Be prepared to work your heart out and your tail off (16 - 18 hours a day to start is not unusual). Make sure it's a business you'll enjoy most of the time. These are just some of the things that small businesses need to succeed (not in any specific order):
- Work to get repeat customers / clients; a single sale from any one person or other business (no matter how large the order was) will not grow your business.
- Start small and grow as you get better.
- Listen to your customers; adjust what you can to accommodate the change, especially if it's something all / most of your customers are requesting.
- Welcome competition; it means you're doing something right.
- Smile and nod with the difficult customers, give the good customers a break now and then.
- A customer's perception doesn't always equal reality; if they think it's broken, then "fix" it and satisfy the customer.
Of course, there are so many other things, but this short list should get you started in the right direction.
