Running a family business comes with several challenges. One of the main challenges is succession. As older family members leave the business, finding suitable heirs to take up the leadership mantle is a big challenge.

Family conflicts can also threaten to tear down the company. Many family businesses also have problems scaling up the business.

Hiring a business consultant is the best way to deal with these and many other challenges. An outside eye can help bring everything into perspective. Bill Smith, Royal Cup Coffee, offers insights into running a thriving family business.

Who is Bill Smith?

William Smith, also known as Bill Smith, is the former president and CEO of Royal Cup Coffee & Tea. This is a family business he had worked for since his days in high school.

Bill Smith worked full-time for the family business as he learned about it and what it takes to run a successful venture. After that, he went back to school. He graduated with an MBA in the year 2000 from Emory University.

With his MBA in hand, Bill moved to the company’s headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, to join the Operations Division. Previously, he worked in the Sales Division.

Bill worked up to lead the operations division, building an efficient and effective operations unit and management team over time. During this period, Bill Smith Royal Cup Coffee improved the capacity and capabilities of those departments in the company.

In 2014, William Smith was named the company president and CEO. Bill followed in his father and uncle’s footsteps. He was also an active member of various advisory committees and councils, including the McWane Science Center, Red Cross, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama.

Having led, transformed, and steered Royal Cup Coffee to greater heights, William Smith decided to move on to other ventures.

With the Royal Cup Coffee Board of Directors, Bill Smith and the Smith family decided to promote a non-family professional executive to manage and lead the company’s sustained growth and success.   Bill then founded Double Iron Consulting.

About Double Iron Consulting

William Smith founded Double Iron Consulting to give back to the community and to share his career experiences with other family business owners and leaders. Bill understands that many family businesses struggle to stay afloat in these harsh economic times.

Transition is also a big issue that can threaten to bring down a family business that has been thriving for decades. Through Double Iron Consulting, William Smith works with family businesses to improve the efficiency of their operations, develop strategic plans, help with succession planning, and advise the board.

Double Iron Consulting is currently helping various family businesses and advisory boards. In this capacity, Double Iron Consulting advises the Boards of Directors to help them make informed decisions time and again.

Bill Smith’s Tips for Growing a Successful Business

[Alt Text: A picture of small business owners celebrating three years of business growth with the help of business consultants like Double Iron Consulting.]

The successful business executive offers the following tips to anyone who wants to achieve business success:

1. Be Creative

Running a successful business does not just require a good idea and sufficient capital; it also requires creativity. This is because many other businesses target the same customers, so you must be creative.

Creativity will ensure your business stands out from the crowd. This will allow you to attract more customers and retain them. To achieve success, you must be open to new ideas.

2. Balance Risks and Rewards

Before venturing into anything new, you must balance risk and reward. Some risks are too much for any business to bear, even if the potential reward is quite substantial.

Some risks are worth taking. Operating in a crowded field without taking risks can lead to stagnation. Business owners must assess risks while considering potential rewards. This is the only way to ensure they make sound business decisions.

3. Stay Focused

Anyone who wants to achieve a given goal must stay focused on that goal. A focused business owner can attain their business goals by avoiding distractions. One way to improve focus is to break down a long-term goal into medium-term and short-term goals that are easy to attain.

These goals should be documented and celebrated when achieved. Long-term goals will eventually be attained by working to attain short- and medium-term goals.

4. Patience is Important

It takes years to achieve business success. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to develop a thick skin to ensure they don’t give up on their business too soon.

On average, it takes around five years to achieve success. While some businesses may become successful within three years, others may take 6-10 years.

This is something to keep in mind when starting and running a business. Therefore, every entrepreneur needs to exercise patience.

5. Be Prepared to Make Sacrifices

A business can only be successful if the owner is willing to make sacrifices. The owner may have to forego their salary for a long time and work late into the night almost daily.

During the startup phase, there will be no holidays, weekends, or vacations, as the business will require all your attention. As a result, your business may take a toll on your relationships. Therefore, having an understanding family will help.

6. Understand the Competition

The number of customers in a neighborhood, town, or city is limited. Since there is plenty of competition, business owners need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their competition.

This will allow them to make informed decisions that will give them an edge over the competition.

7. Keep Detailed Records

Proper record-keeping is the key to business success. Ideally, business owners should maintain hard and soft copies of their business records.

A record of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual sales and expenditures should be kept. Tax records should also be well-preserved. This will aid in the decision-making process.

8. Be Organized

Successful people are usually organized. They have a list, which they always check off after completing a task. Being organized can help a business owner accomplish more tasks. It also helps avoid distractions.