Running a successful business takes more than just luck (although luck helps!) To give yourself the best chance of success, you need to fully understand certain areas, and gain as much experience as possible so you’re avoiding silly mistakes.

Here are 5 things it’s worth learning about before starting up a business. 

• Your niche/ audience

If, for example, you’re going to start a business selling running shoes, it makes sense that you’d first learn everything there is to know about fitness, running and running shoes first.

You’d find out what people want and expect from running shoes, what problems currently exist within this market and what potential questions and problems you’d be looking to solve.

You’d know the best styles, the materials, which laces are best- every last detail. By doing this you give yourself the very best chance of creating or selling products that people actually want and need.

You’re able to give the best advice to your customers, which helps to build up a solid reputation as they can see that you know your stuff. The point is, if you’re going to run a business, then you need to fully understand what the business involves and anticipate how your company fits into the current market.

Do market research, research your competitors, improve your own knowledge and hire the best staff who have experience and knowledge in the area. Don’t just go into things with a basic understanding as your naivety will soon start to show, build upon your passion with solid knowledge of the area. 

• Leadership

Being a business owner is all about leadership, but do you understand what leadership is exactly? Many go into running their company with an ego, just because you’re the boss doesn't mean you should be bossy, harsh or micromanage.

Doing this won’t improve productivity, it will simply stress out your staff and can make productivity much worse. Leadership involves delegation, encouragement and listening. Your employees should respect you but they shouldn't fear you.

Keeping lines of communication open with your team is essential, that way if there are any issues they spot they’ll feel comfortable coming to you. This can help to resolve problems much more quickly and staff feel heard and respected within the team.

Leadership isn’t a trait that all of us were born with, but it is something that can be learned. Consider taking a course to find out what you need to know, it will really improve your chances of success. 

• Marketing and advertising

As a business owner, you’ll either outsource or hire your own marketing team who will take care of advertising and promoting their company. That’s because marketing is a hugely in depth subject, it takes skill, knowledge and experience and so needs to be tackled by people who know what they’re doing.

However, just because you won’t be building marketing strategies yourself doesn't mean you should have a general level of knowledge on the subject.

Being able to understand how each campaign is performing and what the alternatives are if things aren't going as well as you hoped means you can give some direction to your team.

Software like whatagraph.com make marketing a little easier to understand by creating visuals and easy to digest graphics. Consider taking a marketing basics course to brush up on your knowledge of this area. 

• Aesthetics

Design is so important, as humans we’re attracted to beauty. Meaning well thought out design is something that should reflect in all areas of your business, from your graphics to your website to your office.

Work with a graphic designer to create things like logos, letterheads and other digital elements that can be used seamlessly across your business. Utilise interior designers who specialise in shops or offices (depending on what you do) to create a beautiful work area.

This will ensure that staff are happy and comfortable, and customers and clients are impressed when visiting your premises. Never look the design or appearance of anything in your business- customers and clients are picky and will demand the best.

You need to be giving professional and beautiful visuals whenever you use them, from signs to boards and much more. 

• Psychology

Finally, running a successful business means understanding people. When you’re a strong negotiator you can make deals with clients that leave you both happy. You can sort out customer problems in the best way, so they’re satisfied with any resolution that’s made.

You can lead your team in a strong way- and so much more. Learn the psychology of selling, learn about people in general. Know how to compose yourself, the right body language to use and the tone of voice that’s appropriate.

It will give you a huge head start when it comes to business! There are tons of psychology courses that you can take online which you can study in your own time, and best of all they’re extremely interesting too.