Business Advice and Tips

The most effective way to grow a successful business is to learn from others who've been there and done it! The following information will provide you with some top Business Tips and Business Advice that will help you succeed.

Business Tip 1 - Have a great idea.

Easier said than done I hear you say? Of course it is not easy to think of a fantastic Business idea but if you apply a bit of logic to the process you will be amazed at the idea you come up with. To begin with, you should always have a piece of paper and a pencil on your bedside table just in case I think of something in the night. There’s nothing worse than thinking of an idea and then soon forgetting about it because you’ve been unable to write it down.

When you are out and about shopping or eating at a restaurant, have a look around and take note of what the people are doing. What can you see? Are there any opportunities? A great business idea comes from having the ability to notice and detect ‘gaps’ in the market place. Why has eBay become such a successful business? The answer is because it is simple, and there is a huge demand for the service. Always be on the look out for ideas and opportunities but remember to keep them to yourself or close to people you can trust. The last thing you want is someone else stealing your idea!

Business Tip 2 - Attend a Business Start Up course.

When you first start up a business you will need some basic tips and advice. You will find most of this here, on this website, but you may wish to attend a local Business start up course in your area. You should be able to attend a free course, which may also show you how to complete a business plan.

Take a look at Business Link, which is a Government business advice and support agency. They usually run courses in most areas and are an invaluable source of free information.

Another invaluable resource is the Enterprise Agency located in England. They often run free start up courses and are fantastic for anyone who is thinking of setting up a new business. Their courses will teach you about the basics you need to know in order to get started and, more importantly, to help you avoid the pitfalls!

For those of you in Scotland, the Enterprise Agency can be found here.

If you are interested in personal business coaching and development please click here.

Business Tip 3 - Seriously consider an Internet Business.

The Internet is an amazing tool that can have so many benefits to any new business. If your business can be developed and operated on the Internet then you should take advantage of this. Even if you are setting up a Bed and Breakfast or Hotel chain you will need to have a website where people can book online.

Each year more and more people use the Internet to promote and sell their products. Conversely, more and more people are using the Internet to purchase products from the comfort of their homes.

One of the main advantages of running an Internet business is there are very few overheads. If you are setting up a shop or retail unit then your overheads can be extortionate. Salaries, rental costs, business rates, heating and electricity are just a small number of overheads you will endure if you choose to have premises. All of the above will eat into your profits so you will need to make a specific amount each month just to break even! With an Internet business you do not need a flash office or lots of employees.

When starting up your business try to think of the different ways that you can take advantage of the Internet.

Business Tip 4 - Work hard and don't give up!

When you start your own business it is understandably going to take up most of your time. Your evenings, weekends and every other spare minute will be taken up by establishing the business and moving things forward.

During the initial stages of the new business’ growth and development you will undoubtedly feel stressed, and on occasions you will feel like giving it all up. If you do get to this stage it would be worthwhile taking a short break and coming back to it later. It is very easy to burn yourself out and you will need to plan ahead to avoid this happening.

When starting your own business you will need to have plenty of energy so make sure you get adequate rest, exercise and make sure you eat a healthy diet.

You will have heard of the saying ‘Work hard, play hard’. Most successful entrepreneurs know how to create a healthy work/lifestyle balance and this is something that you should try to incorporate into your schedule early on. Take the time out to do things you like doing and reward yourself when you reach significant milestones!

Business Tip 5 - Sustainability is key. Learn to walk before you can run.

One of the problems you will feel when starting your new business is a level of frustration. That is, frustration at not being able to move forward as quickly as you want. Any new business needs solid foundations if it is to become sustainable.

It is pointless building a new business that is successful in its first year and then fails in the proceeding year due to a lack of initial planning and foresight. When a builder builds a house, he makes sure the foundations are laid and fully dry before he begins to lay his bricks on top. Use this analogy when building your business. Create solid foundations in terms of financial management, product quality and customer service standards before you move forward. These are the type of things that can come back to haunt you if you fail to put effective systems in place very early on.

Think carefully before borrowing money. Can you cope without it? Are there other ways of funding your business that have less of a risk attached to them?

Think carefully before you leap and strive for sustainability!

Business Tip 6 - Eliminate wasteful meetings

Statistics show that over half the time spent in meetings is waste. This means half of meeting time failed to accomplish what was intended and/or the meeting was attended by the wrong people or people who were not prepared for the meeting. This fact also applies to informal face-to-face meetings.

Before setting up a meeting, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the meeting essential?
• Who needs to be at the meeting?
• How long does the meeting need to run for? (maximum)
• What do I aim to get out of the meeting?
• How will I know if the meeting is a success?

I can remember an old boss I used to have who was a fantastic meeting organiser and coordinator. The meeting would always finish bang on time. He would always ensure the discussion was relevant. He would eliminate waffle and move on when appropriate. He would always control the meeting and direct it in the way he wanted to – in order to ensure it was a success. Everyone left the meeting with targets and objectives that were reportable.

Business Tip 7 - Calculate the cost of wasted time.

When you understand how much wasted time costs your business, fixing it quickly becomes an essential priority.

To calculate the cost of wasted time, apply a “rule of thumb” for the cost of a minute of an average employee’s time. Multiply this amount by the time spent on any particular activity that fails to perform as required for you or your customers. Double this cost if the person could have used the time to do something productive for you.

Remember that time during the working day is time that should be spent on moving your business forward. Employees who fail to recognise this are costing you money.

Even when the business is doing well and profits are high, act as if profits are low and look to save money wherever you go!

Business Tip 8 - Plan to do it right the first time!

Save time by treating the activity you are doing as if it were valuable to you. When you value something, you take the time to do it right the first time. This means planning in advance to reduce surprises and eliminate variations in your handling processes.

Consider the following:

• What if things go wrong – how will we cope?
• Are people fully trained to do their job properly?
• What perceptions do people have about the task and its priority?
• Do they have the right tools to do the job?
• What delays could we encounter and how will this affect us?

For example, if you are creating a new product and the person who is working on it suddenly goes off sick for 2 weeks, how will you cope? How will this affect the business? Are customers waiting for this order?

Think about the wider picture and don’t just focus on the task in hand.

Business Tip 9 - Be a penny pincher.

When you are an employee the last thing on your mind is wasted office supplies. Paper, pens, files, staples etc are all there to be used. However, as an employer you should have a totally different perspective.

The old saying ‘look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’ is a useful lesson when running your own business. 5p saved every day equates to £182.50 over a 1 year period. That extra money saved could be used to pay for an advert in a local paper that would in turn generate more sales or leads.

Remember that small savings here and there can equate to huge profits elsewhere!

Business Tip 10 - Learn from every mistake you make.

It is inevitable that you are going to make mistakes along the way. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t make mistakes! The important thing to remember is how you respond to the mistake. Whenever something negative happens in your business environment ask yourself this question: ‘Where is the opportunity here?’

It is possible to turn every problem or mistake that you encounter into a successful outcome.

Turn every mistake to your advantage!

To move onto the next section entitled 'Be an Entrepreneur', please click here.

		Business Start Up Course with the UK's leading Internet Entrepreneur - Simon Coulson. This is a highly recommended 3 day course with one of the countries leading Internet Guru's. During the course you will receive some invaluable Business Advice and Tips and Simon will even get you started with a website!
		How to become an Entrepreneur Course with Richard McMunn For those people who want a 1 Day personal coaching course with a successful Entrepreneur this course is perfect. Richard McMunn is an award winning HSBC Start Up Star.