You’re a business owner if you fill out some forms, get permits or licenses, offer a great product or service, and advertise it.
Business success is different. Several factors affect business success. Before starting a small business, we’ll share the latest data. We’ll discuss business success factors and pro tips for running a successful business.
Many ways to measure success make running a successful business difficult. Business owners must define themselves and stick to it.
Profit drives many. Long-term wealth and growth are common goals. This may also apply to wealth and expensive purchases like cars and homes. Others value them by solving customer problems. Some entrepreneurs measure success by achieving a goal.
Every company depends on revenue, gross profit, and cash flow. Businesses must define success to create lasting value.
The world changes quickly, so past strategies and habits don’t guarantee success. You may be starting a business or rebranding. Running a business today requires staying open and absorbing constant information.
Follow these steps to focus on business success factors.
1) Prioritize customer satisfaction.
Customers and prospects have more information than ever. According to HubSpot Research, 79% of customer service teams believe customers are better informed. Leaders also report higher expectations.
Customer service often matters more than price or product.
The customer experience is your impression. It shows your values and care. This affects their brand perception throughout the customer journey.
Businesses must focus on the entire buyer journey. To improve customer satisfaction, you must identify roadblocks and present new options.
These are some customer-focused strategies:
Gather team insights to prioritize the customer experience.
Reduce friction and prioritize customer needs.
Consider their product experience.
Prevent audience issues.
Develop your customer service team.
Customers will pay more for a great experience from start to finish. Can you offer that experience? Overdelivering CX? Be to succeed in business.
Featured resources:
CX strategy
Improve customer experience
CX trends
2) Powerful business idea.
1,400-year-old companies exist worldwide. Many firms fail. 14,000 US businesses declared bankruptcy in 2021.
An idea starts every business. Some ideas are riskier. Some good ideas fizzle out. You can find a business-winning idea in several ways.
Start with your knowledge. Every niche is more complicated than it seems if you’ve had a hobby or job you love. As you learn more, you see the hidden joys and challenges.
Video games are popular. Stardew Valley players aren’t Half-Life fans. You’ll need to specify their gaming styles. This will help you find the problems your video game business idea solves.
Next, engage your community. Testing your ideas with a group—family, friends, or online- is bright. This step can refine your idea and identify common objections.
Before starting a business, do your research. Unique, practical, and high-quality products and services sell. Before it’s sold, that idea may need some work.
Featured resources:
Startup concepts
Business chances
3) Giving your audience value.
Your great business idea may add customer value. An idea doesn’t build a business. It’s simple to generate great ideas. Executing an idea well is hard.
Great products always need more time to finish. To maintain value, many products will need regular customer and internal feedback.
Providing value goes beyond a perfect product or service. Trust underpins all successful businesses. You need to exceed customer expectations to build trust. That means what?
First, your product must perform as advertised. Don’t overstate your product’s capabilities. From support to instructions to return policy, value is critical. Value goes beyond your product’s cost and price: customer perception and meeting expectations.
PopFlex offers inclusive athleisure wear and Blogilates, a female fitness channel with journals, resources, and accessories.
Featured resources:
Valuing the buyer journey
value proposition
Value-based selling
4) adapting quickly.
To succeed, your business must change with the times. Flexibility is necessary for fashion and tech trends.
Flexibility isn’t limited to product and marketing changes. Employee demands will change. Customer communications will change. You may prefer to stay the same and change others. That approach may hinder your success.
You may need to practice to be more naturally flexible and adaptable.
Traveling can increase flexibility. Changing languages and cultures can help you adapt at home. Other ways to adapt include:
Prioritizing constant learning
Following industry news and trends
Linking up
Featured resources:
Leadership adaptability
Flexible business strategies
5) Decision-making and problem-solving.
Startups are risky. It’s rarely your only bold move. Successful businesses require big decisions and creative experiments.
Dynamic thinking sounds risky for a company that supports you, your family, and your team. Creativity builds your business’s foundation.
Because creativity is finding where conventional thinking fails, it’s an opportunity to innovate. Bold decisions require as much planning as traditional ones. Because these ideas rarely work, they require more faith. They may require more testing. But creative solutions work.
This aspect of business success may seem daunting if you’re not bold or creative. But anyone can use creativity to improve business decisions.
Research first, then act. Then contemplate the data. Don’t let a deadline or pressure rush a decision. Consider the pros and cons.
Creative decision-making is rarely linear. If you’re stuck, try these:
Critical thinking class
Decision trees
Making choices
6) Being attentive.
Business management requires skill, effort, and time. Focusing on “extra” tasks is hard when your batteries are low. However, attention will help your business thrive. It can provide valuable business insights.
Consider your customers’ changing needs. No matter what.
Your team may email or call customers. Social listening or net promoter score (NPS) surveys can also gather customer sentiment data. Be a market and customer listener.
This CEO used feedback to grow his business.
7) Leaving work.
“Entrepreneurs are the only people who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.” – Lori Greiner.
Business can consume you. But not taking a break hurts your business. Success requires taking a break from work.
Get social. Attend events, network, or start a hobby to get out. This increases energy and support.
Self-care is also recommended. Travel, exercise, and take breaks throughout the day to refresh. Airlines tell us to put on our oxygen masks before helping others because if we don’t, we can’t.
Your business performance will only improve if you have personal health and wellness goals.
Businesses fail for many reasons. Research shows a few common challenges.
Start and run your business with these considerations.
1) Product/service demand.
A great product or service will only help if there’s demand. Starting a business requires diligence and thorough market research.
Your ideal customers, competition, expected growth and demand, market trends, and more need concrete data. Determine your product’s buyers, frequency, and motivation.
This insights aid business decision-making. They find your niche, plan inventory, and forecast sales.
2) Team building.
Successful entrepreneurs know to hire more intelligent people. Scaling your business requires a strong team. Hiring the best is the only way.
Build a super team. As your budget and demand allow, hire experts. Request their opinions.
Involve them in important decisions. This encourages investment in your project. It will also improve your joint decision-making—all winners.
Still more. Nico Prins advises creating an employee onboarding strategy and a measurement system.
“Systems will help scale the business, especially if you’re expanding quickly, and reduce the time and work associated with inevitable staff turnover.”
3) Leadership prep.
First, build your business’s long-term vision with leadership skills. Exceptional leaders:
Integrity
Accountability
Empathy
Humility
Vision
Influence
Management guidance
You must succeed as a new business owner with no employees. That becomes more important as you grow and add people.
Leadership is only for some. Gallup found that only 10% of leaders are naturally gifted.
Most people need to learn leadership skills, and many resources are available. These resources can aid your leadership development:
Leadership training
Training leaders
Leadership tools
Leadership skills
4) Network growth.
Your business needs a strong community. Your network can help you find co-marketing, funding, and other opportunities. Your network can help you fix problems or get resources if you’re still in business.
Some find networking intimidating. Relationships determine network quality. Supporting complementary businesses will likely be reciprocated. It can generate referrals and business connections.
Start with shared values to make great network partners. Reach out to local and online supporters of your business and personal goals. Set expectations and communicate well.
Featured resources:
Networking Guide
Business networking
5) Competitive analysis.
Most businesses will enter a crowded market, but some ideas are so unique that there needs to be more competition. If your market has many established providers, you may need help. If your product or niche has a unique twist, you may be in the right place at the right time.
Only a competitive analysis will tell you.
This strategy lets you study your top competitors’ products, marketing, and sales. Learning may change your path. It may also reveal a need or issue only your business can address.
This process can also help you set benchmarks and determine your business goals’ share of voice.
Organized research is more beneficial. To quickly adapt to industry changes, performing this analysis quarterly is best.
Featured resources:
Competitive analysis kit
Competitive analysis templates
6) Pricing correctly.
Business sustainability depends on pricing strategy. Too high and you won’t sell; too low and you won’t cover costs.
Starting a business begins with pricing. Pricing products to sell takes practice.
High prices limit your customer base. Suppose they need to be higher. Are your prices fair? How many units must you sell each period to meet revenue and profitability goals? Document and organize this information so you know what to do to keep your business thriving.
7) plans.
Startups have many motives. Some want a side job to make ends meet, while others want to quit their job and work for themselves. Decide how to scale your business beforehand. It would help if you planned to be ready.
Marketing is unpredictable. Businesses need to prepare when their good work goes viral. Knowing whether you’ll meet the moment or let it pass can save you from FOMO or closing your business because you weren’t prepared to scale.
Before selling, make a vision-based plan. This process will give you and your team a center to make decisions, whether you’re in it for the short or long term.
Your mission statement could be revenue or community action. Either way, you’ll have a document to focus on when deciding what to do next.
TL; DR—Starting a business requires hard work. Research your industry, customer, and market thoroughly.
New Business Success Trends
Most entrepreneurs want business data to predict success.
How many start businesses?
Statista and the BLS reported 347,000 new businesses in Q1 2022. That’s 8.4% down from Q4 2021 but almost 21% up from Q1. New business is booming.
According to Guidant, over 60% of entrepreneurs started a business to be their boss.
What are the most significant startup expenses?
Many businesses spend most on the payroll. Depending on your business, wages can account for 15–50% of your overhead budget.
According to U.S. census data, wages and salaries rose 5.1% and benefits 4.9%. 51% of small businesses plan to hire in 2022.
Will my startup succeed?
Average new businesses fail over time. Most numbers match 2021 Statista data showing that almost 80% of new businesses survive the first year. Nearly 35% of those businesses remain ten years later.
Industry-specific numbers vary. Healthcare and social assistance have higher survival rates. Construction and transportation are cheaper.
Personal business statistics matter most. 92% of business owners are okay with starting one. 30% are serial entrepreneurs.
Starting a business is different from managing one. You’ll also develop business skills as you build buyer personas, market research, and vision. These steps can help your business grow sustainably.
Brand well.
Build it; they may not come. Marketing strategies can indicate a company’s success.
Marketing includes prospecting and upselling loyal customers. Marketing involves targeting the right audience at the right time.
Ask yourself:
Your clients?
What issues can you fix?
How do they interact with businesses?
What do they do?
These questions will help you understand your target audience and buyer persona. A good marketing and branding strategy targets this audience and grows from there.
After knowing your audience, choose the best communication channels.
Successful brands start by building a following on one platform. Customer communication methods include:
Email marketing
Social networks
Web Marketing
Company website
PPC ads
Content marketing
Omnichannel marketing can help you attract and retain customers since most customers are online. Omnichannel seamlessly integrates modern consumer channels.
Strong companies focus on their platform. Branding creates a trustworthy company personality.
Every marketing channel must match your branding, design, tone, and personality and lead to a website.
Small businesses can also leverage content marketing. Owning the channel with a website is advantageous. You can promote your content whenever you want without algorithms or ads. High-quality, helpful content on your website can generate leads.
Make sure your marketing strategy provides customer value. “One way to validate that people are looking for solutions to their ‘problems’ is through keyword research,” says Nathan Gotch of Gotch SEO. “UberSuggest and the Google Keyword Planner can find your prospective customers’ exact keywords. You then need to create content around those keywords.”
Content marketing can help you stand out in today’s crowded online marketplace. Founder and marketing director Isaac Justesen says, “But consistently creating high-quality content isn’t easy. That’s why many successful businesses outsource content creation instead.”
Partner with others to boost your message. According to Aptitude 8 CEO Connor Jeffers, “In the early days of Aptitude 8, we found much success with partner marketing. I recommend early-stage companies find partners that serve the same audience they’re targeting, build relationships with their marketing teams, and supply those teams with great content they can help distribute easily.”
More resources:
Brand guide
Brand yourself
Small-business marketing guide
Content marketing guide
Business plan.
You can write a business plan or list your career goals. But if you want to build a sustainable business, you need a place to record and share your business plan that you’re proud to share with stakeholders.
Most business plans include these items:
Your business concept
Company Summary
Goods or services
Market research
Marketing and branding strategy
Sales strategy
The law
Financial goals
Initial cost
Business plans are more straightforward than ever. Your business plan isn’t just a paper—a cloud-stored living document. Your business plan is accessible to all stakeholders. This ensures consistency, collaboration, and business plan evolution.
Clear KPIs.
With goals, it’s easier to assess business performance. Thus, KPI selection is crucial.
Key performance indicator (KPI). These measure business performance against goals. They can help your team set goals, measure progress, and improve decision-making as your business grows.
Start with product, price, promotion, and place. These can inform your marketing plan, customer personas, and other KPIs.
Start with a few SMART KPIs.
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound
Keep innovating.
Business success requires innovation and bold decision-making. Invention and experimentation keep your business fresh.
However, don’t reinvent the wheel. Small customer experience-enhancing innovations are powerful.
Creative planning can help you innovate. Brainstorm, test, and research trends during meetings and daily tasks.
Keep up with the industry and niche news and forward thinkers. Fresh ideas can come from new insights.
Improve operations.
Business processes often evolve. Habits or resistance to change can keep a process going. Outside forces change other processes.
Business growth requires efficient processes. Before creating daily processes for your team, plan and strategize.
A solid plan before the habits form ensures that each process is best for your business. It also simplifies tracking and adjusting inefficient processes.
Tools create processes. However, with the right software, you can accomplish more with less. Use one CRM and sales platform instead of multiple platforms, spreadsheets, and email tools.
Tools help you exceed customer expectations. 71% of customers are comfortable using bots for a better experience. Live chat software can help with quick responses.
Boost company culture
Companies often underestimate the impact of culture and employee engagement. Culture affects recruiting and exit interviews.
Teamwork builds culture.
Anderson says, “When companies invest in their training and onboarding processes, they’ll find their employees are more prepared to do great work and take on the challenges of the business.”
Employee engagement and net promoter scores can boost productivity, morale, and referrals. The Culture Happens podcast has advice on this.
Performance discussions monthly or quarterly improve teamwork and mental health. These meetings foster trust and innovation.
Positive culture, strong career track, and well-trained, unbiased recruiters can attract rare candidates to small businesses. Taylor Dumouchel agrees that a supportive culture and a strong career track attract top talent.
HR teams with great tools can improve your company. Happy, engaged employees work hard and grow companies.
Many business leaders need to realize that company culture starts at a startup. They sometimes neglect the culture-makers. Once you have a strong team, give them what they need to stay.
To help your team perform well, motivate, incentivize, and care for them. Benefits for employees are crucial.
Consider the employee benefits budget when hiring. Consider federal, state, and local business benefits after you know your budget. Possible benefits:
Unemployment insurance
Voting, jury duty, and military service leave
Workers’ comp
FMLA compliance
After considering the required benefits, choose elective benefits. In a competitive job market, these benefits often keep an employer competitive. Competitive analysis can reveal what other companies in your industry offer their employees.
Other advantages:
Health insurance
Pension savings
Vacation/holiday pay
Disability insurance (some states require it)
Insuring life
Prioritize finances.
Starting a business is costly. Finances—capital, investments, loans, and revenue—are needed to survive the lean times.
A business must make enough money to operate and make a profit to reinvest. A detailed budget can track revenue and expenses.
Include business costs in your financial goals.
Sourcing
Production
Staff
Capital
Determine the monthly, quarterly, and annual revenue your business needs to succeed. Learn accounting, balance sheets, and financial forecasting now.
Use growth strategy tools.
Apps, products, and SaaS are multiplying. Utilize business optimization tools.
Technology is becoming cheaper, so even small businesses can afford a free, all-in-one CRM. Choosing the right tools is challenging.
Manvi Agarwal recommends considering these factors when choosing a tool:
Focus on each tool’s use.
See how each tool can simplify that process.
Even if an all-in-one tool is tempting, choose one that does a specific task.
Compare the tool’s value and cost.
Make sure the tool is scalable and adaptable to your business’s needs.
A CRM is an excellent place to start if you still need to automate your business processes. HubSpot CRM is the ideal growth strategy foundation.
Create support.
Business can consume you. Many enjoy the intensity, but too much can cause unhealthy stress. Your business needs a support system.
This group can help you manage stress and stay positive through highs and lows. They can join your small business team or remind you to balance work and life.
Close family and friends may provide more than moral support. 46% of small business owners have partners or spouses, according to 2022 Bank of America research. Family and friends fund 12% of businesses.
Also, broaden your social circle. Social clubs, industry groups, and charities strengthen your community. A support system can improve your life and those around you. It boosts productivity and collaboration.
Startups are simple.
Running a successful company takes time, effort, and commitment. Study companies that prioritize people. Despite their mistakes, these are the best teachers.
Build trustworthiness and industry expertise. Apply what you learned here. You’ll be on your way to a profitable, customer-satisfying business.
