Riffing off another thread... What makes a small, start-up business successful?

[RidingAgain]

Austin is a hotbed of start-ups... What makes one successful?

[RidingAgain]

Okay then... Let's start here...

Overheads never sleep... Watch them like a hawk, and keep expenditure down.

Don't fall into the catch-22 of trying and go after as much business as you can thinking... Only deal with what you can handle with excellent service... More business will come to you as a result. More business means more overheads, which, if you lose business can very quickly become a major problem.

Keep costs down... Cashflow is king for small businesses. Small businesses have the ability to move more quickly than big businesses... But having cash available to do so is crucial... Don't spend because you think you can afford it... Spend based on profit return on expenditure.

Marketing... Word of mouth is cheapest, and comes as a result of good service reputation... Signage is next... But properly executed signage...

More on marketing... All your material needs to be consistent in order to have the most effective and lasting market impact. Although this tends to be more necessary for consumer facing businesses, it is also necessary with B-B businesses as it expresses a professional disposition.

Proper marketing begins with proper marketing messaging. A website is great and important to have... But what people read/see on your website is what they come to it for.

Business economy... Build a strong support base/foundation undergirding your daily business activity. The common path of a small business is fast growth in the first three years, and then even faster decline. This is usually a result of the owner's focus on gaining as much business as possible, and lack of focus on building and maintaining an infrastructure that is able to support this business growth. It's like building a bridge without support underneath it... You will get to a point when the entire thing will collapse.

The need for this infrastructure is a bit of a two-edged sword... It's needed... But there is an expense to it... There is a very fine balance required... Which is why a good administrative manager is worth the money you pay them. But each situation is unique.

There are many more matters needed to consider... But then you can become bogged down considering them and not going out and servicing your business... Which brings us to time management... Make sure you are doing what earns you profit... And that's PROFIT... Not just money... Big difference.