As a business owner, we all want to run the perfect business and have all happy clients. Well, sometimes that’s easier said than done. However, by keeping a few things in mind and avoiding these business practices, we can get you off to a good start. Not Staying Current On Everything From Your Brand to Your Software We have seen how staying current can make or break your business lately more than ever. We live in an ever changing society whether we are talking about business practices, technology or software. Staying ahead of the game and always being current means continuous education, new software, new businesses practices (e-commerce, anyone?) and last but not least, keeping your brand current. By keeping up to date on all of the above, you are keeping up with your client and market needs. Simpatico can’t help you with your software and educational needs, but we can can guarantee your brand stays current and consistent. This is key to not only staying relevant to your market, but also to continue getting in front of new markets and clients. Check out our branding page to learn more: Brand Development Ignoring Staff Problems A successful, smooth running business starts and ends with your staff. How they work together, provide services, if they are well trained and or if they are reliable can all affect your bottom line. Investing in your staff-whether it be through team building, training/education or in general making sure they are doing their job up to expectations can increase your bottom line because they are the ones that will be responsible for pleasing clients. Handle any issues head on with a positive and constructive demeanor for the best outcome, but also don’t let problems slide or ignore them for too long if they are not getting resolved. Overbooking/Underpricing Knowing your worth and limits are one of the best things you can do for your business. By knowing these, you will avoid being burnt out which will reduce productivity and possibly reduce client satisfaction when you cannot meet deadlines and demands that you promised up front. Avoid overbooking so you are not working constantly just to meet deadlines as you will burn-out ending with reduced productivity. The solution is to to simply be realistic. Know what kind of time you will need for certain projects, give clients a realistic timeline and not just one they want to hear. Know your limits. Do your research and know what your time, experience and services are worth. Price yourself too low, you will not only work too much for not enough, hurting your business’ bottom line, but you will also drive away potential clients because they don’t want to cheap out on services or products. Never sell yourself short. Price your services or products too high and you will also miss out on a client base because we live in a world of budget mindedness. You never want to come off with an ego simply because you are greedy. It’s a fine line between knowing your worth and being greedy. Not Having a Business/Marketing Plan + Strategy We live in a highly competitive society and just winging it is almost a guarantee for failure. Business plans and marketing strategies are a must. They are the basic goals and outline on how you will run your business and how you plan to grow your business. Take it with a grain of salt, these plans will change. Flexibility is key in order to learn and grow. Not sure where to start? We have highly trained staff that can help you with everything regarding marketing and strategies. Learn more here: Marketing Using Outdated + Irrelevant Graphics Nothing screams unprofessional more than having outdated graphics, websites  and posting irrelevant content. As stated above, we live in a highly competitive world where this type of stuff is key to stay relevant to your clients and reach potential new markets. Everything from having a mobile friendly website to on point social media will help your business grow, encourage engagement/better customer service with your customers  and therefore lend a hand in increasing your bottom line and growing your business. Luckily, we are here to help with this. We create custom, dynamic graphics, websites that are functional and aesthetically appealing and social media content that is guaranteed to wow even the toughest crowd. Visit our site for more info on all of this: http://simpaticodesignstudio.com We would love to hear feedback from our readers! What business practices do you avoid or what mistakes have you made and how did you fix them?