21 Essential Tips for Small Business Owners

I’ve been running my own business for 10 years, and it hasn’t always been easy. I’ve had plenty of good times and plenty of bad ones — and times when I barely managed to stay afloat.

Through it all, a simple tip from a friend or colleague has often helped me overcome my biggest problems.

So here they are, my top 21 best tips for small business owners.

Before you get involved in a business venture, be sure to conduct thorough market research to understand what your target audience wants and needs. You need to understand your competition as well.

But market research doesn’t stop just because business is booming.

You should always be researching your competition and doing the research on your current customer base that it takes to get solid answers about the needs of your tribe. Your tribe is made up of past and present customers who will provide you with the information you need to know how the market will act in the future so you can plan accordingly.

You don’t need an MBA to build a business plan. With so many tools at your disposal, it’s just a matter of sitting down and drafting the framework of your goals and ambitions. Grabbing essential books on business can help, but you can also turn to virtual support, such as AI.

Try telling ChatGPT all about you and your business, and ask it to create a plan. Yes, you’ll have to modify what it tells you, but this helps kick the thought to the curb that you need to hire a business advisor to tell you everything. Take the output ChatGPT gives you and make it your own based on the information it provides. Simple as that.

I tell everyone this point: if you want to invest in your business, create a memorable logo, tagline, and brand identity. Expect to spend some money, as your logo is how people come to know you.

Think Apple. What comes to mind when you see that little apple outline? Quality, innovation, maybe style. At a glance, the logo and brand embody the spirit of the business. Your brand is what you want people to remember about you, so hire someone to do it right.

Even if you’re on a budget, there are talented people out there — marketers, graphic designers, and brand specialists — who can help, and it won’t break the bank. My favorite thing to do is tap into my network on LinkedIn to find the best talent I’m already connected with. Ask the people who know you if they know someone who can help you build your brand.

I mentioned LinkedIn, which is a magical platform full of business people willing to help, but don’t neglect Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to promote your business and engage with potential clients and customers. YouTube is another great place to build your brand and engage with your present and future customers, being the second largest and most comprehensive search engine on the web.

Some business owners think that they don’t belong online unless they work in e-commerce, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth. It’s a guarantee that most of your audience spends time online, and if they want to find you, it will be through social media.

I love LinkedIn for networking, but don’t be afraid to get out and attend industry events, join local business groups, and connect with other professionals to expand your reach.

Business is all about who you know, and knowing the right people at the right time can save you money and time in the long run. Always try to find opportunities to expand your network and get to know others from many walks of life and different business settings.

Show me a business that focuses on customer service above all else, and I’ll show you a business bound for success. In this saturated market, one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors is by how well you treat your present and future customers.

When you provide excellent customer service, you build loyalty, encourage repeat business, and grow with word-of-mouth advertisiting, still one of the best (and free!) ways to get the word out about your business.

I already mentioned using tools like social media and ChatGPT, but don’t neglect other types of technology to help you. Software, apps, hardware, and devices — technology is wonderful, and there’s no limit to how you can use it to help your business.

Try platforms like Monday.com that help you plan and organize your work, or cloud-based tools like OneDrive or DropBox that help store important files and keep everything you need in one place.

Whatever challenge you’re facing, there’s bound to be a technological solution to combat it.

Keep track of your expenses, create a budget, and monitor your cash flow regularly. I use Quicken Business and Personal to manage my business and personal finances—it’s complex enough to fill every need I have and easy enough to use even for someone like me who doesn’t love math and numbers.

I use it to generate the reports I need to stay ahead of my finances and keep track of all my expenses and deductions for tax time, as well as helping me track my spending so it doesn’t get out of control.

I once had a mentor who told me that I would never be successful doing something if I didn’t keep track of it. She said that planning and establishing clear, achievable goals were key to focusing on the right things in a business. “The most important step,” she said, ”is to track your progress.”

Through the years, I’ve tracked the important things and set goals that helped get me where I am today. You cannot know where you will be in the future if you don’t know where you are today.

In all my years as a business owner, I have never found her to be wrong, and every time someone asks me for advice, I pass this advice on to them.

If I could tell you to learn one thing as a business owner, it would be this: always be relentlessly flexible.

You never know when a client may go a different way or when a business partner will want to try something different for a change. In physical therapy, being stiff and inflexible is the surest way to delay the recovery of an injury or even worsen it. Likewise, in business, being inflexible can spell disaster if you or your processes aren’t willing to change at a moment’s notice.

Build a strong team by hiring employees who align with your company’s values and culture. Director, actor, and writer Issa Rae famously said, “If I’m the smartest person in my company, then my company will go nowhere.”

By hiring a group of diverse and unique voices to lead your company, you’ll set yourself up for success. I have always looked for people who were smarter than me in certain skills because I can’t know everything, and hiring subject matter professionals to cover those areas will ensure that my business is expert-led and follows best practices.

It should be a no-brainer that the products sold and the services offered should be the best you can provide. People tend to expect that everything a business owner is selling is of the highest quality. In a day and age of planned obsolescence, when things are made to fail in order to be replaced in a few years, be the company that makes things that last a lifetime.

If you provide extra customer services, ensure that the work you do will last for a long time: be the business for which a lifetime guarantee means everything.

Marketing never goes away, and it pays to do it right. Even if you have more business than you know what to do with, you should always be planning for the next sale or project. Allocate resources to marketing efforts to increase your company’s visibility and attract new customers.

One of the best ways I’ve found to use marketing dollars is email marketing.

Why email marketing? It gives you a direct line to each and every one of your customers. Use email marketing to:

Ask questions for market research

Keep customers informed about discounts and new offerings

Sell past customers additional products and services

Continue to nurture relationships with your tribe

All you have to do is sign them up for your list when they make the purchase, or sign your prospects up in exchange for an eBook. An email list is worth its weight in gold.

Your business isn’t going to make it if you isolate yourself in an echo chamber of your own thoughts and yes-men. If you want to be successful, ask for feedback from customers and employees on a regular basis to identify areas for improvement.

Not sure where to start? Try emailing your customers a survey, conducting team feedback meetings, or customer focus groups. You can even set up an online forum for your business or products, so you can designate a space for discussion, ideas, and community involvement tied specifically to your clientele.

This is one of the best ways to succeed in a fast-paced industry. Stay updated on trends and changes in the industry to stay competitive. Networking with peers or colleagues in related fields of interest is another great way to strengthen your social network. Between reading industry news online and connecting with people in your industry, you’ll get enough information to plan for new technology and stay at the forefront of your field.

Subscribing to industry blogs and newsletters is a great start, but it may also be worth it to join a curated industry forum.

Time and money are important. If either one is spent unwisely, it’ll take even more time and money to correct your course. Use tools and techniques to manage your time efficiently and to stay organized, which can save you hours each day; even saving a few minutes adds up over time.

For example, I’m a writer, and I work best when I am in a flow state, writing professionally with little effort. By working in 25-minute bursts and then taking a short break in between, I can maintain my momentum and do my best work. This saves me hours of time and money, every day.

The most important investment you make in yourself is not always building a personal brand. Most times, investing in professional development has a higher ROI because we’re directly making ourselves more marketable. Continuously seeking opportunities for learning and growth to enhance our skills and knowledge is worth the time and money.

Look for courses to improve and learn new skills. Take classes at a college or do them online in your free time. Finding a mentor or personal coach is also beneficial because learning with the help of a professional is sometimes more effective than going at it alone.

Sometimes, a little protection is all you need. Think about investing in insurance and implementing security measures to protect your business from risks.

What if one of your products malfunctioned, and you got sued? Even if you have an LLC and are not personally liable, your business could be at risk and your reputation could be at stake. It’s best to protect yourself if the alternative is to lose everything.

Want to know how to gain hundreds of hours each month? Outsource tasks in your business that someone else could complete more easily and affordably, rather than doing everything yourself. You could also delegate tasks that are outside your expertise to professionals.

Less stress and grief? Check! Imagine having more time each day to do the things in your business that make you the most money. Win-win.

Want to do something for your business that would not only help the environment but also save you money in the long run? Implement sustainable practices to reduce your environmental impact and appeal to eco-conscious customers.

Some of these practices include sourcing from environmentally forward suppliers, looking into eco-friendly waste management practices and recycling, or simply being aware of the type of packaging and paper you use.

When you adopt sustainability practices, be sure to publicize it. Splash it across your website, announce it in an email, and post it on social media. Another win-win.

Not only am I a work-from-home entrepreneur, but I’m also a father and a husband — with plenty of things to do outside of work to keep my family happy. How am I able to juggle those responsibilities and get everything done? A positive mindset.

In any business though, there are times when keeping a positive mindset can be tough. Find the things that work for you, no matter what, and stick with them. Spend time with your family. Hike through the woods. Listen to music. Maintaining your optimism, conviction, and determination matters, so don’t give up the things that help you do that — make them habits, no matter what.

Any and all of these 21 tips will help you as a business owner, but doing things to keep yourself upbeat and motivated is the secret ingredient to finding your version of success in business as well as your personal life.