10 Essential things to apply for your business to be successful

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include discussion on some of our additional lessons learned and recent successes!

I am the CEO and President of H2L Solutions. 10 months ago I started a new business and have learned so much valuable information from that process that I wanted to share. H2L outpaced its business plan and projected earnings by 350% in the first 8 months. Here are some of the things that helped us reach such amazing numbers:

-Attitude. It is vital is to begin with the right attitude about the adventure that you are embarking on. Many people have said to me, “Wow I could never do what you are doing. It is too risky." True. There are risks involved. While it’s important to realistically assess the risks, you cannot let them deter you from getting started. It is important not to let anyone influence your attitude toward the goal that you have set out to achieve. People often fail at things because they lose faith in what they are working for and give up without ever seeing that if they had kept the right attitude then they would have achieved success.

-Dedication. Without dedication you might as well give up. Opportunities rarely just present themselves. They have to be created. H2L Solutions has only been in business for a few months, but in that time frame we have met with over 135 companies and briefed them on our core capabilities. Out of those briefings we have teamed with sixteen companies that are going after RFPs. We are in process to become HUBZone certified, green friendly certified, and VA certified. We are actively recruiting talented people so that when opportunities present themselves, we can begin work immediately.

- Stability. Financial stability is essential, and keeping overhead low is the number one way to preserve that stability. It makes things less stressful if you have no overhead and then keep costs low in order to capitalize on your profits, especially during the early stages of development. Many new businesses tend to get swept up in the excitement of all things new, and end up wasting valuable time and money on things that are non-essential. H2L has started with no debt and little overhead costs. This helps our company stay agile and focused so that we can offer other things that larger business cannot.

-Relationships. We did not expect any company to seek us out when we started our business. I took the relationships that I had before we started the business and used those to develop even more. Rich Ortiz was a huge help in getting me introduced to business developers all over Huntsville, Alabama. Another invaluable person was Paul Stutts who is the Business Developer for Computer Training Center of Huntsville. I cannot count how many influential people that he introduced me to that then have introduced me to other people.

-Reputation and Integrity. As you establish strategic relationships, it’s vital to back them up with integrity. Our company’s focus is on trust, reliability, and personal responsibility in all of our relationships. Everything relies on those values. If you lose your reputation your company will not succeed and no one will conduct business with you. One way you can keep your reputation intact is to let your yes be yes and your no be no. Do not stray from this practice and you will fare well.

-Research. Staying on the cutting edge of an industry means constant research in order to find immediately available work as well as developing future opportunities. At H2L we like to do a five in five. We focus on the next 5 challenges in the next 5 years and how can we leverage to fix those challenges. This is a good method for any company that is looking to stay innovative and marketable.

- Identity and focus. In order to get work you must identify a need that you can fill with your company’s core competencies. You must find a customer that has requirements that you can fill. But more importantly you have to find a company that has money to pay you! It’s at this stage that your strategic relationships, research, and dedication come together to support your financial growth.

-Listen. Listening is something that a business owner must do for successful. I have taken advice and listened to some of the smartest men and women in the business. Their insight on things has helped me avoid many hurdles and pitfalls that I would have otherwise made. I believe that everyone has something important and knowledgeable to say, and I want to hear about it. Listening to your customer is also vital, and helps build trust and maximize efficiency and quality.

-Support. You must have a support system of friends and family. Without the proper support from home it will make things so much more difficult to focus on building your business. Peace and tranquility will let you think clearly about the important decisions that you will have to make in regards to your business. It is also a great thing to run ideas by your spouse to see if they are sane or not. Believe me; my wife has saved me from many bad decisions in my lifetime.

-Fun. The hours will be crazy, the volume of interaction high and the pace fast, so you must love what you’re doing! For the first time in my life I am having fun working. It is an exciting, challenging, and always moving environment. The best businesses are filled with people who love what they are doing, which is a huge factor in determining success.

I am so excited to see where H2L Solutions’ is heading, and to see how we continue to grow. Thank you so much for letting me share what I’ve learned; I get excited about the idea of creative, energetic people seeing their concepts come to reality. I would love to hear from you. Maybe you dream of starting a business, but haven’t committed. Share your concerns in the comments. If you have created a successful business, what insights can you share with us?