Deciding to take the big leap to start your own company can be financially stressful, especially when the business’s success defines the numbers on your paycheck. Starting and growing a business is challenging, which is why so many fail. So, how do you guarantee the success of your business in the long run?
Corey Shader, Florida business consultant and entrepreneur, has played a founding role in several different organizations, including Insurance Pipeline Inc. From personal experience, Shader says that entrepreneurs can follow these six key steps to head in the right direction for long-term business operation:
Step #1: Define Your Business
A business should know where they are going, which is why defining your business is a critical first step. An entrepreneur can establish long- and short-term goals, business values, mission, and more during this process. For scalability in the future, a business should keep track of its growth rate while establishing checkpoints that keep it true to its reason behind existence.
Step #2: Keep Track
Successful businesses keep track of everything from organizational skills and processes to detailed records. Getting organized from the start of a company will lead to less of a headache when figuring out how to establish new procedures, and it assists with the ease of daily workflow. Detailed records help with tracking company growth as well as progressions, such as that which comes through technology.
Step #3: Develop Your Team Strategically
When it is time to hire others to help build a business, think about the future when hiring. Before interviews, entrepreneurs should ask themselves, “What kind of company culture do I want my organization to empower and embrace?” or “How would I define the right person for the job?” Choosing to hire someone for their skill level as well as company fit will prove to be beneficial for future years.
Step #4: Always Understand Competition
Continuously identifying and learning about competition helps not only to get to know competitors but to understand the competition as well. Understanding the competition requires knowing who your company is up against to learn more about the audience they are targeting, what need their product or service is addressing, and in what areas you could fulfill audience needs where your competition does not.
Step #5: Grow Through Innovation
What is the only constant in a successful business? Change is a constant factor that companies learn to adapt to stay in operation. The more flexible and innovative a company’s reaction to change is, the more growth it will experience when finding ways to level up above changes.
Step #6: Practice Consistency
Think about companies who have stood the test of time. Usually, these companies have a reputation that reflects characteristics of reliability and consistency. Reliable customer service and consistency with customer availability will help gain consumer loyalty, and it’s the customers who help keep organizations in operation for so long. In the end, a single negative consumer experience can kill customer loyalty, even if the individual has been a faithful consumer for many years.
About Corey Shader
Corey Shader is a highly successful entrepreneur and real estate investor/developer based out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Mr. Shader’s numerous business ventures can be found throughout the country. He also consults for startups and sits on the boards for senior healthcare and digital media companies. In his spare time, by sharing lessons learned from his own life experiences, Corey strives to help push others to do their very best through constant self-improvement.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.