How to succeed in business: Strategies to help your small business

Published Monday 27 October 2025

Table of contents

• Ask yourself what success means to you
• Understand why businesses fail
• Focus on the 5 key success factors
• Write your vision down or create a picture
• Create your plan with answers to what, when and how
• Check if your plan is realistic
• 6 ways to achieve business success
• Don't discount work-life balance when you look at success
• Be ready for challenges
• Track your success with the right tools
• FAQs on business success

Key takeaways

• Define success specifically for your business by setting measurable targets and understanding your personal motivations, as every business owner defines success differently whether through revenue growth, work-life balance, or community impact.

• Focus on five critical success factors: setting clear strategic focus, building strong team and customer relationships, creating efficient processes, understanding customers and communicating value, and monitoring finances for cash flow and profitability.

• Create a tangible success plan by writing down your vision in specific measurable terms, displaying visual reminders where you'll see them daily, and using the what-when-how framework to answer what you'll achieve, when you'll achieve it, and how you'll measure progress.

• Prepare for challenges by building contingency plans including cash reserves for economic downturns, backup suppliers for supply chain disruptions, documented processes for key employee departures, and backup systems for technology failures.

Ask yourself what success means to you

Business success is achieving the specific goals and outcomes that matter most to your unique situation.

This may seem obvious, but every business owner defines success differently. Some focus on revenue growth. Others prioritize work-life balance or community impact.

To achieve success, you need to:

• Define what success means for your specific business
• Set measurable targets you can track over time
• Understand your personal motivations for starting the business

Understand why businesses fail

To succeed, it helps to understand common challenges, such as cash flow problems and poor financial planning. Even large corporations are reviewed for their financial analysis.

For example, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent comment letters to more than 350 of the Fortune 500 companies about their financial disclosures. Learning from these pitfalls is one of the smartest ways to set your business up for long-term success.

Focus on the 5 key success factors

While every business is unique, most successful ones share a focus on five critical areas. Keeping these factors in mind can help you build a stronger, more resilient business.

1. Set a clear strategic focus for your business
2. Build a strong team and customer relationships
3. Create efficient processes to save time and money
4. Understand your customers and communicate your value
5. Monitor your finances to manage cash flow and profitability

Write your vision down or create a picture

You are more likely to achieve your goals if you write down your success plan.

Creating a visual representation keeps you focused during busy periods. To make your success plan tangible, follow these steps:

1. Write down your vision in specific, measurable terms
2. Create a visual reminder like a chart or image
3. Display it prominently where you'll see it daily
4. Integrate it with your business plan to ensure alignment

Include your success plan as part of your overall business plan.

Create your plan with answers to what, when and how

The what-when-how framework helps you create a complete success plan by answering three essential questions.

What will you achieve?

Set specific, measurable targets like "2,000 new sales and 500 repeat customers." This practice is so effective that federal law requires government agencies to set quantifiable, measurable performance goals to track progress and results. Use these approaches:

• Review industry benchmarks to set realistic targets
• Analyze your growth trends from previous years
• Create stretch goals that challenge you beyond current performance

When will you achieve it?

Set a firm deadline for each goal. Without concrete dates, you risk losing focus and momentum.

How will you measure success?

Track progress using the six measurement methods outlined in the next section.

Check if your plan is realistic

To check if your plan is realistic and achievable, try these approaches:

• Ask peers or mentors for honest feedback about your plan
• Consult an accountant or bookkeeper to help measure and execute your plan
• Use accounting software to track cash flow and review your figures
• Get feedback from customers or employees to see if your plan needs changes

6 ways to achieve business success

Six key metrics help you track business success and make informed decisions.

1. Sales performance analysis

Use Xero accounting software to analyze sales trends over the past year. Look for seasonal patterns and growth opportunities to plan ahead.

2. Profit and cost tracking

Download the free income statement template to track profitability.

3. Revenue source identification

Identify your best and worst-performing products or services. Focus resources on high-performers and evaluate whether to continue underperforming offerings.

4. Customer satisfaction measurement

Ask customers directly: "How was our service today?" Use the Net Promoter Score method to measure customer loyalty and consider offering anonymous surveys, as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guarantees customer anonymity to encourage honest feedback.

5. Marketing channel evaluation

Analyze website analytics to identify your most effective traffic sources. If Facebook drives the most sales, dedicate more resources to that channel.

6. Competitive positioning

Regularly review competitor customer reviews and social media to identify opportunities to differentiate your business.

Don't discount work-life balance when you look at success

Remember to include the emotional definitions of success that matter to you and your business. Here are some examples of emotional or "heart-based" definitions of success:

• freedom
• excitement
• flexibility
• variety
• innovation
• engagement

Be ready for challenges

Contingency planning means preparing for potential obstacles before they impact your business success.

Common business challenges to plan for:

• Build cash reserves and identify cost-cutting measures for economic downturns
• Maintain backup suppliers and inventory buffers for supply chain disruptions
• Document processes and cross-train team members for key employee departures
• Implement backup systems and data recovery plans for technology failures

You may not be able to predict every challenge, but having contingency plans helps you respond quickly and keep your business running smoothly.

Track your success with the right tools

Financial tracking tools are essential for measuring and achieving business success. Without clear visibility into your numbers, you can't make informed decisions about growth opportunities.

Xero's accounting software helps you track the success metrics that matter most:

• Monitor revenue trends with real-time sales reports
• Control costs with automated expense tracking
• Plan for growth with cash flow forecasting
• Measure progress with professional financial reports

Success starts with understanding your numbers. Try one month free of Xero and get the financial insights you need to grow your business with confidence.

FAQs on business success

Here are common questions and answers small businesses might have about succeeding in their company.

Why do 90% of small businesses fail?

You can avoid common business challenges by managing your cash flow, keeping track of your finances, and understanding your customers and the market.

What are the five success factors of business?

The five critical success factors are:

• setting a clear strategic focus
• building a strong team and customer relationships
• creating efficient operations
• marketing your business effectively
• managing your finances

How long does it take to see business success?

Set realistic milestones, track your progress, and adjust your strategy as you learn and grow.