Real Business Solutions Manager Carol Frink knows from personal experience what it takes to both succeed and fail in a business.

Her experience stems from years as a bank executive, where she helped small business owners secure loans, managed other businesses and helped save them an average of thousands of dollars and, later, started her own business.

Frink visited the Umatilla Chamber of Commerce Business to Business luncheon Thursday to offer advice to owners of small businesses in the area.

Many times, small business owners get trapped in running their business, she said. We feel like, in order to succeed, we have to work harder and longer hours.

Frink said a lot of the time, business owners isolate themselves because they feel they have to spend all of their time working to get the business off of the ground, which leaves them feeling lonely and anxious.

She said, when running her own business, she too failed to provide time for herself and felt she had to do everything herself. She said, despite all of her years of experience in consulting with others, she realized she had to take a step back and learn how to better manage her time.

With her realization, she said she came up with a three-step approach to running a small business.

The first step, Frink said, is reclaiming time for themselves.

The enthusiasm gets sucked out of people real quick, she said. We realize that we bought ourself a job … and we start to get burnt out. The joy that used to be in your life evaporates quickly and is replaced with anxiety, but when you take a step back, you see what is possible.

She said by setting up a schedule for each day, business owners may better dedicate time to individual tasks throughout the day or week. She said establishing a schedule for other components necessary in running a business, such as planning, marketing, financial management, staff development, goals-setting and product or service development, helps break up the work load.

Scheduling days off, time away from the office or vacations are also crucial for the business owner, she said.

The second step to successfully running a small business, she said, is developing a road map with step-by-step instructions for how to manage the business.

Frink said she failed to use her own business plan when running her own business, and her business suffered because of it. She said developing goals and strategies for where a business owner wants to be and utilizing helpful mentors, including accountants, business advisers and more, will significantly cut down on the amount of time a business owner spends in the office and will make the business more efficient.

You cant do everything yourself, she said. Your life will suffer because of it.

The third step is understanding financial numbers.

Records are only as good as the entry, Frink said. If they arent correct, you are making business decisions on things that are not right. Numbers tell a very true story about your business.

She said working with financial advisers and accountants will help business owners better understand and implement their business strategies and the business overall trend.

Frink said she knows it is hard for business owners to make changes after developing routines and habits, but they can mean the difference between a thriving or failing business and a happy or anxious owner. For more information or to set up an appointment, contact Frink at 541-720-1001.