One of the most important things that a small business owner needs to keep in mind if they want their business to be successful in the long term is to set long term business goals. While this may be something that takes time out of the day to day tasks; it is an essential step to keeping your small business afloat during these tough economic times. For example, if sales are not performing as expected and the business is barely staying afloat; you can review your long term goals to see how you can change your current goals to help you to achieve these tasks.


Keep the Big Picture in Mind

One of your long term goals should be to always look at the big picture of your small business as a whole. While this can often be a difficult task for many small business owners due to the daily tasks which often take precedence; it is an essential part of proper planning. You will also need to look at the bigger picture when dealing with internal problems with staff to help you to determine if the employee is the problem, or if the problem lies with the manager who trained the employee. By examining the bigger picture you can accurately deal with the problems effectively and efficiently.

Keep Track of Expenses

The next tip that I want to offer you is to be sure that all expenses are carefully monitored; with one of the biggest expenses being the payroll of your staff. You want to be sure that you are making the most out of this expense by hiring qualified and productive workers who reliably perform the tasks requested of them in a timely manner. Unproductive or inefficient employees can cost a small business a lot of unneeded expense. Consider paying a slightly higher salary for an individual who is going to be more productive to the success of the business. Herbert Hoover said it best when he said - About the time we can make the ends meet, somebody moves the ends. - This holds very true in the small business world; so it is essential that you plan ahead.

Pay Attention to Detail

I know that the typical saying is Don’t sweat the small stuff; however, if you are in charge of running a small business, you will have to worry about the small stuff in order to determine how it is going to affect the big picture of the success of your small business. Harry Emerson Fosdick once said not to simply retire from something, but to have something to retire to. This is something that should always be on the mind of any small business owner. Look at every detail about your small business carefully and see how something small such as a sign or tree in front of your business could be affecting your business. When it comes to running a small business every little detail matters.

Recognize the Importance of Quality Control

I want to also stress the importance of taking the time to be sure that quality is the top consideration of your business. While quantity may produce more money in the short term, quality is going to be what keeps customers coming back again. You should re evaluate all aspects of your business so that you can be sure that you are doing all you can to provide your customers with the best quality you can. Practice makes perfect, so don't be afraid to try out new things in order to improve the quality of your products or services. For example, you would not expect to instantly learn how to play piano chords or learn to play sheet music; you cannot expect to instantly know the best methods for operating your business.

Be Willing to Work Hard

The last thing that I want to remind you of is that running a small business is not easy and can often be a very time consuming and painstaking process at first. Expect to have to put in long hours in order to succeed. However, as your business becomes established you will see that all of the time and energy that you have spent ensuring that all facets of your small business are operating to optimal performance was well worth it.  Keeping one eye on daily operations and the other on the future will help your small business to succeed!


In summary, the five tips which you will need to follow in order to create a successful small business are:

• Keep the Big Picture in Mind
• Keep Track of Expenses
• Pay Attention to Detail
• Recognize the Importance of Quality
• Be Willing to Work Hard

About the Author

Melissa Cameron resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and two children. She loves to write creative writing pieces in her spare time. These often include topics such as general health, keeping in mind the well-being of her family.