There are six things your business absolutely must have to thrive.

1. An Inspired Team

More often than not, an inspired team will outperform a more talented team that lacks inspiration.

The reason for this is simple: The inspired team will work harder than the less inspired team, and they’ll work smarter too. They’ll be more creative and resourceful, they’ll be more patient and persistent, and they’ll push themselves harder than most people think themselves capable of pushing. They are motivated by a higher purpose, and they have a sense of urgency that compels them to act now.

HOW: You can inspire others by setting an example and by helping them see their potential.

But it goes beyond that. You have to create an environment where people can be inspired. And that means creating the right conditions:

Make sure your employees have a clear understanding of what success looks like. Keep them focused on the big picture and their role in achieving it.

Encourage them to take risks and try new things — without fear of failure or being judged harshly for mistakes.

2. Steady Flow of New Sales

Generating new sales is the lifeline for any business. New customers are vital to the success of any business. They bring with them new resources, new ideas, and new ways of thinking. The problem is that getting new customers can be a slow process. The average small business owner spends about 30% of their time on marketing activities and only about 15% of their time actually selling! To get more sales, you need to focus on generating leads from your existing customer base.

Here are some tips for increasing sales through referrals:

Ask for referrals – When you ask for referrals, you’re letting your customers know that you value their opinions and trust them enough to refer their friends and family members to your company. This makes them feel good about doing it (because they think they’re helping someone else), but it also gives you a targeted list of prospects who are most likely interested in what you have to offer.

Make it easy – Make sure that people who know your company well can easily refer someone else by providing multiple ways for them to do so (sending an email directly from within your website or mobile app, placing ads in newsletters or magazines, including a link in their regular emails).

Here are some tips on how to generate new sales from existing customers:

Identify your top customers by revenue, order size or number of orders. Look at your database for common traits among your best customers, such as age range or location. Contact these customers via email or phone call and ask them how they heard about you and why they like working with you. Listen carefully and ask questions about what else they’d like from your company.

3. Utilize Profits

The secret most all successful companies share, they use the profit they generate strategically. Yes, they are investing their profits wisely. But it’s where they are investing that makes the difference.

The answer is simple: by investing their profits into an asset that generates more profit. That’s good news for small business owners who want to build a successful company! But what asset? YOUR BUSINESS!

Investing in your own business does a couple of things. First, it is an investment that you have the most control over. You don’t control the stock market. You can’t control what the housing market is doing. You business is the only investment by which you have some control.

Second, by investing in your business you are strengthening the the asset. To ensure it will be there year after year. Generating profit. If you don’t reinvest into your business, and continue to remove profit, the machine will break.

The business will suffer.

What percentage of the profits should you invest in your own businesses? That is the right question to ask. Everyone’s answer will be different. At another time we will get into analyzing diversifying your investments.

We will cover the remain points in Part 2.