All businesses have many moving parts and pieces that contribute to or detract from their overall success. Profit margins, supply chain and inventory issues, customer relations, inflation, funding, cash flow, and competition are just the tip of the iceberg.

If you don't want to sail a sinking ship, you need to keep your ear to the ground (or deck, maybe?) on each and every one of these. But for today, we're going to focus on three areas that are all interconnected and can significantly impact your business -- for good or for bad.

Finding Customers. 

Recruiting and Retaining Dedicated Employees. 

Developing Good Customer Service. 

• For a business to grow, you need to attract more customers. 
• More customers mean you need to hire more employees to keep up with the demand.
• More demand means more employee and customer interactions.
• More interactions mean more opportunities for employees to provide excellent (or not so excellent) customer service.
• Excellent customer...

Burnout: exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

If you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, you probably don't need the dictionary definition of the word; it's a reality you're all too familiar with. Starting a business -- and keeping it operational -- is no small feat. Elon Musk describes it as "eating glass and staring into the abyss. If you go into expecting that it's going to be just fun, you're going to be disappointed. It's not. It's quite painful." 

Cheery, right?

So, why do people do it? What makes entrepreneurs take the long, hard path with no shortcuts and no guaranteed success? Why the hell would someone choose to take "the road less traveled" when there are plenty of other safer, less tumultuous options out there? I know Robert Frost claimed it made all the difference, but to what end?

Because you want something more. Because you don't want to settle....

If your decision-making skills closely resemble a squirrel trying to cross the street, keep reading.

As a small business owner, you are confronted daily with (what feels like) thousand-and-one decisions -- many of which you don't even realize you're making. But even though you're getting a ton of practice, there is always room for improvement. Effective decision-making is one of the most powerful tools business owners have to drive action; cultivating this skill should not be overlooked. 

 The process of decision-making falls into two broad categories: Intuitive and Rational. Intuitive decisions rely on a "sixth sense" or "gut feeling." They tend to be more emotional-based and influenced by a person's mood. These types of decision-makers are looking for an outcome that feels right. Meanwhile, rational decisions are based on data and facts. It's a more black-and-white approach that has little regard for the emotional consequences and prioritizes an outcome that makes...

"When you stop growing you start dying."

This cheerful little quip (credited initially to William S. Burroughs) is a poignant reminder for small business owners that becoming stagnant isn't an option if you want to be successful. And that's the goal, right? If you want to create long-term success - not to mention survive the competition - you can't rest on your laurels or settle for the status quo. You need to be proactive.

One of the ways you can do this is by increasing the value of your business. This can lead to better profit margins, happier employees, more satisfied customers, and scalability - which means you can continue operating for years to come (or at least as long as you'd like). 

You can add value to your business in various ways, some of which are entirely free while others require a bit more time or money. Below we've listed seven areas you can focus on today to get started.

Review the Current SOPs

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), when done well, are...

Great Expectations: How Long Does it Take to Buy a Business?

Making the decision to buy a business is a big one, especially for first-time buyers. And it's also very exciting - the idea of being your own boss, taking those first steps to entrepreneurship, or generating more income are all appealing goals. 

In that excitement, however, it's important to remember that the actual business acquisition process can be pretty lengthy. (This isn't one-click Amazon ordering.) There are a lot of steps to get you to the finish line, including research, market analysis, due diligence, securing funding, and negotiating contracts. Managing your expectations from the starting block will keep you from getting discouraged along the way if it ends up taking longer than you initially imagined it would.

So, give it to me straight. What sort of timeline am I looking at?

There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, but on average, you can expect it to take anywhere from 6 - 12...

We’re all familiar with the old adage, “You don’t know until you try.” It’s the argument that parents around the world make every evening at dinner to convince their children they’ll like those oddly shaped green things on their plates. And it’s what we tell ourselves when we’re working up the courage to take a risk, like finally ordering The Dirty Shirley (worth it) or sinking a bunch of funds into Voyager (big whoops). 

When it comes to buying a business, it’s usually recommended you look within the industries you’re familiar with. Logically and logistically, this makes perfect sense. You already know the ins and outs of operations, what the markets look like, the challenges, the trends, the competition, and so on. Overall, it tends to be a smoother transition.

But what if you find a really sweet deal on a business you know nothing about? What if you’re bored with running a laundromat when what you really want...

Becoming a business owner through acquisition can be a smart move to avoid the hassles and headaches of launching your own startup. With so many new businesses failing within the first five years - not to mention the time it can take even to turn a profit - starting from scratch is risky business, sans a dancing Tom Cruise. 

That’s not to say that acquiring an existing business is a cakewalk; it will come with its own set of unique challenges. But in many instances, the pros outweigh the cons, and buying a business could be your first step to building your empire. (We like to think big here.)

A big part of the purchasing process is doing due diligence. Not every opportunity on the market is a good one, and while it might be tempting to jump at the first eye-catching deal that comes along, keep in mind this isn’t a new mattress you can try out for 120 days and return for a full refund after four months of fitful sleep. These transactions are a lot of time and...

Funding may be our favorite F word, but FREE comes in at a pretty close second. 

When you’re operating a small business, every penny counts - especially if you have razor-thin margins. This can make it a challenge to scale and grow your business if you don’t have extra funds sitting around to hire experts or purchase fancy equipment or software.

The good news is that there are plenty of absolutely 100% free programs and resources that can help you achieve your goals without spending one solitary cent. And as an added bonus, many of them will also save you time. (And we all know time is money, so win-win.)

Here are eight free resources you can use to help manage and scale your small business.

Calendly

A personal favorite of ours, Calendly is one of the best online scheduling tools out there by eliminating the hassle of back-and-forth emails when trying to get an appointment on the books. Its user-friendly hub is a breeze to set up and can be customized for your...

If you want your business to be successful, it needs to be profitable. And if you want it to be profitable, you need to know and understand a little something called profit margins. After all, if you aren't bringing in money, the bills don't get paid, and that story, my friend, is one that never ends well. 

In very simplified terms, a profit margin is a percentage of how much profit your business generates per dollar of sale. Example: If you have a 30% profit margin, it means you're netting $0.30 of income on every dollar. 

To arrive at this percentage, start with your revenue and deduct the total cost of goods sold, expenses, interest, and taxes (Your net income). Divide that number by the original revenue amount, multiply by 100, and alakazam, you have your profit margin and a clear picture of how your business is fairing. 

As a business owner, it's important that you get - and stay - very, very familiar with your profit margins. We're talking-Tommy Lee and Pam...

Running a business can be expensive and time-consuming—especially when you're first starting out or operating a one-man (or one-woman) show. Hiring full-time or even part-time help may be out of the question, but you know that if you want to grow and scale your business, something has to give.

The concept of outsourcing has grown in popularity over the years, both for its time-saving and money-saving benefits. Recent statistics show that 37% of small businesses outsource at least part of their process to focus on their core business, improve quality of service, solve capacity issues, or meet their business needs. Even big-name companies like Peloton are outsourcing production as a way to cut costs. 

If you're ready to start outsourcing for success but have questions on the hows, whys, and logistics of it all, keep reading.

What Should I Outsource?

This is obviously the first question you should be asking yourself. Take a look at the tasks and projects on your to-do...