10 Survival Tactics Small Business Owners Must Know

1. You must know how to sell.
Too many people decide to hang their shingle out only to learn they don’t know a thing about sales. Entrepreneurs must be diligent at developing the self-confidence, attitude,  discipline, and perseverance to ask people to hand over their hard-earned money for a service of value.

2. You must live the ‘publish or perish’ mentality.
Write articles for trade publications and membership newsletters. Here are generated content helpful for credibility.

 3. You must be willing to speak in public. You were brave enough to launch a small business. There’s no time for being shy or nervous. Partner with a networking group to be the guest expert at a meeting, conference, or webinar. You’ll be front and center with dozens of potential prospects interested in your topic. Beats cold-calling.

4. You must be able to validate others.
Validation is an acknowledgement that the other person (your prospect or client) is being heard.Validation is proof that you are listening. For example: “I can imagine that the loss of your vendor has been difficult.”

 5. You must know how to ask for what you need.  No one expects you to know everything.
That’s why there are contact lists, databases filled with names of people who can provide products and services to you. Get rid of this self-induced pressure and be willing to speak up. Asking for help is a sign of a true leader.

6. You must be able to identify your ideal customers. This is accomplished by self-communication.
Ask yourself: Who do I enjoy working with? What niche am I passionate about? Who needs my expertise? Do these people have the budget or resources to pay me?

7. You must have thick skin. People can be awfully mean. They say crap that’s not helpful or positive. Entrepreneurs are so fully vested in their own businesses that it’s hard not to take things personally. Don’t take the BS to heart.

8. You must communicate patience when educating people.
Clients do business with you because you offer a valuable product or service that they want or need. You, on the other hand, are entrenched in your niche or business and will have to slow down to educate those who don’t know all the ins and outs like you do.


9. You must develop charisma. Charisma is that special charm or personality trait that draws people to you. Self-confidence, along with a friendly and easy demeanor, will take you a long way in business.

10. You must be willing to reinvent yourself. Chances are you are planning to be self-employed for a long time. Businesses and people change. The very and only thing that remains permanent is change. It’s a given. How can you effectively communicate changes in your messages and direction, without alienating people? 

Cheers to the brave small business owners around the world! All the very best. Stay safe and healthy.

12 Quotes For Every Entrepreneur

1. “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” Mary Kay Ash, founder Mary Kay Cosmetics

2. “Most of us have trouble juggling. The woman who says she doesn’t is someone whom I admire but have never met.” Barbara Walters, broadcast journalist and author

3. “What I wanted was to be allowed to do the thing in the world that I did best — which I believed then and believe now is the greatest privilege there is. When I did that, success found me.”Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Bakeries
 
4. “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” Maya Angelou,author and poet

5. “Hope is a thing with feathers / That perches in the soul, / And sings the tune without words / And never stops at all.” Emily Dickinson, poet

6. “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” Maya Angelou, author and poet (This may be a prohibited language on some platforms, but it is reality!

7. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady

8. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin, author

9. “Be bold. If you’re going to make an error, make a doozey, and don’t be afraid to hit the ball.”Billie Jean King, former professional tennis player

10. “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. ” Margaret Fuller, American journalist, critic, and women’s rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement

11. Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself.” Oprah Winfrey

12. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill 
 I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Bill Cosby

Have a wonderful day.