Rounding out our ‘Starting Your Business’ series, the early days of actually running your business day-to-day can be an exciting time, and a period where you’re really getting to grips with what this business demands of you and your team. All your planning will come together to play out live, and there are several areas you’ll want to focus on in the early months of managing and running your new business in order to make it a long term, successful venture.

Stick to the Plan

Across our blog, you’ll see extensive mentions and deep-dives into creating a business plan document, and this will be essential in the early days of running your business. While you can have a succinct and strategic business plan on paper, putting this into action when your business is ‘live’ is a different experience altogether.

Don’t be disheartened if adjustments are required, and stay agile in your mindset – pivot your strategy as needed and make regular updates to your business plan, but ensure you revisit your timelines, goals and numbers laid out in this document to stay on track and give you a roadmap for managing all of the different layers of running a business.

If you’re noticing significant discrepancies between projections across sales or growth, take the time to understand whether there has been miscalculations in your initial plan, or if there has been a shift to the market that’s impacting your revenue, rather than simply pushing forward blindly – your business plan should be reliable, but it won’t replace “hands-on” experience with your business.

Be Realistic

Although you may have purchased an existing business with a solid track record, keep in mind that a significant percentage of new businesses will fail in their first 3 years in operation, and this all comes down to planning (as discussed in the section above), and management – this includes managing your own expectations.

Stick to realistic KPIs and goals, although it can be tempting to want to ‘go big’ and make a splash in the early months of running your business – it’s especially important to stick to what works (at least during early months of operations) if you have purchased an existing business with a successful history, in other words – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. As a business owner, you’ll be keen to make your mark on the enterprise, but there’s plenty of time for change and growth once you’re settled into a flow.

Stay Connected with your ‘Why’

Don’t forget your inspiration behind the goal to purchase and run a business – perhaps you’re looking to stretch yourself, to be part of a business you see moving from strength to strength. When the daily operations get on top of you or you hit some roadblocks in your business, it’s easy to forget your motivation. 

Take time to step away from your business and create a work-life balance (as tempting as it can be in early days to throw all of your hours into it), to get perspective on the successes so far and appreciate what you’ve achieved in both the planning, purchase and now early stages of running a new business – which is a challenging time even for the most experienced entrepreneurs. 

Supercharge your Leadership Capacity

Stepping into a business leadership role (especially relevant for a new business owner who is keen to have an active role in the business) requires a dedication to not only the wider success of the business, but to your own professional and personal development. 

You’re responsible for leading your employees, and leading by example – and these leadership qualities may need to be honed, refined and strengthened like any other muscle. Leaders aren’t always born, they are created, and a strong leader will be a fixture of a successful business – and today more than ever, it’s about emotional intelligence as much as hard skills and technical expertise.

Even if you’ve got an impressive track record of business growth or even an MBA, leadership encompasses integrity, empathy, creativity, connection and above all, resilience – these abilities will empower you to withstand challenging times running your business, while staying focused on the wider needs of those who you work with, in turn empowering them to give their best to the business.

You don’t have to do it alone – lean on your business mentors, network and other professional connections who can provide you with objective advice, and take the time out of your work life to update your leadership skills, invest in 1-1 or group coaching, and as a leader, you’ll often learn the most by teaching others, so encouraging lifelong learning and mentoring within your business, creating an ethos that will drive success from the foundations up.