Top 7 Mistakes That Small Business Owners Make and How to Overcome Them!

Yes, small businesses can succeed! The success of your business depends not on its size but in the quality of its execution and implementation. Here are some common mistakes business owners make and how you can avoid them. a. Focusing on tertiary work: Many small business owners are so overwhelmed with non-critical work that they have very little time left for strategic, more important business decisions. It is far more important not to get bogged down by the little, trivial details of everyday business. Instead, you need to stay focused on your core competencies and drive the business forward. If you are understaffed consider outsourcing all non-core work. b. Not making an honest assessment: Most small business owners don’t know what’s happening in their own business. They mostly presume they know it, but fact is they are never really on top of things. It is essential to honestly evaluate the current state of your business. Take an employee-wide survey or ask your subordinates and colleagues for honest feedback. This will provide a much needed honest assessment of the current situation in the company. c. Not setting timelines: Most meetings go by without end objectives being met. The reason for laying down a plan and conducting meetings is to ensure each responsibility is implemented within the timeframe. Therefore set realistic goals and set timelines to each plan. Delegate work according to skill sets. This will also ensure all employees are happy in their responsibilities and job skills. d. Not performing follow-ups: A crucial determinant of success is how much you follow-up and ensure implementation. It is necessary to follow-up and to ensure all tasks assigned are completed within time. Else the plan just remains open ended with no near end to completion. So ensure to keep reminding and asking your subordinates on the plan at hand. If you can’t, delegate the responsibility to someone else. e. Investing more on technology vs. people: One big mistake small business owners make is to invest heavily on new technology as opposed to their own employees. It is a company’s employees who drive the business forward and get new customers and contacts. Therefore it makes perfect business sense to invest more in people. f. Not remunerating yourself well: Most small business owners multitask a lot. It could be because of a shortage of capital, lack of resources etc. However, whatever the reason, when it’s pay time, ensure you remunerate yourself according to whatever effort you have put in. Most business owners undervalue themselves and end up getting paid less. Don’t make this mistake. Pay yourself well, that way you will stay motivated too. g. Work life balance in jeopardy: Most CEOs of successful Fortune 500 companies have a happy, family support system behind them. If you want your business to flourish, make sure not to compromise on your personal life. Take care to balance out work and family time. By seeing to a holistic balance, you can enhance your business growth in a short time. Now that you know the mistakes, take active steps to avoid making these mistakes. These are common pitfalls that business owners fall into. So take note and stay away from these! (c) 2007, Doug and Claudia Brown of www.whatisyourplan.com All rights reserved. Reprint rights granted so long as article and by-line are published intact and with all links made live. Doug and Claudia Brown use their 40 plus years of business building experiences to educate people and businesses on how to dramatically increase their revenues. Free Report "17 Strategic Steps to Steps to Achieving a Six Figure Income or More" at http://www.whatisyourplan.com/ By Doug and Claudia Brown Published: 12/13/2007

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