Running a business can be exciting, exhausting and all-encompassing. Every day is different, and the juggle is real. So wouldn’t it be nice to smooth your path to success, just a little bit?
To help you on your way, we’ve pulled together those closely kept secrets that no one tells you about running a business, but probably should – with some added words of wisdom from our in-house small business expert Louise Bastock!
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Failure is part of running a business. This may feel like a tough pill to swallow and the exact opposite of what you’re trying to achieve, but if you don’t fail at something, it means that you haven’t tried.
While you may want everything to be perfect from the get-go, you won’t know if a good idea is truly that until you’ve tried it. Getting real world feedback can give you the data to make improvements and understand what resources you need to commit to making it a success.
Not every idea is going to work, but the only thing that you can be certain of is that the idea you don’t try is 100% not going to work.”
Time is the most precious resource that you have, and you can’t create more of it. While the temptation may be to take on easy administrative tasks to save yourself a few pennies, in the long run, you won’t be thanking yourself.
The balance of cost vs time will look different for different businesses, but streamlining processes and freeing up resources is a common goal. This could be done by hiring a social content manager to boost your business’s profile or an accountant to crunch the numbers. While these are things you could potentially do yourself, the question is should you?
Streamlining your business admin is one of the biggest things you can do to support yourself and your business. Business expense platforms, like Wallester Business, are designed to help you keep on top of your expenses. Be that by issuing corporate cards, managing limits or viewing spending reports.
With Wallester Business, cardholders can attach receipts on the go via their mobile app, making it easy to track what’s been spent. You can also integrate Wallester Business with accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks to make your processes even more streamlined.
Using a business platform like Wallester Business is a great way to claw some time back for yourself.”
You want your business to thrive, so it’s easy to get fixated on the bottom line and how much money you’re making. But what no one will tell you is that it’s a good idea to take a step back and remember “why” you started your business in the first place.
For example, if you started your business to get more of a work/life balance or spend more time with your family, but ended up working late into the night or at the weekend, you’ve missed the point.
Regular realigning of your goals will help you stay on track and keep you from getting carried away with your own ambitions or momentum.”
It may be receiving a glowing Google review or getting a repeat customer, however small the win may seem, they’re the ones that really hit home. Small wins can change your mindset and help you gather momentum. While they may not be the big milestones that you have as your “North Star”, they’re the stepping stones to help you achieve your business goals.
Take stock every now and then and celebrate the small wins.”
While most people will tell you to prepare to fail, not many will tell you to prepare to succeed. But this is just as important. Your business could suddenly blow up and you don’t want to be caught on the back foot.
Make sure you put the infrastructure in place to support sudden growth or attention. This could be having a business plan for scaling up, including what staff you might need or additional warehouse space. Or it could be future-proofing the product you’re creating, not making it so exclusive that you can’t then fulfil larger orders.
Apply some smart thinking to the situation to ensure that your business can grow in a sustainable and manageable way.”
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