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The Cornerstones Of Any Successful Business

– Contributed content –

Business goals graphic

(Goalcast.com)

25 January 2018. If there’s one thing that all business owners have in common, it is a desire for success. Half of all businesses fail within the first five years, so it’s important that you work hard to ensure that you stay firmly within that winning half. Below are the three cornerstones of any successful business. Any company that has survived five, ten or even fifteen years will have these aspects of their business fully accounted for and prioritized.

Brand

Your brand is your reputation, and no business would survive without a positive one. It can take years to cultivate a respected reputation in a saturated market, but only minutes, or even seconds, to destroy. You should always be working hard to maintain your reputation and improve upon it. Everything about your business can contribute to your overall reputation; no detail is too small. How you present yourself, how you and your staff interact with your customers, even how you allow your customers to interact with your staff.

A company who puts the well-being of their staff before the appeasement of customers will gather a strong reputation very quickly. Good reputations are built on integrity, devotion, and care. Some people think that being ruthless is the only way to succeed in business, but there’s no point in climbing to the top only to have made enemies of everyone on your way. Treat your business alliances like friendships, and you will have opportunities thrust upon you.

Efficiency

A business that is inefficient is a business that is losing money. By reducing inefficiency, you can allow your business to flourish in a way you never thought possible. Obviously, it is impossible to eliminate inefficiency entirely, but you can still work hard to be constantly improving your workplace strategies to allow for an optimal structure. The key to maximizing efficiency is a little saying from the UK that says “look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.” What this means is that by focusing on the little things, you will make a big difference. Mazda even used a similar concept in the production of their mx-5 roadster. They famously made lots of small changes around the car, like making the rear-view mirror 80g lighter, in order to make big weight savings overall.

A similar approach can be helpful to your business. If you run a store, and you know that the only times you get business is after lunch, then it becomes a complete waste of money to open first thing in the morning. The wages and overheads very quickly outweigh the money you are likely to make. Similarly, utilizing products or software that will allow your business to minimize any time spent waiting, inactive, or rectifying problems will be worth its weight in gold. If you deal with a lot of clients, then investing in some Contract Management Software could help to speed your process along. Likewise, investing in a high-speed internet service would allow your staff to work quicker and more effectively on a stable network. You don’t want a slow network connection to be the reason that your company misses out on a big deal.

Adaptability

Any company that has been around for a significant number of years will tell you; you have to move with the times. Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike. These are all big, institutional brands, and they have all adapted their approach as times have changed. The history pages are littered with businesses that did not want to adapt their way of working to new technologies and new opportunities, and all of them are no longer operational. The unofficial motto of the US Marines is ‘Improvise, Adapt, Overcome,’ and it’s one that may stand you and your business in good stead.

If your business is struggling, it is crucial that you can analyze what is causing this and figure out a way to remedy it. Adaptability also means seizing opportunities when they present themselves. You may be doing well, but if you can spot a gap in the market that no one is filling, you would be well-advised to meet that need before anyone else does. Customer needs are always changing, and so your approach and service should be ever-changing too. A company that is content and relaxed is a company that has given up.

There you have it, the three cornerstones of a successful business. By making sure to include these three factors in your daily operating rhythm you create a much broader opportunity for your company to excel. Work hard, stay hungry, and the world is your oyster.

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