Top 5 Tips For Success In Business

When you’re working, it doesn’t matter if you’re self-employed, or working for a huge organization. The only thing that matters is your success in business. You can’t buy success, or wait around for someone else to plunk it down on you. And of course, no amount of flattery can lead you up the ladder of success.

It’s a known fact – you have to work for success.

So here are the top 5 tips for success in business, which you can use to become more successful in your chosen line of work:

Make Your Work, Your Passion

Find out which aspects of your work triggers your passion, because having this passion will motivate you to go on, even when you face difficult times.

Now there are a few people who work for money. Money is an important part of your life, I understand. Some might even say money can motivate you to work harder. But without your passion, you simply can’t go on with just the prospect of earning more money. Your passion can ignite your drive to work better, thus leading you to more success.

Having said that, there are still some people who are doing their jobs, only because they’re qualified but not really passionate about what they do. But think about the number of times you’ve heard about someone popular who’s doing something completely opposite to their educational qualifications.

Take Tom Cruise for example. He enrolled in a Franciscan seminary to study for priesthood at the age of 14. But fortunately for all Tom Cruise fans, he found his passion in acting, and the rest is history.

Yes, Tom Cruise found his passion quite early in his life. I understand some people can take longer to find their passion. But the fact remains, you can only be successful at something you are passionate about.

If you’re not satisfied with your line of work, or feel you are destined for something different, it’s never too late to quit your job and find your passion.

Avoid procrastination

Always remember – the more you procrastinate, the more opportunities you’ll miss.

And I’m not just talking about the opportunity at hand. When you procrastinate, you are simply pushing away the opportunity at hand, as well as upcoming opportunities related to it.

For instance, when you are late in project submissions, your manager is most likely NOT going to assign you to any important high-profile projects at work in the future. Missing out on such projects can reduce your visibility among the important decision makers in your organization, thus affecting your chances at promotions and other perks.

The aftermath of procrastination is even more harsh for a business owner. Missed deadline will probably spell out missed sale, and of course missed sale means you can bid goodbye to that particular client forever. The stakes are a lot higher when you’re self-employed, so it’s best to avoid procrastination in order to achieve success in business.

However, don’t confuse procrastination with planning.

Planning is an integral part of your business plan. You have to take out time to plan your work. In order to avoid missing sales and encourage returning clients, it’s best to plan your work according to your business cycle. Find out how your business works –

• Is there any particular time of the day when you receive leads?
• Which days of the week do you expect any clients?
• How do you schedule work when you’re on vacation?

There are scores of questions you need to answer to plan out your work efficiently.

One way to do so is charting out the amount of time you take every day on different tasks. By comparing these daily tasks over a period of time, you’ll be able to understand how you can maximize your business cycle to earn more clients, and manage your time more efficiently not just at work, but outside work as well.

Put some thoughts in your business plan, set up automated systems, and kick procrastination out of the door. This planning can also help you enjoy your personal life, outside your workplace.

Revamp Your Soft Skills

Now I know “soft skills” can sound a little more intimidating than it really is. You’ve nothing to worry about.

Soft skills are basically skills you already have. Like, how you behave with your boss (or your employees), interact with colleagues and clients, manage time at work, handle pressure, and so on.

All you have to keep in mind is to stay within your limits and follow office protocol. And here are some notes you can stick to while you’re at your workplace:

• Admit your mistakes when you face the realisation of being in the wrong.
• Encourage others. Listen to what others have to say, keep an open mind, and compliment them for their good work.
• Avoid ego clashes. In fact, leave your ego behind, outside your workplace. This way you can handle any criticism coming your way in the right manner. And of course, when you do face any criticism, try to take corrective action.
• Maintain good standards with your behavior at work, the way you dress, your work ethics, and so on. Set an example for others to follow.

Follow these short notes above to revamp your soft skills. This will help you maintain a strong relationships at your workplace, hence build a healthy working environment. Consequently, such a healthy work environment can increase your productivity, as well as the overall efficiency of your organization.

Therefore, you can understand how revamping your soft skills from time to time can help you move forward in life, help you succeed more in business. And these soft skills will not only help you succeed in business, it’ll also help you gain better relationships with others in your workplace.

Be HUMAN

In this competitive world, we work so hard and so much, and sometimes so ruthlessly, we start resembling machines.

No emotions, just tasks at hand.

But to succeed more, and to enjoy the success, you have to remember your human nature.

Start small by paying more attention to the world around you. And use the most important, but often forgotten, words of pleasure – thank you and please.

Your ego should be healthy enough to use these two words often and better yet, never enough. Say it to your colleagues, employees, clients, anyone who crosses your path inside and outside your workplace.

In fact, take out some time from your busy schedule to send out handwritten notes of thank-you to your clients, or anyone you want to show your appreciation for. It might be an old fashioned way of communication but whoever receives such genuine tokens of appreciation will definitely be thankful for your efforts, thus helping you build a better rapport with them. And of course, better relationships yield better results, whether being more productive, or making a sale.

Another way to show your humanity at work is to SMILE. A smile can brighten your mood. A smile is contagious, thus brightening the moods of others around you. And at tough times, a smile can get rid of the stress you and your colleagues might face. A smile can bring hope, thus motivating you to keep going, and not give up at bleak situations.

During these COVID times, it’s difficult to keep smiling from one Zoom meeting to the next. But still, try…

And finally, there’s your attitude. Adopt a cut-throat attitude, and you’ll pretty much be at the receiving end of some ruthless animosity from others around you. However, adopt a positive attitude, and welcome a more friendly, more productive environment at work.

There are of course many other ways to being human. Set the standards high, and you’ll encourage others to follow your example. And all this can lead to more success in business.

Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone

There are two points to keep in mind here.

First, don’t just follow business procedures and practices simply because that’s what your competitors are doing, or you’ve been doing that for years. Leave your comfort zone, and try out a radical new approach in your line of work.

If it fails, you can always revert to your old ways, but what if it’s a success? You’ll learn something new, and obviously, you’ll achieve an edge over your competition.

Next, always be ready for change.

Whether changing technologies, or people working around you, you have to welcome change for you (and others) to grow personally.

While I don’t condone firing anyone at work for random reasons, I do recommend auditing your task force, or at least performing regular evaluations and taking necessary actions to streamline your organization or business.

And yes, this definitely puts you way out of your comfort zone.

At this point, it’s imperative to focus on improving your business, rather than considering the emotions of people you might cross in this endeavour. Change management can be a tough time for everyone at work. However, it is just as important.

Adapting to change management is also quite challenging, so keep in mind to be equipped with change management best practices to help yourself and others around you cope better with such changes.

Now, over to you..

Your success is an important factor of happiness and satisfaction in your life, especially your success in business. But there’s no easy way out to achieve success in life. Whether you own a business, or belong to the workforce of a huge corporation, your success usually comes at a price of hard work.

So try my 5 tips to build your success in business. Good luck!

Read my other articles for Women Entrepreneurs for more success in business.