Tag Archives: small business success

Getting Help with Your Small Business, Plan a Business Strategy

3 Secrets of Successful Small Businesses

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Statistics show that the majority of entrepreneurs start small businesses with lofty plans and ideas that eventually turn to mush (to the tune of 8 out of 10 within 18 months) while others become successful rather quickly.

What is it that makes a small business thrive? Here are 3 secrets of successful small businesses.

Good Communication and Management

No one wants to deal with a difficult, stubborn or unreasonable business person. They might tolerate a person like that for a while, but eventually they are going to bail as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Entrepreneurs who master the art of relating to and with other people often find success. Smart small business owners understand the importance of learning superior communication skills so that they can effectively interact with their employees, suppliers, colleagues and customers or clients.

Staying Up to Date with Trends

Another secret of small business success is keeping up with what’s happening in the world and the industry as a whole. What’s working now might not work a few years or even months down the line. Resourceful business owners do their research, follow trends and make observations to get an idea of what’s likely to happen three, five or even 10 years into the future. They make adjustments or develop new product offerings to head off changes that might affect their businesses.

Asking for Help from Others


Napoleon Hill, the man who is considered the father of the personal success movement, among other accolades, taught about the importance of having a “mastermind” group. This is a network of people with similar aspirations, dreams, hopes and activities that help each other achieve their goals. Successful small business owners aren’t afraid to ask for assistance and advice from their colleagues and actively seek other motivated and resourceful people to join their mastermind networks.

Of course there are other factors in play that determine whether a small business will be successful, but these three play a major part. Be open to learning new things to ensure that your company keeps going strong.

 

Louise Gaillard is a social media manager, prolific writer and author.



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How to Motivate Employees

How to Motivate Employees to Love Their Jobs

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Anyone who runs or manages a small business knows how difficult it can be to keep employee morale high. According to a recent Gallop poll, 70 percent of Americans don’t enjoy showing up to work each day. This just won’t do if you want your business to thrive—your employees play a vital role in the success of your company. If you can somehow motivate them to start to love (or at least strongly like) doing what they do, it will be beneficial for everyone involved.

Don’t Neglect Praise

It’s essential to give praise to your employees when it’s deserved. Many managers feel as if doing so will show a weakness of some sort, but it can actually serve to improve the employee’s job performance by leaps and bounds. Relate this to your own life—if your spouse or a loved one gives you genuine thanks and praise for completing a task, doesn’t it make you want to do it more and even better the next time? One caveat: be sure that you’re being genuine in your praise; you don’t want your employees to think that you’re reaching or being patronizing with them.

Limit the Rules

It’s important for every workplace to have rules, but restricting your employees too much will most likely cause them to develop a strong distaste for their jobs. Don’t lose an otherwise very strong employee because he took a seven-minute bathroom break instead of five—that type of nitpicking is counterproductive and doesn’t look at the bigger picture for your business. Give employees room to breathe if you want them to love their jobs.

At the same time, if an employee is completely disrespectful of all of your business rules even after several warnings, it may be best to let him go and give another qualified person a shot at the job. Too much contention with an employee who refuses to get with the program will create a tense relationship, and tension is a strong barrier to motivation.

Reward Employees with Meaningful Gifts

One of the best ways to get your employees to truly love what they do is to show your appreciation with gifts from time to time. A pat on the back is nice, but giving your employee a pair of tickets to the next home game of his favorite basketball team is even better. The gift has to be meaningful, which is why you should know a thing or two about each of your workers’ interests besides their work performance. The occasional meaningful gift shows that you have good will towards your employees, and they’ll respond to this in ways that you might not have ever expected.

To put it simply, employees who love their jobs are more productive. Since your job as a small business owner is to increase productivity, getting them to love their work more is highly beneficial to you and your company’s performance. If you can keep the level of motivation high, everyone involved will have something to gain.