5 Things Your Small Business Needs to Succeed: Photo by Mike Petrucci on Unsplash

With entrepreneurship becoming a goal for many people, small businesses are booming. We are encouraged to “shop local” and support small business owners. The small businesses all had to start somewhere and not all of them succeed. 

Whether you’re already a seasoned small business owner or you’re just beginning your journey, here are 5 key things your small business needs to succeed. 

Business Plan

As with life, you need a plan for your business! Your business will face hard times if you just go with the flow and wait for things to happen. YOU need to be the flow and have a plan for your business. What’s your major goal? Why did you go into business in the first place? All businesses aim to help people or solve a problem. Keep your goal in mind as you make a business plan that encompasses the first 1, 5, and 10 years of your business. It’s important to have both long and short term goals to keep your business moving forward. 

Marketing Strategy

You have your business plan, now it’s time to market your business and get customers! Are you in a physical store or an online platform? Do you need a mix of both digital and physical marketing strategies? This may be a good time to hire a marketing expert if you’re unsure what to do yourself. At minimum, you’ll want a great website to draw traffic to your business to ensure it appears in internet searches. Maybe you want to have a Facebook page or other social media accounts as well. 

Financial Accountability

Perhaps even before you start your business, you’ll need a checking account that is solely for your business. Use that account only for business expenses. Make sure you keep detailed records so when tax season comes, you’ll be prepared with your statements and write offs. A great thing about running a business is that many things can be tax write offs. 

Technology

Whether you are using technology to advertise or run your business, ensuring you have great IT support can make or break your business. You may want to have a contract with a company that specializes in small business support or hire a staff person directly. You can be a brick and mortar shop or an online business. IT support will help with all of your technology needs so you can be helping your customers. 

Tax Preparation

Along with financial accountability comes taxes. If you’re great with money and records, you may be able to do this on your own, but hiring a bookkeeper and accountant will make sure you can focus on running your business while someone else watches out for these other things. A bookkeeper will ensure your accounts are managed and up to date while your accountant can help manage payroll and statements when it comes time for tax season. 

Of course, there is more to running a successful small business, but following these 5 tips is sure to get you off to a great start.