Passion and drive go a long way. There were 5,000 little things you did to survive in the face of long odds of small business success - the late nights, juggling expenses, praying for new customers. You leaned on that passion and drive to get through - and it worked.
But at some point passion wasn't enough, and your fuel started running low. As the business grew, and got inevitably more complex, it took more of your time (and money) to get the same result. It can be incredibly frustrating and hard to understand why what got you there stopped working. And there's not much help in the 'business help' industry - mostly what you'll find are solutions that are 'new and improved' ways of doing something you're probably already doing too much of - which is focusing on the top line.
More than 13,000 people downloaded our latest annual report on small business success - and are taking another approach. They're seeing the compelling results of building something called the "Ownership Stack" - doing things like writing down their values, creating an integrated marketing plan, and profiling their ideal customer. Owners who implemented all nine components of the ownership stack had nearly 60% greater odds of reaching their profit goals.
Why it works
1. Having these documents and sharing them with your team is a guaranteed way to get buy-in, and get everyone working towards the same goals in a hurry. You're creating the 'emotional' systems that define your culture and inspire your team.
2. We don't make real changes until the pain of not changing is bigger than the pain of staying where you are. Writing down where you want to be and comparing it to where you are will get on your nerves, in a good way.
3. It gives you the room to focus your efforts - to make sure you're focusing on the right things as the business leader. This way, the next 5,000 things you do are serving your long term vision, and not just tackling what's in front of you.
The Ownership Stack is literally a game changer. It works because it fixes the problems of today - creating more sales and better customer experiences - but it does something far more important in the process. It gives you back the feeling that you're really after - which is to feel more in control and more optimistic about the months and years ahead.
When you find yourself working harder for less reward and satisfaction, you're at the crossroads of continuing to play small or going big. In this case, bigger is truly better.
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