The 4 Pillars of Business Success
There are many articles, papers and thoughts on what makes a business success and they can be as varied as the diversity of humans but…sometimes I feel they miss the mark especially for solopreneurs, small teams and those that are in caregiving roles (or other jobs) at the same time. Many are focussed on corporate style structures, financials and processes.
So here are the 4 pillars I think are the key to success and what I work with my clients on:
Pillar #1 - The Motivation & The Dream
Clarity over what the motivation to be in business and the life or business dream you want is the first step to business success. If this is not clear then it will be really hard to stay committed and keep going even when it’s challenging. I’m not saying “push through” because I allow for downtime, space and times to fill my cup but you need to have a solid core to keep you connected to why you are doing this at all.
Why have you chosen this path over working for someone else?
Why have you chosen to generate an income in this way?
Is there an impact or legacy you want to create in the world?
From this core all the other components are connected and return. To be able to stretch and grow, deepen and ground, dance and be nimble all comes from the core. The motivation and the dream can change as you evolve but spend some time really deepening your vision of why you’re doing it and what you want “it” to look like, feel like. Having your own business to generate an income or impact is connected to your life so how do you want to feel everyday?
Part of the Motivation and Dream clarity is determining what your success metrics are. Is it just a revenue goal? Is it the experience you have every day in business? Define these to be true to you so they are your Southern Cross - your map to whether or not you are successful. For me, being able to work from home on my own time, have the energy and capacity to be there for my boys when they need me and be in the garden whenever I feel like it (i.e. freedom filled life) is it for me (as well as a revenue goal!).
Pillar #2 - The Business Blueprint
Yes, you need a strategy. You need to create a defined outline of how you are going to get to the dream. Also fundamental business basics such as your Competitive Analysis, Financial Maths (start up capital, ongoing expenses, validity of the actual product or service you are selling etc), Processes and Structure (e.g. tech, logistics) are not to be bypassed. But, they can be simple to start and refined and built out over time as well. Roll up your sleeves, do the work, start with the basics - but start with a plan!
Pillar #3 - Momentum Building Marketing
It does not matter one iota what business you set up unless you tell people about it and yes, sell what you have on offer. But, understand the long game - be patient and weave and layer over time. Take your time to define what you sell, how you are going to sell it, who you are going to sell it to, what you will say at what stage of the marketing pipeline/customer journey, on what channels and what tasks you need to carry out every month to make it happen.
With the “momentum” bit it’s all about consistency. Showing up and building momentum means being consistent across a period of time. How you do this is up to you. Your level of consistency is up to you as well. But the momentum is about understanding that the marketing you do today may not make a sale today but may layer on the marketing you do over the next month so that someone makes a decision to buy in 2 months time. So, you have to keep going.
And keep refining. Build a monthly plan, set goals, do the tasks in your marketing and see what happens. Reflect on the choices you made and the results you achieved and either do the same again to build heat or tweak it a little. Start to get to know your audience and what they want. Create valuable content that builds a trusting relationship with you and your brand so they want to buy from you.
Marketing is not one and done as much as we would like it to be.
Marketing is psychology - the psychology of consumer behaviour and how people perceive a transaction, how they make decisions and when they buy AND the psychology of you and your confidence in being visible (see below).
Pillar #4 - YOU - Your Mindset and Energy
Business building is about developing a core, deep-seated confidence in yourself, your offer(s), your brand and how you help people. You believe 10/10 that what you are doing is what someone needs. There is no question that it isn’t going to work. You show up in your action taking (whether intentional or inspired) with this core belief solid.
And from that mindset comes the energy as well as your baseline energy and capacity (from your lifestyle and other responsibilities). Now the energy will wax and wane like the moon. This is the feminine business energetics that cycles and circles and ebbs and flows. Frothy, bubbly, high energy one day or with a hunter-like focus the next or gentle, soft and calm or in the cave resting and reseting. We are not linear beings. Once you understand your unique energetic make up you can work with that in your business. There may be days you have to work “harder” or “do more” but that is balanced with not doing, just being.
The confidence, belief and weekly mind set practice coupled with working with flow and ease in the energies of you, your seasons and the actual season of the environment you live in brings a steadiness and groundedness to being in business. From this you can fly.
This also impacts how you show up in your marketing because being visible means being vulnerable. Creating content for a product or range of products can be easier because it’s not your face you need to show but the energy of “this is the best thing ever” still needs to resonate from the images and copy.
If you are the brand as you provide a service then getting comfortable with the discomfort of being front and centre will take time. Again showing up with “this is the best thing ever” vibes is key.
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So, those are the 4 Pillars to business success, in my opinion. In many of my clients one or more may be missing and they only need to do the confidence/mindset/energetics and marketing to really start humming. Or they need the plan and the dream first. All four are needed as part of the total business eco-system.
We are not static beings that never change. These four pillars may also be constantly evolving and changing. There may be times you want to grow, or simplify or hire a team and it all will need to be revisited.
If you feel that you need support with one of your Business Pillars then my Alchemy in Business 4 month Coaching Program works on all of them. I run you through a step-by-step process to get the clarity and business and marketing plans in place and then weekly coaching for mindset /confidence support. At the end of every month we review the marketing that was done and analyse the metrics then create a new monthly plan for you to action. 4 cycles of marketing is a great length of time to get to know how to do it and then be able to do it by yourself. But, a year…imagine what you could do with a year of coaching and support. My one hour free call is the best place to start to get to know me and what you need.