(Photo by Umberto Salvagnin)

Why is it that some business owners seem to get all the luck? Your advertisements don’t attract as many customers as theirs‘. Your Facebook page doesn’t have as many people “liking” you. Your phone isn’t ringing much, but they are hiring yet another staff member to handle the increasing load. What’s the secret?

For many successful small business owners, it comes down to luck. They were in the right place, at the right time, with the right offer. Sure they worked hard to make it a success, but even if you followed the same steps as they did, there’s no guarantee you would also succeed.

Small business owners also don’t understand why their “overnight success” can suddenly disappear. It’s because they thought they were smart, when they were simply lucky. And by the time they figure that out, it’s often too late. Instead of trying to figure out how to succeed anew, they try to do more of what worked before. After all, if it worked once, it should work again. Right?

The truly smart business owner thinks strategically both short-term and long-term. Before they open their store or make their website live, they spend the time to understand the landscape: their competition, their prospective clients, and the unmet needs. They create a dynamic plan to define their strategy, and revisit the plan when any of their market assumptions changes (new technology, new competition, new opportunities, etc.).

Marketing Tip: With a marketing/business strategy, your success won’t simply be lucky.