First of all, planning ahead is a huge key. Planning ahead for your business may mean doing things all the way from researching the total amount of expenses your business will cost, to setting goals for where you need to be after a certain amount of time. Most successful business owners will tell you that planning ahead is the single most important thing you can do to help your business. If you don’t plan ahead well, don’t expect to see positive results.

The second vital point of starting a business is staying ahead of the curve. As you start your business and get the operations going you must realize that you need to predict what the customer will be wanting or needing in the coming months and stay one step ahead. Getting one step behind your competitors can mean your business never gets off the ground. Adaptability is a key part of staying ahead of the curve, since the economy and customer’s needs will change constantly.

If you start a business and remember these two vital points you are likely to succeed. Don’t get lost in the process and allow yourself to think only about developing a great product or service, because having a successful business is much more complex than that. Focus on these two points and start your business right!

1. Let them dress down. Simply put, jeans are more fun than suits. Letting employees dress casually on an occasional Friday doesn’t cost anything, and since many people are more comfortable dressed down, they’ll still get the work done – they’ll just be happier doing it.

2. Encourage employee spirit. Some companies have committees that host themed lunches or holiday gift swaps to bring employees together. Others send people out to happy hours or on vacations. Let your staff socialize without talking projects and deadlines. If they can connect with co-workers on a personal level, they’ll be happier and have more fun at work.

3. Give a little. Put a ping-pong table in the break room, or keep some ice cream in the freezer for those long afternoons. Offer small prizes and incentives for friendly competitions. Whatever the case, small measures that let your staff escape the stress of work for the land of fun, if just for a moment, really go a long way to keeping people – and keeping them happy.
Remember, grown-up or not, everyone likes to play once in a while! So add a little fun to the work day; smiles and laughter are free, after all!

You need to grow your business and possibly to expand. Top talent in your industry is necessary. A competitive salary, higher than your competitors is necessary. You must give this talent incentives through bonuses for goals they have reached or surpassed. In sales, should the salespeople exceed your quota that would force a bonus. Perks like the use of an automobile or company jets are a good way to keep talent.

The top talent must always be brought into the decision process. They must feel that their input was important in reaching a specific decision. Even though no person is irreplaceable, the feeling that top talent has that they are indeed irreplaceable must be nurtured.

It is not an easy thing attracting and holding top talent. The company must be large enough to expend this kind of money to a few individuals. Small business cannot do that, the reason why small business is not going to get these people under any circumstances. Not even in today’s economic downturn will top talent take a position they consider far below their talents. Instead they will go abroad. There are always companies around the world that will be more than happy to pay out money for such talent. Sometimes as seen by the recent AIG fiasco top talent will not workout for the company, though generally it does.