Running a small business can be exceptionally rewarding, providing the opportunity to be your own boss and create jobs. But it's also incredibly difficult, and success or failure is yours to bear alone.
For a little insight and inspiration, we talked to several successful, highly motivated small business owners to find out how they make it work every day.
Founders and business owners from around the U.S. shared their "secret weapon" that's helped them succeed. For some, it's a must-have technology. For others, it's a key management technique or a personal productivity hack. In all, it's the thing that sets them apart and gives them an edge.
Jordan Schau, CEO of Pure Fix Cycles, uses analytics tool SumAll.
Pure Fix is a Burbank, California-based producer of customizable bicycles. Schau says his secret weapon for business success is SumAll, a tool for small-business analytics.
It helps provide data on the impact of social networks like Facebook and Instagram, as well as analyzing the profit spread between wholesale and retail credit card purchases to see if customers were affected at all by a website relaunch.
"SumAll for us is simply a tool that helps us to quickly spot issues and make sure we are on the right track," said Schau. "It gives us immediate insights, which we can use to adjust our marketing tactics or implement other changes that help us serve our customers and grow our sales."
Charley Polachi, CEO of Polachi Access Executive Search, dictates his to-do lists.
Polachi has co-founded three different executive firms. His current business started in 2002.
His secret weapon is remarkably low-tech and helps keep him focused:
"When I drive to work or walk around Boston, you'll often see me speaking aloud," Polachi said. "And while many may look at it as if I'm speaking to myself, I'm actually using a dictating machine to create my 'to-do' items. Once in the office, I'll transcribe the list into a spiral notebook and prioritize the list."
He breaks the list into groups:
A. Must do, top priority
B. Hope to do, medium priority
C. If not done, no big deal, low priority
"This is a weapon I've been using for years," he says. "With the prevalence of smartphones, it's as easy as ever for someone to dictate notes and thoughts whenever necessary, but is still often overlooked. Being able to organize and prioritize the day is a skill most successful entrepreneurs exhibit."
Bobby Harris, CEO of BlueGrace Logistics, gives all employees access to the Twitter account.
BlueGrace, a Riverview, Fla.-based logistics franchise, has grown a whopping 394% since its founding in 2009.
Harris, the founder and CEO, says his secret weapon is a culture that puts a premium on trust. He won't hire anyone he doesn't trust to access the company's files or social media accounts.
The active Twitter account is used by all employees and isn't monitored by leadership. Everyone in the office, including Harris, switch offices and cubicles with one another and leaves company information unlocked. At BlueGrace, Harris says employees are trusted to act like adults.
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