Plan for Success: Smart Tips for Your Business

Dave Rudd

Okay, I admit it. I’m tooting my own horn. Once in awhile you’re permitted to do that, but only if it’s for a good reason. And this is definitely one of those times.

I’m always happy to give advice—about life or business—as regular DialerFan readers know. However, it’s sometimes nerve wracking to learn people might actually be listening to me. So I was surprised when DBA International asked me to write an article for DBA the Magazine about business success.

Immediately upon accepting (and before I could panic) I did the smart thing and gathered a small team of trusted co-workers to brainstorm article ideas. We created a very large list of ideas—enough for a pretty substantial book—but eventually whittled it down to 6 major success concepts. The full article, “Technology Solutions Alone Won’t Help Grow Your Business,” is only available in print or online to the magazine’s subscribers, but below I summarize each of the sections.

Find, hire and keep the RIGHT people. Attracting and retaining the right people for your organization is the first critical step towards ongoing success. Among other ideas I concentrate on explaining company benefits, communicating with employees, and fighting to keep your top performers.

Create more collector heroes. Your top collectors can be a great inspiration for the rest of the team, helping lift them to achieve similar results. Identify your best collectors and then use those “heroes” to train your other collectors.

Be in the know, not in the dark. In this hyper-regulated and scrutinized industry it’s important to know the facts. Keep yourself informed of new regulations and laws by relying on the most trustworthy sources, including Industry and state associations, your corporate attorney and official regulatory websites.

Choose partners, not fighters. Selecting the right vendor partners is absolutely critical, so find vendor partners that match your work ethics, values and operation needs. Your vendor partners should work with you and fit into your company operations, instead of requiring you to adjust to their technology or service process.

Make a compliance plan, and stick with it. If you want to avoid having the CFPB or other regulatory groups knocking on your door for violations, you need to be proactive in your compliance efforts. It is extremely important to completely understand the regulations, create comprehensive compliance plans and fully implement them.

Prepare for the unthinkable. A disaster might slam into your business one day, so I strongly encourage you to create contingency plans—just in case.  As you prepare for hypothetical problems you vastly improve the likelihood of your business surviving if the unthinkable happens.

If you haven’t read the article, find a copy of DBA the Magazine (the Spring Edition) and learn about these ideas in greater detail. As I mentioned previously there are numerous other concepts and activities that help build a successful business. Writing this article reminded me how important it is to surround yourself with GREAT coworkers. Thanks to those that helped me complete this project!

Running a business is an exciting and sometimes frightening adventure. However, with proper thought, planning, and implementation you can minimize the worry. Please share with me your smart business tips!