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Everyone who starts a business wants it to succeed. Many “fly by the seat of their pants” and most end up failing. Some may succeed for a while, but they soon learn that using the shoot in the dark method does not work. So rather than going the blind way, you can used tried and tested methods to increase your chance of success. I have greatly simplified and summarized 5 ways to grow your enterprise. Of course, these are not in any way definitive, but they do offer a general framework
for your envisioning and planning that are the most important things that you must do if you want to be successful.
1. Keep control of your Vision
It is important to keep your Mission and Vision in mind always. We can easily become distracted in the complex world we live in and it’s sometimes difficult to stay focused, however, building your business is the most important thing in your life right now and a commitment to stay focused on it will be the most rewarding thing you could ever do.
“Focus and determination beat brains and intellect every time. If you focus on the right things, and work at them often, you will achieve exceptional results.” Unknown
- Design Systems.
Systems help you manage your enterprise, with orderly procedures that can be taught to others, used for measurement and documented. This is one of those things entrepreneurs with great technical skills don’t want to do. They want to keep busy providing the service or product that initiated the business, however, I can’t emphasize enough, the importance of taking time to document all of your working processes. These Systems are the objective measures you will use to actually see the progress of your enterprise and will help you know when to persevere in a direction or change something. You can think of many businesses that work through well designed systems. The fast food industry is an excellent example.
“Organize around business functions, not people. Build systems within each business function. Let systems run the business and people run the systems. People come and go but the systems remain constant.” Michael Gerber, E-Myth Revisited.
- Commit to constant improvement.
We live in an ever changing environment; improvements in all areas of life are constantly required. As entrepreneurs, we need to keep up with the best processes and information for our businesses. Therefore, we must constantly learn and constantly improve. We must also think of unique new approaches or products to bring into our businesses if we want to lead the industry. If good systems are in place, it’s not difficult to see where new methods, equipment, software, or innovation is needed. Great business owners have a learning attitude and can see how new learning can improve their enterprises.
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower” Steve Jobs
- Use good people management skills.
You need people to help your business survive and flourish. Knowing how to manage people in a way that contributes to the growth of both your business and the people involved is required. The employees of today expect their jobs to offer a better quality of life as well as monetary rewards. Knowing how to do this is an invaluable skill for the manager of a growing business. It is important to hire the right people from the start. You will need people who share your Mission, Values and Vision as well as owning the knowledge, skills, abilities and talent necessary to work your systems. After people are hired, an efficient on-boarding system will eliminate many problems that sometimes occur with new hires. Today’s employees also want to continually grow; so, incorporate advanced training and learning into your systems that will help you motivate and retain good employees. Your systems will help you manage performance effectively.
“Inventories can be managed, but people must be led.” Ross Perot
- Build a great business culture.
The way people work and relate in your business is defined by the culture that you, the Founder adopts, models and promotes. Do you have a culture of extreme professionalism or a laid back fun culture or something in between? Current research has identified the most productive cultures, but before you can move toward the ideal, you must first determine where you are as it relates to business culture. The way people work and relate in your business is defined by the culture that the Founder is comfortable working in. Do you have a culture of extreme professionalism or a laid back fun culture or something in between? Current research has identified the most productive cultures, but before you can move toward the ideal, you must first determine where you are as it relates to business culture. Learn more at geniuscore.info/?p=1255
“Businesses often forget about the culture, and ultimately, they suffer for it because you can’t deliver good service from unhappy employees.” Tony Hsieh
- Bootstrap.
Resolve to eliminate debt before you add any new expenses. Use your first profits to get out of business debt or don’t get into it and after that, all of your profits can go into building the business, not paying debts. Increase efficiency where possible because this will decrease costs; clear up blockages in your systems and increase free or low cost marketing efforts to attract more customers. This will provide slower growth, but you won’t be burdened with dreaded bills to pay or actions to justify for investors. Look at this example:
“We’ve proven that it can be done.” “Myself and the leadership team at Dreamstime.com have never taken loans, used credit cards or tapped angel investors to grwo our business.” N. Federico
Consider these methods as you grow your highly successful business.
