The hour has come! Your start-up is ready to be taken to the next level; the question is how do you get there?

Start Building Your Dream Team (Slowly)
In business there’s only so much you can realistically manage on your own. Having an extra pair of hands creates an opportunity for extra skills on board and a chance for you to delegate tasks. The key thing for any business owner to remember is that hiring staff is a strenuous process. “Hire slowly. Fire quickly. You might be in a rush to fill a vacant spot or add a new position, but it takes more time (and money, and stress) to train the wrong person and fix their mess than it does to hire the right person in the first place.” says Nicole Smartt, Vice President and co-owner of Star Staffing.

Be Persistent With Your Strategy
As the saying goes ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ In other words if you have a strategy that has proven to lead to results, stick at it. Persistence is vital in the development stage of any business. “In sales, it takes an average of eight times to break into a new client.” says Nicole Whilst being persistent, it’s also just as important to take note of what’s not working and what’s needed to improve for growth.

Operate With Integrity
No matter how big your business grows or how much turnover you make a year, always keep your ethics, morals, and integrity at the forefront of your mind. In business your level of integrity will be tested, but remember what you stand for and what you aim to represent as a company. Honesty is always the best policy and will gain you higher loyalty with customers in the long run.

Give It All You’ve Got
In business it’s important to have an ‘all or nothing’ attitude. Aim to do everything in excellence from responding to emails, to answering phone calls to committing to promises made to customers. When operating, consider how your actions will make your customer feel, do they feel appreciated, valued and respected? Do you make them feel that ‘WOW’factor?

Embrace Your USP
What makes you different from your competitors? Know what your unique selling point is and embrace it. Often we can look for an extravagant difference, but one thing that will always make your business different is YOU. Being an owner of a business does not mean you have to be stuck behind a desk 24/7 whilst your employees hit the road and get in on all the action. Don’t be afraid to change the game, “Put your best people on the biggest opportunities, not the biggest problems.” says Jim Collins “I visit clients on a regular basis as the main sales representative. That’s right — who better to sell than the owner of a company? Half my new clients had never met their prior staffing firms’ business owner — yet they deal with me on a daily basis, cell phone number and all.” says Nicole.

Cover photo: tumblr