Do you know all that you NEED to know to succeed in business?

WARNING -- If you brushed past that question, you could well end up one of the many small businesses that fail. Here's how to avoid the trap.

There are basic areas where you must have some knowledge to succeed. You don1t have to be an expert in these areas. In fact, you may well end up hiring experts to help you, but without a BASIC knowledge of these topics you risk being taken advantage of by the very experts you hire. DEFEND yourself with knowledge. Here are three key areas for almost any business.

SALES AND MARKETING

The odds are that you sell a product or service. Call it what we like, bottom line, we sell things. Attorneys, doctors and accountants sell their time. Product manufacturers sell their products to the retailer, who sells them to the general public.

Many people think that sales and marketing is the sideshow in the circus of business. "Unless you have a compelling personality or can write award winning sales text, you will fail," they think.

Not so. Sales and marketing is math as much as anything else. If 100 visitors to your site earn you a certain amount of money then how much will you earn if 500 visitors show up? Learn to do the math and don't let the "experts" dazzle you with their buzzwords.

LEGAL

The good news here is that you don't have to be an attorney to make it in business. The bad news; you'll probably need one before it's over with. Let's arm ourselves with at least some basic knowledge. First, legal work is NOT a do it yourself proposition. Second, few people that you sit in front of will intimidate you as much as your own attorney.

Third, you can learn much of what you need to know by networking with other business people like yourself and reading some basic information. Don't let the language of the law get to you. You don't have to be a pro, just know enough not to be taken advantage of.

ACCOUNTING

You are beginning to sell a few of your wonderful products. Now that the checks are rolling in, are you making any money?

Cash in the bank and profits are two TOTALLY different things. The chances are that you are going to do this on your computer so be sure to get a piece of software that fits YOU This is not a one size fits all proposition. Again, you don't have to become a C.P.A. but if you don't know the difference between cash and accrual accounting, get some information. And at tax time, see a pro.

The bottom line here is this. It's not enough to have a great idea, be able to write HTML code that makes visitors drool with envy or even have the best product at the best price.

You must add to these things a BASIC understanding of how and why your business is working or not working. Only then will you be able to KNOW how to succeed not only today but well into the future.