Warren Buffet. Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Jeff Bezos. If you’re in the habit of studying the successful, you’ll soon discover a connecting thread. Success—in all of its forms—tends to follow a set blueprint.
The nightly business news shows will frequently make the latest business leader’s coming and goings the lead story. Why do these corporate titans of the industry sit at the top? Was it genetics? Maybe. Was it timing and coming along at the right time? Perhaps. Luck? I wouldn’t bet on it.
But if I were a betting man, I would place my wager on a single word: strategy. For it is first knowing what you want and having a well-defined strategy, which is what will keep you on course.
Strategy can help guide you along to the success finish line. A smart strategy of investing is the brrrr investing method, for example. It is the “buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat” strategy. Find out more at andersonadvisors.com.
Just as a great solo musician sounds even better with a supporting band, the astute businessperson must include other elements to move their business pursuits from A to Z. Such as:
- Having a knowledgeable marketing team
- Hiring the right employees
- An efficient internal back-office system
- Great customer service
All must flow seamlessly. Indeed, your business strategy is your competitive edge.
Marketing
Your marketing process is so vitally important to your business all the time. You can liken it to a pilot on a plane (with no auto-pilot feature) suddenly getting to an altitude and decide he is fine now that he’s reached it. In seconds the plane will start to pitch downward.
Having a solid digital marketing presence to help you generate leads is an excellent strategy. Moreover, becoming part of and lurking in the same forums your customers hang out in will help you discover your prospect-customers often unvoiced pain points.
Your marketing ideas should be an ongoing process of telling the world who you are and what you stand for. Brand-management should be a continual process.
Hiring the right staff
A strong staff is another crucial part of winning, especially hiring the right sales personnel. When a business experiences slow times and downsizing becomes a reality, it is your sales force that will become stars and save the day— and your business. Why? Because they’re the ones who will help bring in cash flow by closing deals.
Great customer service
These stalwarts of patience work tirelessly for the organization and are often the most unheralded. They will be your guiding lights to alert you on any sudden choppy waters that can happen. They can represent your business in its best light when you can’t be everywhere.
It’s a process that can be improved as you go along. When all of the above elements are hitting on all cylinders, your business will thrive. The benefits are, of course, the cold hard cash your business enterprise will throw off. But after all the hard work that went into putting all your pieces in place, don’t neglect this last part: your net income.
Your net income
Net income is plainly profit. After you’ve run an Excel spreadsheet, for example, and have a pretty good handle on your profit margins, you can use your net income profits like this:
- Placed in your personal bank account (you’re the owner after all)
- Funneled back into the business (such as buying new tools and equipment)
- Invested in assets (such as stocks, real estate, and other business endeavors)
Growing your business
The optimal word here is growth. After your accounts clearly show several months of consistent growth, you should look into growing and expanding your business further. The silent killer of all business is staying stagnant. Doing so is a slow death to anything—our bodies musculature, relationships, and more. Keep on keeping on—making all the right moves is what got you to the big dance.
You may discover having the cash to pursue other business ventures opens up a whole new level of ideas for moving even further up the success ladder. I suspect it’s because having a little extra money (or a heck-of-a-lot) in your strongbox will allow you to imagine.
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Aliekber Öztürk. The photo of “person in black hoodie standing in front of lighted city buildings” has been taken by Nizamudeen Latheef. The image “woman standing near the door” has been prepared by Willow McDonough.
Source: Toby Mathis (Anderson Advisors) / Lucy Alexander (HubSpot) / Kristin Wong (New York Times)
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