There's no such thing as Overnight Success
- Don’t overestimate what you can do in a year – but don’t underestimate what can be achieved in five years.
- Be resourceful – don’t be afraid to continually ask your friends and family for their opinions and support. Running a business can be lonely and sometimes isolated, so it’s important to establish a support network early on. Also think about joining a networking group to learn about others experiences and share your own.
- When you’re at school or college learning new things you have peers, teachers and books…so apply the same rule when learning about running your own business. Never stop learning; even when your business is doing well, you can always learn from others.
- Learn to be tough and decisive – don’t be put off by negative feedback – stay motivated, and try to surround yourself with inspirational, positive people.
- Don’t convince yourself, at the first sign of success, that you can afford the big desk and large leather chair…park that for a rainy day. You may be in profit in the early stages of your business but consider all the possibilities and risks of spending unnecessary amounts of money.
- Your business plan is your future – constantly update and review it, and always refer to it when planning the future development of your business.
- Make sure you’re proud of what you are doing and enjoy doing it.
- Know when to bail out...
- Modern communication is fantastic and achieves great results, but never forget that you are the personality behind your business – your potential customers will buy from you face to face, and this will help forge long-standing relationships. Working on excellent customer relationships will bring in new customers for many years to come.
