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The Final 5 Tips and Tricks for Running your Business

In two previous posts we've looked at tips for running your business, in this post we will look at five more tips. However, these will be the final tips, of course there are more out there and you're welcome to do your own research and write about your own experiences. But this concludes our series of tips (please let us know your own tips on Twitter and Facebook)

1. Get Mentors

When you're running a business there may come a time when you need advice from another person. But who do you turn to? Family, friends and employees may only know the way that you're doing things and may not be able to give you any expert advice that you need. This is where mentors come in.

Meeting with a laptop

How do you find mentors who are like minded and can help you? One way is to join appropriate industry associations. These can help you to get the lowdown on industry trends, threats and legislation. This is all really helpful to know if you're starting a business in untested waters. Also you can meet with others who are in a different industry from yourself, this can help you to understand what it's like to run a business and how much work it can take. This is a good way to make new contacts and friends, who may even become clients in the future.

Attending local networking events can also be a helpful way to grow your network. These are often attended by local businesses from a variety of industries. While some charge you a fee, there are many free events out there too.

2. Take Time Off

When you start a business, you may feel as though you have to spend every waking moment there in order to make it a success. But, the truth is, the business will only improve if you're at your peak. If you're constantly working and not taking time off, you're going to get stressed and tired, this will reflect in the work you carry out. An easy way to combat this is to simply take time off.

A simple way to do this is to book time off in your diary. Put in there that you'll be with your family, at the gym, out running or walking. By doing this you'll be able to arrange things around when you're out rather than the other way around. Another helpful thing is to prioritise tasks and think about ditching the ones that aren't making money, you may enjoy them but they could be clogging up your workload.

Blank calendar with pen resting on top

3. Be Selective about who you spend time with

You've gone out and got mentors, that's good. But don't undo all the hard work by being around people that are dismissive about what you're trying to achieve in the business. People tend to question and criticise what they don't understand, this can leave you feeling demotivated and thrown off track. Instead, try and find people who are willing to teach you and direct you to the correct path so you can be where you want to be.

4. Try and get things for free (or a reduced rate)

When you're starting out, money can be your lifeline, but so can having help and employees. This can add to an already growing bill. What it can be worth doing is contacting friends and university leavers to see who would be willing to work for a reduced rate in order to build up their portfolio. But remember not to take advantage of people.

Another thing you can do is look for grants in your local area, these can help subsidise things like equipment. The Gov UK website offers a handy finance finding tool, which includes grants. Check out the finance finder - you never know what may be available in your area.

You may also find our Making your Money Work for your Business blog post, which has some tips you may find useful too.

5. Have Fun

You've started a business because you have a passion for what you're doing, you can now reflect yourself in that passion and create something that stands for what you like and what you enjoy. Express yourself in your products and show your personal tastes (although remember - it is about your clients). When business is looking good, that's the time to have some fun and enjoy running the business, enjoy this moment while it lasts as a rut could be close around the corner.

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