Starting a business is tough, but can be highly rewarding. Michael Gottlieb, founder of BizCover, a market leading commercial insurance comparison website gives his advice to help give your fledgling business the best chance of success.
1. Be famous!
Create a niche within an industry where you can become the best; aim to be famous, even if it is only in a small segment of a marketplace. Customers like to know businesses have other clients who are similar to themselves. The world has moved beyond the generalist. Everyone wants to know they are dealing with a specialist, so become one and let people know about it.
2. Get started, and make decisions
Make decisions and then move on. As long as they are not fatal, you can always make new decisions to fix mistakes. Not making decisions is usually worse than making the wrong one. So don’t be afraid to commit to something, and learn from it if it doesn’t work.
3. Daily priority
Start every day doing the one thing that is most important for your business. Don’t move on until you have finished this task. If it is a large item that will take a significant amount of time, then break it down into multiple smaller tasks, just make sure that you complete your daily task each day before moving onto anything else. Try and tackle too many things at once and you will never get anything done!
4. Customer service
Provide brilliant customer service, always! It is simple it’s difficult to understand why so few small businesses get this right. Respond to every form of communication on the same day, even if it is nothing more than a simple acknowledgement of receipt. People like to know you have received their message, and when you will get back to them. Also, deliver to expectations – nobody enjoys surprises, good or bad!
5. Be flexible
Don’t give up, but be willing to be flexible, and adaptable. Persevere, but be open minded about change! Don’t be embarrassed to listen to other people’s advice if things aren’t working.
6. Be frugal
Always be strict with cash flow in your business. One extra month in business could be the month where you get your breakthrough and it is earlier savings that will allow this to happen.
