1. Dedicate time to your business and to personal life

Remember to include in your business plan time for yourself. Don’t try and do everything for yourself, get help with marketing, web design, accounting etc. With so many options out there to outsource work, to help give you the time to focus on your business, rather than working on the parts that professionals will do better and ultimately more effectively. This will allow you time to grow your business and have time for a social life.

2. You might be working for less than you think

Keep a track of your hours spent working on your business, so you can monitor your own hourly rate, if you work an 80+ hour week on your business then account for it. Pay yourself what your worth, otherwise there’s no point. Personal satisfaction soon wears off when you have no time and you can’t pay your own bills.

3. Remember why you started your own business

Anyone who has started there own business is an entrepreneur at heart. Whenever you get stuck in business about which way to turn, then think about why you started your business, what you wanted to achieve and why you wanted to achieve it. Then look at whether your there or not and amend your plans to suit your own personal goals and ambitions

4. Maintain Focus on your business

Try not to get side tracked when working on your business, remain focused on the task at hand, if something doesn’t work then try and fix it and try again. Follow your heart about decisions made. This is your company you know how you want to run it better than anyone.

5. Don’t re-do work, employ the right people

Don’t spend half your time re-doing the work of employee’s, set clear roles and responsibilities for your staff and allow them to be involved in the business, this will instill loyalty, as this will make them feel part of the process, and make them believe that their input is important.

6. Don’t over complicate things

Keep it simple, don’t get engrossed in great ways to improve your business using fancy words and glitz and glamour, use common sense to improve your business and follow your chosen route to a successful end.

7. Monitor all activities

Make sure you keep records ie: key performance indicators to monitor what is working and what doesn’t. How will you know whether something is working or getting better if you don’t monitor it to compare. Start recording information based on where you are now.

8. Ask for help if needed

Don’t be afraid to ask for help whether from a consultant or a business networking forum, as these can be a great place for advice and support and to network what you do. Or if you need help to solve the problems yourself but want support then contact a business coach.

9. What to look for in your coach

A good coach will listen to what you want to get from them, what you want to achieve, if they start bogging you down with now to do this or that, and start by telling you your doing it all wrong, then there not for you. A coach is there to do just that Coach! Not to instruct. You might not like what is said but it should always be constructive and positive.

10. Communicate with your Coach

If you don’t want to be coached then don’t, you have to enter into a agreement with you coach about what you expect, and that you will try all the ideas and suggestions that you will discuss. Remaining positive on both sides is important to achieve success. Remember the coach works with you not for you and your company. This way they will remain un-bias and provide you with the full on support that you want.