Growing up, I heard people say, “9 out of 10 small businesses fail.”

Growing up, I heard people say, “9 out of 10 small businesses fail.”

As I aged, I grew skeptical of this statistic, and today I view starting a small business very differently.

Starting a business requires a huge leap of faith. You open yourself up to public criticism, constant pressure, and failure. To be a small business owner is a feat of courage and tenacity.

During Small Business Week, I want to highlight 3 winning approaches to sustaining businesses that have stood the test of time:

1) Love your Idea

Excitement is not only endearing but it makes you seem more intelligent. When selling your business and your idea, if you aren’t excited about it, others won’t be excited about it either. The most successful small business owners I know fully believe in the product or service they’re providing.

2) “If it don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense”

Understand the difference between a “passion project” and a business. Both require a degree of passion, but businesses fundamentally require you to make money to sustain yourself and grow. Create budgets, build financial models, and update them as components of your business change.

3) Know when to Pivot

Many business owners I admire are keenly aware of the difference between quitting and pivoting. When you realize that something in your business is not working, changing course doesn’t make you a quitter, but rather a relentless optimizer. Take flight and make adjustments mid flight.

Check out more tips and free courses available for small business owners via @Verizon Small Business Digital Ready here: vz.to/3MsJMvQ #VerizonPartner #business #smallbusinessweek #smallbusinessweek2022

For more details, please visit justinshaifer.com.

#STEM #AI #KeynoteSpeaker #Education