Four business strategies every business owner needs to know

Business coach Simone Milasas writes that there is no shortage of content available when seeking advice or information on how to create, manage, and operate a successful business.

As a serial entrepreneur, I continuously familiarise and educate myself with much of it, but not from the perspective of putting into practice everything I read. Rather, listening, asking questions and ultimately following my own awareness of business as to what will and will not work.

Trusting my awareness has never let me down. That is not to say that I have always gotten it right. It is to say that it has always ultimately led me to create something greater.

Years of doing business in my unique way have shown me four strategies that every business needs to know. Put them into practice and create a greater business joyfully.

1. You always have choice 

Notice that it doesn’t say, “You always have a choice.” It says, “You always have choice.” Plural. Choice is limitless and recognising this is a key to successful business.

Whether you are starting, building or managing a business, you are probably going to stumble and fall. That doesn’t matter. What matters is what you are going to choose the next day. What if you chose to have the perspective that you never lost anything? When a business deal doesn’t show up the way you thought it would, pause and ask, “What did I gain from this? What do I know now that I did not know before?” You gain awareness from every choice that you make, even if it feels like failure at first, and if you don’t judge your choices or judge the outcome or judge you, then you can discover the gifts of that choice and keep going.

If you are finding it difficult to see the positive in a choice that appears to have gone wrong, ask, “What’s right about this that I am not getting? What is right about me that I am not getting?” When you ask these questions, you open up to a different perspective; one that is greater.

There are four types of people that your business needs 

There are four basic skill sets required for a business to succeed – creator, connector, mover, and foundational. If you have all four of these types of people within your organisation, your chances for success are high.

Creator

The creator is the person who really gets what the business is all about. They have a sense of what it is, what the vision is, what the targets are and ultimately where it can go.

Connector

Connectors love to talk to people. They talk to anyone and everyone and others genuinely like them.

Mover

Whatever projects they are working on, movers see what needs to happen, where things are missing, what parts and pieces need to come together and they orchestrate the entire process so that it can move forward.

Foundation 

Foundation people are all 3 elements – creator, connector and mover. They may be stronger in one or two aspects, but they are able to function in all of the roles as needed.

If something in your business is not working as you would like it to, ask, “Which of these elements does my business require? Creator, connector, mover or foundational?” Use your awareness of this to direct you in selection of employees and to ask questions accordingly in the interview process.

Find  what your employees enjoy 

Every person within your organisation has unique talents and abilities, often beyond the skill set for which they were hired. Find out what those things are. How? Ask! Talk to your employees. What ideas do they have? Are there other areas within the company they would like to contribute to? Ask, “What do you enjoy and what would you like to add?” Listen to what they have to say and take action based on their responses. Happy employees contribute more and are far more likely to stay with you.

Spend more time listening 

One of the most necessary, effective and often overlooked strategies of a business leader is practicing the art of listening. Leaders of organisations are often required to speak, to direct, to continuously take action. Don’t forget to include listening in the midst of those other things. Listen to your employees and your colleagues. Listen to podcasts, including those that may have a different perspective than you. Read articles. Talk to people who know more about something than you do and ask them questions. Receiving information by actively listening is one of the most effective ways to stay connected and to remain on the creative edge of business.

Running a successful business does not have to be difficult. In fact, when you operate from a place of joy and relaxation, everything gets greater. Remember that you always have choice and that there is no such thing as failure. Every outcome provides useful information for you to gain awareness that will assist you in the future.

If something seems to be lacking within your organisation, have a look at who you have hired. What energies are present within those people and what energies are missing? Ask, “What does my business require? Creator? Connector? Mover? Foundational person?” Clarifying this helps you hire the right people.

Talk to your employees about what they enjoy doing and never confine them based on the job description for which they were hired. You may be surprised to find how many secret talents you have within your team. Last but definitely not least, listen. The whispers of the universe are all around. They speak in many different ways. Lean in to these whispers and become a business leader who lives on the creative edge.

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