11 Things Small Business Owners Can Do To Ensure Great Is Great
By: David Handler

1. Trust Your Team ? Delegation. Empowerment. Call it what you wish. You can?t do everything by yourself. Hire the best people, train them well, then get out of their way.

2. Communicate ? You may know where your small business is heading, but if your employees don?t, they can?t help you get there. Make time to share with them on a daily basis.

3. Smash The Box ? It?s a clich???think outside the box.? What if there was no box? What could you do differently? Be innovative?and look for new ways to do everything you do better.

4. Ask Questions ? A good business philosophy to get to the root of an issue is to ask ?Why?? seven times. Ask a lot of questions?to your customers, suppliers, employees and yourself.

5. Make It Easy ? Consider all the ways customers interact with your small business. Where are the barriers, and how can you remove them to enhance the customer experience?

6. Plan For Success ? A business plan isn?t something you do before opening, then stick in a drawer and forget. Take time to update yours each year?focusing on new opportunities.

7. Stand On A Chair ? In ?Dead Poets Society,? students stand on their desks to get a different perspective. Do this at your small business location, and you?ll see lots of things?for the first time.

8. Follow The System ? Stick with your proven business practices...and show your employees how to do the same. You?ll go farther faster.

9. Educate ? Make time on a regular basis to train your team. They?ll appreciate your investment in their personal and professional growth, and they?ll be more productive for you.

10. Take Five ? Owning your own small business means taking on a lot of challenges and pressures. Make sure you step away occasionally and refresh. You?ll be more energized when you return.

11. Get Close ? Step outside the walls of your office/location, and ?ground pound??getting to know your customers and staying involved in your community. It leads to geometric returns.

The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, (http://www.successhandler.com), and specializes in helping small business leaders find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he?s been there ? as a small business owner, franchisee, franchisor, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.

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