10 things you need to do to create a Sustainable, Profitable and Successful business

1. Build a plan for the future

As Robin Sharma the author of The Monk who sold his Ferrari says, “The things that get planned are the things that get done”. Without a strategic business plan for the future, things can just happen and as all too commonly known - not happen. Building a business plan doesn’t need to be daunting and overwhelming and can take just a few hours to draw everything together into a succinct plan. The plan should consider the overall Business Model, The Finances, The Market and The Future, looking into each layer of the business and how you for see the business in the future but also looking at the now.

2. Know your customers

Knowing your customers, their lifestyle, their passions, interests, behaviours, culture and everything that makes them think and behave in a certain way is the key to unlocking the growth of your business for the future. Focus on one to two core and niche markets is important to ensure that you are not trying to be everything to everyone. Rather than just considering just men or women of a certain age, be specific in who they are. As an example, business women, aged 30 - 45 years old, who live in New Zealand, who are entrepreneurs of a range of companies, are driven by family values, are mothers managing the lives of young children, are educated, well versed and well travelled. This example supports you to have a narrow focus of your customers.

3. Build products that customers want

The world is full of products and “things” that no one actually needs. By first learning about your customers lifestyles and then designing and developing products that there is a real need for in their lifestyle, is a key to unlocking whether your product has a viable business model for the future. So many entrepreneurs and companies produce products that they want to sell to customers but if the model was flipped on its head that you designed things that customers want and need would be a far more sustainable model.

4. Earning a passive income through new sales channels

Earning a sustainable income from your business doesn’t mean that you need to trade each hour and each minute of your day to earn it. Creating an organisation that is less reliant on you being extremely hands on should be a key objective supporting you to work less and do more of the things in your life that you love. Identifying a narrow and niche market for a products or services business, understanding the depths and layers of these customers, designing products and services that meet their needs and then creating a digital stream to drive people to online sales channels and converting these into sales while you sleep, while you spend quality time with your children, while you travel, while you kick back and read that book that's been on your shelf for years, whatever the things are that bring you joy, there are smart ways to create a passive income.

5. Building two way marketing partnerships to create growth

In the true sense of a partnership, it is something that is mutually beneficial, meets the needs of both parties and supports to achieve each others goals. By first identifying your and your business assets, like intellectual property of you and your team, unique assets that you can leverage, the space that you work from, the database of clients you have, the key relationships that you have can all be used as key leverage points of a dynamic and fruitful partnership. Once both parties have identified what they can contribute to the partnership, identifying the objectives of the partnership and building meaningful campaigns and projects that meet both parties needs and objectives.

6. Ensure all stakeholders WIN

By stakeholders, this can mean anyone that has an interaction with your organisation. Your customers, your team, your community, your shareholders, your founders, the environment, your suppliers, the government, non government organisations, there are so many different sets of hands that are involved in your organisation that you need to ensure that they are all winning on the journey. If your business is creating phenomenal success in a new market, however its at the cost of the environment with hazards and toxin emissions, one is winning and one is losing. By developing a stakeholder management plan across all facets of your organisation, it will ensure that you are making viable decisions for all parties.

7. Build your business based on love

Many years ago, the founder of Whole Foods Market US, John Mackey was interviewed on Oprah’s Supersoul Sundays about what LOVE had to do with business. His response “love has everything to do with business.” If we love our customers like friends and family, if we connect with our team beyond a transaction of time for dollars, if we build love into our campaigns and how we communicate with our customers, if we connect as humans from the heart and build love into our decisions, imagine the happy and healthy organisations we would leave as a legacy. How will you build love into your business today?

8. Radical new rules of business

Business models created 10 years ago are very different to today's and for what is needed for the future and we are seeing this with the constant emergence of new ways of doing business. In the book, Firms of Endearment by Raj Sisodia it highlights 8 new rules of business that support in building a sustainable business model for the future. Check out the website to see which ones you are connected to already and which ones still need some work.

9. A happy and healthy team

The people that you work with directly and indirectly are a crucial and essential part of creating a successful, profitable and fulfilling organisation for the future. Have you ever asked your team how you could support them in their role further? Have you ever asked them their opinion on important decisions? Have you ever connected with them on a personal level to understand why they behave in a certain way? Have you ever rewarded them for going the extra mile for your organisation? A happy, productive and efficient team can be the key to unlocking your business success. The country of Bhutan measures their impact on GNH (Gross National Happiness) not GDP. What is your business GNH?

10. Outsourcing to create growth

There are only a certain amount of hours each day and week that we can contribute to our organisations and their growth before recognising that we need support. Building a team of people that all work remotely can have an amazing impact on the growth of your organisation. Everyone is working in their time zones, each with objectives, goals and actions that lead into the successful outcomes of your organisation. Have you ever considered having a Virtual Assistant to support you in your marketing or communications team?

To unpack more of these tools and strategies, join the THiNK Group Business Coaching Series starting on 6th June 2019.