and CEO of Five Star Tax and Business Solutions — a full service accounting firm in Kansas City, Missouri. A small business expert contributor on CBS & FOX morning shows, Miller is a published author, business strategist, motivational speaker and well known advocate for entrepreneurship. A recipient of Kansas City’s Influential Woman and Woman Who Means Business award, Miller is also a conference speaker and workshop facilitator for TD Jakes Ministries. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.Â