Every successful company shares common elements that contributed to its success. Recently, the CEO of Scarlet Thread Consulting, Michelle Williams, and the CEO of Business Success Consulting Group, Adi Klevit, discussed the elements required for any company to be successful. In their conversation, they went over five critical components of any successful company.
This article takes that discussion and shares the practical principles they talked about so that you can apply them to your own business.
Five Elements Every Successful Company Has In Common
Business success requires determination, vision, and planning. One must have a solid idea upon which to build a business and the practical know-how to bring that idea into being. As you consider your company - or a new company you intend to create - look at the five elements below. Every successful company must have these five elements for stable and comfortable growth.
1. A solid foundation
Successful companies are built upon a solid foundation. These businesses:
- Have a clearly defined purpose.
- Evaluate your strengths and values.
- Build a business that works within those strengths and values.
- Let go of saying “yes” to everyone.
- Reaffirm and re-evaluate strengths, values, and purpose biannually.
Finally, a solid foundation for your business includes building something you can stand behind and enjoy.
2. An intention and plan
A definite intention and a plan to make it happen are fundamental to success in any industry. Building a blueprint with clear strategic goals helps you understand where to put your focus - and it informs your staff and leadership where the business is headed in the coming one to five years.
Once your intention is defined, you can create a usable plan that states where you want to be (your intention) and how to get there (your blueprint). From there, you can place boundaries on what your business will do and the actions that your staff must perform. This will help you understand your role and defines clear roles for your team.
In the end, you and your team:
- Know where you are taking the business.
- Understand where to put energy and resources.
- Can define the vital systems that need to go into effect.
You have a solid foundation to grow your business when everything is laid out this way.
3. The right people on your team
Staffing is one of the most significant challenges any business leader faces. However, it doesn’t have to be. Here are five things you can implement to help you find the right people to fill open roles:
- Identify the “right” people to work with and include on your team. You may want to incorporate elements like integrity, honesty, a quick learner, a team player, training in the area, and other characteristics a great employee will have.
- Create a thorough job description. The description should not be general. It needs to be specific and include the tasks that need to be completed, the title, and any boundaries the employee can set. Additionally, determine how the role fits in with the team structure. Does it provide support? Do you need to make additional training preparations as you move through the hiring process?
- Define the compensation you can provide. This includes hourly pay, bonus plans, healthcare, retirement investments, and more.
- Determine the ROI your business should expect from this team member. This will show you where you can accept wiggle room on your expectations in step one. If the role provides a great deal of ROI, you may be able to accept someone who fits most of your “team player” expectations but who needs some additional training.
- Finally, determine what the interview process will look like. Some roles require multiple interviews or technical interviews. Some do not.
Once you have thoroughly identified the person you are looking for, advertise for them and take them through the interview process. Understanding the ideal will help you and your hiring team find an excellent fit for the team.
*Note: One thing to consider before going through all of the above steps is, can technology help your team or perhaps fill the role you are considering hiring a person to fill? It is a question worth looking into and answering before you begin the hiring process.
4. Processes in place
One of the best ways to ensure things run smoothly and are done correctly is to put systems in place. Processes help to manage the flowlines of a business so that everything from products to people moves from one place to another smoothly, with the correct staff performing their functions along the way.
Systems are meant to free up staff time and attention. If a process is in place that does not perform this particular function, it is not a good process and needs to be modified or replaced.
Fortunately, business processes and procedures are dynamic and change over time. So, you can build flexibility into a process and create a system whereby processes are periodically reviewed. In this way, you can make processes a fundamental building block for your company.
5. A profitable structure
Charging the right amount for your product or service means more than having enough money to hire great people and pay yourself.
Profits equal sustainability in a business.
If you are constantly struggling to pay your workers - and yourself - enough money, then you need to look at your income flow and ask yourself:
1. What is our gross profit?
2. Is the gross profit amount the amount of money necessary to sustain and grow your business?
3. Are we managing the money we make correctly - and dispersing it in a way that supports greater growth?
A business is built to provide a product or service which earns money. Those earnings must then be reinvested so owners are not exhausted and underpaid, and there is enough money to hire the right people to help grow the company. It's all about merging company culture, communication, and social consciousness while also making the right amount of money and managing that money well.
Did you read this article and wonder how you can put each element in place? Get in touch with Business Success Consulting Group! We would love to discuss your company and find ways to build a firm foundation upon which you can grow your business.
