The focus on many business operators is to provide a more stable business stream. In a world of volatility and uncertainty the business that can have an ongoing and stable income stream are highly valued.
However the process to creating such a business is long and has many elements. Some of the major ones to consider are:
Staff engagement
Creating a highly engaged and motivated workforce is a cornerstone element of all successful business. If you are able to engage your staff better and improve the discretionary element of staff you are on the way to making an awesome business. Some example of how to do this can include:
Daily team huddles about what is to be done today with rewards afterwards; or
Open communication lines with individual people on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
Customer systems
If your contracts with your customers are sound and well set you are less likely to lose them. So do a review of your contracts and how you demonstrate pricing to customers so that you can show your professionalism.
If you have small one off customers consider an automated system to offer customers extra services or product lines to increase the average sale value.
Supplier management
If your business engages suppliers make sure the relationships with those suppliers is well founded and clearly articulated. And if a supplier is critical to the operation of your business actively looks for ways to diversify away from that supplier.
Competitor analysis
If you have many competitors actively think of their strengths compared to yours. For every strength of a competitor that same strength will also be a weakness. If a business is large with many service lines they are vulnerable to the branding effort of a specialist. If a business is focussed on products with a fast turnaround time look to provide products that are provided consistently under contract. If a business has a great location advantage look to use pop up locations so that your identity is fresh.
Financially sound
A sustainable business has the ongoing cash to fund it. Make sure you are clear in understanding how your money is moving within the business and actively seek to understand how cashflow will look like in 30 days, 60 days and 90 days.
If you are constantly looking at your financial performance and desired financial performance you start to create a goal setting exercise with accountability measures factored in. This will lead to greater trial and error for different approaches to improve yours business.
At Westcourt we only focus on family owned business. Westcourt makes family owned businesses great. Contact us today about ways to create a more sustainable and stable business.