Running a Small Business – Whether you’ve always gone your own way, decide to strike out from conventional employment out of frustration with its limitations or in pursuit of your big idea, or your side hustle slowly takes centre stage, running your own small business makes you part of a big community in the UK, with around five and a half million businesses registered with between zero and fifty employees.
If you’re considering making a move towards independence, we’ve got some advice that might help you make a success of your new venture!
Running a Small Business – Plan Carefully
Running a business without a plan for the future can lead to some serious problems down the line. Making some conscious plans about the kind of business you want to build, what you want your working life to look like in one, five and ten years, and the sort of customers you want to appeal to all help to reduce the risks of making short term decisions that don’t cohere in the long run – and make it easier to seek funding, whether it’s in the form of a bank loan or injections of cash from individual investors!
You might think strategy consulting firms are a luxury for big businesses only, but with consulting becoming a more popular form of small business in its own right, you can find smaller firms and independent individuals who specialise in helping business in your niche and at your level.
Running a Small Business – Be Flexible
It might sound like this contradicts the first piece of advice, but it’s no weakness for small businesses to regularly review their plans and make sure they’re still in line with what you want, and the challenges you’re facing. One advantage small businesses have over their bigger competitors is that they can be more flexible. A change of strategy only requires your sign off, not a week of meetings and corporate politics.
Keep a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry and in your area and be ready to respond, whether that’s with a sudden sale or a change in marketing.
Running a Small Business – The Personal Touch
As a smaller business, one thing you can do that Tesco or Amazon can’t is maintain a personal relationship with many of your customers. This is how many small businesses can remain competitive with the bigger players, and it’s something you should lean into. Make an effort to get to know your customers, and deliver service with a personal touch – it might be pro-actively setting aside a new book you anticipate a particular customer wanting or including a handwritten note with orders you send out.
Anything that emphasises your place in the community and your personal connection with your customers is an asset that big brands can’t match!
There’s a whole lifetime of challenges, decisions and rewards ahead when you’re starting a small business, but these three pieces of advice will help you lay the foundations for success.
*Collaborative post