Building a strong foundation for revenue growth should be your and every finishing business owner’s primary objective.
Jim CastigliaWithout a strong foundation, you will struggle, become frustrated, sap your energy and the energy of your people, and not achieve your goals.
This article may be one of the most important ones I’ve written for www.FinishingAndCoating.com magazine and the finishing and coating industry.
Where Are You Headed?
Do you want to double your business in three years? If you increase sales 24 % each year, you’ll achieve that goal.
Do you have stretch, “gulp factor” goals for your business? If not, you aren’t harnessing one of the most powerful drives in American business.
Nothing inspires people more than a stretch goal they can get behind and put their hearts and souls into achieving. This is also a paramount American cultural factor you can tap into as a leader. (Hammond & Morrison)
This article will make my case for why you should have goals that inspire your team, that demand the very best from every employee, that people are proud of achieving, and that one day enable you to sell your business for the highest price because your business is perceived as highly valuable by potential buyers.
Do you think this is possible? Here is an encouraging and impressive story from my own experience.
Business Sells for $800 Million
Story #1: I had a client in the mid-west with whom I worked for over four years. He had a “big, hairy, audacious goal” (BHAG) to lead his company to a lucrative sale. By laying the foundation for growth, he led the company to 23%+ growth each year. He achieved his objective and sold the company for $800 million! He and the executives who led the organization walked away with millions of dollars. All the employees benefitted. It was a total success. He told me I gave him the confidence to lead the company forward and turned his frustrations into focused productivity.
Now, I take little credit for his accomplishment. He was a great leader who was highly admired and respected by his team. I simply backed him up and gave him some world-class tools and best practices, and he ran with my input.
Story #2: In the late 70s and the 80s, I was part of a team that built a California statewide training company from about $4 million in sales in 1978 to $34 million 10 years later. We doubled the enterprise value about every three years. When I left after 13 years, we had gone from 10 employees to over 110.
The Secret to Amazing Growth
Looking back on these case studies, I now see why the CEO who sold the company for hundreds of millions of dollars was so effective. He focused on and built his foundation for growth. We did the same thing in California during the 1980s.
As I started to think more about these achievements, I realized how critical having a strong foundation is. This is so obvious that it’s easy to miss, but it makes total sense.
Every successful endeavor or pursuit must have a solid foundation. It’s essential.
I have a black belt in Okinawan karate. You can’t achieve that rank in any martial art without a solid foundation of balance, power, speed, accuracy, agility, strength, coordination, and spirit.
Business success is also built on a foundation. Below, I’ve listed what I’m convinced are the prime elements and business fundamentals that matter.
Business Fundamentals: The Roadmap to Business Growth
- Know your leadership strengths and weaknesses.
- Know your team’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Know where you’re going — have a vision that inspires your people.
- Know how you’ll get there: you have an executable roadmap.
- Know how to solve business problems through a rigorous process.
- Know how to market, position, and differentiate your product or services.
- Know and master how to sell — a specific multi-step, repeatable process.
- Know the language of business, which is accounting and the numbers.
Each of these fundamentals has several core elements you must understand and master. And if you focus your organization on these fundamentals and build a strong base, you’ll grow and enhance the value of your enterprise.
Call or text me at 949-338-7141 if you want to talk about your situation. I love helping small businesses lay the foundation for achieving stretch goals.
Jim Castiglia is the founder of Business Street Fighter Consulting and supports entrepreneurial business owners in their desire to grow and maximize the value of their business. He can be reached by email at JimC@BSF.consulting or by phone at 949-338-7141. Visit www.BSF.consulting
