9 Essential Steps to a Successful Business

Define the Need(s) Your Business Will Meet

Having an idea for a business is a great thing, but until you boil it down to its base parts, it’s not likely to become anything more than that. If you can't clearly take your idea and methodically check off how your business will meet the needs of your customers, you can't create a business model. Without a business model, you can't make money or grow your business, and without money, well... without money, you aren't really in business. You’re just giving things away for free on the side of the road. Think about who your business will affect, how it will fill a void in their lives and become necessary to them. Write it down. Everything becomes more real when you write it down.

Research the Market — & Know Your Competition

Take the time to research the industry you’re planning to get into — you may not always like what you find. There may be no demand for what you’re selling; demand could be too high for you to be able to adequately fill the need; or maybe there is a high demand in your niche, but the market in your area is already saturated with competitors. This is information that is vital to your business success.

A key thing to remember here is that there are no truly original ideas under the sun. If you've thought of it, chances are someone else has thought of it too — and they might have beaten you to the punch. What you need to know is what makes their business unique, and how you can differentiate your business from your competitor. Just because they do it doesn't mean you can't do it better -- but you had better have a clearly defined plan of attack, before you jump into that fight.

Develop a Business Plan

This is hard work. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise -- but don't run away scared either. A business plan is your ultimate planning tool and safeguard against business failure. This is where you ask yourself the hard questions, and you are forced to come up with real answers that are put down on real paper. These are the same questions that anyone who is competent is going to ask you before going into business with you, lending you money, or supporting you in any practical way. You need to have well thought-out answers and a strong defense for your business viability.

At the very least, the business plan is a road map you can refer to as you make business decisions that will affect you in the long and short term. Spend the time and do it right. There are hundreds of computer programs, books and seminars that can assist you with this process, some better than others. Do a bit of research, check out your bank's website or your local small business assistance office, and find the method that suits you best. About.com’s Susan Ward has written extensively on the subject and includes a great business plan outline in her series on starting a business. It’s Canadian-focused, but the principles are the same anywhere.

Define Your Business Model

Essentially, this is part of the business planning process, but it requires special attention. Just because you have a good idea that people will like, does not mean that you will have a successful business. Ask yourself this question: "How will my business make money?"

With many businesses, especially new ventures in technology and the online world, this is not always an easy question to answer. For example, Twitter and Facebook, both hugely popular services, had to struggle with their own popularity in developing a business model. They were (and are) largely dependent on investors who believed enough in both their product and their business plan to give them money to operate and grow. Facebook has only recently started to make money via ad sales, while Twitter's business model is still a product of widespread speculation.

There will be times when you come up with what you are certain is the next BIG IDEA, but after looking deeper, and building out your business model, you may find out that there is either no market, or little to no profit margin for what you need to invest. Don't be disappointed — you just saved yourself some very real heartache and possible financial ruin. Rejoice! Too many people leap into selling their product or service without even considering how they’ll make money.

Defining your business model is an ongoing process that will grow and change as you develop new products or enter new markets. Take the time to look into it in the beginning, not at the end.

Network — Develop Alliances

How many times have you heard the phrase "It's who you know, not what you know"? There is some very real truth to it. Every entrepreneur is stubborn and wants to do everything by him or herself. Beat your Type-A personality back a bit and accept that you can't do everything — and you can't do everything well, either. There will always be people out there who are better than you at certain things, and you might have just the skill-set they need to succeed in their business aspirations. You need to find these people, get to know them, and align yourself with them for the greater good! At the very least, they are another potential voice for your business. If they tell even one other person about you, and that leads to a sale, the time you spent getting to know them was well worth it.

Check out your local Chamber of Commerce, join clubs and associations, look around for networking breakfasts/luncheons, attend tradeshows — and for the love of all that's holy, join online social networks that relate to your business (like LinkedIn or Facebook Groups, Tweetups, or even forums related to your field). Your potential reach from the online world, even locally, is astronomically greater these days than just face to face meet and greets.

Take Time for Marketing… It’s Important

This can't be stressed enough. If you are going to go to all the effort and personal risk of starting a business, you had better make sure that you’re spending some time on its presentation. You need to make sure that you are fully in control of how your business relates to your customers and to the world at large. A marketing plan is an essential part of your business plan and will help you to fully understand the most intimate details of your business.

No matter how you approach your marketing, make sure you do the following:

• Create a customer profile, so you know who to market to.
• Survey potential customers so you can get an idea of what to expect.
• Develop a name and design a (modern) logo using fonts and colours that represent your business and appeal to your profiled customer.
• Brand yourself everywhich way you can, making sure you are noticed when and where it matters most to your business.
• Create communication channels that help you to easily reach potential customers (i.e. a well-designed, search engine optimized website).
• Don't forget analytics! Learn from what worked, what didn't work, and what might have worked, and adjust your marketing plan and your business accordingly.

Marketing your business doesn't have to cost you a fortune and, with some effort and discipline, you can do a lot of it yourself. You can also ally yourself with experts in the field (like Bluetoque Marketing, of course...) and work with them to reach your business goals.

Seek Out Mentors

There are always people out there who know more than you, are more successful than you, and more experienced than you. Find these people. Respect them. Make them your friends. These people may even be more than happy to let you pick their brains on a regular basis. They don't even need to be in the exact line of business you’re in, they just need to be able to look at what you’re doing with an experienced and critical eye, so that they can offer up their expertise to you in the form of suggestions and advice. There are even resources online to help you find and connect with mentors. Don't waste time and resources banging your head against a wall when you could have just asked someone who already knows what to do — and is willing to teach you.

Do Homework About Where to Locate Your Business

Location, location, location. You've heard it before. How many times have you seen a business open, and then close again within just a few months. There could have been many reasons for the business closing, but location was very possibly one of the big ones. Depending on what kind of business you are in, you may need to investigate things like parking, foot-traffic, how often your target market frequents the area, how easy it is for you to get there, etc., etc. Don't get caught opening a bookstore in a building that looks great, and an area that seems perfect — only to find out that there is an all day dance club upstairs and the soundproofing below standard. Do your homework, and take it beyond just the marketing aspects of the location.

Plan for Growth — Make Sure Your Business is Scalable

Structuring your business for scalability is the best thing you can do, even if you aren't planning on major growth. Growing your company will be much easier if you have strong systems in place that have been proven functional, and have automated as much of your workflow as possible. You should also factor in potential marketing costs for growth, and plan to absorb any expansion that does not take off effectively. It's all about checks and balances here, so be methodical and be honest with yourself.

Many small business fail because they didn't take the time to adequately understand the business they were in, and didn't follow some form of the above steps. But here's the bottom line and the good news: business failure because of little to no planning is completely, 100% avoidable. Once you know what kind of planning you should do before you start your small business, it's just a matter of educating yourself and getting it done. Planning is always harder than doing. It takes more brainwork, it takes more time, and it requires an inevitable delay of your personal gratification. The cliché is true, however; businesses that fail to plan, plan to fail. Don't let it happen to you.

Have anything you want to add to this list? Let us know in the comments!