Business success is not about luck, the right time, nor the right place — although all three are important and can’t hurt your chances to do well. There are some concrete factors that you can control that have been proven to help entrepreneurs create their success.

Here are eight factors which will have an effect on your business:

1. 1. Mindset: As a business owner, you need the right mindset that determines how you will approach business, your philosophy of success so to speak. This mindset, or way of looking at your business, is what shapes your vision, mission, and culture that then direct how everyone else you bring in will see the company. It’s this mindset that can essentially “will” your success to happen — of course, not on its own, but it will help with positivity, determination, and the mental commitment that is so valuable for breaking through any barriers that appear along the way.
   2. Capital and Cash Flow: First, you need to start with enough capital to work from to build out your business and, second, it’s important to maintain cash flow that starts to bring money into the company that you can use to pay bills and reinvest in the business to further develop it. While you don’t always need a lot of capital — because it is possible to run a lean operation — it’s important that you continually seek to create enough money from which to operate. Even more critical is that you know how to use that money appropriately to maximize what you are doing by having the right strategy to use those resources for success.

1. 1. Talented Team: While you may have an amazingly disruptive business idea that is sure to revolutionize the market, you are still nothing without the talent to make that idea come alive and stay that way. It’s important to build a talented team of people that enact your strategy. Be sure to test and assess each person you bring on board, having them start off as outsourced individuals or freelancers until you see what they are capable of doing for the business. When put together, your team actually becomes your greatest asset, surpassing even that great business idea that got you started.
   2. Timing: While it has been noted that being in the right place at the right time wasn’t necessarily a factor for business success, timing does matter in other ways. It matters when timing is aligned with rational decisions making, calculated risks, and thoughtfully planned business moves based on research and data. The correct timing may be to determine when to execute a certain part of your strategy.  Deciding when to reach out to customers and prospects and knowing when they are amenable to what you offer. Trends will be in the midst of shifting and you may need the correct timing of when to act. Also, you don’t want to be so cautious about your timing that you completely miss an opportunity so success comes from constant observation, listening, and visionary thinking.
   3. Integrity: It’s true that there have been business leaders who have lacked integrity have still succeeded but they certainly were not able to sustain their success. Eventually, their dishonesty and lack of ethics caught up with them. That’s why it pays to build your entire business on transparency and honesty, illustrating your belief in integrity and values as your primary drivers. When customers and target audience members see this integrity in action, they can trust you and then willingly buy your products or services as well as recommend you to others. They can be confident that you will not betray them either with poor quality or shady pricing. This may take time to prove, but it is well worth it to the length of success you can then enjoy from this factor.
   4. Your Network: Success truly is about who you know. Not only does it speed your ability to succeed and pull ahead of your competition, but it can also create future opportunities to sustain that winning record. To increase this network of who you know and who those in your network know, you need to spend time cultivating those relationships through online and offline communication, interaction, idea exchange and mutual assistance. Look at your business associates, friends, team members and anyone else in your life to determine if these peers and mentors can help you with any aspect of your business. They also may know others that can provide support or skills that could help your business success goals.

1. Social Responsibility: Giving of yourself, time, and resources often comes back to you “in spades.” Social responsibility is focusing on others and can generate success for you in terms of admiration and trust among your target audience. A brand will grow based on the respect others have for your culture of giving. Those who value your ability to focus on corporate social responsibility initiatives will come together and become a huge network of like-minded connections who want to partner with an organization like yours. This may lead to more funding to build your business or it may become enhanced revenues from a base of customers that only want to buy from a company that puts people before profits.
2. Creativity and Innovation: Creativity has previously had a shaky connection with business, being positioned as something that may be helpful for just a few types of businesses. However, in an age where differentiation and disruption are characteristics of the most successful startups and established businesses, there had to be some unique thinking behind the scenes to make that happen. When the phrase, outside the box thinking, was tossed around as a buzzword, creativity and innovation were the actual requirements. A business owner must get creative with the business idea they develop and then maintain that creativity through how they do more with less money, how they market their company and brand, and how they continually evolve to stay relevant.

As you can see, business success is so much more than showing up at the right time and hitting the jackpot with your audience. It’s about careful planning and a network that can help you along the way. Success is a mindset that is creative and positive, has a set of values that does right by others. It’s a talented supporting cast and an understanding of how to generate cash flow and maximize how it’s used.

Success takes a lot of work to create and sustain in any business, but it’s entirely satisfying to see the result of all your efforts.

About the Author:

John Rampton is an entrepreneur, investor, online marketing guru and startup enthusiast. He is founder of the online invoicing company Due. John is best known as an entrepreneur and connector. He was recently named #2 on Top 50 Online Influencers in the World by Entrepreneur Magazine and a Blogging Expert by Time. He currently advises several companies in the San Francisco Bay area.
 

Save time shopping around for the best merchant service provider!

Call Leap Payments at (800) 993-6300 Today!

No Contracts Required, The Lowest Rates, No Hidden Fees, and Much More!