Congratulations for wanting to or already starting a business that you could call your very own. One of the hardest decisions you will ever make is to leave a cushioning job to start off a business that is going to lead you into the unknown. So now that you have started, what next?

I know that it has probably entered your mind at one point or another about the failure rate of people who start a business. It is definitely intense and scary to even think about. The last thing that you want to do is start a business just for it to close down in a few years.

So for all of you that have decided to be courageous and take the lesser traveled road, here are a few ways for you to stay in business:

1. Know Your Audience

One of several epic business fails is not knowing your audience. You can have this amazing product or service just to constantly get in front of the wrong people that don’t need it or don’t want it. If you know your audience, you will know where to reach them, what catches their attention, and how much they will pay for what you have to offer.

2. Brand For Success

Many businesses fail because people don’t know what they are, what they offer, and what makes them relevant. Branding correctly can solve these problems for your business and yourself.

When branding yourself, you need to know your Business Archetype, what you stand for or against, and because it is a noisy marketplace, you need to have something that is going to separate you from all the others.

“If your business is not a brand, it is a commodity.”

3. Surveys Are Gold

Your audience has something to tell you that can make them the best selling product you have ever created but if you don’t ask them, you will never know. As a business owner or entrepreneur, it is easy to create a product or service that we think the world needs. What’s hard is to put away our creativity and allow the people who we are trying to serve to create the product for us.

Don’t worry, it does get easier to do, especially after you see how much this works. Survey your audience and allow them to tell you their pain points, what they want, and how much they are willing to pay to have the solution to their pressing issues solved. Then create the product or service based on the information that they have given you.

4. If You’re Not Seen You Can’t Be Heard

You can have the best product and service in the world but if no one knows about you, it is not going to make you a dime or a positive reputation. You have got to be visible and let people know that you are there to give them the solutions that they have been looking for. It is a big world that has gotten smaller because of the Internet so a lot of times you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to do this.

Just to name a few ways that you can accomplish this is to utilize your social media, brand leverage, publish your expertise in different places, and join social media groups that you believe your ideal customer will be in.

5. Have The Guts and Grit

Without guts and grit, you might as well throw in the towel. Being a business owner or an entrepreneur is probably going to be the hardest thing that you have ever done in your life.

Don’t let it stop you because all of those people that made it to the top, at one point, were looking up to others that were already there. They had to have the guts to pursue a dream and a vision relentlessly that was not guaranteed despite the doubts, the struggles, and the nay sayers.

6. Time Is Always The Main Ingredient

Time is one of the ingredients that we all have to apply in multiple areas of our day and life. So why should you believe that it doesn’t apply to your business? There is no such thing as an overnight success and if there is it is rare enough to know that it most likely won’t happen to you.

The people that have made it to their success have put in the work and most importantly the time. Most businesses didn’t fail because their products and services were bad, it was because they didn’t utilize all of these ingredients and most importantly they didn’t persevere.

If you can persevere through the rough times, the times when you have no money, and the times when you feel like nothing you are doing or have done is working, then you will eventually make it to your success. Give your dreams and visions time to manifest.

“Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.” – Drew Houston

Starting a business will render you amazing results if you apply the right ingredients and continue to believe in yourself. Your business and life is worth the effort and if you do the work, your successful self will thank you for it later.

What else do you think someone needs to know to start a successful business? Leave your thoughts below!