Being in business can be a great thing. It can afford you the opportunity to not only work for yourself but to accumulate wealth and riches you may never see working on a job.
If we look at what has been happening in the world of business the last 15 years we see people who were in business and blew it. Some ran billion dollar companies yet in the end the company was shut down, thousands lost their jobs and many investors were wiped out.
Here are some guidelines of things to not do if you want to remain in business;
1) Always remember how you got there in the first place - a lot of businesses are the result of sacrifice, blood, sweat and many tears. Once you get some success it helps to remember that your present success came from past sacrifices. This helps to keep you humble moving forward and watching your business prosper.
2) Staff according to your weaknesses, not your strengths - no CEO can do it all. The things you excel at won't require someone else to do when you can do it. You may be creative, technical in your approach, imaginative or practical. Know your strengths so that you can staff to what you are weak at.
Don't surround yourself with people like yourself because they are comfortable to be with or people who are your friends and need a job.
3) Stay true to your original intention - when a business starts the CEO does so with an idea. As your business grows you must beware of being involved in businesses that take you away from your core. Years ago Sears owned an Insurance company, real estate company, mortgage company, and investment banker. As they returned back to their core business of retail they divested themselves of all of these businesses that were not in line with their core business.
Can you diversify? Certainly. But stay true to your core business because that is the only reason you are in business.
4) Watch your cash- as your business earns more and more money, there will be many temptations to spend it. Resist the urge to splurge just because you can.
5) Minimize debt obligations - a lot of businesses grow through debt accumulation. Work to maintain an acceptable debt level that will not wreck your company should the market experience a downturn (remember the real estate market in 2007-2009)
You can build a successful business that endures the tough times if you plan it right.