10 steps to running a successful business
Learn the essential steps to building a profitable small business.
If you’ve recently launched a small business, congratulations are in order. Coming up with a viable business idea and getting it off the ground is a huge achievement.
However, given that many new ventures struggle to survive in their first few years, it’s important to understand what measures you can take to ensure your business survives. This guide provides 10 practical steps to help you stay focused, protect your finances and build a business that lasts.
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1. Refine your business plan
First, you need to make sure your business plan is up to scratch. If you haven’t yet written one, now’s the time to do so. If you already have a business plan in place, don’t simply shove it in a drawer and forget about it. Instead, take the time to redraft it regularly to reflect changes in your business and make sure you’re on track to meet your targets.
A solid business plan should outline your company’s goals, strategies and financial projections. It should also provide a detailed description of what your business does, including the services or products it offers and your target audience.
Writing a business plan forces you to consider these factors and gives you a framework to evaluate opportunities, set priorities and manage resources. It can also increase the chances of securing finance from investors, because they will want to see how you plan to use their money and how it could help your business grow.
2. Understand your target audience
A key part of running a successful business is having a clear understanding of your target audience, so you can tailor your products and advertising towards them.
It can be worth creating buyer personas or fictional profiles of your ideal customers to help you with product and marketing decisions. How old are they, what are their interests, where do they live and how much do they earn?
It’s also important to carry out market research (if you haven’t already), so you have a better understanding of customers’ preferences, needs and pain points, enabling you to tailor your offering to match. Additionally, it can help you find gaps in the market that you might be able to fill.
Part of your market research should involve carrying out competitor analysis so you have a clear understanding of what you’re up against. Look at your main competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, strategies and market position, and consider what you can do better. Maybe you could offer a higher quality product at a more competitive price, or perhaps you could offer cheaper shipping costs or discounts for repeat customers.
3. Master your finances
Poor financial control is one of the top reasons small businesses fail. Even profitable businesses can collapse if they run out of cash. That makes it crucial to gain a greater understanding of your business finances and know what to do if you hit hard times.
A good first step is to open a business bank account, so you can keep your personal and business finances separate, enabling you to easily see what you’re spending and where, and set realistic financial goals.
In addition, make sure you understand your tax obligations and set aside money each month to cover future bills. Accounting software such as QuickBooks, Sage or Xero can help you maintain accurate records and track spending, making it easier to file tax returns on time and avoid penalties.
Strong cash flow management is also essential, so be sure to regularly review your profit and loss and cash flow statements to track income, expenses and the movement of money in and out of your business. Monitoring your cash flow can enable you to spot patterns, potentially predicting when you might have a cash flow shortage and enabling you to take steps to prevent a financial crisis.
If any of this concerns you or you don’t feel confident enough managing your business finances, it’s worth seeking advice from a tax adviser or accountant. A financial adviser can also help with aspects such as tax planning and employee benefits.
4. Invest in your staff
You can’t run a successful business without taking the time to hire the best people to work alongside you.
The wrong staff can damage team morale, slow down operations or create conflicts that drain energy and focus. The right staff, on the other hand, can help you deliver quality products or services, grow sales and take some of the workload off your shoulders.
Keeping a loyal team helps protect your brand and reduces the time and expenses associated with continually recruiting and training new employees. This makes it important to spend time evaluating what skills, experience and work ethic you need, and use structured interviews to help you find the right people for the job.
To attract and retain quality staff, think about offering benefits such as flexible working, private healthcare, a generous holiday allowance and social events. Once hired, be sure to invest in employee induction and regular training and development. As well as supporting your business, this can make your staff feel valued.
5. Focus on your brand and marketing
A strong brand and an effective marketing strategy are essential for making your business recognisable, credible and competitive. Your brand defines your purpose and values, while consistent messaging and visual identity build credibility with customers.
Your website will often be the first impression customers have of your business, so it should reflect your brand across every element. Use your brand colours, fonts and logo consistently across all pages, maintain a professional design that matches your brand personality, and incorporate your brand story to engage visitors.
Regularly posting content on your website helps keep customers interested, while establishing business profiles across social media channels provides a cheap but effective way to build a strong online presence.
It’s also worth reviewing your search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy to make sure your website ranks higher in search results and reaches more potential customers.
Additionally, consider sending press releases to local newspapers, magazines and radio stations to get the word out about your business and the latest developments.
6. Provide great customer service
Too many businesses overlook the importance of providing excellent customer service. But, if you consistently strive to offer great service, customers are more likely to return and make additional purchases rather than go to your competitors.
Good customer service also leads to positive online reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations, helping to enhance your brand reputation and increase your customer base.
Top tips include ensuring you and your employees know your policies and products inside out, communicating clearly and dealing with enquiries and complaints quickly and efficiently. You might also want to provide feedback surveys to help you understand what customers think of your business and any areas for improvement.
7. Plan for growth and innovation
Businesses that actively plan for growth and innovation are more likely to succeed. With markets changing rapidly, it’s important to innovate to stay head of competitors rather than fall behind.
Growth initiatives can expand your customer base, products lines or market reach, boosting company profits. For this reason, you should regularly review products to see where you could improve them or whether you should launch supplementary products, and frequently look for gaps in the market that your business could fill.
You should also assess whether your growth initiatives require funding, such as a business loan or business credit card, or investment from angel investors or crowdfunding platforms.
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8. Stay compliant
An essential part of running a business is setting it up correctly. You must register your business with HMRC, whether you’re a sole trader, partnership or limited company. If you’re a limited company, you must also register the business with Companies House.
Another important consideration is completing tax returns and paying tax bills on time to avoid penalties. Sole traders and partners pay income tax on business profits and must register for self-assessment, while limited companies pay corporation tax. If your business earns more than £90,000 in a 12-month period, it must also register for VAT (value added tax). You can find out more in our guide to business tax.
On top of this, your business must meet industry-specific regulations, including data protection (GDPR), food safety and financial conduct rules, to ensure you protect your customers and employees sufficiently. Make sure you’re up to date with the latest employment laws, too, if you’re hiring staff.
Lastly, check that you have the right business insurance in place. Key policies to consider include public liability, professional indemnity and employers' liability insurance.
9. Use the most appropriate technology
A wide range of technology is available to simplify running a business. It’s worth exploring the tools most relevant to your company and understanding how they can boost efficiency, enhance customer experience, and support smarter decision-making.
For example, accounting software and invoicing tools can help you monitor expenses, send and chase invoices, and track inventory. This can free up time and reduce the risk of manual errors.
Tools such as Slack, Teams and Zoom can help keep teams connected if they work remotely, while project management tools such as Trello and Asana make it easy to track progress.
You could also consider customer relationship management (CRM) solutions such as Salesforce to track customer interactions, analytics software to help you assess performance and forecast demand, and cybersecurity tools to protect sensitive business and customer data.
If your business accepts credit card and debit card payments, you should research the best card payment solutions, too. Your choice partly depends on whether you run your business online, have a store on the high street, or operate as a mobile business.
Finally, use business credit reporting tools to keep a close eye on your business credit report. Having a good credit history is key to securing business finance at the most competitive rates, so it’s important to take steps to improve your credit score if it’s in poor shape.
10. Be prepared to work hard, but also look after yourself
Setting up your own business takes commitment, resilience and long hours, especially in the early stages. You need to juggle everything from marketing and sales to bookkeeping and customer service, and at times it can feel overwhelming and like you’ve taken on too much.
Learning to manage stress and create clear boundaries between work and home life is crucial for your well-being and long-term success.
To do this, establish set working hours and try stick to them. Take regular breaks, get enough sleep, exercise and eat well. As tough as it might initially seem, you should also schedule holidays to recharge, and delegate tasks or hire help where possible.
It’s also worth building a support network by joining professional networks and organisations within your industry. This enables you to connect with other business owners for advice and encouragement. Sharing your successes and challenges can prevent you from feeling isolated and help you overcome any issues your business faces.
About Rachel Wait
Rachel has spent the majority of her career writing about personal finance for leading price comparison sites and the national press, including for the Mail on Sunday, The Observer, The Spectator, the Evening Standard, Forbes UK and The Sun.