When it comes to good work habits, they can be discerned pretty early in life. Take the local teenage paperboy for example. The local paper has to be delivered 365 days a year whether it’s rain, snow, hail, sleet or shine, and did I mention that those papers are not exactly light. They experience the mundaneness of delivering to the same customers on the same exact route everyday, and they better not be late or they won’t get tipped on payday.

Most kids don’t have the discipline and constitution that it takes to perform such a job. The job needs to be done everyday whether they like it or not. If they do fail to show up, they need to have a backup in line to get the job done. The job always has to get done, and it is their responsibility to see to it that it does. Social peer pressure just doesn’t have a place in such a schedule.

Another challenge is that they also have to try to reach out to new prospects if they want to increase what they make each month. A successful paper boy gets that job done constantly and without excuses. These are the types of people that you want on your team regardless of position. Employees who take ownership of their position and job responsibilities.

If they failed when they were younger, to grasp desirable work ethics, this failure can continue to make tracks throughout their adult career. When you hire for your company, make sure you look for the “paper boy” in everyone before making them part of your winning team.

When it comes to running a small business, there will be no shortage of tasks to perform and things to buy. However, you must prioritize in order to be an effective and successful small business owner. Otherwise, you may find yourself working for someone else.

Here is an ordered list of priorities. We call it “The Small Business Priority Manifesto.”

1. Never let off the gas pedal when it comes to selling and marketing your products and services

2. Retain current customers

3. Increase the number of customers

4. Send estimates, bill clients and conduct collections

5. Maintain available cash or credit for expenditures

6. Meet payroll

7. Hire great people

8. Be sensitive to employees’ needs and ideas

9. Invest in your staff by training them

10. Offer an excellent product or service coupled with fantastic customer service

11. Know how your products and services differ from your competition

12. Set obtainable goals

13. Delegate tasks that someone else can do better

14. Treat trusted suppliers and lenders warmly

15. Review expenditures over $999.99 thoroughly

16. Complete tasks now that must be dealt with before they turn into a nightmare. In other words, do not procrastinate what’s important.

The most important aspect of your business is not your business plan, financing, current industry trends, ideas, employees, taxes, location, nor your health insurance plan. It’s having customers to serve. By far, this is always the number one rule of business. By having a customer, your business has now been validated. You now have someone to sell your product or services to. Rule number one is very simple, but you would be surprised how often it is overlooked.

You may not even have a business now, but don’t let that stop you from determining if you have a customer. How can I do this without a business you ask? You can achieve this by doing market research, using common sense, conducting some test marketing, and utilizing some deductive reasoning. Here are some examples that can get your brain churning. The toothpaste company that actually develops a toothpaste that whitens teeth knows that they have customers because of the number of people who spend large sums of money at dentists getting their teeth whitened. The lawyer who focuses on medical malpractice suits knows that they have a customer because of the large sums of money that can be won in a case for patients going through undue pain and suffering after being treated. The idea of ebay was brilliant because brick and mortar auction houses have been around conducting auctions forever.

To put it simply, having a customer is rule number one. Getting a customer is rule number two. Keeping the customer is rule number three. Following these three simple rules will keep you in business for as long as you want to be in business.