The 10 year plan
After a year into getting a business going, I came across the idea that to build a great business will require about ten years. I didn’t think too much of it at the time, but it has always stuck in my head as a barometer of sanity. As human beings, we are naturally impatient, and the ups and downs of starting and building a business can wear you down. It is also a warning cry to the over eager that if your primary reason is to build and sell the company, you probably won’t make it. Below are a few points that I have learned as we are currently at the half-way point to becoming a great company.
Get better.
You should always be focused on how you can do better. Your projects should continually stretch you. Your desire to know your craft, your skillset, and the related tools and what they can do for you are imperative. Learn what works. Learn what doesn’t work. The desire to continually get better will create new ideas, new approaches, and new opportunities. If you aren’t hungry and passionate about getting better, you will get passed up.Surround yourself with smart, hard-working, honest, and caring people.
Before I even started a company I knew I didn’t want to start it by myself. Luckily I had developed a friendship through work with someone who shared those same ideas for a great company and we founded it together. We took a very personal approach to hiring. We both interviewed everybody. We looked (and continue to look) for smart, caring, and driven individuals. We looked for those with side projects. With proven ability to complete projects. Who were humble. Who are passionate about life. Your people are your company. Some positions take a lot of time to get right. Some positions will be created from that new hire.Create Meaning
I strongly believe that one of the most important things to job satisfaction and overall happiness in life is the ability to do and complete meaningful work. We enable our people to make decisions, to impact the products directly, and to have interaction with the client. To ship a product feels good. To ship a product you helped impact that you know the client loves feels great. To come into work and on a daily basis feel like you are making progress and building something is critical. A happy business is a meaningful business.Defining your culture happens along the journey, not at the end of it.
Sacrifice is hard. Especially when budgets are tight and time is scarce. If you want to create a company that values a great work environment, community involvement, and an emphasis on quality, you have to do it along the way. Make the right types of sacrifices, treat your people well, and build the place that you want to be at. Doing it when it feels hard will make it all the more rewarding.Grow your network.
The longer you are able to stay in business doing good quality work, the stronger your network will be. As you progress and grow, your clients progress and grow as well. It’s strange, but it is something before I started a business that I didn’t really think that much about. But the majority of our business still comes from word of mouth and many opportunities are created from the willingness to take the time to help people.Be honest and fair.
I believe that honest hard work is rewarded. Be accountable for your mistakes. Be honest and upfront with your clients. Be honest and fair with your employees. Good things come back to those who strive to do good. Believe in that. Karma definitely exists in the world of business.
A great business is defined by a lot of different standards. Being profitable, being able to provide a good living for those that work there, and being able to create and build something of value that others need and enjoy are all part of it. Don’t forget that time is one of the most important elements in that journey and very seldomly can you cut it short.