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.