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No such thing exists as the silver bullet to being successful. In personal finance, one becomes successful by making more money than is spent. In business, the principle is the same: make a positive return on your capital investment (preferably while paying your own bills), and you can be seen as successful – at least, in a financial sense.
But back to basics: there is no magic silver bullet that solves all your problems. Regardless of how much money it makes, your business can still be failing if you’re losing money on sales, or through overhead. Basic accounting: you have to make enough money to cover your expenses.
So how do you go about getting to that point, especially when you’re starting up?
It’s quite simple, really: self-discipline, and a bit of insight.
Insight, by the way, can be bred through a bit of time and thought.
Now, let’s say I’m starting a web development business, as I once did. What might be some necessities?
- A computer
- Some form of editing software
You might also think, “Business cards! Fliers! Direct mailing lists! Oh my!” As a matter of fact, if I were being really strict I could say I don’t need anything at all (other than clients and expertise!) and could just go produce websites on a computer at the library.
In start-up, very few things are necessary and drawing the line before purchasing unnecessary items and services is where success lies in the initial phases of business.
Next time you’re ordering business cards, buying a new cell line, or purchasing a piece of expensive software, take a moment to think of whether the expense is necessary. Most of the time, it won’t be. Sometimes, you will need it, in which case you still need to ask for the best deal (After all, paying full price is rarely necessary, right?).
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