There’s a shortcut to success.

Part of being successful is making mistakes and learning from them. But what if you could learn without having to make mistakes?

What if you could avoid having to suffer the setbacks and the angst?

What if you could take a shortcut to success?

You can, and it’s really fairly simple.

Don’t just learn from your own mistakes, learn from the mistakes that other people make. (Click to Tweet)

To help you, I’ve put together a list of 7 big mistakes business owners make. Take a look at what to avoid so you can shortcut your success today.

 

1.  Working in The Business But Not on The Business

This is a big one and as a dental practice owner, it’s an easy trap to fall into. You’re so busy with patients that you fail to set the strategy for the business.

This means your business is like a boat without a rudder – it’s at the mercy of the tide. So you’ll go wherever the water takes you.

Some people address this by working in the business by day and working on the business at night. That’s a fast track to burnout and exhaustion.

Learn from this mistake by setting aside dedicated time each week to work on your business. Yes, it’s time that could be spent generating income, but people who do this reap big rewards.

 

2.  Underestimating Communication

Effective communication is the key to success in all aspects of life. It’s key to having strong personal relationships and it’s critical to running a successful business.

Many practice owners underestimate the power of communication, but it’s crucial for improving case acceptance.

It’s also vital for creating an effective, efficient team to support you. One of the major communication tools I use is the morning huddle.

Take the time to nail the morning huddle. It gets every day off to a fantastic start because you and your team are motivated and focused.

 

3.  Ignoring Poor Staff Performance

You can’t afford to ignore poor staff performance and just hope it goes away. It doesn’t.

The best thing you can do is to have an honest, respectful conversation. Lay out your concerns and your expectations.

Try to get to the bottom of the problem. Maybe the person isn’t clear on their duties. Maybe they don’t know your standards.

Whatever it is you need to understand what’s going on and the staff member needs to understand that more is required.

Fostering an authentic, trusting relationship take work but it’s worth the effort. It’s the foundation of a high-performing team.

 

mistakes are dues

 

4. Underestimating the Value of Customer Complaints

Customer complaints are a valuable opportunity for you to learn what might need improving in your business. (Click to Tweet)

Don’t make the mistake of ignoring them and believing they’re the voice of the disgruntled few. All too often the people who complain are voicing a concern that many patients experience.

Every time a customer complains you have a golden opportunity to improve your business. You also have the chance to turn a complaining customer into a devoted follower.

 

5. Failing to Implement Systems

Part of running a successful business means that you’re able to take a break from time to time. Without spending your whole ‘holiday’ on the phone to the office.

We’ve all been there, but it’s something that’s avoidable. And the way to avoid it is to implement clear systems throughout your business.

This means you’re not reliant on individuals. Instead, you’re relying on tried and true processes that have been mapped out and written down.

Don’t make the mistake of failing to implement effective systems in your business. Use my shortcuts to creating systems in record time.

 

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6. Marketing Without Strategy

If you don’t have a marketing strategy you’re committing one of the 7 deadly sins of marketing. And if you’re spending money on marketing when you don’t have a strategy, you’re throwing money away.

There are a bunch of mistakes that business owners make when it comes to marketing. They’re not difficult to avoid, but you need to understand your target market and have a clear plan.

You should also have a good internal marketing strategy in place. Why? Because your team are one of the best marketing tools you have.

Use them to your full advantage, so they generate business for you.

 

6. Not Being Financially Savvy

As a business owner, it’s imperative you’re financially savvy.

This doesn’t mean you need a degree in accounting. It means you need to know what to measure, how to measure it, and monitor it throughout the year.

You need to be proactive in your approach. That means having a process for gathering the relevant data, analysing it, planning, forecasting the year ahead and tracking your progress

You need to set plans in place to improve your performance for the following year, and your financial data is key to this improvement.

 

mistakes are an opportunity to learn

 

Avoid The Mistakes Business Owners Make

It’s okay to make mistakes because they help us learn, but if you want a shortcut to success, learn from the mistakes that other people make.

Take time out to work on your business, and invest time and energy in communicating well.

Understand the benefits of having strong systems in place, and value customers who complain.

Most of all, make sure you know, track and understand your numbers.

Avoid these 7 mistakes business owners make and you’ll be well on your way to success.

I know you can do it. And so do you.