The 8 ingredients to successful business
My kids were my absolute motivation to take the plunge, start and become the maker of my own destiny. And, a lot has happened in 8 years. It’s not just me any more. My husband is a co-director and we are now a team of 7 individuals, all with unique, yet, complementary skills.
As we now move into our 9th year of business, I wanted to share my 8 learnings for aspiring or current business owners:
Know your numbers. INTIMATELY! I hear lots of business owners talk about when they turned over their first million, but what I don’t hear enough is how they have managed to do this consistently and importantly, manage cash flow. Understanding performance, resourcing and expenditure is absolutely critical - they are all interrelated. And, get yourself a great accountant, not to outsource finances, but to work with as a business partner. Remain close to your numbers and plan accordingly.
Look after your people. While it might sound cliche, your people are everything. Your team, your network, your customers. Do your best to look after them, listen to them and support them to shine. Specifically on the team - past and present, be a champion for their development, invest in them and lift them up. Even if it means risking losing them. As a leader you need to know when to clip their wings and let them fly.
Lose the ego. It’s the enemy of good leadership. The inflated ego that comes with success can trick us into feeling we’ve found the eternal answer to being a leader. But the reality is, we haven’t. An inflated ego can narrow your field of vision, and can lead to behaviours that are not in line with your values. Remaining humble is the first step to keeping ego in check. This is a daily conscious practice (being a parent has helped me on this one). It requires the daily practice of selflessness, reflection, and courage (especially on the days I feel like throwing my toys. Yes, it happens to the best of us).
Look after yourself. Seems like an obvious one, but it is something that I am still working on. For me, it’s finding time daily to move my body, sleep and eat well. Because…if the captain of the ship goes down, well…you know how the story ends.
Celebrate the wins. Big and small - often this includes cake and a lot of emojis over slack. But, in the busyness of getting the work done, we have at times slipped. Creating a culture where not just the team, but our clients are supportive of each other, celebrating the wins (and working together to solve the challenges) is what makes the end goal so much more rewarding.
Keep learning. And with that being curious. From day one, professional and personal development has been a number one priority for the business and everyone that works in it. This not only enables us to bring our ‘A game’ to work each day, but also keeps us connected, widens our thinking and gives us permission to challenge each other and debate ideas. It helps us continually learn and take those learnings and extend ourselves and those around us - colleagues and clients.
Hold your head high. Recently I was walking with a friend of mine and shared with her how I still find it really hard to pick myself up when people take low blows (direct and indirect ones). And, she reminded me of the great Michelle Obama who said “ Going low is easy, which is why people go to it. It’s easy to go low. It’s easy to lead by fear. It’s easy to be divisive. It’s easy to make people feel afraid. So, when they go low, you go high.” Always hold your head high and look nowhere else but straight ahead. They will catch up eventually and if they don’t, they are not your people.
Give freely. Has always been my Modus operandi. Give freely with no expectation of return and trust me, when you least expect it a bigger door of opportunity and support will knock.
Thank you to all our wonderful colleagues, clients and Sparrows, past and present for your support and advocacy. We believe that organisations are powerhouses for creating change and creating a better future for the world. So if organisations are thriving, so too will communities, industries, economies, and individuals.
That’s why our vision isn’t about us. It’s about the work we do as management consultants having a far-reaching impact – impact that’s immediate as well as for the future.
Thank you for letting us be your problem solvers, opportunity creators.
