8 Tips for Killing the Small Business Game - Sivan
08.02.19

8 Tips for Killing the Small Business Game

It’s been forever since I’ve talked shop (aka business) so finally getting back into that today. It’s kinda funny because I used to do more Blogging Tips when I was starting out. Now that biz has grown, I forget to sit back and share what I find works. Since a lot of you have asked for general tips on starting a small business, that’s what I’m tackling today. When looking back on mistakes, decisions that have grown my business, and best practices, here are 8 things that stick out.

+ Stay in your lane. This is honestly the best advice I can give. When I was new to blogging, I tried to find my “thing” in a saturated field. After lots of trial and even more error, I realized that forcing shit didn’t feel good and it wasn’t helping with growth. Luckily I learned pretty quickly that my “thing” was being me. Sharing Paul aka Richard and me arguing. Talking straight about botox and shopping addictions. Showing how life can be unfiltered + lux at the same time. This goes for any type of business! Focus on what feels right to you. Innovation and success will follow.

+ Pay quarterly taxes. As a small business, you likely operate very differently than you did in the corporate world so don’t f*ck this up. I actually go into detail on dealing with taxes in this post so head there if you don’t know what quarterly taxes mean.

+ Advance your career daily. I’ve talked about this before on Instagram and I’m going to say it again because it’s that important. Every single workday, I ask myself “did I advance my career today?”. You can even ask yourself that to start the day and then gameplan how you’ll do it. Forget the tasks that aren’t moving you forward – even if that means saying no to people.

+ Set expectations with people (and yourself). No matter the type of business you’re running, you want people to know what to expect. If you start returning emails on the weekends, people will grow to want that fast response. If you always deliver services / product / whatever on time, people will grow to respect you. Since you’re the only person in charge of these expectations, you get to set them – and stick to them.

+ Delegate. It took me years to hire help for a couple of reasons. One, because I wasn’t making enough money to justify it at first, and two, I’m a control freak. Slowly the money increased and my psychotic control issues lessened. When you can, hire people who are good at their job (even if you think you might do it better) so you can focus on aspects of your business that you enjoy most or that only you can do.

+ Just start. You will literally be waiting forever if you’re wanting the ideal moment to start a business. F*ck that. It doesn’t have to be perfect to at least get things going. And you don’t need to have all the answers (I definitely did not and still don’t). Once you feel like you’re proud of what you’re building, begin to share…and work your ass off. 

+ Assess. At the end of each week, look back on things. What worked? What didn’t? What project / client / etc. moved you forward? Which tasks drained you without much reward? Where could you have been more organized? Don’t let weeks or months go by without stopping to assess and ultimately improve your business. No one else will do this for you.

+ Under-promise and over-deliver. Chances are there are other people with similar businesses to yours. So why would someone come back to you vs. them? Because you under-promise + over-deliver. Whether it’s providing excellent content to an audience, turning over a project earlier than expected, or giving a brand extra images to choose from (or whatever the hell makes sense to your biz), go above and beyond. You’ll end up with happy followers / clients / partners and it’ll make you seem super on top of your shit. Even if you’re hungover.

Let me know if you guys want more of this type of content and I’ll get my shit together. Until then, definitely check out this section where I have a bunch of useful posts on business in general.

What’s your small business? Or what are you dreaming of building?