Owning and running a small business is an impressive feat. For some, however, reaching this point can be difficult and confusing. You might not be sure of your business concept or you might still be figuring out how to manage your finances. But, if you follow these simple tricks and tips, you will become the success you have always dreamed of. Here is everything small business owners need to know.

Successful organisations learn from their experiences, be it good or bad. Getting it right the first time is not always the outcome, although it is the ultimate intended outcome. Organisations that approach things with order, common sense, consistency and persistence will ultimately succeed. If you are going to deliver on your promise you have to learn to listen to what and how you may deliver on your promise. This message will come from your clients or customers. Here is why efficiency is everything.

When starting and running a business, planning for the future (and multiple eventualities) is necessary to ensure the initial and continued success of your business. Continuous business planning therefore is advisable and widely-considered to be non-negotiable. This article focuses on navigating resource allocation in particular.

There are basically three ways in which to grow a business, namely: by getting new clients; increasing the share of wallet; or increasing the frequency of transactions with existing clients. Determining the value of a client can therefore be very useful. For example, there is definitely a difference in the way we look at a potential client that is worth R50 vs R50 000 to our business. Here is how to calculate the value of new and existing clients.

There is something to be said for making the time to investigate, evaluate and think about some critical elements impacting on the success of our businesses. These elements include service experience, business premises, staff, and the business image, which are discussed in this article.

Successful businesses depend on proper business planning and management. But things do go wrong and such unfortunate events, beyond anybody's control, will cripple a business. There must be contingency plans in place to decrease the risk areas. Controls to manage risks are essential to ensure your business can keep going should the unexpected happen. Unfortunately, many small business owners see the costs involved as a grudge payment and often let it slip – with disastrous consequences. Where are you most vulnerable?

If one were to ask 10 marketing directors what the criteria for a successful brand are, you would get 10 completely different answers. Whichever way you look at it, brands today are the most demonstrably powerful and sustainable wealth creators in the world. However, to become a successful brand one has to take it seriously. So, before you embark on a brand-centric exercise here are some questions you should ask yourself.

Figures illustrate that as of October 2019, 87% of South Africans know about Black Friday.

If you are a veteran in the SME sector, are running a very successful business or just feel you have something to offer a budding entrepreneur, you may consider becoming a mentor. Let's look at the characteristics of a good business mentor. Mentorship is all about giving back and contributing to the growth of someone who may be where you were as a would-be business mogul. Use your experience and expertise to help other small business owners

You may think that because you have good bookkeeping and accounting processes in place and your cash flow is under control, you can sit back and relax. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong. This is the perfect time to do an in-depth analysis of where your business stands financially. If you're not so clued up about the accounting and financial side of your business, you may not realise how an in-depth financial analysis can benefit your company. Learn how to get the most out of your financial information.

Every business owner wants their business to succeed but often they don’t know how they can do that. However, with the rise of outsourcing, many companies have managed to grow their business and reach their business goals. There are many advantages that come with outsourcing your business. If you’re interested in knowing more about outsourcing and how it can help your business, then read our advantages in this article.

There are so many things you can do to improve your business – not just incrementally, but monumentally – and often the specifics are rather simple. Here are 50 things that you can start doing today to make your business work, grow, and keep on growing. If all you did was pick a new item from this list-each week – and put it into play, can you imagine how much progress you would make?

Every New Year brings with it new challenges and opportunities for business owners, all of which need to be incorporated into a business’s plans going forward. Business owners should make use of the first few weeks of the New Year to reflect on what worked well in the previous year, and what needs to be improved or changed for the year ahead. Proactive planning, with clear timelines, will positively benefit the long-term development of a business. Here are 5 resolutions for you to consider in the New Year.

The lessons in this article are based on the work of Anthony Robbins who has written many books on personal achievement. He believes that you will get from life what you ask of it. So if your requests are small and limited so will your successes and rewards be. Find out how to reach personal and professional success using five key lessons.

Everyone who has been in business for some time has a “recipe” for the formulation of a business strategy.In this article I share the primary building blocks of the business strategy framework I use when I assist small to medium-sized businesses with planning. The primary building blocks are: identifying your target market, knowing your competition, having a team of experts, analysing certain business elements, and making in-flight adjustments when necessary.

There is no shortage of advice on how to successfully start a business and begin your journey as an entrepreneur. While this advice is helpful, it can give the false impression that there is a "perfect" formula for starting a business, which doesn't exist. Every entrepreneur will experience different entrepreneurial journeys. There is no "one size fits all". Here are 10 uncommon tips for starting a business that you may not have heard before.