Business Owner Newsletter - Page 24

When people discuss Spring Cleaning, they typically do so in regards to cleaning their garage or sometimes even their office. It's typically about cleaning a physical space; reducing clutter, creating order, and making your physical space look better. Guess what - there is opportunity in the clutter that inspires spring cleaning! Think about it...those piles exist because most small businesses get weighed down in the day-to-day of the business. They get so busy working in it, that they don't have time to work on the business. Now you might be thinking, "How in the world is Spring Cleaning going to help me work on my business?"

This month we've been focusing on how to build a business of value. A business that gives you more time, more money and more freedom in day-to-day operations is a business that will sell for a premium when the time comes. Last week we looked at the first four drivers that will help you increase the value of your business: Financial Growth, Growth Potential, Recurring Revenue and the Switzerland Structure. This week we'll take a look at the remaining four drivers which are: Monopoly Control, Customer Satisfaction, Valuation Teeter-Totter, and Hub & Spoke.

This month we've discussed the importance of defining the value you want to realize from your business and how to generate a baseline of your business today. In the next two weeks we're going to continue to look at building a business of value from two perspectives: if you're looking to sell your business soon (within two years) and if you're looking to build a business of value to sell or transition later in your life.

If you accepted our challenge last week, you should have a clear idea of what Value Realized means to you. While making a list may not seem like you've achieved much, having a clear understanding of what you want your business to do for you is the first step in designing a business of value. 

From reading our articles the last few weeks you have a better understanding of why workplace culture matters and that it exists in every business (intentionally or by default). This week we want to outline the next steps to designing (or re-designing) your workplace culture. Just like most items that happen in a business, it should be designed by you, the business owner. Whether you just opened your doors or just celebrated your 25th business anniversary, you have the opportunity to design (or re-design) your workplace culture to match the values of your business, to set the expectations of leaders, and attract the talent needed.

This month we are looking into the workplace culture of a business. The previous weeks we worked to describe workplace culture and some ways it can be influenced. The most important aspect of workplace culture is the leadership of the business. How leadership demonstrates culture is how it is modeled through the managers, employees and then replicated through the treatment of customers.

This week we will look at the five dynamics of workplace culture, and examine what influences workplace culture the most: 

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
- Sam Walton

Every business has a workplace culture. Workplace culture is difficult to point out or describe. It may be easier to describe the air we breathe. We know air exists and we understand our bodies respond to it differently depending on its qualities. Consciously or unconsciously we respond differently if air is clean and refreshing, or when it is polluted with toxins, allergens, or smoke. We may smell a bad odor that is harmless and just unpleasant for a while. We may walk into a smoke filled room and decide to leave. Or, we may not even know about the toxic air we are breathing until we get sick. It may take a few minutes or even several years of experiencing poor air quality before we realize the symptoms. Yet, most of the time we never think about it. However, if it is cut off, if we are underwater, or just have a cold, then we are aware of how important air and breathing is and at times may even be desperate to get it.