What Are the Foundations of Business?

Anyone that has heard my elevator pitch or any presentations I do, has heard me describe my niche as creating the foundations of your business now and in the future.  Okay,  what does that mean?  I compare a business to building a house and say that you need to make sure you have a solid foundation and don’t start with the decorating.  Uh Huh.. how does that translate to business.  Here’s how.  You want to build something, anything, you need to start with a plan, an idea, a direction.  In business that plan includes more than just a blueprint, although that is a good analogy.

What are you bringing to market, is there a buyer, how is your offer different than the rest?  We all know tract houses especially in southern California and if you own one you try to make it a little different than the rest.  The same goes for business.  What makes you different, unique and will make people want to buy from you?  This is all in the beginning planning stages.  It’s how your potential customers ;perceive you.

Okay you have the foundation poured and the stud walls are up. Now begins a little designing.  For the business it means defining your mission, your unique selling proposition  identifying your values and envisioning the future. Where will the rooms go; who is your target market? What are the benefits to buying from you?  How will you get your message to the right people?

Uh oh check in time  Do you have the money you need to finish this? Do you have the people to help you?  How do you hire right?  There is an art to this.  A contractor has to prove they can do the job the way you want; finish on time and on budget.  Same goes for staffing you need the right people with the right skills doing the right job given the right tools and getting the right feedback to maintain high performance.

Time to look at the finishing work What tasks need to be done to meet your quarterly and annual goals?  By the way this is not done in a few weeks or even a few months this is 1-3 years.  YAY! time to live in the house.  Time to enjoy the business.  Oh wait our customers love us we need more staff to help.  We have a chance to expand are we ready?  And so it goes always reviewing always evaluating  what you have built is stable and will exist for as long as you want.  This is why I refer to the key components as the foundational tools all business need  to start maintain or grow. It is what enables you to be sustainable.