4 Steps to Ensure the Success of Your Small Business

The success of a small business does not happen in a vacuum.   In fact, no one succeeds alone.

Many of us are so haughty to believe we control everything.  Myself included…formerly.

For some reason we really want to be credited for succeeding on our own, but true success comes from team effort and collaboration.

Collaboration will save you tons of headache and small business nightmares.  In fact, small business collaboration is one our business values here at Secrets to Web Success.

For now, let’s Rewind 7 years ago… when I began my journey in small business entrepreneurship.

I began a direct sales business and was so fired up for big success.   I had tons of skills that would help me excel as an entrepreneur.

I was articulate, passionate and a people person too.   Honestly, I thought I had the whole package, and as the self-motivated person I am, I figured it’d be a piece of cake to be self employed.

About 6 months down the road I had realized I was working way too hard but seeing limited results in my marketing efforts.

I realized I was not totally in control of my success.   I could not keep myself motivated, and there were skills I had to develop even further to fine tune.

Building a small business was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be, and I had to learn a ton about marketing and human psychology in order to achieve the level of success that I desired.

I realized that in order to make real headway in my business at the time, I had to stop relying solely on myself and seek the help of others who had been in the same shoes I had been in.

I had stop trying to act like I was some all-knowing leader.  I needed to get out of my head (or ego) and realize that I also needed others’ help to develop some new skills that would give me the edge I looked for.

Perhaps for you, that new skill you need to learn is how to blog, figure out  social media marketing, or just learn how to write killer copy that converts on your website.

Whatever that skill is, you’ll need the help of other savvy online marketers to help you get to your desired online marketing goals.  I’ve found there are four steps that involve the help of others (collaboration) that will help a small business owner thrive in his or her small business marketing efforts (both online and offline).  They are as follows.

4 Steps to Ensure the Success of a Small Business – It is all About Small Business Collaboration

1)    Form Small Business Accountability Partnerships:  We recently talked about small business accountability partnerships a few Mondays ago.

The premise here is that you find someone or two who will hold you accountable to your day to day tasks.  This is especially great for those of us who can easily be pulled in other unproductive directions as well as for the “workoholic” type of business owner.

Your accountability partner will help you prioritize and ensure you’re doing the 20% that will yield 80% of your marketing results.  Your focus and commitment to your business can increase much more by having someone holding you accountable.

2)    Start a Mastermind Group – I am a huge fan of “mastermind groups.”  They are small groups of like minded business leaders/marketers who share common goals and like to freely contribute knowledge, expertise, and assistance in reaching those common goals.  You can create ones that are free or you can find a paid mastermind group.   There are pros and cons to both.  Nevertheless, having a small “board of directors”/peers to support you as you learn online marketing skills makes a big difference in keeping you on task and motivated.

3)    Find a Mentor or Mentors – connect with business owners who are where you would like to be in 6 months to a year.  Having a mentor will help eliminate silly marketing mistakes you might have made otherwise.  Mentors are everywhere from your local Chamber of Commerce meetings to a Ning or Facebook group.

4)    Get out of your Head – Remove Ego.  This has to do with our natural selfishness.  This can be a big roadblock to small business success.  Thinking like your prospects is a skill you will have to study and develop.

Do your best to make note of how your communication with your clients, both verbal and written, can be more about them and less about you and your product or service.   I see a lot of verbiage on websites that is all about the product or service but does not really speak to the needs and wants of the customer.

When writing or revising your small business websites copy ask yourself is the verbiage really addressing the benefit of your products and services to your prospect.

To the Success of Your Small Business!

P.S.

To show you the greatness of collaboration in action, the Secrets to Web Success Team will be unveiling a collaborative project in a few weeks that will help you gain a competitive edge in your market.

P.S.S.

Let’s just say it has something to do with effortlessly attracting more business online.  Can you guess what it is?  Comment below

About The Author

Dali Burgado, also known as "The Dali Blogger" teaches creative entrepreneurs how to carve a web presence that connects with their Inner Guru and their target audience. Her first online marketing love is SEO. She's an avid connector on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. When she's not coaching or teaching, she's tweaking sites for Search Engine Visibility, working on her PHP and Javascript coding skills, Singing Opera, or learning about gardening. Circle Dali on Google+