5 Patterns I See in Successful Small Businesses

I’ve worked with hundreds of small businesses over the years. Some grow steadily, some stay stuck, and some struggle despite working incredibly hard.

While every business is different, there are certain patterns that show up again and again in the businesses that make progress.

Here are five of the biggest patterns I’ve noticed.

1. The businesses that grow fastest aren’t always the most talented

I’ve seen the most amazing businesses remain stagnant, or struggle to get off the ground, while other businesses storm in front.

The difference between the businesses that struggle, and the ones that storm in front, is almost always the approach of the person in charge.

The ones that take action, consistently, are usually the ones that outperform those that are slower off the mark, or that faff around.

I’ve seen the faffers, the ones that constantly need to reinvent their image, website, what their sales offering is.  Typically, these folks make a change, don’t allow long enough to see whether there’s actually any impact from the change, assume it’s not worked and make another change.  The cycle continues on and on.

On the flip side, the ones that take action and consistently work at getting their business and/or offering out there.  They focus their efforts on communicating with their customers and potential customers.

What these folks are doing is often not perfect, but that doesn’t matter because they’re getting the results by having the right conversations.

Consistency, action and execution matter far more than perfection.

2. Successful businesses make decisions differently

The approach to decision making also separates the strong and the weak businesses.

Using data and logic often outweighs the emotional reactions, or just plain being reactive instead of proactive.

One thing I see time and time again is business owners making decisions based on how they feel that day.

A quiet week suddenly means marketing isn’t working.

One difficult customer suddenly means a service needs changing.

A competitor launches something new and suddenly they’re questioning their entire direction.

They’re reacting to what’s happening around them, rather than proactively driving the business forward. 

The businesses with goals they’re working towards, don’t react like this to what’s going on around them. 

They have their own, well thought out direction, and keep plugging away to get where they want to get to.

These folks are also monitoring how they’re performing in relation to the goals and targets they’ve set themselves. 

This puts them in the strongest position, because knowledge of underperforming on a goal or target means they can pivot to still achieve what they set out to achieve.

Overperforming on a goal means they can capitalise on what’s working and double down on it.

Making decisions proactively, and then with data and logic to back them up, always outweighs making decisions reactively, and what often ends up being emotionally as well.

3. The habit I see in growing businesses again and again

The businesses that I’ve seen growing consistently tend to do the same things over and over again.

They’re the ones planning ahead, in all areas of their business, from finances to operations, marketing to sales.  They have a direction to go in and what they want to achieve highlighted.

They’re not waking up on Monday wondering what they’re posting on social media that day, or scrambling to find the cash to pay a bill that’s been coming for weeks. They’ve usually thought ahead.

Then, they’re regularly and consistently marketing, with the same voice, feel and underlying message in their content and collateral.

They also follow up on leads, and are consistent in their approach, so all customers get the same feel for the business.

These business owners are monitoring and reviewing the data and numbers available in all areas of their business, so they can improve them and/or stay on track and going in the right direction.

They’ve also thought about how they approach all of these different areas of business, so they have simple but effective systems and processes in place. 

These systems and processes help them remain consistent across all areas of the business, and avoid inefficiency and costly clunky ways of working.

It’s not always the most exciting, or sexy, approach to business, but it’s the most effective.

4. What successful business owners stop doing

It’s not always about ‘doing’ either – there are things I see businesses not doing, or stopping doing, that support their success as well.

I’ve seen businesses try to chase every opportunity in front of them, until they become directionless and manic in the way they try to conduct their business. 

The folks that take a step back, so they can see the wood for the trees, and approach opportunities in a more strategic and constructive way, are usually the folks able to capitalise on those opportunities though.

These folks ask themselves whether the opportunity will support the direction they’re headed in, and then they calmly qualify it or disqualify it.

The clear, calm and consistent approach will win out every time. 

The same goes for the business owners that are trying to do everything themselves, without sufficient systems and processes, or the right expertise for the job. 

In this situation, action can do more harm than good.  It’s a chaotic way of working.

When they stop working in this way – so they get the right systems and processes in place, or utilise the right tech to streamline ways of working, or tag in the right expertise to quickly complete a job they usually spend hours or weeks on – their business suddenly becomes freer.

And this freedom means the business goes on to be more successful, because it’s working clearly, calmly, sensibly and consistently.

5. They focus on progress rather than perfection

There’s an underlying approach to all of the successful businesses I’ve seen, opposed to the ones that flail, struggle or remain stagnant – consistency. 

The consistency in the approach of the business owner, to all areas of the business, is usually the thing that results in the business performing well.

It’s the consistent approach to marketing, and then sales, meaning the financial sales performance of the business steadily goes in the preferred direction.

It’s the systems and processes that support the consistency of the business’s operations, so time and money aren’t spent on unnecessary or unproductive things.

The business owner’s consistent approach to monitoring and reviewing the numbers in their business helps them to consistently make the right decisions for the business.

These business owners also rarely expect everything to work immediately.  They understand that marketing, sales, customer relationships and reputation are all built over time.

There are no knee-jerk reactions.

There are no sudden, unthought out, changes in direction. 

There’s no manic way of operating, where things fall through the cracks over and over again.

It’s the calm, clear and consistent approach that wins every time.

Conclusion

Successful businesses don’t usually succeed because they found a secret strategy.

More often than not, they’re doing fairly ordinary things extraordinarily consistently. 

They take action, make decisions deliberately, build good habits, avoid unnecessary distractions and keep moving forward. 

It isn’t always glamorous, but after working with hundreds of small businesses, it’s the pattern I see time and time again.