A business built on a solid foundation will provide stability and structure. Especially when inflation, recession, or other economic challenges threaten its integrity.

 

Before you can grow and scale your business, make sure you have these four critical foundational pillars firmly in place:

 

 

Your Core Values are the principles that define who you are as a company. Every employee from the top down should live and breathe your company's Core Values and use them as their moral compass to align their decisions.

 

 

No matter what industry you are in, you must have a clear differentiator in your business that sets you apart from your competition. Since customers are often overwhelmed with options, identifying your unique selling proposition can mean the difference between standing out and blending in. 

 

 

A necessity for every business, a business plan offers a step-by-step approach to handling significant decisions and keeps your goals front and center. Don't create it and file it away in a drawer, never to see the light of day. An effective business plan is a working one - it adapts as the business and economic environment changes.

 

 

This curveball has caused so much pain for employees over the last two years. From obligations and loyalty to entitlement and privileges, the pendulum of power has swung from businesses to employees and is now galling somewhere in the middle. Understand who your employees are, their needs, and how you serve them. Likely in this volatile employee employer relationship this will continue be an evolution with many changes hard to predict. Some of the changes will be driven by corporate profit and loss and part of it will be driven by the employees need for flexibility, which is likely a permanent change.

 

If you can establish a foundation using these four pillars, you will be best positioned to build a strong, successful business that will stand the test of time.