Running a business requires dedication every day of the year. All that hard work can only take you so far, however. To be truly successful, businesses must develop and implement a solid business plan that supports their growth while staying compliant with the law.
There are five key pillars you need to focus on to ensure your business’s success in as little as 12 months: sales and marketing, production and delivery, human resources, ownership and management, and financial controls. Implementing compliance measures while executing on these pillars can help you stay out of court and keep your hard-earned money.
Tip: Ask us about our Chief Legal Suite™, a 12-month program that’s specially designed to help mature, high-growth companies in achieving big business goals while protecting their people and assets.
Which Metric is Most Critical to My Business’s Success: Meeting Sales Goals or Healthy Profit Margins?
Many businesses only focus on meeting sales goals, but they should really be examining their profit margins to evaluate their success. Several businesses lose money due to poor investments, theft, refunds, inefficiencies and so much more that can be prevented when best legal and compliance practices are put in place.
Continue reading to learn more about each pillar and how they are integral to your business’s long-term success from a business and compliance perspective. We also included important questions to help you identify any gaps that may be stunting your growth. Let’s dive in!
1. Sales & Marketing
Sales and marketing are essential for any business. You need to have a sales plan that outlines your goals and objectives, and you need to implement effective marketing strategies to reach your target audience.
A business cannot function without sales and marketing because they are directly responsible for bringing in revenue. In order to ensure your business’s success in 12 months, you need to implement the following steps:
- First, you need to do some research to identify your target market. This will help you focus your sales and marketing efforts so they aren’t wasted on people who aren’t interested in your product or service.
- Once your target market has been identified, develop sales strategies to reach qualified prospects in an effective manner. The strategies should include both online and offline outreach methods so that you can connect with as many potential customers as possible.
- Lastly, a marketing plan needs to be put in place so you can create awareness around your business and its offerings. This can include both traditional marketing methods such as print ads, as well as digital methods like email marketing and social media campaigns.
By implementing these steps, businesses can increase their chances of success within just 12 months.
When analyzing your company’s sales and marketing operations, check to see whether you can answer these questions with confidence:
- Does the company’s website and social media presence present potential clients or customers with clear terms of use, privacy and data collection policies?
- Does the company’s website comply with federal law, including the ADA?
- Is the company’s advertising truthful?
2. Production & Delivery
In business, there are a number of factors that contribute to success. One of the most important factors is the ability to deliver on promises made to customers. This means not only providing products or services that meet their expectations, but also removing any barriers that prevent delivery or quickly fixing any problems that arise.
When reviewing your production and delivery process, it’s important to identify any potential risks that could lead to customer complaints, refusal to pay or even a lawsuit. By taking steps to mitigate these risks, businesses can increase their chances of success while ensuring customers are satisfied with the products and services they receive.
Ask yourself these questions to evaluate your production and delivery processes:
- Does the company have a defined intellectual property (IP) policy?
- Is there a clearly defined production cycle where every team member understands where their specific skills and autonomy are required, and when to ask for supervisory help?
- Does the company effectively define the deliverables to the client? Is there consistent scope creep that cripples the production or creates financial burdens on the business?
3. Human Resources
Human resources play a critical role in the success of any business. Your HR team is responsible for attracting, hiring and training employees, as well as managing payroll and benefits. In addition, human resources departments handle employee relations and compliance with employment laws.
Without a strong human resources department and strategy, businesses will struggle when searching for and retaining talented employees.
Strengthen your HR strategy by asking yourself these questions and filling in any gaps:
- Does the company have defined core values and published financial and market goals?
- How do employees know if they are on track?
- Is there a written employment policy that is specifically curated for the company?
Our Chief Legal Suite™ program can help you develop human resources policies that build a strong team of employees. Contact us for more information.
4. Ownership & Management
For any business to be successful, ownership and management must work hand-in-hand. Ownership provides the capital necessary to get the business up and running, while management is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations.
However, simply having capital and a group of people to manage resources is not enough. Effective business owners and managers must also possess business acumen, which includes the ability to identify opportunities, make informed decisions and adapt to changing conditions.
Furthermore, they must be able to communicate their vision for the business and inspire others to work towards its attainment. Ultimately, it’s only through strong leadership that a business can achieve long-term success during a 12-month period and beyond.
While ownership may provide the initial resources needed to start a business, management will determine whether or not those resources are used effectively. For this reason, businesses must place equal emphasis on both ownership and management if they hope to achieve lasting success.
These questions may help you evaluate the effectiveness of your ownership and management system:
- Is ownership clearly defined in a written document such as a partnership agreement, operating agreement, or bylaws?
- Does the company restrict who can own in the event of the death, disability or bankruptcy of an owner?
- How does it protect an owner’s family in this situation while also protecting the business from outsiders coming in without proper knowledge or experience?
You need to have the right people in place to manage and grow your business. Our Chief Legal Suite™ program can help you select the right ownership structure for your business.
5. Financial Controls
Financial controls are the final pillar of business success. While business success is often measured by the bottom line, sustainable enterprises understand that sound financial controls are the bedrock of any successful business. This means more than simply looking at the profit or loss; instead, sustainable businesses prioritize even the smallest indicator of success or failure.
As a result, these businesses are able to make informed decisions that foster long-term growth. How does your company stack up to its competition? Do you have a solid understanding of your financial situation? Do you track even the smallest indicators of success? If not, now is the time to make financial sustainability a priority. By doing so, you’ll set your business up for long-term success even in as little as 12 months.
Here are some more questions to determine the health of your financial controls:
- Does the company know and clearly define the average cost of sale or goods for its team?
- Are employees empowered to know what financial success looks like for their role?
- How can management communicate a broken system or cycle where hard-earned dollars are being lost?
Get on Track with our Chief Legal Suite™
Do you need help implementing these five pillars while remaining compliant with a wide range of rules and regulations? Our 12-month Chief Legal Suite™ program helps you strategize and implement compliance measures across all five pillars discussed above so you can stay out of court and keep your hard-earned money.
Who is the Chief Legal Suite™ designed for?
We designed the Chief Legal Suite™ to support mature companies that have started to gain traction and have achieved at least $1 million in operating income. If you want to ensure your business’s success, contact us today to learn more about our program!
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