Small Business Mistakes To Avoid
First of all, if you own a small business I have the most respect and love for you. Second of all, it’s probably not what you expected, is it? I think if we had any indication of what to really expect as a small business owner, we may have never started. So I guess it’s a good thing that we are wired to be overly optimistic and a wee bit naive in the beginning Otherwise, our communities would be missing out on all these incredible small businesses! My bakery business, Chick Boss Cake, started as a small side-hustle hobby that I’ve since grown into a million dollar business. I’ve learned first-hand that growing a small business comes with its fair share of unique challenges. Here are my top ten tips to help you grow your small business into a successful one if you want to take it to the next level:
- Make set store hours and keep them consistent. Try to make the store hours easy for your customers to remember and don’t change them often.
- Do not close early. Ever. I see this often with small businesses – it’s not a busy day and the shop owner is ready for the weekend. If a customer shows up after you’ve closed early, it is an awful experience and you’ve lost their trust.
- Infuse your personality into your business and brand.
- Get social! The more people who know about you and your business, the better.
- Get good reviews… but not perfect ones.
- Get a freakin’ website. If COVID taught businesses anything, it’s the importance of having an online presence.
- Don’t waste your time on “the haters”.
- Get staff. You need help!
- Stop acting like a small business. If you want to be successful, you need to act like a successful business. Look at what big companies are doing and start aligning your business with similar policies and procedures.
- Hustle. Hard work pays off.
Check out my blog where I elaborate further on each of these top ten tips, explaining why they’re so important and how to implement them into your own business: www.rebeccahamiltonco.com
Rebecca Hamilton,
Owner, Chick Boss Cake