When building your dream house, don’t put the roof on first!
When building your dream house, don’t put the roof on first!
Close your eyes and imagine your dream house. Imagine all the memories you are going to make in that house. Now, imagine building this dream house with every custom nook and cranny. It’s going to be spectacular, right?! You consult with an architect to draw up a plan, and you hire a general contractor to oversee the project and ensure the home is built well.
Everything is on track and going great. You are so excited that you decide to show the plan to your friends and family. Immediately, they start telling you about this fantastic roof you should have on your house. You, too, get excited about this roof and decide this is what the construction team needs to build first. Of course, they object. Not only is it unwise to honor your request, but it’s also not possible.
You can’t build the roof first.
Sadly, this is one of the most common mistakes I see within the world of small business. While it is usually unintentional, many business owners try to build their business by putting the roof first before creating the foundation. Just like building a physical house, building the roof first is a huge mistake that will end in disaster.
I get it. You want to pursue your passion and start making money. And starting a business can be complicated. It’s more fun to ignore the boring stuff. But to create a rock-solid foundation for your business, there are five essential strategies that must be appropriately incorporated.
Just as you would build your dream house on a firm foundation, you also need to treat your business the same way. You must set your business up correctly (i.e., a properly formed LLC), develop a solid strategic plan to guide you, implement sound financial practices to ensure your business will remain solvent, and create a marketing blueprint to guarantee your message reaches your ideal customer.
While friends and family members are well-intentioned and may even be small business owners, there are unique intricacies with each small business that a professional needs to address.
Kent Gustafson Consulting is here to help you build your successful business and implement the five pillars of success. I created this roadmap after learning the hard way just how difficult starting a small business can be. Since then, I’ve worked with thousands of small business owners to help them create a rock-solid foundation and a structurally-sound business.
If you are ready to start a business or have recently started a business and want to make sure you are building a profitable, sustainable business that can maintain that success, reach out to Kent Gustafson Consulting today.