​These are some of the ideas that came up during last week's webinar on Pillars for Running a Successful Business.

​Building a business is like building a home. If the foundation rests on an unstable setting or is constructed with subpar materials, it doesn't matter if the rest of the home is perfect. It will never be a joy to its owner.  -Thomas J. Stanley.

​As we start on the entrepreneurial journey, we are optimistic. We know what and where we want to get and have a clear vision of how things will go. We have done good business plans and are excited about the future. But the moment the rubber hits the road is when reality checks in and we realize that the world of entrepreneurship is not a straight line nor as easy as we had imagined. So, when you are starting your business what are some of the key pillars that you many need to work on to ensure long term growth:

​      i.         People and Network building: People are the most important components of any business. After all businesses are just bunch of relationships. You need to know that in order to succeed, you have to ensure that your employees are more of equal partners in the business and so one of the most important resource they have. It is said customers can send all of us home. So, ensuring that we are constantly hearing them out and changing and adopting to what they want, while still living true to your values and principles is of utmost importance. When dealing with people, setting the right culture is key and the culture is usually set from above ie from the shareholders and board downwards. Additionally, investing in your people and ensuring sufficient alignment is key. Getting people in your team with complimentary skills is key to sufficient growth.

​    ii.         Products and right business model: When you are getting into business you must have seen a gap in the market and in the process create wealth for yourself. At times the perceived and gap and the true gap could be worlds apart. It is therefore important to involve potential clients in co creating the solution. From this, you can create a good business model that works to ensure both the business and the clients benefit. Since a focus on continuous improvement is important, research and customer feedback is key. As you come up with a product make sure it is sorting a very specific need and you must create your very own niche.

​   iii.         Brand, Marketing and Sales: Many at times we are of the idea that once we make the product the clients will come. The question is how will they know that your solution exists? Helping them see the need and giving them the solution is of utmost importance. To do this, you might need to find people to help with brand positioning. Marketing might sound and look like one of those sunk costs but the cost of not marketing is no growth for you, which would be a big challenge.

​   iv.         Processes and adoption of technology: Setting the right processes at the onset is important. This is because one might not be able to change when things move too fast. When running a business, efficiency is important and one of the ways to achieve this is the adoption of technology to make work easier and help with coordination. There are so many tools currently that can be employed to achieve this and key is to do your research having noted what your pain are would be.

​     v.         Funding and financial management: getting the right capital at the right time can not be underestimated. One should ensure they strike the right balance of not being undercapitalized and also they should not over capitalized as that would kill any possible creativity.

​Running a business is a process of learning and relearning and one need to maintain a teachable mindset reason being things will change. Surrounding yourself with people that will make your journey worthwhile is key.

​Opportunities don't happen. You create them. - Chris Grosser.

​One needs to get some coach or some other sort of accountability partner to make this worthwhile. If you are already on this journey and need a business coach, contact us at liz@elizabethnkukuu.com or on our website, www.elizabethnkukuu.com.