How to create sustainable success in your business
Dec 20, 2021
As your business grows over time you need to start thinking about what you want to happen with your business in terms of sustainable success or succession planning.
Is your business going to be linked to you forever, so when you stop working in the business it will close?
This is only really the scenario when it is a sole director business with no staff. In which case, you’ll need to assess what the maximum levels are for your customer numbers (if a service-based business) or maximum level of sales each month (if a product-based business). This decision is key as it means that you’ll be able to deliver the customer service you want as a business all the time.
Any expansion to these limits would really need to incorporate external support or a team of staff.
For a business to a be a viable option for someone wanting to work in your business it must have a future. So, to be fair to any future employees you do need to have that honest conversation with yourself as to where you want your business to grow to. Even if that decision is purely on a no staff ever or employees in the business basis.
In my personal opinion, if you create a business that has employees then you have a duty to them to make sure that they have a sustainable business to work in. One way you can do this is to engage your staff in the business changes and developments, gather their ideas on how and where improvements could be made, and allow them to be part of the journey as the business grows.
Not only will this build a deep sense of loyalty and commitment, but they will also become key members of the team who are always looking to improve the business. As they are open to change, as they’re part of that decision process, it means there are no blocks to an evolving environment in which to work.
These team members will also be the individuals who bring onboard new employees to the culture, values, and beliefs of the company as they truly believe in the business themselves.
This in its simplest terms is creating sustainability for the business. A business that stands still without changing and evolving will not continue to grow and move forward and may unfortunately even end up failing.
When you have a team around you that are as invested in the business as you there is the opportunity for you as the business owner to start stepping away from the business. This is a chance to empower your employee’s further and to show you really do trust them.
It is also the optimum time to start thinking about what will happen if you are not in the business.
The best successor to a business may not be the loudest employee, or in some cases a current director, but actually a more reserved individual who has a calmer presence to take on board, interpret and manage multiple situations to the benefit of the business, its staff and most importantly to the customer.
Your successor could also be totally different to you but at their core are the same values and beliefs as yourself as this is the business they have been working in and evolving with.
At some point you as a business owner need to take a break. We’re notorious for “going on holiday” – with the laptop and phone!! So, we don’t really take a break just in case something happens that only you can resolve. But you’ll be surprised how well your staff can run the business without you if you’ve allowed them that growth and input into the business development.
It is a real adjustment as a business owner to trust your business to someone else in your absence but being able to do this not only gives you time back, but it also starts to set your business up to be in a good position as a possible business to be acquired (assuming you’re on top of your business finances and reporting, of course!).
When you started your business, you probably had a plan of some sort, that you’d be able to have more time to do the things you love, more holidays, financially stable income, possibly earning more money than as an employee.
So how about you start to look at your business and work out when you’re going to get there because all business owners know that those things are a bit of a mirage in the early years!!
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