4 Tips for New Business Owners in 2021

Most successful business owners are where they are today because of the lessons that they learned over many years of hard work and sleepless nights. This is all ahead of you if you’re just starting out in business but the good news is that there are some ways that you can get ahead and increase your chances of success. The following are tips that new business owners can use to limit stress and get on the fast-track to increased growth and better revenue.

Be Financially Aware

Do you know where you stand with your personal finances? How much money do you have in the bank? How much is your income and expenses on average each month? Do you have student loans that are digging a huge hole in your monthly balance? If so, use an online calculator to see if you save on education debt by refinancing your existing student loans into a new loan with a private lender. Do you have a car loan or credit card debit with a high interest rate? These are all questions to ask yourself so you can work to get your personal finances in order before starting out in business. 

Network Whenever Possible

It may look glamorous from the outside but running a business can, in fact, be very isolating at times. It is especially difficult for those who have no family or friends to bounce ideas off. To ensure you never feel alone, take every opportunity you can to network with likeminded people and other business owners both in your area and online. Attend meet-ups, sign up to online events, work with a business coach and connect with people via social media – these are all good ways of networking and finding your own crew.

Set Specific Targets

Plodding on from one month to the next with no goal to hit is a recipe for failure. You need to determine what it is you want to achieve in the short and long-term time frames. This means setting daily, weekly and monthly targets that all lead into bigger yearly goals. These yearly goals should then feed into bigger 3-yearly, 5-yearly and even 10-yearly targets. Different things to consider include revenue, profit, cashflow, product releases and team building.

Delegate and Outsource

Is there something you’re doing in your business that you’re really bad at? Or is there one thing that you’re spending way too much time doing when you should be focusing on more important things? If yes, you’re not alone. Many business owners try to cut costs when starting out by doing everything themselves. We’re talking everything from accounting and bookkeeping to product inventory tracking and digital marketing. This is always a bad idea. All successful business owners will agree that it’s wise to delegate and outsource whenever necessary. Bring new people onto your team to do the tasks that are draining your time and you spend your time doing the things you’re good at. Hire the right people and you’ll soon see your revenue soar like you’ve never seen before.

Automate your business processes (Bonus Tip)

Simplifying your work should be done at the start of your business. There are many solutions for automating most business processes. Different CRM, WMS, ERP systems and Trello type task managers.

Plan for the future architecture of your software right away. You don’t want to spend money on a CRM and, for example, an ERP separately. You can implement a basic version of the ERP system, and in the future customize it to your needs.