Pathway to Business Success: Six Steps to Transform Your Business

In today’s fast-paced business environment, the biggest issues business owners face are time and money. Using time effectively in business boosts productivity, profits, and teamwork.

But what many business owners forget in the excitement of starting their business is to make sure they have the core foundations laid down. If you don't build a strong foundation, you may face problems in the future. These problems will require the business owner to spend time fixing them. This can slow down the business's profits.

This guide outlines the 6 main pillars you need to focus on to build your business for success.

Step 1: Gaining Control

These four pillars are the core of your business. Without these, a business can't reach its full potential and achieve success. These are the 4 critical areas to focus on:

Planning:

What’s your ultimate goal for your business? You could sell your business to retire early. You could also grow your business to become a national companyYour plan will determine the strategies you implement, the team you hire, and the systems you set up.

Once you have your plan, you can break it down into 5-year, 1-year, and 90-day plans to help you achieve your business vision.

Time Management:

Are you using your time most effectively? Business owners often get too involved in the day-to-day running of their business. This can make it difficult for them to concentrate on important tasks.

What tasks can you delegate to your team? Are there any systems you could introduce to save you time? What is consuming the majority of your time?

Delivery

Customer experience is vital to building a successful and profitable business. Delivery is important for giving customers a good experience every time, consistently.

Delivering greatness consistently will turn your one-time customers into repeat purchasers. This will increase your profit margins, bring in new customers, and allow you to keep creating new products/services to sell.

Financial Management

Finance management can sound intimidating to a business owner who has no experience with managing money. However, it is simpler than you think. Set up a system that can track your expenses vs revenue so you can clearly see where your business stands with it’s finances. This will allow you to make firm decisions on where to spend your hard-earned money.

To learn more about managing your finances on our free webinar, register here.

Step 2: Building a Marketing Machine

The next step is marketing. Effective marketing can bring in new customers from new demographics with little input from your team. However, ineffective marketing could mean you're spending a lot of money for little return.

Building a marketing system that consistently generates prospective customers and converts them into a purchaser is key to an effective marketing strategy. This system has three main components:

• Lead generation strategies: This could include social media, online advertising, creating enticing offers, dropping leaflets etc.

• Conversion rate optimisation: Calculate how many leads it takes to convert 1 person into a paying customer. Tracking this number will help you see which marketing strategies are most effective.

• Customer retention: Once your customer has purchased from you, how will you keep them coming back? This could be through offers/promotions, quality of service, keeping up to date on market trends etc.

Step 3: Implementing Efficient Processes

Systems are the backbone of creating a scalable business. Most business owners know all the processes that happen in their business, but few turn them into systems. Problems can occur when a business owner needs to take time off and the team doesn't have clear systems in place to follow.

Creating systems for each of your business processes is easier than you think. Look at your diary for what you do each day and then break it down into small, manageable steps. For example, if you received a phone call from a customer/client:

• Who is tasked with answering the phone?
• How do you answer the phone?
• Do you read off a script?
• Where do you take note of their details (name, phone number, email address etc)?
• How do you take their order/request?
• How do you finish the conversation?
• What do you do once you’ve put down the phone?

By mapping your processes, you can provide a consistent experience for customers. This also helps reduce errors made by your team. Having an overview of your processes can help you see where certain systems could help your business become more efficient.

Step 4: Building a Cohesive Team

Building a strong, high-performing team is essential for business success. A team that works well together creates a higher output with a smaller workforce.  For business owners, it can be difficult to find the right employees and get them to work well together. Here are some tips on how you can build a great team:

• Developing leadership skills: Many business owners think they are great leaders, but are you leading your team effectively? Do some research or even take an online course to brush up on the best practices for a leader.
• Establishing a common goal: Make sure your team knows your business goals. Your team will be more productive when they know what they are working towards.
• Implementing rules and action plans: As a business owner, you are responsible for upholding the culture within your business. Creating rules and plans sets clear guidelines for your employees and protects them from any unprofessional behaviour.
• Encouraging risk-taking and engagement: To drive innovation in your business, it is important to encourage your team to take risks and stay engaged. Encourage your team and reward them for helping push your business forward.

Step 5: Expanding the Business

As you implement new strategies your business will naturally grow. Making a plan for the growth of your business now will mean you’re prepared for whatever comes next. This means you can avoid common pitfalls that most business owners experience when trying to expand their enterprise. The five disciplines of scale include:

1. Strategy: A compelling business model and marketability plan. What strategies will you implement and how will you implement them?
2. People: A comprehensive people plan. What new team members do you need to hire and how will you manage them?
3. Execution: A robust execution system. How will you keep high standards of customer experience while you expand?
4. Business Development: Seamless communication between departments. How will you structure your business to ensure smooth execution by all departments?
5. Brand recognition: A solid brand design and communication. How will you stand out from your competitors and communicate with your potential customers?

Step 6: Achieving Personal and Financial Independence

Success in business is a journey of continuous learning and implementation. By following these six steps, you can achieve significant growth and stability. Focus on mastering each step, and the pathway to freedom will become clear.

You’re Not Alone

Feeling overwhelmed? Sometimes business owners can be too scared to ask for help with their business but you’re not alone. Getting support from a business coach can give you the help you need while staying in total control of your business.

Speak to one of our advisors today to see how we can help you on your business journey. Alternatively, visit our learning center for free business advice.