One of the greatest feelings of accomplishment you can experience is that of starting and growing your own business. It doesn't matter how big or how small, the fact is that you have proved to yourself that you're capable of making it on your own and can independently make your own way through life. Besides your achievement giving you a sense of well deserved self pride, it's also good for the country. You're now creating earnings that weren’t there before and if you're not doing it already you're in the position to create employment for others.

To keep your focus strong you must always be striving to grow your business and these following ten hints might help you do just that. Not that you don't know it yourself already but it's often helpful to have these points reinforced, especially when you start feeling a little smug and complacent. They are:


1. The most obvious is where we'll start, and that has to be, to keep focused on achieving your goals. No matter what goals you've set yourself for this week, this month or this year, you must retain the same single minded focus you showed you had when you first set out to achieve what you have achieved. It's an ongoing process and you have to keep that desire to succeed alive that's often referred to as having, 'the fire in the belly.' Focusing on goals can help do that.


2. Your task to grow your business is much easier if you have the right people around you.  Having the right people around you is imperative to success and this starts with your spouse or partner, friends, family and acquaintances, right through to your employees. As much as possible start avoiding those who are continuously negative and spend more of your time with those who are positive.


3. All successful business people know that to get to where they've got they've had to stand out from the crowd. If not you personally, definitely your business. Even if it involves an element of exaggeration as to how big or successful your business is. To the outsider looking on your business must always appear to be successful. Nobody wants to do business with another that's on the verge of folding, therefore you must never give the impression your business is going through hard times even though every business ever started has experienced hard times at one stage or another.  Keeping any business on top in a competitive world is not an easy task. Your particular business must always be prominent and stand out from the others in a similar field.


4. Your business must continuously be achieving measurable results. As you grow your business you have to be able to measure your progress. If you don't do this you run the risk of believing things are better than they really are. This'll come down to your marketing strategy as it's a complete waste of time and money advertising your business in a magazine on horse riding clubs if you repair racing cars. You have to market your business in the areas where you'll get the best response and then measure the result, if it’s not working try another.


5. Whatever your business, once you find a way of doing things that is efficient and economical, stick with it. Too many changes too often tends to upset clients as well as staff. We are a conservative type of people who don't take to change readily. When changes are found to be necessary do so slowly and carry your clients and staff with you all the way. Don't spring a revolutionary change in the way of operating overnight without forewarning, unless it's for a market advantage over a competitor.


6. Never underestimate a competitor. Free enterprise is a cut throat game and the rules are much the same as in the jungle where eat or be eaten is forever paramount. A competitor might well take you out to dinner and even offer you assistance from time to time but to let your guard down and start believing you're friends is a mistake not worth making. Grow your business – not your competitors, and if a takeover situation occurs jump to it without hesitation.


7. Good accurate record keeping is very important. No business can succeed over the longer term with shoddy and inaccurate bookkeeping. This is especially so when things are a bit tight. You must always know exactly where your business sits financially and to keep a sharp eye on any trends that start appearing. Especially if your debtor list starts growing as once it gets out of hand it's very hard to reign in again.


8. Never underestimate the importance of selling. No matter what type of business you're involved in at some point selling is involved. When you become too involved in other business activities never forgo the importance of sales. Your main employee will be the one that's able to sell your business dealings the best and if it's not you, treat him or her as a VIP as far as the growing of your business is concerned.


9. Although marketing and sales are two vastly different areas, they are both intricately linked. A good marketing campaign has to be able to be backed up with sales. If you're selling a certain product you must have it on hand to sell to your customer when asked for it. Once you start a waiting list you're in trouble. Then again, if the marketing campaign fails you could be left with an overstocking problem. Both marketing and sales have to work together at all times.


10. Developing and maintaining a commonality with your customers and prospective customers. At all times you must always know what your customer needs and have that product ready to deliver. No business will succeed if it tries to force a product onto a customer that doesn't want or need it. It all comes down to filling a need. Master that and keep it in mind at all times and your business will continue to grow.

This article was written by Justin from Mobile Phone Finder who is passionate about helping his team and business grow.

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