Want to Take Your Business to Greater Heights? Observe the 10 Habits of Highly Successful Business Owners
Chances are, there is a highly successful entrepreneur whom you admire and whose success you wish to emulate. “What made them so successful?” you might ask.
No, they’re not smarter than you. It isn’t because they’re better looking than you either. Those highly successful business owners whom you envy, the ones who’ve surpassed the achievements of others without seeming to try, have just figured out the tricks of the trade. Want to learn their secrets? Good news: we’ve got them right here.
1. Build Your List
This is the absolute best way to increase your reach, consistently find more prospects, and grow your business long term. Of course, most people already know this. So what’s the difference between the truly successful and the only-sort-of successful? The truly successful group makes list building a serious priority—and you should, too.
2. Be Unique
You too can offer something unique that people will find both useful and valuable. Try throwing in unique freebies when people purchase one of your products or services. Content marketing is an effective means of attracting and nurturing leads. Why not offer a unique or cutting edge informational download in exchange for the lead’s email address?
3. Give Technology a Bear Hug
Perhaps you’re still not comfortable with social media; perhaps you’ve avoided promoting your business through social media marketing for the longest time. Well, time’s up, because now you ignore it to the ever-deepening detriment of your business. Take a deep breath and find a helpful tutorial, or consider hiring someone to do the hard work of setting up campaigns and building a social media plan for you.
This goes for other forms of online marketing, too. If you haven’t yet mastered search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC), teleseminars and webinars, and other “new-fangled” forms of online marketing, then now is the time to act. Choose the best approach and get going. Your business success depends on it.
4. Stop Worrying About the Economy
Seriously, worrying about the next recession can only get you so far. Plenty of successful business owners saw growth even at the lowest point of the Great Recession. These same business owners are now seeing above-average success. Their secret? They’re not worried about the next market crash because they know that a good product or service will always sell. Forget about the state of the economy; focus on your goods or services.
5. Be a Lifelong Student
Never stop learning; it’s as simple as that. The best business owners are always adding to their offerings; always upping their game; always providing the best service in the newest ways. The moment you start resting on your laurels is the moment you stagnate, which in turn gives your competitors the chance to eclipse you.
6. Outsource Back-Office Tasks
Chances are you didn’t start a business so that you could do your own taxes, slow-roast your own coffee, and reshingle your own roof, right? Business owners like you need to focus on the most important aspects of your business, and delegate tasks of less importance to those who’re really good at them.
The most successful business owners have abandoned the concept of “doing it all,” and instead outsource demanding tasks that generate low value. Outsource back-office tasks to professionals, and focus on growing your business and generating income.
7. Enlist the Survey
What is the best way to find out what your customers want and need? You have to ask them, of course. Use a simple survey tool such as SurveyMonkey or SurveyGizmo. Once you know what they want, you can give it to them—and reap the benefits.
8. Mix Up Your Marketing
Perhaps you’re great at blogging, or you really like email marketing. Maybe you’re a social media hotshot or have direct mail marketing down. Whatever the case, you could be doing better by doing more. Incorporate a wide variety of tactics into your marketing plan to reach the widest number of people, just like highly successful business owners do.
9. Always Provide Value
If your products and services don’t hit the mark with clients and customers, well, you’re not going to get very far. But even if they do, you can still get stuck in the only-sort-of-successful limbo if you don’t take every opportunity to add value. Offer extras, help your customers take advantage of deals such as two-for-ones, and give them great reasons to refer you to others. No one ever regretted making their customers happier or making lead generation easier.
10. Become an Early Adopter
Many people built their fortunes by jumping on the Facebook and Twitter bandwagons early. Go even further back, and you’ll find millionaires who leveraged the email list when it was still a novel idea. You could be that person, believe it or not. Keep your eye on emerging technologies in the digital scene, and when you see a tactic or platform that could work for you, get on board.
Are you looking at this list and wondering how you’ll ever get it all done? Relax. It’s okay to take your time to learn these new skills, and it’s okay to get some help when you need it. Take it slow, take it steady. If you do, chances are, you’ll win the race.
Robert Javier