According to the article “5 Tips to Help You Make Business Decisions That Get Results” by contributor Megan Totka on business2community.com, small business owners often wear all the hats at a business: human resource manager, marketer, operations manager, etc. With so many decisions to make, it can be stressful to try to make the right one for each aspect of the company in order to make it profitable. As such, Totka offers five tips to help you make the best business decisions:

• Know your business. Make sure you understand every aspect of your business and what impacts it, from finances to customer interaction. Gather all this information so that when others challenge your opinions, you can present the facts to counter them. In addition, focus on finding ways to improve customer satisfaction, which is key to the success of a small business; part of this involves monitoring any media where customers give feedback on your business. Furthermore, investigate employee perks and incentives, which can promote higher performance.
• Learn from the past. We all make mistakes, so you’re bound to have made some bad business decisions. The first step is to forgive yourself for those mistakes; the second is to learn from them. For instance, if your mistakes impacted your credit to the point where it’s now difficult to receive funding, analyze what led to your bad credit and be sure not to repeat those mistakes. Furthermore, work to bounce back from them.
• Aim for results. Consider all your short- and long-term goals when making a business decision. Analyze your decision options to see how each one will affect these goals. You should always be aiming to fulfill your business goals and stay true to your mission.
• Take a breather. When your to-do list starts to get overwhelming as you try to accomplish everything, make sure to step back and take a small break. Engage in an activity that you enjoy but that is also relaxing, such as listening to music or taking a walk. Decompressing helps you recharge and can open your mind to new perspectives on your situation or business decision.
• Ask for other viewpoints. Look for advice from business peers and friends. Ask them how they operate their businesses. You can also join a local business support group, which also provides opportunities for networking and interacting with those from your industry in addition to learning more about it.

Read the original article here.