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"How To's" for business are so very different then "How To's" for a great holiday turkey or an oil change. Truthfully, if all it took was a list of "How To's", there'd be far more successful business owners, and far less books about growing your business.

The truth with successful businesses, is that more than they did anything right, they avoided doing things wrong. In turn, their business survived long enough to build a significant customer base.

So often, when I consult with business owners whose companies are struggling, they've over-stretched their budgets and sanity, thinking that the next wave of growth was just around the turn.

Growing your business wisely is about preservation. Preservation of not just your finances, but of your energy and optimism as well.

Here are some key ways I've seen businesses and their owners stay healthy long-enough to sink solid roots:

1. Don't over spend on advertising. So often, business owners think that a glossy or well-placed ad will get their phone ringing off the hook. Unfortunately, it's just not true. Most people don't look at the vast majority of ads in print publications, and most radio ads go unheard.

The truth is, when someone needs a product or service, they usually look in the phone book for a specific category, or on the internet via a search engine. Spend your time and money on these areas, and avoid higher cost print and media ads.

2. Don't try and offer to many products or services. "Specialization" is a key economic principle that many small-business owners don't grasp. Instead of doing one or two things well, they try to be all things to all people. In the process, they become mediocre at all of them.

This situation often arises when our main product or service is not doing as well as hoped, but we see an opportunity to sell some additional products or services to the same customer.

Often, we spend a lot of time and money adding these additional lines, only to find ourselves spread too thin. Spend your time and money becoming an expert or excellent at what you do, because customers are always interested in the best.

3. Don't sit around and wait for business to come to you. The best way for your name to get "out there", is for you to get out there. In reality, people hire people, not companies.

When you make new contacts, and put a public face to your business, you create awareness and trust. Both of these things are essential to the growth of a customer base.

4. Don't skimp on your own personal health and enrichment.

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