For those just starting out as business owners, or those interested in building a business from scratch, the idea of becoming self-employed is something you likely thought long and hard about. The misconceptions that some have of being a solopreneur is that it automatically allows for freedom and unlimited growth potential. While these are certainly benefits to having a successful business of your own, they aren’t guaranteed. Knowing the difference between being and building a business can help you focus your longterm goals and find the building blocks needed for your unique business development that can take you to that next level of financial success and personal freedom.

Experiencing success in a new business venture is a difficult, yet rewarding process. However, growth brings its own unique set of challenges as you try to keep up with demand and take your company to the next level.

One of the biggest challenges is knowing when to hire staff for your new business.

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Investing in businesses used to be reserved for high net-worth individuals regarded as “accredited investors” limiting the pool of investment for small businesses. But now businesses can receive investments from all Oregon residents.

Making the decision to take a step into the global marketplace can be daunting and mysterious. So many rules and regulations. How do I know what I do not know? What if I do something wrong?

According to the Small Business Administration, only one percent of the United States’ 30 million businesses export their products. This percentage is lower than any other developed country in the world, yet, 95% of all customers are found outside the US. Wow, really? 

If your business doesn’t use Facebook, or your page lacks in presence, it’s time for your team to come up with a killer social media strategy. While you may not have hopped on the social media bandwagon yet, millions have. Many of these Facebookers could be potential customers. Can your company afford to neglect this growing and active audience? Below are 16 reasons why your business can’t ignore Facebook any longer.

Sometime around the year 1906, the Italian engineer and economist Vilfredo Pareto is rumored to have been tending his garden, where he had the realization that 80% of the peas he harvested, came from only 20% of the pea pods. Curious to see if this pattern repeated itself in other systems, he went on to discover that 80% of the farmland in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.

Your business is unique, and so are your clients. Instead of setting out a wide-reaching net, forget the idea that your product or service can be everything to everyone. Those successful with customer outreach and retention have a focused strategy to understand, track, and please a targeted consumer. By creating an ideal customer profile, your business can begin to build a community of clients that will bring you the most important thing: loyalty.

When you were young, you likely acted as most children do when a parent or a teacher said the word no—you protested, rebelled, or did whatever was forbidden anyway. That is because, according to Psychology Today, we live in a world of yes, in which we think of those who say “no” as negative, imperfect, or weak. However, those who learn how to say and hear no in business correctly are able to open up a new world of both freedom and opportunity.

Staffing is a pressing concern for all types of new business owners. The operations of your business depend on having a solid team that is able to execute deliverables consistently. Recruitment is a $20 billion industry in the United States for this reason.

As a new business owner, you will most likely keep your recruitment process in-house, so that those resources can be used for operations or development. For this reason, it is important to become as well-versed as possible in best practices for the interview process, in order to attract and select the best people for your team.