What should I know about my business

As a business owner, it’s important to have a good understanding of your business goals, and its operations. There are several key questions that every business owner should be able to answer in order to ensure the success and growth of their company.

1. What is your why? If you know me personally, by now you know I am a follower of Simon Sinek. Simon’s consistent chasing the why is something I’ve come to admire and strive for. The reason you get out of bed every day, the reason you go to work, if you know it, it’ll sustain you and become the building block for your Company Culture and Core Values. 

2. Who are your customers? It’s important to have a clear understanding of who your target customers are and what their needs and preferences are. This will help you tailor your products and services to meet their specific requirements and create a more personalized customer experience. More importantly, staying in touch with them will help you adjust to their changing needs, so you stay relevant.

3. What is your revenue model? How do you generate revenue and make a profit? This could be through the sale of products or services, subscriptions, advertising, or a combination of these methods. Understanding your revenue model will help you identify growth opportunities and make strategic business decisions.

4. What are your expenses? It’s crucial to have a good understanding of your business’s expenses, including fixed costs like rent and salaries, as well as variable costs like materials and marketing expenses. This will help you manage your cash flow and make sure your business is profitable.

As a business owner, it’s essential to have a strong and focused culture and a set of core values that guide your company’s actions and decisions.

Business culture refers to the values, beliefs, and behaviors that make up a company’s identity. It’s the “personality” of the organization and the way it operates. A strong culture is one that aligns with the company’s goals and mission, and that supports the growth and success of the business.

These values should reflect your company’s mission and goals and should be integrated into every aspect of your business operations. Once your values are established, it’s important to communicate them to your team in to help make sure they are integrated into the company’s operations and decision-making processes. While all the other points are critical for owning and operating a business, they are also all areas that can be delegated (and usually are for larger businesses). The first point, regarding company culture is something that can only come from the top.

There are several reasons why this can have a major impact on the success and growth of your business.

First, a strong and focused culture can help attract and retain top talent. Employees who share your company’s values and beliefs are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their work and are more likely to stay with the company long-term. This can improve morale and productivity and can help drive the success of your business. This can include offering opportunities for professional development and growth, providing a healthy and supportive work environment, and recognizing and rewarding outstanding performance.

Second, a consistent and focused culture can improve customer satisfaction. Customers want to do business with companies that share their values and beliefs. Simon Sinek uses the one wearing the Red Hat as an example. People gravitate to those they connect with and by having a clearly defined culture you can articulate it allows others to see what you stand for and more easily connect with you, which can help increase loyalty and repeat business, as well as establish a greater level of trust.

Third, a focused culture and set of core values can provide guidance and direction for your employees. By having a clear set of values that everyone understands and adheres to, you can create a cohesive and consistent brand and customer experience. This can help improve collaboration and communication within your team and can make it easier to make strategic business decisions.

Finally, having that strong culture and core values established gives you guiding principles when it comes time to pick which companies you start a vendor/client relationship with, being able to articulate what you stand for allows you to recognize easily those that align with you or those that do not. You can quickly identify business practices and test them against your core value. “Is this company being honest”, “Do they care about customer experience” are questions you can easily answer based on the start of the relationship and your interaction throughout.

While having a unique selling proposition (USP) is often considered an essential part of a successful business, there is some debate over whether it is still relevant in today’s competitive market. With so many businesses offering similar products and services, it can be difficult to differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd.

Additionally, many prospects may not have the time or inclination to thoroughly research and compare different vendors before making a purchasing decision. They may rely on marketing messages and other external factors to make their decision, rather than taking the time to evaluate the validity of a company’s USP.

In some cases, a company’s USP may be seen as simply a marketing tactic, rather than a genuine differentiator. This can lead prospects to view all USPs as equally valid, or to disregard them altogether.

Overall, while having a unique selling proposition is still important, it may not be as effective as it once was as a marketing strategy in a crowded and competitive market. It’s important for businesses to carefully consider their USP and whether it is a genuine differentiator, or if it is simply a generic marketing message, and in reality, aligning this with your Culture will help give you a true differentiator.