In business, many focus on their next million dollar idea, but very few make any money from the idea alone.  While others focus totally on building a product, in hopes that that product will assure financial success.  Both of these examples are missing one important thing.  They are not business focused.

According to an article from Martin Zwilling of Entrepreneur, there are several key elements to remaining business focused. Here are some of these:

Staying customer centric in all business actions – It’s not easy to avoid letting your personal interests fill in for objective customer data. But with today’s access to social media, interaction with your customers is easy and must be utilized for all aspects of business.

Prioritize weekly activities, while focusing on the top three – Those who try to do too much only succeed in doing everything poorly.  Focus on the high priority activities and be willing to delegate.

Manage cash flow daily – Finances of your business require discipline and focus. Investors rarely give you a second chance.

Setting targets for the team – Everyone on your team must be actively engaged in order to grow your business. In order to do this, they need to know where they are going and what targets they are fighting for.

Selling is a job for everyone all the time – Everyone in your business should be selling. Every time you have contact with an investor or customer, an impression is set.  That impression needs to be a good one.

Defining leading and lagging – You should always be measuring because you can’t manage on things you don’t measure. Structure leading measures first, such as customer leads and solution costs.  Lagging measures come next, including volumes achieved, cost of customer acquisition and market penetration.

Insist on and nurturing total team accountability – When you have a new business, total individual and team accountability is required.

Keep team members and customers motivated – An unhappy team can’t create a satisfied customer base.  A highly motivated and engaged team creates customers who work and feel like part of the team.

The Number One Rule of Business is to Stay Business Focused|Entrepreneur