Business Success Is Built On A Strong Foundation

Business success is built on a strong foundation and help up by four strong pillars. Just like any good structure, each of these is built strong and each is essential to the overall structure.

The four pillars of business success include:
--Pillar #1: Vision, Strategy & Implementation
--Pillar #2: Marketing
--Pillar #3: Operations
--Pillar #4: Products and Services: Creating Multiple Streams of Income
All on a FOUNDATION of Life Balance/ Life Health

Let’s take a moment to look at each of these a bit more closely.

Pillar # 1 • Vision, Strategy & Implementation: (I have found in all my work with clients that this is the best place to start. What is the vision of the future?) Strategy is what gets you to that vision. AND, Implementation -- This is where so many small businesses fall short: great ideas, great plans and lack of follow through. Business owners that don’t take the time on this critical pillar, end up with businesses that they hate or businesses that fail.

Pillar #2 • Marketing & Sales: Dreaded by many but a cornerstone of all successful businesses. Effective marketing is essential. As a small business you need a comprehensive marketing plan. A plan that you can implement and a plan that produces consistent and reliable results. Some of these components are:

• Lead Generation Strategies
• An effective follow-up system so that those leads convert to business
• An effective web presence
• Brand and Identity
• And much, much more.
Whether you dread marketing or not, it is an essential “must” for a business to succeed. Marketing strategies are changing rapidly in the Internet Age and you need to be on top of what makes good marketing sense.

Pillar #3 • Operations: Each business needs to have its own unique way of doing business. It is part of your brand, part of who you are. By creating operational systems you document that part of your business. This in itself makes your business more valuable. Even if you are a one person show you need to have operational systems. It gives you a foundation for growth that is ready for new staff to take over tasks. It also gives you the ability to say to customers: “our policy is….” There are times when that statement is invaluable, but you don’t want to just say it, you want it to be based on your policies and be consistent.

Pillar # 4 • Products and Services: Your products and services are what make you a business. Your products and services make your business. It is vital to keep evaluating what you are offering and whether it is what your customers want. Products and services can be repackaged, reformatted, repurposed and used in different ways. They can also be improved upon or thrown out. But as a business owner, you need to continuously be looking at what you offer and make sure that it continues to have great value for your customers and that it continues to be profit producing for your business.

The Foundation of it all is your work/life balance. Creating a business that you love and one that fits into your lifestyle. Many business owners are taken over by their businesses. They work all the time, they and they don’t have the freedom that they once envisioned. Businesses should be created with intention, you are the owner, and you can decide how you operate your business and how that impacts your life and that of your staff. You will be happier with a business that is not all consuming but has balance within it and in your life.

The four pillars of business success give you the strong foundation to operate a business on. When you put all of these together and work on them each consistently you are able to build a strong and effective business. Business success happens with work on the business and not just working in the business. This means that part of your role as owner, CEO or president of the company is to spend time focused on vision and strategy – to look to the future and create the future of your business.