What do entrepreneurs want? Customers and sales!
When do they want it? NOW!
Can their business handle it? Umm… guess we’ll find out!
Google how to be successful in business and you’ll get over 800 hundred million results with varying opinions. After working closely with many small companies over the past few years, I can safely say that not having an organized foundation definitely hinders business growth.
You can have all the customers and sales you want, but if your back-end operation is disorganized, you won’t be able to keep up with the demand. This will lead to poor customer service and revenue loss.
Unfortunately, many new businesses suffer from operational chaos which is why I focus on 3 core pillars to help my clients get their stuff together.
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
–Benjamin Franklin
Planning
When I started my business, I didn’t create a traditional business plan. I would have never gotten started if I had to do that. However, I did have a loose plan that I’ve made many changes to over time.
Mistakes happen when you fail to plan. Then you have to go back to correct those mistakes. You spend a lot of time redoing something that you’ve already done. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to work twice as hard. I prefer things to be easy.
Without a plan, you may miss communicating important information to your team. And then they can’t do their job correctly. They will get frustrated. You’ll also experience stress and frustration when your project is not complete on time.
As a business owner, you should have an idea of what you want your company to look like in five to ten years. Strategic planning focuses on the bigger vision for your company. It illustrates where you are now, where you want to be in the future, and how you will get there. Your vision keeps you on track and actively moving forward in the right direction for growth.
“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
– W. Edwards Deming
Processes
Inefficient business systems and processes are the core of many problems that business owners face. Decreased performance, major slowdowns, and poor communication are the result.
Streamlining and simplifying your processes have many benefits. Efficient systems help your team perform work faster, be consistent, and prevent things from going wrong. Your team members will be less overwhelmed and frustrated. Your customers will be happier with their experience. You’ll save money and increase productivity. Most importantly, you’ll have a more organized business that will run without your constant involvement in every aspect.
You might have hundreds of processes in your company that will change over time as you make improvements. Create standard operating procedures (SOP) for each process. An SOP is a document that provides step-by-step instructions on how to perform a specific business activity. Documenting your processes will help keep your business operating smoothly at all times.
“You may think you can do it all, but it doesn’t mean you should.”
– Shayla Burtin
People
Many entrepreneurs start off solo doing all the work themselves. Funds are limited so you can’t afford help. You become the salesperson, customer service, social media manager, and accountant.
But in order to scale and grow, you need to seek the help of others. Hiring your team is one of the most important things that you will do because your team can make or break your business. You don’t want to rush the process and hire the first person you meet. But you also don’t want to move too slow and hire when you’re completely stressed.
You need a strong team to delegate the day-to-day tasks so that you can focus on planning and strategizing for growth. Once you find the right people, be sure to treat them well and show appreciation to keep them engaged and motivated to work hard.
Running a business is hard work, but focusing on the aforementioned three pillars will get you on the right track.
Implementing a strategic planning process will prepare you for growth, guide decisions and outline the direction of the company. Creating efficient processes will increase productivity and allow everyone to work smarter, not harder. Taking care of your people will motivate and empower them to do their best work and help your business excel.
Check out my new book where I discuss the three business success pillars in detail.
