9 Core Essential Business Elements
From inventory and products to clients and business structure, how do you make those pieces work together for you, as a small business owner? How can you approach your business in a way that makes it easier to understand what to do with your business? How do you concretize and what are the elements inside your business?
What do you pay attention to and how do you make them work together in a way that makes them work for you? Over the coming year, I will use the following nine pieces to better understand my business and identify what changes I may need to make:
1. Product
2. Customer Service
3. Systems
4. Time Management
5. Team Management
6. Marketing
7. Finances
8. Leadership
9. Forecasting
10.* Visions
LEVEL 1
Product Do you have a product? Most people think of
Customer Service It begins from the moment they hear about your business and continues through their use of your product over the years.
Systemic Systems Systemic Systems is the operation of your business, how does your business work? Do people call in, do you meet them in person, is there a brick and mortar store or is your product delivered? The systems in place that allow your service or product to get to your clients are your systemic system. A plumber has a system for what happens when someone calls them. There are things in place that take the call from a finished and delivered product and service.
LEVEL 2
The following three are what most small business focus on most.
Team Management Someone on your team that is responsible for a part of your business. There is a person who manages your website, your phone, your client interaction, your office furniture, etc. How you manage your team will make a difference to your business.
Time Management How you spend your time and your team are a large part of your business. All the time you spend on your to-do list, your finances, are part of being mindful how you spend your time.
Marketing If you don’t market, people don’t know about you. Some people think of marketing as selling and they don’t want to be salespeople, but your business may not grow if you don’t do the work to make sure you are putting who you are, what you do, and what value you offer, to the world. If you don’t tell people you exist you don’t have the permission to serve them or to make a difference in the world. From sales to branding, to social media and networking, they all fall under the umbrella of marketing.
Finances Working capital and cash reserve help you to be able to run your business.
LEVEL 3
Trends and Forecasting The trends in your industry and the things to come are what business owners have to stay aware of. Are the times and ways business is conducted in your industry changing? Are the times and technology dictating how your clients now interact with your product or how you offer your service?
Vision and Strategic Plan You had a vision, the forethought of what you wanted to create and you started a business. I challenge you to take a look at the original vision and plan and update it.
For the upcoming