Stairway to Seven

My seven steps for business success

Dawson Hinds Creative Spaces is a family run business with a great history and four decades of experience in the commercial interior and office products sector. With its HQ in Derry and dedicated professionals in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Europe, the company’s aim is to provide a unique service with a specialist product range to the commercial, educational, and public sectors.

Dawson’s seven key tips for success through his career to date are:

1. BE CREATIVE

Always look for ways to improve your business and make it stand out from the competition. Recognise that you don’t know everything and be open to new ideas and different approaches to your business. Creativity in business is a way of thinking that inspires and challenges people to find new innovative solutions and create opportunities out of problems. It is a crucial asset needed to shape a resilient individual because the business world is unpredictable and issues inevitably arise. That is why creative thinking is such a valued asset today.

2. PREPARE TO MAKE SACRIFICES

The journey to starting a business is hard work but once you have opened your doors, your work has just begun. In many cases you must put in more time than you would if you were working for someone else, which may mean spending less time with family and friends to be successful.

3. LONG TERM THINKING

When entrepreneurs go into business, they are naturally focused on the first months and short-term goals. However, in many industries, purchasing cycles can be much longer. By thinking long-term, businesses can make sure they have sufficient resources to get their business on a secure footing.

4. ADAPT AND FLOURISH

Life and business are all about innovation and progress. Smart business owners and managers shouldn’t be concerned by change. Instead, they should embrace it and find creative ways to expand. This could be adding additional services and/or products that compliment your current offering while expanding your customer list and audience.

5. WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER

To be successful, you will need to spend a great deal of time working on whatever path you plan to pursue toward economic freedom. The question for you to answer will be whether that will be all of your time – seven days a week, 52 weeks a year – or whether there are going to be rules you set for yourself? As a successful professional, it will easily be possible to spend every waking hour working, but that means not spending time taking care of yourself or being with loved ones or doing the things you enjoy. When you are first starting out there will need to be sacrifice, there is no doubt, but are you being productive or are you just working? There is a difference. Look for ways to be more productive and give your body and mind a break so you can refocus and refresh.

6. LINE UP THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Successful entrepreneurs may be the best salespeople in their company, but they’re rarely also the best accountants, operations managers, or legal experts. What they do know is how to assemble effective teams to get the job done. Surround yourself with the right people with the needed skillsets.

7. GREAT SERVICE

There are many successful businesses that forget that providing great customer service is important. If you provide better service for your customers, they’ll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition.