What makes a business successful?
If you’re curious about how to make your business a success, take a close look at the quality of your 3Ps: your purpose, people and products. Even if you started out with a solid foundation in these areas, you’ll need to revisit them from time to time. After all, businesses are essentially living organisms so the 3Ps will evolve throughout your business life-cycle to sync with (or, ideally, anticipate) changing circumstances.
Purpose
To run a successful business, you must have a clear purpose. This is the North Star that guides your actions.
If you work as part of a team, then you know the importance of having a sense of ‘being in it together’. Cultivating a strong, unified purpose is the ultimate way to inspire your people to co-create extraordinary value and motivate them to rise to challenges, rather than shy away from them.
If you are a sole trader, then you may not have anyone to help orient you when you encounter turbulence. In this case, having a clear sense of purpose lights the way for you to take strategic steps towards your most meaningful goals, rather than running in circles.
To find your purpose, ask yourself:
What matters most to you?
What problems is your business solving?
What meaning do you offer clients?
If you work through these questions and find yourself torn between multiple purposes — or even conflicting ones — this is a flag for needing a sounding-board. You could book in some time with me to strategise a path that embraces your diverse passions as well as providing you with a focussed path forward.
People
Successful business owners prioritise relationships. This includes your relationship with yourself, partners, employees, volunteers, suppliers, clients, and anyone else you interact with. When you nurture these relationships, you foster trust, reduce conflict and build a more resilient and creative business.
The best way to forge constructive working relationships is to engage in regular, open conversation, characterised by the following attributes.
A strong knowledge of self
A willingness to engage in active listening
A commitment to arriving at mutually beneficial outcomes.
If you are currently dealing with a challenging relationship and your conversations to-date have not been effective, you might consider seeking support from a coach. Whether you’re struggling to see eye-to-eye with a business partner, baffled by falling engagement levels or feeling out of touch with a client’s needs, a coach can help you deconstruct your experience, clarify your core objectives and co-create conversations that will help you move forward with confidence.
Products
Exceptional products and services (hereafter referred to as products) are born out of curiosity. They are the answer to the question: How can I make life more wonderful?
If you’ve reached a point where your products are losing traction, you may need to take a long, hard and honest look at your offering.
What do you offer clients that is truly unique and meaningful?
Your answer to this design-thinking question will likely loop back to your purpose at some level (see section above on Purpose), and is the starting point for identifying the strengths and shortcomings of your product.
Also, it can be helpful to explore your offering from the perspective of innovation science, which defines creativity as the intersection of novelty and function. With this in mind, you can ask yourself the following more specific questions to refine your products and services.
What is novel about my product?
What function does it serve?
What deeper meaning does it bring to people’s lives?
How can I deliver it in a way that adds even more value?
I appreciate I’ve just thrown a lot of thorny questions your way, but successful entrepreneurs and business owners are not afraid of getting a few scratches. You need to bushwhack through trickier questions and situations than these to succeed in business. So, if you’re truly keen to move past whatever challenge you’re currently facing, you have two options, as follows.
Pick up a pen and paper and start acquainting yourself with the foundations of your business
Book in a coaching session for extra guidance as you refine your products and create the biggest bang in your market!
Hit the trifecta
If you’re already running your own business, I guarantee you that you’ve built up skills and experience far beyond what you give yourself credit for. So, please take a moment to appreciate your achievements and don’t let a temporary challenge deter you from pursuing your passion and living a life of independence if this is what you want.
And if you’re currently facing a challenge and are confused about how to resolve it, my advice is to revisit the basics of what makes a successful business. Take some time to really scope out your purpose, people and products — the trifecta of successful businesses. You can do this on your own, with a business partner or with the support of an experienced business coach. In no time, you will be on your way to reinvigorating your business and growing it into the hit it deserves to be.