By JOHNNY CARCIOPPOLO / Community Columnist

How do you focus and stay focused in business? Here are some tips to help you develop that focus.

Create a business plan and while there is room for tweaking, stick to it. Keep close to your business plan and keep focused.

Choose a niche. Don’t go all over the map and try to sell products that will please everyone from pet owners to car owners.

Know your market – Get inside their minds; don’t just know who to market to, but know all about them.

Do the work/research your market niche and target audience – take your time getting to know them; create a marketing persona, do your research and ask your questions.

Research other businesses and find the one big thing that is missing from their business. Highlight that item or aspect in your business.

Find out what sets you apart and market that one thing – don’t be afraid to highlight what you can do for other companies and then do it up big.

So important – discover what you are willing to learn before you launch and do those things and learn what you are not willing to learn and find valuable and reputable business to take care of that for you by outsourcing or bartering.

Ask questions of customers via surveys of other businesses, always be curious; make sure you take customers’ needs and concerns into play.

Always be curious about your business; read trade publications relating to your business, go to event shows and trade shows. Keep up with what’s trending but don’t jump into it too soon; stick to your focused business plan and keep eyes and ears tuned to trends, but don’t jump in too fast.

Set a schedule: Is this a part time/full time business? How many hours per week will you dedicate to your business? More importantly, what days and times will you set aside to work it?

Start slowly – don’t quit your day job until you make room for this new business; give it a set amount of time such as a year, for example.

Stick to an assigned schedule – three nights a week for two hours/or all day Saturday; choose what will work best for you and keep your focus; stick to it.

Let your family in on it and keep your word to yourself to stick to your schedule; show your family you mean what you say and you say what you mean.

If you cannot work from home, go to a coffee shop/internet café or bookstore to get things done.

When you get stuck find assistance and ask questions. If there’s something you don’t know how to do, check it out on YouTube, research it, ask questions or farm it out when all else fails.

Minimize distractions – shut down your emails, your pings and your dings and no answering social media or phone calls, no checking emails during your business time. Set aside 15 minutes per day whether early on or mid-afternoon and stick to this promise above all else.

Reward yourself as you go along – a small goal and an equal reward – a bigger goal a bigger reward. When you reinforce your positive achievements with rewards, you train your brain to keep and stay focused.

Chunk your time – create small time slots for projects. For example, Wednesday night research two hours. After the time is up, stop. Answer emails on Monday mornings for 20 minutes and then stop.

Create your goals and visions and break them down and then break them down again; small goals equal faster success rather than looking at overwhelm and quitting in your mind.

Take charge of your mental attitude; get the right rest and sleep; exercise, food, diet and nutrition and hydration matter.

Think positive. What does positive mindset have to do with focus? When you focus on what’s positive and what’s working, you gain clarity and more insight as to what will keep the momentum going.

Don’t allow setbacks, failure and other bumps in the road stop you – expect them but more importantly expect that you will leap over them with giant bounds.

If you don’t succeed at something look at where you can improve and grow your brand and your business; look to these setbacks as wonderful tools for learning how to create a massively successful business next.