This document outlines a 21-point business success system. It provides tips across many areas important for business success including planning, finances, marketing, operations, and personal development. Some key tips include having a 3-5 year business plan, focusing marketing efforts on a niche market segment, establishing key performance indicators to track business progress, and leveraging the 80/20 rule to focus efforts on the most important activities. The overall message is that success requires attention to many business details and continuous learning and self-improvement.

1. 21 point Business Success SystemShonda Miles

2. According to Dun & Bradstreet, “Businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 37% chance of surviving four years (of business) and only a 9% chance of surviving 10 years.”Of these failed business, only 10% of them close involuntarily due to bankruptcy and the remaining 90% close because the business was not successful, did not provide the level of income desired or was too much work for their efforts.Small Business Failure Rate

3. People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.Business Quote

4. How much do you have? How long will it last?How well do you manage it?List of business expensesPut money back into businessIt takes money to make moneyPay now or pay laterCredit-Work on it now.You won’t be able to borrow money right awayIt takes two years to make a profitMoney

5. Successful people do what unsuccessful people don’t do.Success

6. NegotiationSalesLeadershipProblem SolvingDelegationCore Competencies

7. Where do you want to be 1year from now3 years 5 years 10 yearsThis is so important to your success.Long term Perspective

8. Read 1 hour a daySacrifice-Are you in it for the long haul?Listen to Business or Motivational Audio in your carTurn off the TV and work on your businessAttend seminars/bootcamps/business events to learn more about being a better business owner and about your industryInvest in Yourself

9. How do you spend your days?No one standing over youIncome Producing ActivitiesTalk to 20 people a day80/20 RuleTime management

10. Write down goals dailyTo do listSet PriorityEat that frog/Do the worst firstWhat are your plans?How much money do you want to make?How big do you want your business to grow to?Daily Goal Setting

11. Business Checking AccountBusiness Savings Account (payroll taxes)Business account

12. Occupation licenseLicense of OccupancyEIN (Employer Identification Number)Sales Tax ID numberRestaurants and Day care centersContractors Business license

13. Executive SummaryVision/MissionMarket AnalysisCompetitive AnalysisOperationsSales & MarketingCash Flow ProjectionsBusiness Plan

14. Ideal Client Profile# of contactsTarget marketPain pointsPleasure pointsPeople buy benefits not featuresStart building your BrandMarketing Strategy

15. Who are they?What do they do well?What are their weaknesses? We all have them.What can you learn from them?How do they price their services?Competition

16. How do you convert a customer to a Sale?

17. Incoming callsOutgoing callsReturnsOpening ProceduresClosing ProceduresPosting paymentsHandling ComplaintsCreating Systems

18. LawyerAccountantBanker Insurance AgentBoard of Advisors

19. Unique Selling Proposition (USP)Under promise and over deliverIt’s a summary of what makes your business unique and valuable to your target market. Why should I buy from you?How do your business services benefit your clients better than anyone else can?"Federal Express: When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight." "Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it's free." (Dominos Pizza)What makes you unique?

20. Niche/Smaller partsThe purpose for segmenting a market is to allow your marketing/sales program to focus on the subset of prospects that are "most likely" to purchase your offering.Coke or Diet CokeVictoria Secret-PinkRetail clothing stores-Petite, Regular, Tall/Women’sMarket Segmentation

21. You owe it to your customers to get a profit from each sale so you can provide the best possible service possible.Pricing Your Products and Services

22. Build relationshipsFollow up (i.e. engage with me on Facebook, send a card, send an email, phone)Send them something of value such as an Article or WhitepaperNetworking

23. Help an organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals. Snapshot of current performanceThe percentage of its income that comes from return customersCompany’s total salesROI on Marketing# of leads# of prospects then how many converted to salesHow did you hear about us?Key Performance Indicators

24. Knowing the why when times are hard will keep you going when you want to give upWhy did you start this business?

25. Identify a few key factors that organizations should focus on to be successfulSamples includeRetain staff and keep up customer-focused trainingSustain successful relationships with local suppliersAttract new customersCritical Success Factors (CSF)

26. LeadershipCustomer ServiceSalesIndustryCommunicationTime ManagementInnovationHuman Resources-Hiring the right peopleTraining

27. 20 percent of your products account for 80 percent of product sales20 percent of your customers account for 80 percent of product sales20 percent of your activities account for 80 percent of the results you getWhat this means Focus on the most important80/20 Rule

28. Communicating confidently in business is importantBody language-Master Communicators can not only control their body language but they can read others as wellJoin ToastmastersTake a Dale Carnegie Course Communication

29. Brian Tracy says, if you can’t focus and concentrate then you will always have to work for someone who will make you focus and concentrate.Focus is knowing exactly what you want to be, have, and do. Concentration is persevering, without diversion or distraction, in a straight line toward accomplishing the things that can make a real difference in your life.Focus and Concentration

30. Dress the partMultiple Streams of IncomeIf you help enough peopleExit PlanStudy TrendsKeep Your Word!Joint Ventures/Strategic AllianceFinal Tips

31. Miles Consulting LLCAny Questions