9 Key Business Startup Success Principles
Author: Andrew Cox

If you are in the early stages of starting up a business then
you may be experiencing the internal 'fear and doubt' dialogue
that can often take place in one's mind. The following 9
Principles will help to release some of this tension...

1. Do What You Love

Ensure that you are in a business that interests you. This
doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be in love with the
product or service that you sell; however, you must enjoy
aspects of the business otherwise you won't be motivated to give
it 100% of your focus. And it will need a lot of your focus and
energy, especially in the early stages!

To help determine this point, you could ask yourself the
following types of questions:

* What do you really like to do (in a business sense)?

* Are you an ideas or action type of person? Or a bit of both?

* In which 20% of your talents do 80% of your results come
from?

* In other words, where do your key skills lie?

It really all boils down to one question though - what are you
really passionate about?

2. Niche

Another critical point which goes a long way to determining
business success is your Niche. Without exception, the majority
of successful business owners I know can tell you in a couple of
sentences exactly what it is they love to do and why it has made
them wealthy.

Without a precise understanding of your Niche your chances for
success are greatly diminished. After all, it's very difficult
to hit a target which doesn't exist or to win a game when you
don't know what it (winning) is.

Ask yourself what you are trying to achieve in this business
venture:

* Do you want to make quick cash?

* Do you want to develop and grow a sustainable business?

* Are you interested in high cash-flow or developing assets? Or
both?

* Do you have BIG aspirations or are you just looking to
develop a hobby for some part-time cash?

Keep in mind that your Niche can always be adapted down the
track if your situation or the market changes.

3. Leverage

You need to become a master of Leverage. It is one of the most
powerful principles in business. Everyone who is successful in
business and life uses Leverage in some way.

To use the concept of Leverage you need to continually examine
how you can access other people's skill, resources and money
more effectively. Furthermore, consider less obvious assets in
business such as systems, marketing and time.

Leverage is about duplicating a high-value item or skill at a
lower cost.

I will explore this topic in depth in future articles; however,
at this point it is important to remember the following points:

* Focus on Money-Making activities

* Delegate to others as much as possible

By doing this you will see an immediate increase in your
ability to work `on' your business, rather than getting stuck
`in' the day to day running of it.

Lateral Thinking shares an implicit relationship with
Leverage...

4. Lateral Thinking

This is the concept of looking at things from a different point
of view. You can increase profits significantly by doing simple
things to "Add Value" in ways that others are not.

In other words, continually look at your business and ask
yourself questions such as:

* How can we do, what we do, better?
* What do our clients want that they are not getting currently?

* Could we use affiliate marketing to grow our business?
* Do we currently use the internet to effectively market our
business?
* Could we join forces with another business to cross-promote
our products?
* Could we use our knowledge to create another product?

What I am suggesting here is to take some time out to
brainstorm ideas around your business. This is a difficult for
most small business owners to achieve because they see this as
wasted and unproductive time - nothing could be further from the
truth...

Some of the most successful companies in the world allow
themselves and their employees lateral thinking time - Google
and 3M immediately come to mind. Many of Google's most
successful products have originated from this process.

Now, I'm not suggesting that you have to take 1 day a week (as
Google does) to undertake this process - they have high
operating margins and therefore significant leverage. However, I
would encourage you to consider `opening you mind' for at least
couple of hours each week to explore further opportunities.

I am sure that you will find it a valuable and profitable
experience if you stick to it!

5. Testing

If you can start your business with a clear idea of how you are
going to monitor your systems, resources and assets then you
will be well ahead of the pack. When most business owners are
confronted with questions about their average transaction value,
sales conversion ratios, enquiry and lead generation rates -
they come up with varying excuses or reasons as to why they
don't know or have this vital information.

DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE!!

You need to be able to calculate your ROI (Return on
Investment) for everything that you do on a regular basis.

To do this develop a set of KPI (Key Performance Indicators)
that are appropriate for your business - don't go overboard -
just focus on the information that you need. Remember that 80%
of your results come from 20% of your activities! The key is to
discover the 20% and keep improving them...

The other benefit of testing is that it encourages us to
recognise mistakes and move on - this is a vital part of the
growth process. Without action, mistakes and growth we stagnate
and/or wither at the vine!

6. Efficiency

Hard work doesn't guarantee success or profits - look at how
wealth is apportioned in the world and this soon becomes
apparent - 80% of the wealth is controlled by less than 10% of
the population.

Personally, it took a long time for this penny to drop! The
first business I owned was really just a job in disguise. I was
caught in a trap that confronts many small business owners -
working IN the business, rather than ON the business.

This is a critical distinction...

If significant profits and growth are what you desire, then it
is critical that you become efficient and develop systems that
will allow your business to work for you and not the other way
around.

There is one key concept to remember when implementing
anything...

7. Lag

Lag is the concept that you `reap what you sew'. In other
words, if you follow the principles suggested here and persist -
you will succeed!

However, your business life is going to provide you with
numerous challenges and obstacles to overcome. The biggest
difference between successful people and the rest is that
successful people look at upsets as a chance to grow and learn
rather than as failure.

When confronted by a setback, rather than giving into fear and
quitting you must continue to persist. Why? Because if your
principles are sound, all you have to do is keep adjusting your
methodology until you have a formula for success.

You will have a much greater chance of success in business if
you keep the principle of Lag in the back of your mind, stay
focused and never give up!

8. Timing

Timing is an essential aspect of business ownership. It also
shares a close bond with decision-making and action-taking. If
you continually use Lateral Thinking and Testing then you will
certainly discover further opportunities. The key to
successfully implementing and taking advantage of these
opportunities is Timing.

As the old sayings go:

If you wait too long, you may miss the boat... (e.g. someone
else capitalizes)

If you jump right in you may get your fingers burnt... ( e.g.
misjudged market enthusiasm)

You need to find a middle ground when it comes to Timing,
because it is very difficult to time things perfectly. Combine
focused analysis, gut feeling, enthusiasm and decision making
together and you will be well on the way to mastering Timing and
the next Principle...

9. Action

Successful business owners are Masters of Action. They know
that Action always beats inaction. They understand that it is
better to try, make a mistake, refine and re-implement than to
do nothing at all. That's because in business:

INACTION = A SLOW DEATH

Unsuccessful business owners are Masters of Excuses. Fear
provides them with an endless stream of seemingly logical
reasons why they shouldn't act.

You need to make a decision right now - will you accept as
doctrine your negative internal dialogue and the nay-sayers - or
will you take chances and trust your experience?

I would suggest the latter...

To take Action, it is critical that you take responsibility for
your situation. If you are not where you want to be, then
justifying or laying blame on others will not solve the
situation - it will just add fuel to your negative mindset.

A better way to respond is to focus on `the gap' - the 20% of
activities in your business (or life) that will take you from
where you are to where you want to be. Goal setting is one of
the best ways to define the `gap' and taking Action is the best
way to reduce it.

CONCLUSION: The most important Principle is that you should
love what you do - passion and attitude will play a large part
in defining your success in business. Therefore, ensure that you
find a Niche that you are comfortable with. Apply the Principles
outlined here, define your own rules and goals, and you will be
well on the way to creating a successful and profitable
business.


About The Author: Andrew Cox is the Co-founder of Business Boot
Camp. We provide FREE resources and paid programs to help small
businesses get their bottom lines into shape! Join a
profit-driven web community today...
http://www.businessbootcamp.net.au