Seven Things You Should Never Do in Your Own Business

Some business owners are successful, while others fail. It’s the same whether you are an entrepreneur, categorized as an SME or have grown your business into a multinational. Have you ever wondered why?

Photo source: Wikimedia commons

Running your own business takes a lot of courage, determination, and skills. You also need a little help from others. You can read articles and books about what you should do to succeed as a business owner.

We can look back and analyse life, but we can’t live it backwards. We have to live with the unknown ahead of us. What marks those who succeed in business is a balance of optimism and pessimism-the ability to confront what went wrong honestly but not lose self-confidence and try better the next time. You look around and study why some people succeed while others fail. Then you discover that there are some no-break rules successful business owners never break. What are these no-break rules?

Never act on any advice without first investigating it thoroughly

Photo source: Wikimedia commons

No matter whom the advice comes from, you need to check if it is suitable for your particular case, your personality, history, other factors involved and how it fits with previous courses of action. The person giving that advice may not be aware of some crucial bit of information, which might change the whole picture.

Never drink during a workday

Photo source: Wikimedia commons

It is very dangerous when you start running away from decisions, problems with the help of alcohol, drugs etc. They don’t help. You end up making a bigger mess. Drinking usually is an attempt to disregard the warning signs.

Never Moan

There is a saying “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone.” Attributed to the poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox. People react to moaning as it were an admission of failure, and people start avoiding losers. If a customer starts moaning, never join in. Just sympathise and try to find a way to help. Never get stuck in the moaning mode but push ahead.

Never think that Cash-flow problems will take care of themselves

Photo source: Wikimedia commons

Every business can occasionally face cash flow problems. This kind of crisis is not the end of the world. In fact, cash flow problems indicate needs for rethinking, changing processes, adapting marketing strategies, and approaches etc. This cash flow management crisis needs action and will get worse if you don’t take care of it.

Never procrastinate

If something needs to be done, it should be done. Making a careful plan and deciding on a timetable for action is the optimal response. This way you can allocate both your and other people’s resources better. But if you procrastinate, chances are that things grow until they explode in a crisis. As a business owner, if you just run from one crisis to another, you will never have any energy for development work and can’t catch the new opportunities.

Never neglect yourself

Actually, this should be the number one rule! If you don’t take care of your health and energy level, you’ll end up in ruins. You will notice that your efficiency will increase if you take short breaks in a day. If you take vacations and spend time with family and friends doing entirely different things, your mind will be much more alert and agile at work. If you neglect to do these, you’ll notice that your energy level will decrease, you’ll be irritated always and the quality of your decisions and work will soon go below critical level. When customers start noticing, you are in big trouble.

Never neglect your family and friends

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

Sit comfortably, close your eyes and imagine looking at your funeral like a fly. As they lower your coffin into the bosom of the earth who do you see with sad faces looking down? Will it be your bosses, your shareholders, or important clients? Remember this – a business is a business. You can build another one if one goes. But, if you lose family and friends, you can’t buy these from a Wall-mart near you! Small business owners face problems regularly. They need to have good support systems for the hard times.

How successful you are in renewing your faith in your venture decides the future of your business.