Starting your own business is one thing, starting a thriving company that profits and grows is another. Without the right preparation, knowledge, and strategy, you could fall victim to bankruptcy and fail within just a few short years. You owe yourself more than just a shot. You owe yourself a real strategy that will help you succeed.
Preparation, in this case, is key, so before you start your own thriving business, it is important to use these methods to learn and decide on key decisions that will help your business succeed.
Work Your Way Up At Another Company
Working at another company in your industry is good practice, but a better strategy is to work your way up the ladder until you are in a managerial role. This will give you experience managing a team and will help give you key insight into how the company actually works. It is only when you have an innovative, new idea that you should try to start a business without this key step.
Invest in Consultation Services
Though there are consultants for every field, the best ones to turn to are those that operate under membership.
What this means is essentially is that other businesses like you come together to grow together and benefit from mutual services. It works best in industries that don’t necessarily compete with one another, like healthcare. So long as there is only one optometrist in a neighborhood, there is no reason to compete. Instead, you can cooperate.
One of the best ways that optometrists can cooperate and benefit is to join PECAA. You can enjoy vendor discounts, strong group buying power, and of course, optometry consulting. New practices can benefit from creating a customized action plan with your own Member Business Advisor (MBA) Experience to help improve their own practice’s strategy.
Become Familiar with Who’s Who
Networking is essential when it comes to business. Go to industry events, meetups, workshops and more so that you know who is who in your company. You might even be able to help each other out in the future.
Take a Business Course (or Many)
Managing a team and even being an expert in your field is very different than being an owner. Before you open your own clinic, it is then best to take a business course or degree so that you know these top five concepts before you open your own practice.
Know When to Hire Out
Knowing how to delegate successfully is important for managers, but this isn’t always an option when it comes to businesses. What will happen more often is that you will need to hire outside of your business. Investing in professional marketing services, or in accounting, can really take the load off of your staff and give you more bang for your buck.
Starting a business is easy. Succeeding in business is not. Being prepared in advance is the secret between these two states, and though you will always need to take a leap of faith to start a company of your own, you shouldn’t do yourself a disservice of going in blind. Prepare, learn, and lead with confidence.
