Here is a chance for small business owners of today to learn from the mistakes made by many in the past and benefit by taking the advice of those who successfully started and grew their own small businesses.

BE SPECIFIC – When first starting out, it is often best to find a specific niche and stick with it.  Expanding into too many products or services too quickly can be a recipe for disaster as it can spread you too thin and increase expenses faster the revenue.  Then set specific goals for both the short term and long term in terms of sales with strategies of how to achieve those goals.

1. CONTROL EXPENSES – Sales can often be unpredictable and out of your control, but expenses are something you can and should manage, especially when first starting out.  Today it is easy to be a virtual company with no office, which means no rent, utilities, and other overhead costs.  Also, consider keeping that day job a little longer.  .  This means you will have long days working a regular job and then coming home and working on your new business at night.  However, having a salary coming in while you are starting a new business can very comforting and the reduced financial stress can more than offset the lack of sleep in the short term.
2. NETWORK – No one can do it all on their own and building a strong support network is essential.  Social media is a great platform to reach your local business and consumer communities, but don’t forget about live networking as well.  Local chambers of commerce, Business Networking International (BNI) and college a business alumni meetings are a great way to expand your network and get others to spread the word about your business.  You never know when the next piece of good advice or hot lead is going to come from so stay connected!
3. DELEGATE – You cannot do it all, so don’t even try.  Focus on your strengths and delegate the rest to experts in those areas.  For some of these jobs that will mean hiring employees, but for other it will be more efficient to outsource.  Accounting, taxes, information technology and payroll/human resources are critical functions in all companies, but for small businesses they are part time positions with variable hours.  For that reason it is often it is usually more cost efficient to outsource these functions.

Total Team Solutions is a human resources outsourcing firm that has been providing critical payroll, benefit administration and human resources advisory services to small businesses in Connecticut and New York for 30 years.  Over this time we have supported our clients as they have grown from startups to established businesses, relying on our expertise and cost effective services and business solutions.  Contact John Morlock at 800-836-9678, ext. 5, or via email at jmorlock@ttspro.com to find out more about how Total Team Solutions can help your small business.  Also, check out our website www.ttspro.com.