Celebrating 20 Years in Business: 20 Business Tips

5 years ago, to celebrate 15 years in business I wrote the blog: 15 Business Tips to Celebrate 15 Years in Business. I’ve reviewed and revised the 15 tips and added 5 more based on the experience I’ve had growing Key Principles during this period. Here are my insights which I hope you will find useful.

1. Work on the business more than in the business

As a small business owner, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day operations, but setting aside time to focus on the bigger picture is crucial. Over the years, I’ve found that carving out 60 minutes in the morning makes a big difference, but ideally, 90 minutes would be even better. If mornings aren’t feasible, consider dedicating one day a week where you’re not disturbed by the team.

Doing so allows you to concentrate on growing the business instead of just running it. It’s about making sure you’re not just repeating the same year over and over again—which is something I used to do quite a bit.

This approach aligns with the ideas in “Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?” by Ben Hunt-Davis and Harriet Beveridge¹, where small, focused actions lead to greater success. The concept of 90 minutes comes from Nigel Botterill of Entrepreneur’s Circle, whose book “Build Your Business In 90 Minutes A Day”² is well worth a read.

2. Hire great people, hire them as soon as you can, and invest in them

When I decided to grow Key Principles, I understood the importance of hiring great people and providing opportunities for them to develop their skills. Terri Foster joined Key Principles 10 years ago and has been instrumental in helping us more than double in size. Her dedication to personal growth, becoming a Chartered Marketer while raising three children, has been inspiring. Terri continues to deliver outstanding Paid Advertising campaigns, consistently achieving incredible results for our clients.

Malik, who joined us eight years ago from Nottingham Trent University, has developed into a fantastic digital marketer. His expertise spans various digital marketing areas, and he has mastered elements of coding to implement robust Google Tag Manager tracking and WordPress websites designed with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in mind from the outset. His results for clients regarding SEO are phenomenal, and his contributions have been invaluable in ensuring our clients receive exceptional service.

Our latest addition, William Bayliss, joined the team in 2023 as our Digital Marketing Assistant. Will plays a crucial role in marketing Key Principles and focuses on Email Marketing, Content Writing, Social Media Marketing, Paid Search, and Paid Social for Key Principles and some clients. His fresh perspective and enthusiasm are already making a significant impact, helping us stay at the forefront of digital marketing innovation.

3. Work with a business coach as soon as you can.

I waited far too long to get a coach, but when I finally did, I realised I should have started much sooner. Referrals can be invaluable in finding a good coach – it’s how I found my first coach, through a recommendation from a long-standing client. It’s essential to choose a coach who has faced similar challenges and found success, as they are more likely to understand your journey.

Since then, I’ve joined the Entrepreneur’s Circle Masterplan Programme and have a new coach. The programme, with its nine-step structure, has been brilliant for our progress. I’m currently at step 8, and it’s been instrumental in moving us forward. I’d certainly recommend this programme to ambitious business owners looking to take their businesses to the next level.

4. Invest in your marketing

I’ll be honest, I haven’t always excelled at this. It’s that classic scenario—the shoemaker’s children have no shoes. However, recently we’ve prioritised investing in marketing for Key Principles more than ever before. Marketing is crucial for business growth; it ensures your clients know you’re there for them and understand how you can support them. It’s also essential for building your brand and cultivating your community.

One of my favourite marketing books is Perry Marshall’s “80/20 Sales and Marketing,”³ which offers great insights into leveraging the 80/20 principle to your advantage. We apply this principle wherever possible, both in our business and on behalf of our clients. Additionally, we’ve explored Alex Hormozi’s books: “$100M Leads: How to Get Strangers To Want To Buy Your Stuff”⁴ and “$100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No.”⁵ We’ve also delved into Marcus Sheridan’s book “They Ask, You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer.”⁶ We are always learning.

Find what works for your business and keep investing in it—it’s a pivotal step towards sustained growth.

5. Be selective about who you serve

This is not just okay, it’s vital. We only work with businesses that we believe we can help and where we can deliver amazing results, aiming to exceed our clients’ expectations so they not only stay with us but also promote us within their network. We want clients who will become fans and, more than this, clients who value what we do and share our beliefs. Our ‘Key Principles’ are fundamental to us and include complete transparency and mutual respect.

As we’ve grown, there have been situations where we’ve realized that our skill set wasn’t the right fit for a particular project or client, and we’ve chosen not to quote for potential work. We’ve become more selective about who we partner with, seeking true partnerships where we are seen as the client’s growth partner. This ensures that both parties are aligned and committed to mutual success.

6. Develop an Operations Manual to Streamline Processes and Ensure Consistent Excellence

If you’ve not read “The E-Myth Revisited”⁷ by Michael E. Gerber, I urge you to pick up a copy. This book was instrumental in helping me appreciate the critical role processes and checklists play in running an effective business. I’ve also delved into “Traction”⁸ by Gino Wickman, which provides instruction on strengthening the six key components of your business. The book’s chapter on Process is excellent, offering useful frameworks for resolving issues and metrics to monitor, even covering how to run great meetings. Gino promotes 90-day planning cycles, a concept which we’ve adopted and works very well.

In our journey with the Entrepreneur’s Circle Masterplan Programme, we implemented an Operations Manual for the business as part of step 7. Now, we have processes and procedures for all aspects of the business, including running the actual business, not just service delivery—though that is, of course, crucial. This comprehensive documentation ensures consistency and helps us deliver exceptional results every time.

7. Continuous improvement – the 1%s every day – that’s how the real breakthroughs happen

When it comes to business, the big breakthroughs are often made up of lots of little improvements over time. The British Cycling team under Sir Dave Brailsford looked for the 1% gains every day. “In the 11 years that Brailsford has headed up the Great Britain Cycling Team, the squad has become the most successful British team in any sport at a world and Olympic level.”⁹ Business is no different; lots of 1% gains will make a difference.

In his book, “Atomic Habits,”¹⁰ James Clear wrote about the impact of improving every tiny thing by 1% and marginal gains. You can find out more about this on James’ website, where there’s an excerpt from his book, This Coach Improved Every Tiny Thing by 1 Percent and Here’s What Happened.

8. Keep learning and keep challenging yourself and your team

In these rapidly changing times, especially as Digital Marketers, we are committed to lifelong learning. While the essence of Marketing and Business has not changed from Philip Kotler’s definition – “Marketing is the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit”¹¹ – the ways we deliver value and promote products have evolved and will continue to do so. Therefore, we must remain curious and open to new ideas, challenging one another in a positive way to foster growth and adaptability.

Always be willing to question assumptions and embrace fresh perspectives. This mindset will enable us to continually develop and expand our marketing and business knowledge, ensuring we deliver exceptional results for our clients and drive business growth.

9. Consistency and action are vital

It’s easy to fall into the trap of reading one business book after another, learning new concepts, but never implementing what you’ve learned. It’s also easy to abandon what’s already working well in favour of the next shiny new thing. Consistency is key; when you find something that works for your business, keep doing it, even if it becomes boring and repetitive. It’s a winning formula.

In “The Chimp Paradox”¹² by Dr. Steve Peters, there’s a great quote: “There are some pitfalls to be aware of after you’ve been successful in an event. The first danger is complacency. Whenever we have achieved something there is a tendency for the chimp to forget quite quickly exactly what we had to do to succeed. Very often therefore successful people fail to continue with success because they fail to continue to do what they did in the first place in order to succeed. You need to be vigilant when watching for complacency… Most success is achieved by hard work and there are few if any shortcuts.”

Consistency of action is what really counts—inputs drive outputs. Stay the course with processes that drive results and remember that persistence in what works is foundational to ongoing success.

10. Get out of your comfort zone often

If there’s something you believe you should do, but you keep procrastinating, that’s just the thing you should do. At Key Principles, we’ve found that pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones- through activities like running webinars and making sales calls – can be both challenging and exhilarating. Recently, I stepped even further out of my comfort zone by running two marathons, with a third planned for the end of April 2025. These experiences taught me that breaking new ground and growing as people is exciting.

The ‘just do it’ slogan by Nike captures the essence of this approach—sometimes you need to simply start. A strategy from “The Chimp Paradox” that sticks with me is: “If needed, just aim for 5 minutes, and before you know it, you’ll have done 20 minutes.” Pushing yourself is where real strides are made, enabling both personal growth and business growth.

11. Make sure you have plenty of cash – cash is king

I was perhaps fortunate to have been in business for 15 years when COVID-19 hit. However, it wasn’t just the length of time in operation – it was also about practising good housekeeping. We invest in marketing, training courses, and learning, but I’ve always prioritised saving some of our profits for a rainy day. Coming from a working-class family, my mum taught me to keep some money aside, a practice that has proven invaluable.

These cash reserves have been a real asset for Key Principles, allowing us to weather the storm, continue supporting our clients, and avoid furloughing staff.

If turbulent times lie ahead, having cash in the bank will help you ride out the rough seas, ensuring your business remains steady and resilient.

12. Profit is more important than revenue – don’t be a busy fool

At Key Principles, we work hard to generate revenue, but in recent years, we’ve placed greater emphasis on profit. Make sure you charge a fair price for your services or products. Don’t undersell yourself – we sometimes do this, know it’s a mistake, yet occasionally fall into the trap, often regretting it afterward. To counterbalance our competitive pricing, we’ve focused on refining our processes, especially now that we are working virtually. We direct our efforts towards what truly matters to our clients, aiming to deliver the best possible results in an efficient and effective manner, which has helped us improve our profit margins.

We have also started to implement a regular fee increase each year as inflation takes hold and wages rise. This adjustment ensures we continue to cover costs and uphold the quality of our services. There’s a great video on pricing by Casey Brown, a pricing strategist who openly admits to initially under-pricing her services. The TED Talk is called “Know your worth and then ask for it.”¹³

13. Generate good habits

A post on LinkedIn by a connection – Jamie Taylor of Taylor Roofs – led me to the audio version of a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. If there are habits that you need to cultivate, James offers some great strategies to use to develop those habits. James also includes a section about identity, which I will revisit.

14. Don’t watch the news and limit your use of social media (of course, use it for your business though)

I stopped watching the news about two years ago. I want to keep positive and find the news so negative and draining. In the last few months, I have of course kept up to date with what’s happening, but I’ve still tried to limit the time spent on news websites. I decided not to use Twitter (now X) for personal purposes for similar reasons and try hard to limit the time spent on Facebook and LinkedIn unless work related. Similarly, I don’t have notifications on any of the apps on my phone—when you work, you have to get focused time to be effective, and this is how I try to get this time.

I feel that this has only gotten worse over the last five years, and I continue to limit my TV watching, news consumption, and use of social media platforms. To me, it’s often a waste of time, and the news tends to suck your energy and leave you deflated—it’s mostly bad news.

15. Add recurring revenue

Establishing a recurring revenue model can significantly enhance your business’s financial stability. By offering subscription-based services or retainers, you create predictable income streams that contribute to a steady cash flow. This financial predictability is invaluable, allowing you to plan strategically and invest in growth initiatives with greater confidence.

Consider what aspects of your service or product offerings could be transitioned into a subscription model. Recurring revenue can take various forms, such as monthly service packages, software subscriptions, or regular maintenance contracts. It’s essential to tailor these offerings to meet client needs while ensuring they add value and foster long-term relationships.

The benefits extend beyond financial stability. A recurring revenue model can enhance customer loyalty, as clients become more engaged with regularly provided services or products. This ongoing engagement offers opportunities to deepen client relationships, gather valuable feedback, and adapt offerings to better meet evolving needs. By creating a cycle of consistent interaction, you also open avenues for upselling and cross-selling, further contributing to growth and client satisfaction.

16. Customer is king

Recognising the lifetime value of a customer is fundamental to achieving sustained business success. Prioritising long-term relationships allows you to cultivate loyalty and create a network of satisfied clients who continue to return for your services. Importantly, it’s often more cost-effective to nurture existing customer relationships than to acquire new ones, making retention strategies a key driver of profitability.

To better understand our customers’ needs and preferences, we’ve implemented a quarterly client survey. This allows us to gather valuable feedback and make informed adjustments to our offerings, ensuring we consistently deliver exceptional value. Providing outstanding customer service and fostering trust are central to building long-term relationships, encouraging customers to view our business as a partner in their success.

We also send annual anniversary presents to clients, celebrating their continued partnership with us, along with ad hoc gifts to express our appreciation. These gestures help to strengthen bonds and show our commitment to nurturing meaningful relationships.

Moreover, loyal customers often become advocates for your brand, sharing positive experiences with their networks and generating valuable word-of-mouth referrals. Encourage and facilitate these referrals through incentives or rewards programmes. Engage with your clients regularly through personalised communications, such as newsletters, feedback surveys, or exclusive offers, to keep them connected and invested in your brand.

In today’s competitive landscape, treating your customers as the cornerstone of your business strategy not only boosts retention but also positions you to adapt to changing market dynamics. By recognising the importance of each customer interaction, you create a foundation for robust, long-term growth.

17. Ideas outside of your sector

Don’t just look at what your competitors are doing – seek inspiration from other industries. Cross-industry innovations can spark creativity in your business in ways you might not expect. It’s about borrowing good ideas from elsewhere and seeing how they can fit into what you’re doing.

Take Nike, for instance. When they were developing their carbon-plated running shoes, the Alpha Fly, they looked to the space industry. By thinking outside the box, they came up with a game-changer for runners.

At Key Principles, we often look to Apple’s approach to design, rather than just seeing what our local competitors are up to. Apple’s focus on simple, user-friendly design is something we try to bring into our strategies.

So, next time you’re brainstorming, think beyond your sector. Look around; see what innovations are happening that might inspire a fresh perspective for your business. It’s amazing what you can discover when you step outside the usual confines and let different ideas percolate.

18. Leverage partnerships

Strategic partnerships can really help you expand your reach and boost your resources. It’s all about teaming up with people who have similar goals and values, so you can genuinely support each other’s growth. These partnerships are not just about business – they’re about building a network where everyone benefits.

Here at Key Principles, we partner closely with companies like Print Co and Andy Middleton – firms that complement what we do without competing. We refer clients to each other, creating a reliable circle of trust. When our clients need printing services, they know they’re getting top-notch service from someone we trust.

By joining forces with businesses that complement yours, you can tap into each other’s strengths and work toward shared goals. It’s not just about offering more to your clients; it’s about forming a community of like-minded professionals who strive for excellence. Keep an eye out for where a partnership could help both you and your partners. You might find it opens doors that you wouldn’t be able to access alone.

19. Plan but most importantly act

Planning is crucial in business, but what’s even more important is putting those plans into action. At Key Principles, the key is to act, measure, test, refine, and optimise. You’ve got to keep pushing when you hit on a winning formula – don’t just let it sit there.

Start by setting clear, actionable goals that cover both the short term and the long term. Use planning tools to help keep you organised and on track but remember: a plan without action is just a piece of paper. Get moving, measure what works and what doesn’t, and don’t be afraid to make adjustments along the way.

The real magic happens when you combine planning with action. Keep testing and refining your strategies and optimise them for even better results. When you find something that works, keep doing it—consistency is your ally. It’s all about staying proactive and never settling for anything less than the best.

20. Your health, family, and team are more important than your business

Make time for all four and really try not to let the business be all-consuming. This can be challenging as a small business owner. I often work at the weekend but do try to have at least one full day off.

Running has always been a part of my life- I’ve always run. Since finding Parkrun back in April 2016, it has been a constant companion. I’ve lost almost 2 stone in weight, pretty much stopped drinking alcohol, limit caffeinated drinks, and have looked after myself much more. These changes have provided me with the structure and discipline to cope with the ups and downs of running a small business, and I have no doubt they have helped me grow Key Principles. I’m about to run my third marathon at the end of April, which is a testament to the balance I’ve worked hard to achieve.

Conclusion

I hope you found the above insights valuable and useful. To all our clients, new and old, thank you for your business over the past 20 years. I trust that you’ve found working with Key Principles to be worthwhile.

As we continue this journey, I want to assure our current clients that we will always prioritise your best interests. Our focus is on delivering exceptional results paired with a service that matches those standards. We stand by our commitment to complete transparency, openness, and honesty.

Since Key Principles has been trading, we’ve helped over 600 businesses grow through our marketing support, and the mission is to help even more.

If you would like partner with us or would like to see how we may be able to help you, then please get in touch by call 0115 880 0211, email team@keyprinciples.co.uk or book an initial strategy session.

References including some great books to read: