From the Executive Director

Common sense is a great practice if you plan to succeed in the business community. You do not have to be a Fortune 500 company to be a successful business. We have some great small businesses in town that have evolved and succeed every day.
Knowing the business is not just enough to succeed in the business community. Just because you’re an expert in your field doesn’t mean that you have what it takes to be a business owner. Unless you are a chain store, you probably did not have a flock of customers on your opening day. However, with some simple marketing, your business can make a turnaround. How many chefs or self-professed cooks have you met or known to open a restaurant because they love food and cooking, only to have it close down months or years later because people weren’t beating a path to their door when they opened? Making good food isn’t enough; people have to know about it to experience it. You also have to run a tight ship financially, which requires the advice of tax and financial experts, and ultimately an experienced general manager at the helm.
Begin by hiring the right people. If you are technically proficient in your field but lack marketing knowledge and expertise for example, then be prepared to hire the right people to fill in the blanks. This will start the trend of people beating a path to your door. The next trick is to keep them coming back and referring their friends.
The old cliché never hire friends and family is a good start for your business. Hiring family and friends will not only compromise (and in some cases destroy) a perfectly good friendship, but it can do the same to the business. Sometimes, it works. But hire with caution, and a heck of a lot of communication (both in the friendship and business). Be prepared to wear different hats while at work and after work.
Don’t Make Snap Decisions. Planning strategy is everything. Hiring and promoting from within isn’t always good. Although promoting from within encourages staff to “reach for the stars” and gives certain personality types something to work for, it isn’t a good idea to categorically hire from within. Sometimes the skill sets just aren’t there within the existing employee base.
A good business is in the consistency. This could be the very key itself to good business practice. If you do nothing else, be consistent. E-Myth is an excellent book by Michael Gerber centered around this crucial concept.
Consistency is what franchises are built around. Chain restaurants like McDonald’s and Chilis are pioneered and epitomize this idea. When you walk into a McDonald’s anywhere in the world, you know exactly what you are going to get when you order a quarter pounder, right down to the exact ingredients, quantities, and order of toppings. Same as Chili’s, you can walk into any one of their restaurants and order the exact same item and it will taste the same.
With consistency, professionalism, proper planning of strategies, and alignments with the experts, you can run a top-notch successful business. Don’t reinvent the wheel, or ever find yourself saying “my business is different, I don’t have to follow that rule”.  Good business management equals good business.