Small business drives the Canadian economy. December 2012 Industry Canada statistics indicate there were 1.1 Million businesses in Canada. Seventy five percent of these businesses (830,000) had less than 10 employees. Eighty seven percent had less than 20 employees. Based on our experiences building our own businesses and observing and helping clients build theirs, we have outlined 5 keys to small business success.

1) Understand your Cash Flow Requirements
Cash is king. Knowing your cash needs based on your current business circumstances now and into the future is key to the success of your business. Understanding the tools for managing your cash flow such as cash flow projections, working capital management, and managing demand can make the difference between success and failure for your small business. Cultivating a relationship with your bank and understanding what they are looking for is also important as success and growth will bring greater needs for cash.

2) Hire the Right People
Great businesses are built with talented, enthusiastic people that take ownership of the tasks for which they are responsible. Finding and keeping these people is a big challenge for small business. Having a clear definition of the job role and expected behaviour is important to set your team up for success. To get the best from your employees you need to understand how best to communicate and with them and what drives them. We have taken the step of using a simple inexpensive online profiling tool that helps us understand each team member including their likely best contribution to the team.

3) Build Processes
Most small businesses are built by technicians. They are great at getting things done and passionate about their chosen product or service. They become successful because of their high level of skill and drive. When you do everything for your business, processes are not as important. With growth comes the addition of people and the need to build processes to provide an efficient, consistent experience and product for your customers.
One successful technique is to look into the future and understand what growth will require of your business. Understand what tasks your team is currently completing that will need to be shifted to a new employee as you grow. Project your people needs and the priority of those needs. Will you need more technicians to help with the volume or someone to do all of the financial tasks or a driver to make deliveries? The priority of what you need should dictate what processes you should build next. The processes will support the new hire and allow you to focus on your best contribution to your business.

4) Communicate Your Mission, Vision and Values
Why does your business exist? What benefit are you providing to your customers? Where is the business going? By what ethics and standards do you want to treat your customers, vendors and team members?
You probably have an innate understanding of the answers to these questions. Too many small businesses have trouble translating this message to their team members. The answers to these questions create expectations and guidelines for action for your employees.

5) Communicate with your Customer
Many small businesses fail due to lack of strong two way communication with their customers. Happy customers who feel positively about their relationship with you and your team are your best source of new business. Setting expectations, communicating difficulties, following through on commitments, creating relationships and getting feedback are all important aspects of managing customer satisfaction and growing your business through word of mouth and referrals. As you grow, strong customer relationship processes and systems will help continue your growth in a consistent manner.