Every successful business is largely a product of many individuals or entities who contributed in some way, to make it work. If you’re thinking you can go this alone, you can’t. You need solid professionals and people around you.
Building a business often requires a steep learning curve. The good thing is you don’t have to know everything to succeed. You can simply farm out some of that to experts and specialists who are and will always be better at it than you.
If you’d like to know the kind of people you need to include in your network, make sure to have the following:
A Reliable Banker
You need a way to receive and process payments, pay your staff, and generate revenue. Without a reliable banker working with you, you’ll struggle with getting the funds that you’ve worked so diligently for.
Nothing is more frustrating than having a line of customers with their cards out to pay you, but their payments don’t go through because the banker sucks.
A good banker will provide you with checking accounts, credit cards, payment processors, and much more. This way, your business can run smoothly and without any glitches.
Plus, if you’re low on cash or revenue and ever need a line of credit, business loans, or working capital, you can always work with the bank and go through their lending process to secure the loans you need.
Get a Good Accountant
How do you keep track of your receivables, expenditures, profits, and/or loss? This is where a good accountant can help you. They can help with everything from business budgets to payroll set-ups. It’s not enough to just run a business, you need to know if you’re breaking even or making a profit.
An accountant gives you a factual representation of your business’ health. In simple terms, they’ll show you where your money is going, where there are leakages and financial inefficiencies, provide you with big-picture financials, and much more.
And when tax season comes around, you’ll fare much better with an accountant in your corner, than without. Why? Because they can figure out ways to lower your business’ tax burden without flouting the law.
Accounting QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner’s Guide to Financial & Managerial Accounting For Students, Business Owners and Finance Professionals.
If your business passes £85,000 turnover, or you predict that it will, you will need to register for VAT. It’s easy to make a mistake filling out forms and many companies do make mistakes. You may wish to get some help with the VAT registration process so that there isn’t a hold-up and you get your VAT number as quickly as possible.
You Need Legal Help
Most people don’t think they need it, but a business owner always needs competent legal help to protect their business. A smart person once said that the average individual or business is one legal crisis away from bankruptcy.
Why? Because something as seemingly small as a class action suit can cost millions of dollars in settlement. And if that’s all you’ve got, guess what? You’ll need to file for bankruptcy so you can restructure. Worse, you may need to permanently shutter the business.
So while you may not think you need one – most small businesses never think they do until it’s too late, you always need legal advisors to keep you abreast of any potential legal problems. This way, you can always get in front of any potential crisis and nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand.
Also, having a lawyer on retainer means you can always seek help if there’s a potential legal problem. And if you’re ever wrongly accused of a major crime, trusted criminal defense attorneys can always fight for you and ensure a fair outcome if you already had a relationship.
A Highly Experienced Mentor and/or Business Coach
While there are no shortcuts in business, mentors and business coaches are as close to shortcuts as it gets. These individuals are experienced, have probably walked the same paths as you, and have been in your shoes. So they know what works and what doesn’t.
Whenever you’re stuck, need guidance, or want some insight, a 30-minute conversation with an experienced mentor can transform your perspective and provide the insights that you desperately crave. You can also achieve your business goals faster with a business coach’s guidance.
Even if you don’t know someone personally, look for an experienced and reputable coach and pay them for their time. Thankfully, many are still affordable and offer hourly consultations.
The Business Coach (Instant Success Series).
Skilled Business People
As business owners, there are days when you’re just overwhelmed and want to quit. Having a solid support structure, usually in the form of other business people, can help you.
Apart from insights into innovations and ideas, fellow businesspeople can offer a support structure that keeps you going on days where you just want to throw in the towel.
The best business people to form a relationship with are those in a similar industry, but who aren’t direct rivals. Relationships like this can be mutually beneficial and financially rewarding to both parties.
