The small business leader is someone who learns a lot of harsh lessons quickly. Sometimes the lessons are simple, like taking more responsibility for their actions, and sometimes they are are more procedural, such as running the accounts. But when a business leader needs to learn lessons quickly to get their business up and running, what are the most effective ones that anyone can benefit from?
Making An Impact Quickly
People don't have time to be given the hard sell. When you are looking to make an impact you've got to do it quickly. This isn't just in terms of tradeshow displays or networking in the right areas, it's about making sure that everything you do is to the point. This will spill over into how you run a team but also the image your business needs to maintain. We are inundated with imagery and brands around every corner, which means that making an impact quickly is not just a desirable component but it could mean the difference between your business taking off or crashing and burning.
Mixing Creativity And Business Effectively
If you are methodical in your processes this is an admirable quality but you've got to remember that mixing creativity in business is what will give you that spark. Running a business to a specific set of rules stifles creativity. We want to be able to deliver projects on time but we have to remember that creativity and business need to gel. You need to encourage creativity in your team but you also need to start implementing it in your business practices too. For example, start to think about experimenting with different processes. Some people don't like to deviate from the norm because it's scary, but being a business leader is about breaking the mold.
You Aren't The Finished Product
We can go back to college and learn everything under the sun to set up a business successfully, but this doesn't guarantee that we’ll hit the ground running. We have to look at ourselves and remember that we don't just need to to learn new things on occasion but striving for new ideas should be something that flows within us. Many business leaders run a company using the same set of rules that they had 10 or 20 years ago which isn’t helpful. The running theme in developing any business is about ensuring that you never stay in one place. You aren’t the finished product and you cannot stay in one mode. Things will change around you and if you don't react to them you will pay the price. When we look at the leaders we admire, they never stuck to a rigid set of plans but they always figured out ways to develop the business as well as themselves. Having that yearning for learning is is something we should nurture.
Starting a business is a scary time and to do it effectively, you may think that you have to come out of the gates fully formed. While you need to make an impact quickly you must remember the importance of continual development.