When you start a business, the ultimate goal should be to make sure it becomes and stays successful. No one goes into the business world wanting their idea to crash and burn at the gate, after all. Thankfully, there are strategies and tips available to help any business owner, whether new or old, take their company and make sure it continues to thrive. Here are a few of those tips and tricks.

1 ) Write out a plan.

Though some people are good at winging it when it comes to life situations, that’s not something that you should do when you want your business to succeed. Not having a written plan makes your ideas more of a dream than reality, and having something written down will give you a tangible place to start. What you write down doesn’t have to be novel-length; it can be a mere outline for strategies, objectives, financing, marketing, and whatever else you need to get started.

2 ) Be prepared to change your plan.

Writing down your plan and sticking to it is smart, but it isn’t smart to stick to it when it’s obviously not working anymore. Following a plan you wrote down months ago when it’s not doing anything beneficial for your business will only bring you closer to failure, so don’t be afraid to scrap the plan and adjust accordingly if the situation calls for it.

3 ) Listen to others.

It’s far too easy to let success inflate your ego, and letting that happen is detrimental to your future success. That’s why having advisors around you is essential to success; you’ll be able to bounce ideas off of them while having someone keep you in check as well. Having people there to hold you accountable is smart and will make sure your focus is primarily on your business, not your ego.

4 ) Delegate without micromanagement.

When you hire people, you need to trust that they know what they’re doing—there’s a reason you hired them in the first place, after all. You can’t control everything, nor can you do everything necessary to keep your business running smoothly. That’s why you can’t be afraid to delegate tasks to your employees: if you do so effectively, you’ll get more done in a much better way than you would’ve on your own.

You also need to be aware of micromanagement; letting yourself fall into that habit will not only slow you down, but make for some very unhappy employees in the long run.